Patent Application
20230000132
The present invention relates to ways of protecting smokable herbage, including Cannabis, to extend shelf life. More particularly, the present invention relates to aesthetically appealing ways to extend shelf life.
U.S. Patent Publication No. US20210008139A1 teaches the use of more than one extract from Cannabis plant material and combining it with a second extract of Cannabis plant material. This publication fails to teach using the several extracts to form a coating on a Cannabis flower.
PCT Patent Publication No. WO2021055818A1 teaches a way of treating a perishable food product by applying a coating that does not add an impactful amount of moisture to the perishable product. This publication makes clear that adding moisture to a dried product is to be avoided and can adversely impact shelf life. The first coating is a sanitizer in one embodiment, and the second treatment may include mineral salts, or buffering agents. In yet another embodiment, essential oils are used to inhibit microbes while improving flavor and aroma. While this patent publication is a step forth in the art of food preservation, it does not teach the use of natural coatings to preserve smokable products, or the use of coating that provide aesthetic features. Light, including ultraviolet light, can oxidize materials. This publication fails to teach the creation and application of crystalline substances to reflect light to improve shelf life.
Korean Patent No. KR101396784B1 teaches a way to preserve dried flowers using a mixture of a copolymer of methyl methacrylate and ethyl acrylate. However, this method is intended solely for preserving the visual attributes of the flower. The synthetic polymers used are not designed to be safe for ingestion into the human body.
Coating a flower with a synthetic polymer may work well enough to make ornamental objects from a flower. An oxygen barrier may be formed to seal the flower. This barrier may inhibit oxidation of the flower.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,370,139A teaches a process for treating smokable tobacco material by applying a flavorful and aromatic casing of a weak ammonium salt and a sugar. For example, the tobacco is tumbled and sprayed with diammonium phosphate, glucose and water. Then it is dried and heated to between 310° F. and 320° F. This process yields a roasted, sweet and chocolate-like flavor with fruity notes. The use of between 0.1 mg to 25 mg per cigarette is expressed. In five (5) lbs of tobacco, about 301 grams of the sprayed treatment solution is used in one example.
Coating with diammonium phosphate and a simple sugar may improve flavor for some smokable plants. However, many in the natural products community may try to limit the consumption of additives that don't arise from the consumable plant material.
Notwithstanding the technology discussed above, which is intended to provide a broad background only, there is still a need to preserve plants, such as herbs, so that it can be safely steeped into a tea, smoked, mixed with foods, or otherwise ingested by humans or mammals. The technology discussed above also fails to teach that the bioactivity of the plant material can be enhanced with a coating.
What is desired is a way of protecting smokable herbal flowers and biomass that is easy to handle, is not sticky to enable grinding, has a superior shelf life, and has visual aesthetic appeal.
The present invention includes herbage having a reflective coating that sparkles and improves herbage shelf life. The herbage is dried. Preferably the dried herbage has a moisture content of between 4-15%, and preferably a moisture content of between 7-12%. The herbage has trimmed flowers that form agglomerated flowers having an initial shape. The shape is preserved by the present invention to improve shelf life from a mechanical perspective.
In order to improve shelf life from a mechanical perspective, to create a moisture barrier, to inhibit volatilization of volatile components, and to inhibit oxidation due to light and air, a first coating of a first Cannabis plant extract is applied to the herbage.
The first coating includes at least 60%-98% Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), and preferably greater than 90% THC. Between 2-40% of the first coating may include various other plant-derived components. These plant-derived components include classical and non-classical cannabinoids, terpenes, plant flavonoids, lipids, and other components derived from the Cannabis plant. It can be appreciated that plant components from other plants is included, including essential oils of citrus, lavender or any botanical essential oil. The selected concentration of THC is important so that the THC can form a glass like, hardened coating that is grindable in a mechanical grinder, is non-sticky at room temperature, holds the shape of the Cannabis flower or other herbage, and that enables ready adherence to subsequent coatings.
THC is decarboxylated and easily forms a hardened layer on the dried herbage to mechanically preserve the shape of the herbage, the hardened surface enables handling and grinding of the herbage without sticking at room temperature. The term non-sticky, or “without sticking” are relative terms and phrases that mean: less sticky than traditional Cannabis essential oil. Cannabis essential oil is a whole plant extract typically having greater than 60% THC content. This traditional Cannabis essential oil is sometimes commonly termed “Rick Simpson Oil” and it is quite sticky to handle, even after application to a Cannabis flower.
The present invention includes a second coating of a second Cannabis plant extract applied over the first coating and adhering thereto. The second coating including at least 90-99% Tetrahydrocannabinolic acid (THCa), which is not decarboxylated. THCa is well known to form crystals. The crystals are embedded in the first coating to improve aesthetics by reflecting light. When displayed in a merchandising display including transparent glass jars, the present invention makes the Cannabis flower visually attractive compared to competing Cannabis flowers lacking any coating that may also be presented for merchandising purposes.
The present invention enables cooperation between the first coating and the second coating to both seal the Cannabis flower, preserve its shape, and also to improve shelf life by reducing absorption of light by the Cannabis flower or other herbage. In particular the crystals reflect some light and absorb some light to inhibit penetration of visible light and ultraviolet (UV) light onto the Cannabis flower or herbage.
Thus, the crystals of the second coating and the hardened surface of the first coating cooperate to enable handling, storage, and processing of the herbage without a sticky mess, and while maximizing shelf life. The aesthetics of presenting the herbage or Cannabis flower with sparkling crystals makes it attractive to the eye of a prospective purchaser.
The present invention also amplifies the bio-effect of the Cannabis flower by concentrating THC and other cannabinoids. The combined coatings are in a particular ratio to the herbage, the ratio is between 1:4 and 2:1 on a weight to weight basis to optimally cause the herbage sparkle to improve the shelf life. This ratio also enables a consistent burn for smoking the herbage. This consistent burn enables using the present invention in a Cannabis cigarette, pipe, or other smoking device.
The ratio of the combined coatings to the herbage or Cannabis flower, also preserve the Cannabis flower shape, inhibit oxidation, create an effective humidity barrier, function as an anti-microbial or anti-fungal agent to maximize shelf life.
Testing by the inventor hereof clearly demonstrates that the shelf life of a coated Cannabis flower is enhanced as compared to uncoated Cannabis flowers.
In one embodiment, Cannabis flower is ground to a desired particle size to form a smokable product, and the crystals are visible in the ground Cannabis flower. Preferably, the crystals have an average grain size of less than 2.0 millimeters in diameter and greater than 0.1 millimeters in diameter.
In another embodiment, the ground herbage is packaged in rolling paper to form a Cannabis cigarette. In one embodiment, the rolling paper is transparent to reveal the crystals through the rolling paper.
In yet another embodiment, the ground herbage is packaged in rolling paper to form a Cannabis cigarette having an open end, the crystals are visible at the open end to create aesthetic appeal and to block UV light that may have penetrated the rolling paper. The Cannabis cigarette can have two open ends where the crystals are visible at both of the two open ends.
Enhancing the aesthetic appeal, the Cannabis cigarette can have the open end coated with the first coating and the second coating in addition to having the enclosed herbage being coating with the coatings.
In another embodiment, the rolling paper is impregnated with the crystals to inhibit ultraviolet degradation of the ground herbage within the rolling paper, and to sparkle. Such can indicate that the herbage is also coated with sparkling crystals if viewed. Where the rolling paper is impregnated with the crystals, the crystals inhibit ultraviolet degradation of the ground herbage within the rolling paper. Preferably these crystals impregnating the rolling paper have an average particle size diameter of less than 0.3 mm, which is smaller than the crystals coating the herbage. It can be appreciated that the herbage can also be mixed with crystals in embodiments including the use of rolling paper that can hold the crystals with the herbage.
The present invention also envisions that the herbage is Cannabis flower in the form of trimmed buds packaged in a transparent glass jar, or jars. The glass jars are presented in a merchandising display to bring attention to the crystals that reflect incident light. The herbage can also be packaged in a transparent bag.
In various embodiments of the invention, the crystals can be designed to mimic naturally occurring trichomes that coat a Cannabis flower during cultivation, but that usually fall off when the Cannabis flower is dried and trimmed. Since naturally occurring trichomes have crystals of between 0.05 to 0.5 mm, the present invention can be designed to have similarly sized crystals to visually mimic naturally occurring Cannabis trichomes. More preferably, the trimmed Cannabis buds have a coating with crystals having an average of between 0.05 to 0.1 mm to visually mimic average sized naturally occurring Cannabis trichomes.
The present invention yields herbage that is non-sticky and can be readily ground for smoking. Preferably, the Cannabis flower has a reflective coating that sparkles, and is capable of being ground in a mechanical grinder such as a grinder with an electrical motor attached to a rotating blade.
In this embodiment, the Cannabis flower is dried to less than 10% moisture content and is trimmed to have a defined shape. The first coating of a first Cannabis plant extract including at least 60%-98% Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the first coating is hardened so that the Cannabis flower is easy to grind without sticking within and fouling the mechanical grinder. The second coating of the second Cannabis plant extract includes at least 90-99% Tetrahydrocannabinolic acid (THCa).
The THCa forms crystals that are embedded in the first coating to reflect light. The crystals are also readily passed through a grinder without fouling the grinder. The ratio of the summed weight of the combined coatings to the weight of the Cannabis flower is between 1:4 and 2:1 on a weight to weight basis to enable the Cannabis flower to be easily ground in a mechanical grinder without sticking within and fouling the mechanical grinder. Further, the Cannabis flower can be coated and displayed in a clear glass jar; the coatings cooperate to enable the Cannabis flowers to be displayed without sticking to and fouling the clear glass jar. Though the glass jar is transparent, the coatings cooperate to inhibit oxidation of the Cannabis flower due to incident light. The coatings also cooperate to inhibit volatilization of flavonoids and terpenes from the first coating and from the Cannabis flower due to incident light.
During manufacture, the first coating is applied while warm, below 180° F. The second coating is applied sequentially while the first coating is warm.
The second coating, in one embodiment of the invention, can commonly be characterized as “THCa diamonds”, which is THCa manufactured by creating a non-decarboxylated THCa concentrate, subjecting it to winterization to remove excess waxes, chlorophyll, flavonoids and terpenes. The winterized remainder forms THCa diamonds.
In another embodiment, various terpenes and flavonoids are added to the THCa to achieve a desirable flavor and aroma while preserving the THCa diamonds. These diamonds, or crystals, can be transparent in one embodiment of the invention. The diamonds can be golden, yellow, purple, blue or other color. Viewing the Cannabis flower, or herbage, through the diamonds gives the appearance of a colored flower. The flower is colored due to color components and sparkles due to reflective characteristics of the diamonds. The color components can be derived from Cannabis and include several Cannabis derived terpenes or polyphenols. The color components can be derived from plant polyphenols or herbage. Polyphenols, for example, can include flavonoids, tannic acid, and ellagitannin, some of which have been used historically as dyes.
Cannabis-derived terpenes including myrcene, limonene, linalool, beta-caryophyllene, alpha-pinene, and beta-pinene can be added either to the first coating, the second coating, or both. These terpenes can enhance flavor, aroma, and inhibit microbial growth, for example fungal growth.
Coating for the purposes of the present invention differs from the infusion of Cannabis flowers because coating soaks into the flowers less deeply than infusing flowers with a sub stance.
While the present invention is described herein by way of example, such as by using THC and THCa, it can be appreciated that various cannabinoids can be utilized in accord with the present invention. In the present invention, the first and second coatings increase potency of the Cannabis flower when smoked or otherwise consumed. One puff of a coated Cannabis flower delivers less harmful particulates to the lungs of a user than smoking a whole Cannabis cigarette. Both may deliver the same level of potency.
In another embodiment, the cigarettes 26 are made primarily from marijuana flower having a detectable THC content. Preferably, the marijuana flower has at least a 10% THCa content on a weight to weight (w:w) basis. The combination of the marijuana flower and the coatings have a combined THC and THCa content of at least 40% in one embodiment of the invention and is readily identifiable by the reflective crystals at the open ends.
The Cannabis cigarette 22 includes a foot 28 for holding the cigarette 22, which has very little, if any, Cannabis material. It is simply a way of holding the Cannabis cigarette 22 while using it. The Cannabis cigarette 22 includes a paper 26 wrapped around ground Cannabis flower. The Cannabis cigarette 22 includes an open end 24 that has crystals that sparkle. The sparkles are shown as dark specs in this drawing, but the physical crystals are somewhat translucent, transparent and reflective to reflect light.
The Cannabis material is preferably trimmed, dried and ground Cannabis flower having at least 10% cannabinoid content. The cannabinoid content can be selected from the group consisting of tetrahydrocannabinol, cannabidiol, cannabigerol, cannabinol, the acid forms thereof, and combinations thereof. Any of the at least one hundred known cannabinoids can be used in accord with the present invention so long as a crystal that reflects light can be made visible on the herbage material.
In one embodiment of the invention, a first coating coats the Cannabis flower with hardened THC. In a variation of this embodiment, a second coating of crystallized THCa, where the crystallized second coating reflects light through the open end 40. In this embodiment, the paper is also coated to reflect light using crystallized THCa. Accordingly the coating of the paper 34 cooperates with the coated Cannabis flower to reflect light longitudinally and through the end 32.
Although open ends are shown on the various cigarettes, the open end can be closed by rolling the paper tightly into a point in the traditional way a hand rolled joint are rolled. In addition, although a foot of the cigarettes is shown, cigarettes without a foot can be fabricated to have two open ends to reflect light. Further both ends can be rolled tightly in the embodiments having transparent paper, or coated paper, so that the aesthetic effects of the crystals are not hidden or totally lost.
Further, it can be appreciated that the Cannabis material, or herbage, need not be presented in the form of a cigarette, but can be packaged in any way desirable by the smoking customer. For example, the herbage (i.e. Cannabis flower) presented in a jar can be extricated from the jar and re-packaged in a transparent plastic tube, baggie, or other container for sale to a customer. In such a case the herbage is still visible along with the reflective crystals.
It can also be appreciated that while coated herbage, or Cannabis flower, is coated in accordance with the present invention, it is possible to simply mix ground herbage, or Cannabis material, with crystalline THCa to make cigarettes.
This patent application describes the invention by way of example only, and the true scope of the invention is expressed in the appended claims.
