We love state-of-the-art technology and cutting edge techniques at Master-Minded, but sometimes, you just can’t beat the old ways. Such is the case with PollenMaster, a top-of-the-line dry sift tumbler brand that has a long history with Master-Minded. But harvesting dry sift has an even longer history with roots in ancient times! Today, we take a look at the long road dry sift harvesting has travelled to get to the PollenMaster and examine why this mechanical form of concentrate production is still one of the best.
What is Dry Sift?
You’ve likely heard of dry sift, though possibly by one of its many other names including “pollen” (inspiring the PollenMaster brand name). It's a form of concentrate procured, as the name would suggest, by sifting trichome glands using a mesh screen resulting in the collection of a light, granular material. It can be tempting to refer to dry sift as an extract, but since a purely mechanical process is used to harvest the trichomes, no extraction process is actually used. Whether using solvent-based or solventless methods, extracts are produced using chemical reactions.
The Early Days of Trichome Harvesting
Dry sift harvesting techniques date back to the Stone Age when people would simply collect the trichomes from their hands after rubbing the source material. It was a crude method that produced similarly crude results, but it endured through the ages. In fact, sieves weren’t employed for the use of harvesting trichomes until the last 80 years approximately. So, why don’t people just save themselves some cash by using their hands? As soon as sieves were introduced, the sifters saw greater yields, a higher range of potency, and an overall purer product with improved longevity. On top of that, using a tool to harvest trichomes is just easier and less time-consuming. Tools and techniques evolved over the decades, but today the cutting edge of trichome harvesting belongs to a machine commonly referred to as a dry sift tumbler.
The Era of the Dry Sift Tumbler
While many industrial machines built for commercial harvesting of trichomes use vibration to help separate the desirable material, dry sift tumblers like the PollenMaster models use a motor to gently tumble a cylinder with a built-in mesh screen that separates and collects trichomes with minimal damage to their structure when compared to other harvesting methods. While dry sift tumblers offer one of the most affordable means of concentrate production, especially when compared with the lofty costs of solvent-based extraction, the process can be challenging to the uninitiated. Dry sift tumblers like the PollenMaster significantly aid in surmounting the most common challengings of trichome removal.
Understanding the Mechanics of a Pollen Tumbler
Imagine that trichomes are the fruits of a bush. Agitating or shaking the bush could easily tussle loose the ripe fruit, but more aggressive shaking may be required to get tenacious fruit. And with that increased agitation, you could get some other, less tasty pieces of the bush, like stems and leaves. So, how does someone seeking a higher yield manage to keep their dry sift at its purest? The answer is elegant in its simplicity: screens with specially sized holes large enough to allow the passage of trichomes but small enough to filter out contaminants. These holes are measured in microns to accommodate the roughly 20 to 120 micron size of the average trichome. You can choose the micron size of your bags based on your personal dry sift tumbling technique. Some choose larger micron sizes that allow for bigger yields but also imperfections that can hurt quality. On the other hand, some choose smaller micron sizes that don’t allow such glorious yields but keep the dry sift at pristine quality. As with so many things in life, it’s all about finding your balance.
At Master-Minded, we’ve been distributing the PollenMaster brand of dry sift tumblers for years. These American-made motor-powered pollen tumblers are specially designed with efficiency and ease of use in mind. You still have enough control to give your technique some personality, but the motorized function eliminates the more tedious elements so that dry sift tumbling is actually fun! Enjoy the luxuries of the modern world and some of the best quality and yields of your career with a PollenMaster! We have plenty of 500 gram, 1500 gram and massive 4500 gram models ready to ship and may even have a couple 150 gram models for the rookies, so if you feel like tumbling through the holidays, give your sales rep a call!