THC Diamonds: What They Are and How to Smoke Them

THC diamonds are to cannabis what real diamonds are to jewelry. They’re sparkly and usually come with a higher price tag, and clearly show you’re serious about your cannabis experience. More importantly, they are the most potent among different types of THC concentrates, routinely testing north of 90% THCA.

If you’re interested in using THC diamonds, this guide will provide you a basic foundation before your first experience. You’ll learn what THC diamonds are, the different types you’ll see at a dispensary, how they’re made, and the best ways to use them to experience everything they have to offer.

What are THC Diamonds?

THC diamonds are crystallized THCA, the non intoxicating form of THC found in cannabis trichomes. When extracted and given the right conditions, THCA forms clear to pale-yellow crystals resembling rock salt.

The crystals are almost flavorless and odorless. Because of this, they are normally mixed with terp sauce, which contain terpenes and give the final product flavor and aroma. When heated, THCA converts to THC, making the vaporized diamonds potent and valuable.

How Are THC Diamonds Made?

Diamond mining, as the industry calls it, is both an art and a science. Here is a general outline of the process of diamond production:

1. Extractors begin with cannabis plant material, using either cured buds or fresh-frozen plants. The fresh plants are flash-frozen right after harvest to preserve their terpenes.

2. Next, a hydrocarbon solvent, often butane or propane, passes through the plant material in a closed-loop system. This process extracts the cannabinoids and terpenes effectively.

3. The resulting oil is placed into sealed jars or pressurized vessels. Here, with gentle heat and pressure, THCA begins to separate from the liquid and form crystals. This step can take some time, anywhere from a few days to several weeks, so patience is key!

4. Once the crystals have formed, the extractor carefully drains the terpene-rich liquid and sets it aside. This liquid will become what we call the terp sauce.

5. The diamonds are then purged using heat and vacuum to remove any leftover solvent. Some labs even wash them for added purity.

6. Finally, the diamonds can be sold as they are, combined with their sauce, or melted down for easier loading into a cart. This choice leads to the variety of diamond types you see on the shelf, which we’ll discuss next.

Liquid Diamonds vs Live Diamonds vs. Crystal Diamonds

All three types start as THCA crystals. What separates them is the starting material and what happens to the crystals after they grow.

Live Diamonds

Live diamonds are made from fresh-frozen plants instead of dried, cured flowers. Freezing the plant at harvest keeps more of its original terpenes intact. This is similar to the concept behind live resin.

Liquid Diamonds

Liquid diamonds are diamonds that have been melted down and blended back with their terpenes. This creates a thick, uniform oil. You will mostly find them in:

• Vape carts

• Disposables

• Live diamond vaporizers

Crystal Diamonds

Crystal diamonds, sometimes sold as THCA crystalline or isolate, are the diamonds on their own with the sauce stripped away. They are the purest of the three, often testing at 95% to 99% THCA. However, they have very little flavor and almost no terpenes left.

5 Best Ways To Smoke THC Diamonds

Diamonds are more dense than sauces or badders, so they take more heat to melt. The following methods are just different ways to get the right kind of heat to melt them.

Rig method

Dabbing is the most common way to smoke diamonds. This method requires a dab rig, a quartz banger, a torch, a dab tool and a carb cap. If you've never done this before, our guide on how to dab covers the basics.

1. Heat your banger with your torch until the bottom starts to turn a faint orange, which usually takes 30-45 seconds with quartz.

2. Once it turns a faint orange, turn off the torch and let it cool. Since quartz takes a little longer to cool than other concentrates, let it cool for 45-60 seconds.

3. After it’s cooled, add a rice-grain-sized piece of diamond to the banger, along with a little sauce.

4. Add the carb cap and take a slow, even pull to melt the diamonds.

Pro tip: Using a filter when dabbing catches resin and some harmful particles of concentrate before they hit your mouth.

Cold Start Rig

For the Cold Start Method, you load your diamonds into a cool banger and then heat it up. This allows the terpenes to vaporize, giving you more flavor in every hit.

1. Place your diamonds and sauce in a room temperature banger.

2. Add your carb cap.

3. Heat the banger for 10-20 seconds with your torch while moving the flame around the outside of the banger.

4. Start inhailing when the diamonds melt and vapor starts to come off.

This works great with Live Diamonds, as it is geared more for flavor.

Enail Method

An e-nail is an electronic coil that screws into your banger and maintains a certain temperature. With e-nails, you don't need to time your cooldowns and you don't need a torch. You simply dial in the temperature, and wait for it to heat up. Then you drop your dab and cap it.

The e-nail gives you a consistent temperature, making it easier to consistently get tasty dabs. If you travel to dab, you should look into a portable e-rig. They are smaller versions of e-nails.

Vape Method

If you want to smoke diamonds without the gear, a vape is the easiest road. Liquid diamond carts are ready to go on a standard 510 battery.

For solid diamonds, a dab pen with a quartz or ceramic coil can vape diamonds as well, although crystals do melt slowly, so use short pulls and allow the coil to catch up. Keep the voltage moderate, as turning it up will just burn the terps.

Topped on Flower in a Bowl or Bong

Don't have a rig? You can still get diamonds in your session by mixing them with flower. Load up a half a bowl with ground flower, and top it with crushed diamonds, and then add a final layer of flower. The top layer of flower catches the flame first, and allows the diamonds to mix in before they're torched.

This can be done with a pipe or a bong. Fair warning, a bowl topped with diamonds hits a lot harder than a normal bowl, so take it slwo or share it!

Best Temperature for Smoking THC Diamonds

Diamonds are different from most concentrates, as they are hard to melt. A good range is from 450°F to 550°F. Lower temperatures, around 400°F, are typically used for sauce.

If you like the flavor of diamonds, start around 450°F, and work up. A good way to figure out the temp is to work up, taking notes of temperatures that yield crunchy or grainy dabs. Once you get to 600°F and up, you're wasting diamonds as the terpenes are cooked off, and it becomes a waste of money to do so. With an e-nail this is easy. With a butane torch, it is a good 10-20 second cooldown time.

As always, experiment to figure out what works best for you!

Understanding The Effects of THC Diamonds

THC Diamonds are made of pure THC and are often consumed in the form of dabs. Vaporizing THC allows the effects to be felt almost immediately and to peak within the first 15 minutes. A dab contains a lot more THC than a joint, so even the most experienced of smokers find the effects of diamonds overwhelming.

The effect is largely dependent on the strain, with indica strains leading to a sedative effect and body high while sativa strains leading to an energized effect. Crystal diamonds or diamonds without terps are more or less plain THC and lead to a THC high.

Most people feel the effects for about 2-3 hours, but that also depends on the tolerance of the individual plus the dose.

Our breakdown of how long a weed high lasts goes deeper on that.

Potential Side Effects

Overconsumption of THC diamonds can lead to:

• Dry mouth

• Anxiety

• Racing heart

• Paranoia

• An uncontrollable urge to lie still

If you end up there, our guide to recovering from being greened out can help you ride it out.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Taking Too Large Doses

Start with a dab the size of a grain of rice. Wait 15 minutes before considering more; you can always take another hit.

Dabbing at High Temperatures

Avoid red-hot bangers. They burn off terpenes and make the vapor harsh. Stick to 450°F to 550°F and let the quartz cool before use.

Torching Diamonds Directly on Flower

Don’t torch crystals directly; it wastes THC. Instead, cover diamonds with flower to melt them gradually.

Neglecting Device Maintenance

Sticky reclaim builds up quickly. Clean your banger with a cotton bud after each use and soak your rig regularly for optimal flavor and performance.

Are Diamonds More Potent Than Other Cannabis Concentrates?

A common question among cannabis consumers is whether THC diamonds outshine other cannabis products like shatter, wax, and live resin.

Short answer? Yes.

THC diamonds typically contain 90-99% pure THC, making them one of the most potent concentrates out there. Compare this to wax, shatter, or live resin, which hovers around 60-80% THC, and it’s clear why diamonds are in a league of their own.

The other concentrates also contain more plant material, terpenes, and minor cannabinoids, contributing to flavor and entourage effects but diluting the THC concentration. Smoking pure THC diamonds, on the other hand, gives a more direct and intense high.

FAQs

Are THC diamonds natural?

THCA is a naturally occurring compound found in cannabis. The crystals are formed by the plant itself, but the process is sped up with solvent extraction. So, while THCA is 100% natural, the process of producing the crystals isn’t.

Are THC diamonds stronger than wax?

THC wax normally tests between 60% and 90% THC. THCA diamonds test at 90%-99% THCA, so gram for gram THCA diamonds are stronger.

How Do Cannabis Diamonds Differ From Other Concentrates?

Generally speaking, concentrates like shatter or budder have a mix of cannabinoids and terpenes whipped or set to various textures. Diamonds, on the other hand, are single cannabinoids that have been isolated to a crystal form. Because of this, they are much purer and stronger, though they are actually mild in flavor (unless they are accompanied by terp sauce).

Can you eat raw THC diamonds?

Yes, you can. However, you likely won’t feel any effects from doing so. That’s because THCA, in its raw and natural state, is not an intoxicating compound. In order to be intoxicating, THCA has to be decarboxylated, or heated, to convert it to THC. If you want to consume diamonds by way of edibles, decarboxylate them by baking them at a low temperature, and then infuse them in a fat (i.e. butter or oil).

Do THC diamonds smell?

The crystals, on their own, barely have any smell. The terp sauce they are packed in, on the other hand, can be very pungent and as loud as fresh flower. If you are concerned about the smell, a smell-proof bag is your friend.

How do you store THC diamonds to maintain their potency?

Keep them in an airtight glass or silicone container away from heat and light. Warmth can slowly melt diamonds back into sauce and degrade the THCA over time.