Canna Clatch with Qi Company - An Interview about Hash

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Today, I got the privilege of sitting down with Adrien of Qi Company. I invited him to come and chat with me about his product(s) due to the fact that I had been getting some very palpable benefits from a fairly new product that I had not seen before in our ecosystem. This product being Qi Concentrates Evermelt or just "Evermelt". This product is a hash oil that is derived from washing and winterizing and filtering with carefully selected grain alcohol, and purged in the normal protocol with a vacuum oven at a very low temp.

Adrien admitted that he's a private and withdrawn individual and needed to warm up to the idea of being interviewed. Luckily, we have a very casual way of "extracting" information so that the "interviewee feeling's" don't get overwhelming. A Canna Clatch is a sit down around cannabis and this is exactly what Adrien and I did.

First off, Qi Concentrates is a extraction company, but also a confection company making high quality hand crafted sweets that have activated cannabinoids in very specific ratios. They are also professional cannabis growers and will soon be offering their raw flower to the market. What's apparent first off is their fine attention to detail in their labeling and in regards to the chocolates, attention to the detail of the product itself. Potency, as well as residual test results are posted clearly on the packaging - something not common in the current Oregon market.

How did Qi Concentrates come to be?

Adrien related to me that his core product, the Evermelt, was found to have a very positive effect on several of his patients and early on in the timeline, a dispensary he offered it to gave very positive feedback to continue making this unique type of hash. He saw this avenue of revenue as a means to grow his confectionary business dream and as way to transition away from the long hours of the cuisine industry and chef-work and give himself more time with his family now that he's a new father. He said also that his company is comprised of a pastry chef and a confectionary chef and with some direct and prolonged cajoling, proved to them that his PCO (pure cannabis oil) could be constituted into their existing recipes without affecting overall texture, consistency, and taste. He said it took some time, but his chef partners were convinced to start using his extracts to create a result that will be perfect for a "foodie", that is to say, anyone with a discerning palate who would like to have a consistently dosed confection. Adrien has been a long time grower and provider in the OMMP and currently has patients he's helping with cannabis oil blends, raw flower, and various CBD to THC ratios that has offered him vast experience that he's now adapting to his Qi Concentrates dream.

What originally brought you to use alcohol as a solvent?

Adrien related to us that within the dynamic of keeping a small petroleum footprint, he's more comfortable using a naturally derived solvent. He's also found a very substantial method of using alcohol to create a very stable, flakey, golden hash that is fantastic for dabbing, or burning with flower. He attested to preferring finely-made organic cane alcohol for his process, but in the current economy, is too expensive to utilize and keep his final product within an affordable range. (we both look forward to the future where organic hemp ethyl will be readily available from cottage distillers for solvent use)

Adrien also related that alcohol seems to denature the cannabinoids and their ancillary terpenes, aromatic esthers, thiols in to an aqueous solution more thoroughly than other solvents - possibly offering a more full profile of plant constituents than petroleum-based solvents in the final substance.

He mentioned that potency numbers seem to come in very closely to BHO with his Evermelt. Even a cursory sniff of even a small portion of Evermelt tells us that there is something else brought through as well that is very aromatic. The consistency looks like sugar wax or rosen from bubble hash and can vary by strain slightly.

We discussed the fact that there is also a great benefit to using the same solvent for both the Evermelt product and the Pure Cannabis Oil that goes in to the confections, in that the material that is "quickwashed" for the Evermelt goes on to be "long soaked" for the confections and PCO for patients. This maximizes the capturing of the active compounds within the plant material and makes for a very uniform and consistent end product. (others in the industry have taken material blown with butane and used ethanol to grab the remaining active compounds for use in confectionary products and not something CC nor QC supports)

You put your residual testing on the label, why?

Transparency and attention to detail. To call it medicine, and to have it be a known entity, we need to know what is in it. Adrien made it very clear that he's a big advocate of transparency and keeping with conscientious business practices. It was never a question for him.

Residual testing, (as well as potency testing) gives a wide spectrum of results, depending on lab, and their process and equipment and Qi Concentrate's numbers vary a few hundred PPM between batches even though they use one of the most dependable labs in the state, Cascade Labs. We inquired whether he expects the 99% pure rule may become more stringent on inhalent mediums, than for their food counterparts.

Yes, changes are coming with regulation of the recreational market and some distinction between food and inhaled adulterants will be made and there will eventually be specific limits for cannabis-derived products and the various items that are consistently found in them. Evermelt has a threshold to beat of 5000ppm with it's class-3 solvent (ethanol) and it consistently remains below 700ppm.

What can be said about Qi Concentrates attention to quality or organics at the growing stage of the process?

Adrien is a past student of Oregon State University's Ornamental Horticulture program and he draws on this formal training to formulate a hydroponic growing system that uses coconut fiber as a growing medium - something he feels offers a great growing potential on a scaled out format and maintains a sustainable and compassionate alternative that is akin to using "living soil" techniques where very little refuse is created by growing medium. 22 years of horticultural experience is something Adrien has employed in his growing protocol and he's always looking for ways to improve efficiency and lessen environment impact.

He also employs a fully natural feeding/growing protocol that uses a hydro hydrid of minerals naturally derived from a pure spring that is rich is in these constituents. All of his microbial and fertilizer additives are organic and he uses a sealed indoor environment and always maintains "good neighbor practices" instead of doing things that are ideal for his bottom line. An outdoor crop is also maintained every summer and the Adrien looks forward to the extracts and fantastic flower his organic outdoor will provide due to this season's consistent sun and dry weather. Adrien refers to his sensi plants as "Qi Trees" and takes pride in his "old school" hang and cure before trimming process and only extracts cured Qi Trees.

What is on the horizon for your company and what would you like us to pay special attention to with Qi Company?

Adrien was very proud to bring up his plans to offer raw flower in dispensaries he's had close relationships with. He has a unique strain that he has bred and thinks will see positive responses from people in the OGKush fan-base. (with a cursory sniff of his flower, we think there will be plenty of GSC and LA Confidential fans that will also be very interested in this unique strain)

He is also excited to bring to market a new product for his line that is based off the very positive responses to his KEY LIME PIE EVERMELT extract and wanted to do a collaboration with another extractor to create something that has a working name we will not divulge here on the blog. After sampling this double solvent hash, we would say that it will be very well received by anyone who likes the strain and enjoys or finds benefits from BHO.

How can you follow the activities of this new company?

Adrien keeps a very low online profile and currently runs an Instagram Feed @qicopdx and has an email: info@qicopdx.com

Incomplete but Current List of QiCo Confectionary and Evermelt Products:

Edibles Malted Milk Caramel Square Coconut Cream White Chocolate Square Dark Chocolate Square Milk Chocolate Square Peanut Butter Meltaway Square Peppermint Meltaway Square Salted Meltaway Square