Cannabis milk is close to legendary among home growers, and in Poland it even has its own name: makumba. This article looks at the drink itself, at what it does to you and at the ways people brew it. You will also see why cannabis milk can be an interesting alternative to smoking, and what actually happens when cannabinoids go through the stomach instead of the lungs.
What you will learn from this article
👉 What is cannabis milk?
👉 How do you prepare cannabis milk?
👉 How does cannabis milk work?
Table of contents:
Cannabis milk – what is it? 🥛
Cannabis milk is a dairy-based brew infused with cannabis, and it has a steady following among growers and home cooks across Europe. It is made mainly from the offcuts – sugar leaves, fan leaves, even stems – and it is usually simmered in full-fat milk, which gives it a grassy, nutty taste and a pronounced herbal effect. Unlike smoking or edibles made from flower, cannabis milk puts the parts of the plant that normally go in the bin to use, which makes it the cheapest thing you can do after a trimming session. The Indian drink bhang works on exactly the same principle and has been around for centuries.
There is a second classic ingredient: the resin that builds up inside a vaporizer while you use it. You drop the glass parts of your device straight into the pot and let them simmer along with everything else. Plastic and silicone components stay out of the kitchen – they are not built for boiling water.
The drink is strong, and how strong depends entirely on how much THC was in the material you threw in. Cannabis milk works because cannabinoids dissolve in fat rather than in water, so the fat content of the milk is what actually carries them. That is also why the flavour is so easy to steer: cocoa, cinnamon or a spoonful of honey will each take the result somewhere different.
Cannabis milk – effects 🥴
What cannabis milk does comes down to the cannabinoids it contains, THC above all, since they act on the body in a very particular way. The drink also carries over terpenes from the plant material used to make it.
People who drink it describe deep relaxation and a lifted mood, which is what draws in anyone looking for a way to unwind without smoking. Euphoria comes up in reports just as often. Cannabis milk tends to amplify the character of whatever plant went into the pot, so the strain genuinely matters here.
The effect profile is close to edibles. That means results that are hard to predict and a drink that can be considerably stronger than expected. Dosing is the difficult part – there is no realistic way to estimate how many milligrams of cannabinoids and terpenes ended up in a batch.
It is also worth knowing that it stirs into hemp tea well, which rounds out both the taste and the effect. The same milk works as a base for cocoa.
Cannabis milk – recipe 📜
Brewing cannabis milk is simpler than it looks. The one thing you cannot skip is the plant material. You can also add cannabis butter or any other fat that helps pull the cannabinoids out of the plant. Combine leaves and stems with full-fat milk, then keep the pot on a low flame. That process gives you a drink with an intense effect and a taste of its own, served either hot or cold. Running the leaves and stems through an herb grinder first gives you a fine, even grind, so the fat has far more plant surface to work on and fewer cannabinoids stay locked in the leftovers you strain out.
To make cannabis milk you need a handful of ingredients and a bit of patience. Here is the recipe that lets you put the drink together, built from what users report – forums being what they are, you will find plenty of competing versions.
Ingredients:
- 1 litre of high-fat milk (3% or more works best)
- Cannabis leaves and stems, the resin-coated glass parts of your vaporizer, leftover dry herb (whatever you want to use up – the more goes in, the more intense the result)
- 1/3 of a block of butter (cannabis butter works too)
Cannabis milk – how to make it? 🧑🍳
The whole process is genuinely straightforward. It does ask for patience, because cannabinoids and terpenes need time in the heat before they release and bind to the fat in the milk. So what does brewing cannabis milk actually look like?
Forums are full of competing recipes and methods, some of them elaborate. In practice, brewing cannabis milk is not complicated. The version most users, forum threads and reviews converge on goes like this:
- Heating the milk – pour a litre into a pot and warm it over medium heat until it just begins to bubble.
- Adding the cannabis – once the milk starts bubbling, add the leaves and stems. Stir thoroughly so everything is submerged.
- Adding the butter – after a few minutes of cooking, add plain or cannabis butter. Keep stirring until it has melted completely.
- Simmering – turn the heat down and cook gently for around 30 minutes. Do not let it come to a rolling boil, or a good part of the milk will cook away.
- Straining – after those 30 minutes, pour the drink through a screen or a piece of cheesecloth to catch the plant matter and fish out the glass parts.
- Serving – drink it hot, or chill it in the fridge first.
The advice you hear most often from users is to stop at one or two glasses. By all accounts the drink can be seriously potent, which is reason enough to go carefully with the portion size.
Cannabis milk is an excellent way to use up the whole plant, and thanks to the fat, the cannabinoids are absorbed well by the body. Its strength depends on the ingredients you use and on how much of them go in.
Cocoa is worth keeping in mind during cooking as well. It gives the milk a far more interesting flavour. Add it in the final stage of preparation, right at the end.
How long does cannabis milk take to work? ⌛
Effects usually turn up after around 30 minutes, though the timing shifts from person to person. In some cases the “come-up” stretches over several hours. The effect comes from THC, which is absorbed through the digestive tract.
That route makes the effects more intense and longer-lasting than smoking medical cannabis. Start with small servings and watch how your body responds before pouring the next glass. It is far less predictable than smoking or vaporization.
Cannabis milk – summary 🍀
Cannabis milk is an interesting alternative to smoking or vaporization. The taste is distinctive, and putting it together is quick and simple. On top of that, the brew uses the entire plant, including the parts that usually get thrown away. One caveat before you start: the rules differ from one country to the next. Germany and Malta let adults keep and grow limited amounts, the Czech Republic has moved in the same direction, and in Poland, Slovakia or Lithuania cannabis remains illegal outside a medical prescription.
Cannabis milk is a great way to get everything out of the plant, but since the strength is so hard to control, start with small servings and watch how your body reacts.
VapoManiak – professional vaporizer reviewer
The drink sits closest to classic edibles. Even so, it behaves far less predictably, mostly because dosing is guesswork when the cannabinoid content of the batch is anyone’s guess.
(4.7/5)