Terpenes 4/4: Humulene, Linalool & Vaporizer

Humulene has much less to do with beta-caryophyllene than the very similar names might initially suggest. Humulene is characterized by earthy, woody scents; unlike beta-caryophyllene, it lacks the dominant pungency and spiciness. Humulene tastes rather tart. If you ask a terpene connoisseur about Humulen, the association with OG Kush or also White Widow comes up immediately. The earthy arome is a classic cannabis flavor that is certainly not for everyone. It is no coincidence that contemporary breeders, especially in some states of the USA of course, focus on particularly fruity-sweet strains. These flavors are significantly more in demand in the States.

In Europe, however, cannabis strains with the earthy-woody aroma tend to be more popular, as evidenced by strains like White Widow, Sour Diesel, and even Girl Scout Cookies: These strains can be spotted in many Dutch coffeeshops, and they are being purchased. Other Humulen-rich varieties include Greenhouse Cheese, Super Lemon Haze & Headband.

Humulene, like myrcene, is found not only in the cannabis plant, but also and especially in hops. In addition, humulene is found in basil, coriander, cloves, ginger, ginseng, sage, peppermint and basil. In addition, humulene is used in organic farming as a natural insecticide.

Linalool - 197 °C

Close your eyes for a moment and think of endless lavender fields in French Provence! You don't even have to have been there to recreate the beguiling scent. Lavender stands on its own and forms one of the most characteristic scents in this lineup with alpha-pinene and limonene. The aroma of lavender is associated by many as very positive, calming, relaxing. The unmistakable, fresh-spicy taste makes itself daily in many living rooms as an essential oil in fragrance lamps or as a bath additive in the sensual bath. However, linalool has long been found not only in lavender, lemon, laurel, rosewood and birch, but also in some cannabis strains such as ChemDawg, Skywalker OG, Lavender or Headband.

Linalool as one of the less represented terpenes considered over all cannabis varieties mainly shows a relaxing, calming effect. So it is not really surprising that especially indica-dominant cannabis varieties have comparatively high linalool values.

But away from the highly regulated medicinal plant, the effective terpene is also found in coriander, nutmeg, hops, ginger, savory, cinnamon, basil, marjoram, thyme, oregano, black pepper and many other spice plants.  By the way, with the help of a vaporizer, terpenes can be specifically vaporized or intentionally left in the flower material.

We know that terpenes exert modulating influence on other cannabinoids and terpenes. Likewise, it is known, although it has not been communicated in the text up to this point, that various terpenes and cannabinoids only vaporize at a certain temperature. These vaporization temperatures are very individual and while some terpenes already vaporize around 150 °C, for other compounds this only happens at over 200 °C.

Therefore, it is easily possible to vaporize specific terpenes from flowers using the individual temperature setting of a vaporizer. Of course, this system works best if you target only the terpenes that vaporize at low temperatures. This is because it allows you to inhale the terpenes that only vaporize at higher temperatures later. The other way around, that is, if one wants to vaporize only the terpenes that become gaseous at high temperatures, one would have to either waste the other terpenes beforehand or, according to the principle just explained, inhale first those and then these terpenes throughout the day.

TERPENE 3/4: Β-CARYOPHYLLEN & Α-PINEN.