Ounce of Shake vs. Ounce of Flower: A Buyer’s Guide

When most folks picture cannabis flower, they think of whole buds harvested from the plant. While beautiful, these buds have to be picked apart or grinded before they can be consumed.  Shake, the loose flower that naturally falls to the bottom of the bag, makes it possible to skip this step. But is shake’s reputation as inferior to whole buds deserved? As it turns out, each type of flower has its place, and this guide will help you decide which to choose for each occasion. 

What is shake?

Cannabis shake is the loose bits of flower that settle at the bottom of the container. Its name likely comes from the fact that, the more your stash gets moved around, the more small pieces of your flower inevitably get shaken off. 

How is shake used?

Although shake is generally considered lower-quality than flower, it’s still well worth buying shake from a dispensary. You can:

• Add it to a pipe or joint (for the latter, we sell rolling papers, cones, and other cannabis accessories).
• Mix it in with flower that you’re decarboxylating for use in homemade edibles. (You can use ABV weed for this instead.)
• Transform it into a tincture, assuming you have as much shake by weight as your tincture recipe calls for. (You can also use ABV weed for this.)

If you don’t think you’d use shake yourself, it can also make a great gift for a weed lover looking to elevate their sessions.

Is shake the same thing as trim?

Shake and trim are different. Shake is what naturally falls from harvested and manicured buds. Trim is the sugar leaves, stems, and other bits snipped from the buds during the harvesting process.

However, some cannabis companies advertise themselves as “trim brands” while labeling their products as “shake.” Confusing, right? There’s a solution. At High Street Dispensary in Hackettstown, our friendly, knowledgeable budtenders will gladly tell you whether a product is shake or trim. We’ll also help you decide which shake options are best for your needs.

Shake vs. flower: Which should you buy at a dispensary?

Whether you should buy shake or flower depends on how you intend to consume it and your personal preferences. Here’s what to consider when choosing between shake and flower at a dispensary (or deciding that both might fit into your ritual).

What it is

Flower is the dried and cured buds of the cannabis plant. It’s covered in resinous glands called trichomes that are packed with cannabinoids and terpenes, the two naturally occurring groups of cannabis compounds that drive your experience. 

Shake is the plant material that naturally falls off flower, including trichomes, though it sometimes contains undesirable stems and leaves. Unlike whole buds, shake is composed of loose, tiny pieces that are usually ready to pack into a bowl or roll up in a joint straight from the bag. 

How it’s used

You can smoke flower or vape it in a dry herb vaporizer. You’ll need to grind it first (such as with a weed grinder from the High Street accessories line), whereas shake is already in small pieces. 

You can also use both shake and flower to produce your own edibles or make tinctures. Of course, flower will need to be ground first, and both products will need to be heated at a low temperature to activate their cannabinoids (a process known as “decarboxylation.”) 

If making your own edibles or tinctures sounds like too much effort, don’t worry! We carry a range of these products to choose from at High Street.

Cost

Shake is more cost-effective than flower, especially at higher volumes. An ounce of shake may retail for just over $100, whereas an ounce flower typically sells for $300 to $400. However, at lower weights, such as eighths (3.5 grams), the cost of whole buds and shake is generally comparable.

If you’re on a budget and buying only small quantities of cannabis, either shake or flower may fit the bill, and you can use the former to enhance the latter. If you instead prefer to buy lots of cannabis in one go, shake wins on price. 

Potency

Shake may contain stems and leaves, which reduces its overall potency (although high quality shake tends to be devoid of these.) Also, since shake is made up of smaller bits of flower that have fallen from the buds, cannabinoids and terpenes may degrade more quickly. Still, you can expect a fair amount of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and other cannabinoids in shake, since it also includes some of the plant’s resin-packed trichomes. 

For a more robust experience and a greater potential for therapeutic benefits via the entourage effect, flower is your best bet. The cannabinoids and terpenes in whole buds will still degrade over time, but generally do so more slowly. 

Learn more about cannabinoid and terpene degradation and proper storage in our guide Does Weed Go Bad? How To Tell Proper Cannabis Flower Appearance

Availability at dispensaries

Licensed dispensaries sell a vast assortment of flower in varying weights. The most common weights are 3.5 grams (an “eighth”), 7 grams (a “quarter”), 14 grams (a “half”), and 28 grams (an ounce). You may also find one-gram packages that are great if you’re newly exploring a certain cultivar. 

Shake is rarer on dispensary menus, though you may well find an ounce of shake at your local dispensary. Smaller weights, such as an eighth, are more common, but you never know until you browse the menu or ask a budtender. 

Shake vs. flower comparison table

How do you choose top-quality shake?

The best shake contains far more flower and trichomes than stems or leaves. In fact, some shake brands state outright that their products contain no stems or leaves at all. These are the highest-quality shake products you can find.

Another factor to consider when choosing top-quality shake is the cultivar, or strain. Giving this factor enough consideration may be difficult in that dispensary shake selections are often limited, meaning you have only so many cultivars to choose from. 

You can always try all the options over time and, in a weed journal, jot down how each makes you feel. If you’re looking to minimize experimentation, chat with a budtender — they’ll know which strain best suits your needs.

Curious how to choose not just shake but flower? Check out our guide to choosing quality cannabis.

Two great shake brands on the menu at High Street

At High Street, a full ounce of shake is sometimes on the menu, and when it’s not, you can often still buy that amount. When you’re shopping at a licensed dispensary in New Jersey, you can buy up to an ounce of flower in one transaction. This means that, if there are eight 3.5-gram packages of shake available, you can purchase all eight and get yourself 28 grams (an ounce). You may also find deals on ounces of shake — check our Deals page to see what’s on offer.

As for the best shake brands in New Jersey, those would be The Lid and Superflux.

The Lid

Known for its pop-top containers, The Lid offers shake that’s entirely free of stems and leaves. Each container of The Lid shake also comes with rolling papers, making a great sesh even more convenient. Options from The Lid often on the High Street menu include a full ounce of shake from the West Milford OG cultivar, named in honor of The Lid’s New Jersey roots.

Superflux

Outside its popular line of disposable vapes, Superflux also sells shake from its live resin-infused flower. Sprinkle its piney, herbaceous Lion Sap shake atop ground flower for potentially clear-headed, invigorating effects that are great for spending time with friends or going on a hike. Choose the Lemon Cherry Sherbert shake for gassy flavors and potentially full-spectrum effects that you feel from head to toe.

Shop for shake at High Street in Hackettstown

Whether you’re elevating your everyday smoking routine or concocting your own tinctures, shake may get you where you’re going, and it’s often on the menu at High Street. Visit our licensed adult-use dispensary in Hackettstown to browse our selection and get budtender support, or order ahead online for hassle-free drive-thru pickup. We’re here to help you shake the edge off.