You’ve no doubt consumed joints and blunts, your fair share of edibles, and more bowls than you can remember. So why not try something new? And when we say “new”, we mean something traditional. Discover Jamaican Vapor Chalices, the original way to vaporize weed. Get ready to enjoy smooth and tasty hits.

Whether you’re looking for a more traditional way to enjoy weed, or you’ve grown tired of your current ritual, try using a Jamaican Steam Goblet. These natural devices are the first vaporizers. Instead of burning the weed (as with joints and bongs), they use charcoal and a cutchie to release the cannabinoids and terpenes through convective heating. After explaining how to use them, we’ll show you how to make your own weed goblet and see which are the best strains to enjoy with this device.

What is a Jamaican Steam Goblet?

There are so many ways to consume cannabis. In addition to traditional methods such as bongs or edibles, vaporizers (both portable and tabletop) have come to dominate the marijuana market. The Jamaican Vapor Chalice falls under the category of traditional techniques, but it has nothing to do with other classic methods of inhaling cannabis. Why? Because it does not burn the buds, but “steams” them. We could say that these chalices were the first vaporizers. As with modern vaporizers, this method of inhaling weed releases the cannabinoids and terpenes without as many harmful byproducts as combustion.

As you probably guessed, the Jamaican steaming goblet has its origins in the Rastafarian tradition of the country for which it is named. The followers of this religion defend a more natural lifestyle, or “Ital”, which implies consuming only whole and organic foods; some Rastafarians also forgo the consumption of meat and animal products to achieve that goal. As you can see, the smokeless Jamaican Steam Goblet fits perfectly into this lifestyle. Curiously, these chalices encompass the main elements simultaneously: fire, water, air and earth.

Vapor chalices have four components:

  • Coconut: The central part of the cup is made from an empty coconut, and is similar to the chamber of a bong. Contains water to help filter the vapor coming out of the bowl, resulting in smoother hits. The coconut also serves as a “handle” to carry and use the chalice.
  • Bamboo Tubes: The steam goblet has two tubes coming out of it: the mouthpiece and the stem. Unlike most bongs, the stem and bowl sit directly above the chamber, while the mouthpiece protrudes from the side of the coconut.
  • Cutchie: This element made of clay is the equivalent of the bowl of a large bong. It’s where the weed is put, it’s located on the stem, and it separates the cannabis from the heat of the charcoal used to release the THC and other phytochemicals.
  • Gritty: This simple clay grate has many tiny holes and sits just above the bud. It serves as a platform for burning the charcoal, and prevents it from coming into direct contact with and igniting the plant material.

Now that you’re familiar with steam goblets and their components, it’s time to learn how to use them.

How to use a steam chalice

It may take a few tries to master using the vapor chalices, especially if you’ve always smoked joints. Even if you’re used to using big, fancy glass rigs, holding a Jamaican Vapor Goblet in your hands might feel strange at first. To help you get familiar with this old-school device, we’ve created a short instruction manual. Follow them to the letter to learn how to consume marijuana effortlessly in this new way:

  1. To start, fill the coconut with water. To do this, remove the nozzle from the side. He then pours some water under the opening, before reinserting the bamboo spout. Take a puff without weed. This should produce a sound very similar to bubbling from a bong. If you don’t hear it, you have put too much or too little water inside the coconut.
  2. Now you have to put the grass in the cutchie. But wait a bit. Traditional cutchies have quite large holes in the bottom that serve as connectors for the stem. For this reason, many users of these devices insert fully or partially consumed buds into them, to prevent the herb from falling into the chalice. If you prefer to grind your buds, place a large enough piece of wire mesh over the hole, before putting in your weed.
  3. When the goblet is loaded with weed, put the gritty inside the cutchie. Depending on the model you have, some cutchies have an edge that the gritty sits on, preventing it from coming into contact with the grass below.
  4. In this step, things get even less conventional. You’ve probably gotten used to pressing the button on a lighter or vaporizer before inhaling. With weed cups, you’ll have to turn your attention to the charcoal. Put in enough charcoal to fill the upper compartment of the cutchie, then hold a torch lighter close to it until it just begins to glow. When the lumps of charcoal burn steadily, the goblet is ready to use.
  5. And now comes the fun part. Place your finger over the carb hole of the coconut, and take a drag on the goblet as you would a pipe or bong. Towards the end of the puff, remove your finger from the hole. You will notice a fresh flavor, rich in terpenes and slightly vegetal; remember: you’re vaping weed, not burning it.
  6. When you’re done, you’ll need to clean the cutchie. Carefully dispose of any hot charcoal remains and vaped herb. Discard the coconut water and save the chalice for your next smoke. From time to time, remove any debris from the inside of the tubes with a set of pipe cleaners.

How to make a Jamaican steam goblet

You will have no problem finding an expertly designed chalice online. But if you want to carry out a DIY project, you can create your own goblet of steam with the following guide.

Materials

🥥 Coconut

📏 30cm piece of plastic hose or bamboo cane

🪔 Cutchie and gritty clay

🗜️ Metal or glass stem

🐝 Beeswax

🧰 Drill and bits

🔨 Screwdriver

🍳 Pyrex saucepan and jug

🖌️ Paintbrush

Instructions

  1. Purchase a metal or glass stem from a headshop that fits snugly into the bottom of your cutchie, and is long enough to dip into the water below all the holes in the coconut.
  2. Begin by drilling a hole large enough to accommodate the stem so that it sticks out from the bottom of the cutchie to the top of the coconut. Next, make another hole wide enough to fit the piece of hose or bamboo pole; pierce it halfway between the top hole and the center, or “equator,” of the coconut. Then, drill a smaller carb hole on the opposite side of the coconut, between the top hole and the “equator.”
  3. And now for the most laborious part: Using a screwdriver, carefully scrape as much of the coconut meat as possible through the wider hole you have drilled to accommodate the hose or bamboo pole.
  4. Create a bain-marie by placing the Pyrex jug inside the saucepan filled ¼ full with water. Bring the water to a simmer and melt a block of beeswax in the Pyrex jug.
  5. Now you have to insert the stem of the cutchie. We recommend buying a clay cutchie, but you can also make it by hollowing out a cylindrical piece of wood and tapering one end (this requires a lot more work).
  6. Place the hose/bamboo pole in the corresponding hole. Insert it deep enough that it is secure but not touching the water. Next, apply the wax with the brush around the insertion area, both the tube and the cutchie, to create a seal.
  7. If possible, place the cutchie in front of a fan and wait for the wax to dry.

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