How to Make CBD Oil from Flower: CBD Oil Recipe

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It’s easy to make your own CBD oil at home with only 2 ingredients and just a couple of steps. But before we get started on making our own CBD oil, let’s go over the benefits of making it versus buying a high-quality CBD oil.

WHAT IS CBD OIL?

CBD oil is the extracted cannabidiol (CBD, for short) from the hemp, or cannabis plant. CBD is one of many cannabinoids found in the hemp plant, and offers different benefits than its psychoactive sister, THC.

The hemp plant contains a full-spectrum of beneficial cannabinoids, and CBD is one that is non-psychoactive and offers a host of other benefits.

CBD oil is made by infusing cannabis or hemp flower that is high in CBD content in oil to extract the beneficial cannabinoid compounds.

Many CBD oils today are made by using a CBD isolate in oil, which is quite different than the full-spectrum CBD oil we will be making with this tutorial.

CBD TINCTURE VS OIL

The main difference between CBD tincture and CBD oil is that tincture is traditionally made with alcohol, while CBD oil is made with (wait for it…) oil.

Alcohol tincture is a traditional method of extracting beneficial compounds from plants and herbs that has been used for hundreds of years. Many, many herbal tinctures are alcohol based because alcohol does an excellent job of extracting various herbal constituents (including CBD and other cannabinoids found in hemp).

An alcohol based tincture will almost always be made with the whole plant (or in the case of hemp, flowers of the plant).

CBD oil is also an extraction of the cannabinoids found in the hemp plant, but is made by heating hemp in an oil instead of alcohol. Oil is a great carrier for cannabinoids, as the flowers of the hemp contain oily resins that meld beautifully in an oil.

To confuse things further, much of the CBD industry refers to CBD oil as tincture, and you will find many CBD oils on the market today marketed as tincture.

In addition, many of the CBD tinctures (which are actually oil based products) sold on the market today are not made from full plant extractions. They are instead made with isolates so that you only receive the CBD cannabinoid and not any of the other cannabinoids that may be in the plant (like THC).

The process for making CBD oil and CBD tincture are very similar, but will yield different final products. Which you prefer is personal preference, as both will contain CBD and the full spectrum of cannabinoids available in the flower you choose to infuse.

 I personally find CBD tincture (alcohol based) to be more effective and faster acting than its oily counterpart. The oil is easier to take straight, however, as the alcohol based tincture can burn if not diluted.

In this tutorial we’ll be making CBD oil. I also have a tutorial on making CBD tincture (with alcohol).

WHY MAKE CBD OIL INSTEAD OF BUY IT?

There are several reasons you may choose to make your own CBD tincture instead of purchase it. One reason is the cost of CBD oil can be expensive, and making your own will definitely save you money.

When you make your own CBD oil, you also get full control over entourage of cannabinoids in your final product, since you get to pick the variety of hemp you infuse.

You can make sure you are purchasing high-quality, organic hemp flowers for your extraction, and read up on the cannabinoid breakdown.

When you make your own CBD oil, you’ll be creating a full-spectrum oil, which means it contains all of the cannabinoids found in that particular plant, not just CBD.

This means your final product may contain small amounts of THC, since most hemp plants do contain at least trace amounts of the psychoactive cannabinoid.

There are a bunch of other cannabinoids also found in the hemp plant (like CBG and CBN, which each offer their own unique benefits), and you can pick a plant variety that contains multiple cannabinoids for a completely customized CBD oil experience.

Not sure if making your own CBD oil is for you? I’ve tried a number of great brands, and Joy Organics is one of my favorites.

WHERE TO BUY CBD FLOWER?

There are some great online stores selling high-quality CBD flower that are perfect for this CBD oil! One of my favorites is Botany Farms, which is the brand I used for both my homemade CBD oil and CBD tincture recipes.

I was gifted the CBD flower used to make this recipe by Botany Farms.

Botany Farms specializes in CBD flower, and grows organic, small batch flowers that arrive safely stored in glass jars. The flower I received was really lovely and super fresh smelling! I highly recommend them.

HOW TO MAKE CBD OIL

To make your own CBD oil, all you need is some high-quality CBD flower and oil of your choice for infusing.

7 grams CBD flower, chopped into small bits

1 cup olive oil (or other oil of your choosing)

I used my LEVO II machine for this entire process, and it was very easy with simple cleanup. If you anticipate making lots of your own CBD oil or oil based herbal infusions, you may want to check it out!

I’ll give instructions on how to do this with the LEVO or without, so no worries if you don’t have one of these machines!

TO MAKE CBD OIL WITH A LEVO

First, you’ll need to decarboxylate your CBD flower. This is a crucial step in the process that activates the cannabinoids in the hemp and allows the CBD to be extracted into the oil. If you skip this step, your CBD will be left mostly inactive in the plant and your final product will be weak or ineffective.

Pack your flower into the herb chamber until full. Don’t over-pack it, just fill to the top. I found 7 grams fit perfectly in the chamber.

Use the activate feature on the LEVO to decarb the CBD flower. I set mine for 35 minutes at 240 degrees and it worked perfectly.

Next, make sure your magnetic stirrer is firmly in the bottom of the infusing container. Leave the stainless herb chamber in place.

Pour your oil into the infusing container and firmly secure the lid.

Set your oil to infuse for 2.5 hours at 175 degrees.

When your infusion is complete, drain the oil from the bottom of the machine and store in an airtight jar.

TO MAKE CBD OIL IN YOUR KITCHEN

To activate your CBD flower in the oven, break it into smaller pieces and then spread evenly on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or foil.

Place your flower in the oven at 220-240 degrees Fahrenheit for 30 minutes. Watch it closely to make sure it doesn’t burn (especially if you’re unfamiliar with how your oven cooks).

Warning: This WILL make your house smell like cannabis! I’ve found the LEVO doesn’t release as much odor when decarbing as doing it in the oven does.

Remove from the oven and move on to the next step.

In a small saucepan, combine your oil and decarbed flower.

Heat the mixture on LOW, checking the temperature of the oil to make sure it doesn’t get too hot. If you have a cooking thermometer, look for a consistent temperature of about 175F. Just make sure you don’t get the oil too hot – you don’t want to cook the flower or burn your oil!

Cover and infuse for at least 2 hours, but you can go longer if you like.

Once your infusion is done, remove from heat and let cool.

Strain the flower from your oil with a fine mesh strainer and a coffee filter. The oil will take a few minutes to make its way through the coffee filter. Patience, grasshopper!

Store your homemade CBD oil in a glass container.

HOW TO USE HOMEMADE CBD OIL

To take your CBD oil, start with half a dropper or ½ a teaspoon and wait an hour before taking more. Since the dosage you’re getting may not be as accurate as a storebought CBD oil, start small to find what works best for you.

Place CBD oil under your tongue and hold there until mostly absorbed for the fastest results.

You can use your CBD oil mixed in with food, make it into CBD gummies or mix up a CBD hot cocoa (try my favorite hot cocoa recipe and add 1-2 droppers before mixing well!).

Or try your homemade CBD oil in any number of topical applications. You can rub the oil directly on sore muscles, or use it to make any number of homemade CBD products, like CBD lotion bars or CBD bath bombs.

HOW MUCH CBD IS IN MY HOMEMADE CBD OIL?

Check out this handy tool to figure out exactly how much CBD you’ll be getting in your oil, so you can figure out your dosage.

My final oil was approximately 1148 mg of CBD total, which is 4.8 mg per ml or 24 mg of CBD per teaspoon of oil.

You can adjust the amount of oil or flower you use to make a stronger or weaker extraction.

DOES HOMEMADE CBD OIL HAVE AN ODOR OR FLAVOR?

Yes, your homemade CBD oil will have a cannabis smell and flavor to it. It is an extraction made from the whole plant, so like any herbal extraction, it will taste and smell like the plant it came from.

HOW CAN I FLAVOR CBD OIL?

While I don’t normally encourage consumption of essential oils, I think it’s a good option for flavoring your CBD oil. You can add a few drops of essential oil to your CBD oil to flavor it – just consider what might taste good to you with flavor of the herb! Peppermint or orange are my top choices. For every 1 ounce of CBD oil, add 4 drops of essential oil.

DOES CBD OIL CONTAIN THC?