What Is Shake? When Pre-Ground Flower is the Right Choice

Many folks love the ritual of grinding their own weed. But if you prefer to skip that step, have too much to grind at once, or if working with a grinder hurts your hands, Shake might be the right product to try. Get to know what shake is, the difference between shake and pre-ground flower, and your shopping options at The Travel Agency.

What is shake?

Shake is a slang term that describes loose pieces of bud that have fallen off the flower in a bag. It’s often used to make pre-rolls.

You may see shake for sale in a dispensary in eighths, quarters, halves, and ounces.

Shake vs. trim vs. pre-ground flower

Shake and pre-ground weed differ by an important technicality. Shake is flower that has broken off whole buds naturally due to handling, while pre-ground flower is whole buds that have been intentionally ground down prior to packaging and sale. You may hear the terms used interchangeably in dispensaries, but it’s good to know that there’s technically a difference.

Shake is also different from trim. Shake is cannabis flower that has come loose, while trim is made up of different parts of the plant that are purposely removed during the trimming process. Trim often contains other parts of the plant as well, like bud tips and sugar leaves.

When should you choose pre-ground flower?

There are a few reasons you may choose to buy a bag of ground flower over whole buds. If you’re a regular smoker and you want a large amount of cannabis flower for a lower price than whole flower, pre-ground flower is a good option.

If you want to quickly smoke up, pre-ground weed eliminates the need to have a grinder on hand. You can pour the flower into a cone or lay it out on paper to roll into a joint quickly and easily.

Uses for ground flower

It’s helpful to have cannabis shake if you’re traveling around New York City and don’t want to bring your entire smoking setup from home with you. For that reason, a pre-ground flower is also a good option for dry herb vaping.

Trying out homemade edibles, topicals, or tinctures? Pre-ground flower makes it easy to decarboxylate your flower before infusing it, without the need to prepare all that plant material yourself.

Pros and cons of pre-ground flower

Pros of pre-ground flower

Cost-effective: Pre-ground flower is typically cheaper than whole bud gram for gram, making it a wallet-friendly option for someone who likes to smoke on a budget. Many dispensaries will run deals on pre-ground flower, allowing you to get a larger quantity (like a half ounce or an ounce) for less money than whole flower.

Convenient. Pre-ground weed comes ready to use. You can fill a cone, roll a joint, pack a bowl, or make edibles without needing to grind it up. Transferring ground flower from the grinder to the bowl can get messy, and pre-ground flower removes a step from the process.

Flexible. Pre-ground flower still contains the same trichomes as whole bud, which is where your favorite cannabinoids and terpenes live. This means it’s still good weed, just not in familiar flower form.

Cons of pre-ground flower

It may be less potent. Cannabis flower is best stored in its whole form. As a result, the pre-ground flower might lose some potency over its lifespan from processing to packaging to smoking. Similarly, pre-ground flower’s flavor may diminish faster than it would in whole flower form.

It may be difficult to handle. Pre-ground flower comes in pretty sizable quantities. If you drop the bag, all that ground bud can scatter, and it would be quite difficult to clean up.

Shopping for pre-ground flower at The Travel Agency

Old Pal’s Ready to Roll kits are available at The Travel Agency locations in Union Square, Downtown Brooklyn, and Fifth Avenue. Available in Sour Melons and Galactic Goo cultivars (AKA strains), these half-ounce kits contain everything you need to roll on the go, including pre-ground flower, hemp rolling papers, and crutches. Notably, Old Pal packages sungrown pre-ground flower, not shake, in its kits.

At The Travel Agency’s flagship Union Square location, you’ll also find Toast’s pre-ground infused flower in the Royal Mango Gelato and Wedding Cake strains. Looking for something lower in THC? Toast’s Reserve 1:1 THC:CBD pre-ground flower is available at our Fifth Avenue location. Toast is known for grinding its flower coarsely and infusing it with premium concentrate — a great combo for getting exactly where you want to go.

Also lower in THC are Hepworth’s Barnyard High Test and Mango Grape Mimosa pre-ground cannabis, both available at our Downtown Brooklyn location. With THC ranges of 19% to 23%, Hepworth’s shake is especially beginner-friendly for use with your first pipe or one-hitter. As with Old Pal, all Hepworth cannabis is sungrown.

Frequently asked questions about pre-ground cannabis

Do pre-ground cannabis and shake get you as high as flower?

Pre-ground cannabis and shake occasionally get you as high as flower. More often, though, flower is more potent than shake and pre-ground cannabis.

Does shake need to be ground?

No, shake does not need to be ground. Although shake is different than pre-ground cannabis, the loose pieces of bud comprising it are typically small enough to be immediately ready for rolling up (or lighting up) and enjoying.

Does pre-ground cannabis lose its potency?

Yes, pre-ground weed loses its potency over time, as does all cannabis. However, pre-ground bud may lose its potency more quickly than flower since more of its surface area is exposed to the air. This exposure can lead to pre-ground weed drying up more quickly than whole flower. Learning how to store cannabis at home can help you preserve your products’ potency.

How should pre-ground flower be decarboxylated?

Pre-ground cannabis flower should be decarboxylated the same way as whole flower. In fact, grinding whole flower is a key step in decarboxylating it, and decarboxylation is a key step in making your own edibles.

Pre-ground cannabis is worth it for the right occasion

Shake and pre-ground cannabis flower are two different products, even if you hear both terms used for the same thing. There’s undeniably a time and a place for both products, depending on your goals. Both are affordable and flexible, and both remove a step from your smoking process. Curious about trying pre-ground flower? Ask a budtender on your next visit to The Travel Agency.