Cannabis · Infusion · Tool

Cannabis Infusion Guide

Match the starting material to the right fat, pick a method, run the math. Flower, concentrate, AVB — coconut oil, butter, MCT, ghee — Magical Butter Machine, Levo 2, or a pot on the stove. All of it here.

On this page

Decarb: the step that makes infusion work
The fats — and what to use when
Starting materials → fat pairings
The three methods
Infusion calculator

Decarb: the step that makes infusion work

Raw cannabis is not psychoactive. The cannabinoid in fresh flower is THCA — a slightly larger molecule with a carboxylic acid group attached. Smoking or vaping cannabis applies enough heat to break that group off in real time, converting THCA to THC. When you eat it, you have to do that conversion yourself before the infusion step.

This is decarboxylation. Skip it and your edible won't get you high. Over-do it and you degrade THC into CBN (sedating) and eventually into nothing.

Flower — Decarb

240°F / 115°C · 40 minutes

Grind coarsely. Spread thin on parchment-lined sheet pan. Cover with foil to trap terpenes. Oven at 240°F for 40 minutes. Let cool before handling.

Kief — Decarb

240°F / 115°C · 25 minutes

Concentrated trichomes decarb faster than whole flower. Same temp, shorter time. Use a small oven-safe dish, cover with foil.

AVB — Already Decarbed

Skip decarb

Already Vaped Bud has been heated past decarb temps in your vape. Do not re-decarb — you'll cook off what's left. Go straight to infusion.

Rosin / Hash / Concentrate

220°F / 104°C · 20–30 minutes

Solventless concentrates (rosin, hash, dry sift) benefit from a gentle decarb. Distillate and RSO from dispensaries are already decarbed — check the label before you heat them again.

Why terpenes matter here

Terpenes start evaporating at 310°F. The 240°F/40-min protocol stays well under that. Hotter decarb (300°F+ shortcuts you'll see online) converts THCA faster but strips the terpenes that shape the experience — myrcene, limonene, beta-caryophyllene, linalool. You'll end up with a flatter edible.

The fats — and what to use when

Cannabinoids are fat-soluble. You need a fat to carry them. Not all fats are equal — saturation level, melting point, and flavor profile all matter.

Coconut Oil

~92% saturated fat · solid at <76°F

The workhorse. Highest saturated fat content of common cooking oils, which makes it the most efficient cannabinoid carrier. Solid at room temp — good for capsules, gummies, baked goods. Mild coconut flavor integrates into most recipes.

Best for: flower, AVB, hash, kief, most recipes

Butter

~63% saturated fat · solid at <90°F

Lower cannabinoid-binding efficiency than coconut oil because of the water content — real butter is only ~80% fat. Best clarified (ghee) for infusion. Flavor is unmatched for baked goods. Browns easily — watch the heat.

Best for: cookies, brownies, savory cooking, anything butter-based

MCT Oil

~90% saturated fat · liquid at room temp

Medium-chain triglycerides from coconut. Liquid at all normal temperatures. Absorbs faster than coconut oil — good for sublingual tinctures where you want onset in 15–30 min instead of 60–90. No flavor of its own.

Best for: sublingual tinctures, salad dressings, capsules, coffee

Ghee (Clarified Butter)

~100% fat · solid at <85°F

Butter with the milk solids and water removed. Infuses more efficiently than regular butter because all of it is fat. Nutty flavor. Higher smoke point. Traditional for cannabis preparations in South Asian cooking (bhang).

Best for: Indian cooking, high-heat sautéing, anyone who wants butter flavor with better potency

The simple rule

Higher saturated fat = more efficient binding. Coconut oil and MCT oil top the list. Butter is less efficient per tablespoon but brings flavor to baked goods. Olive oil and other unsaturated oils work but are the weakest carriers — save them for when flavor is non-negotiable.

Starting materials → fat pairings

What you have in hand dictates what to make. This table is the short version of everything above.

Starting material	Best fat	Why
Flower (fresh)	Coconut oil, butter	High-efficiency carrier + full terpene profile preserved in oil
AVB (Already Vaped Bud)	Coconut oil, MCT	Depleted material needs maximum binding efficiency to be worth it
Kief / Hash	Coconut oil, ghee	Concentrated starting material, premium binding, traditional for hash
Rosin / Live Rosin	Coconut oil, MCT	Solventless concentrate — pair with clean fats to preserve terpenes
Distillate	MCT oil	Pre-decarbed, high potency, flavorless — MCT is the blank-slate carrier
RSO (Rick Simpson Oil)	Coconut oil, MCT	Thick, pre-decarbed, hard to dose — dilute into oil for consistent tbsp math

The three methods

Same goal, three different tools. Pick based on what you own, how much time you have, and how much smell you want in your kitchen.

Magical Butter Machine (MB2e)

2–8 hours · automated

Set it and leave it. Built-in heater and stirrer cycles through infusion programs. Best hands-off method for batch infusion. 2-cup minimum, 5-cup maximum capacity.

Temp

160°F butter · 160°F oil

Time

2 hr (butter) · 4 hr (oil)

Capacity

2–5 cups

Retention

~80–90%

Add decarbed cannabis + fat to the machine. Use 1 oz flower per 2 cups fat as a starting ratio.
Add 1 tbsp sunflower or soy lecithin per cup of fat. Improves emulsification and absorption.
Select "Oil" or "Butter" program — temps are preset, no guessing.
Machine runs 2–4 hours. Stirs and heats automatically.
Strain through cheesecloth or the MB strain bag into a jar. Squeeze everything out.
Store in a sealed jar in the fridge. Keeps 60 days refrigerated, 6 months frozen.

Levo 2

1–4 hours · automated · low smell

Different philosophy than the MB — no stirring, no blending, just gentle circulation through a perforated pod. Best for small batches and keeping your kitchen from smelling like cannabis for three days. Oil comes out cleaner with no plant material to strain.

Temp

160°F / 71°C

Time

2 hours

Capacity

16 oz reservoir · ~11g per pod

Retention

~70–80%

Load decarbed cannabis into the pod. Max ~11g per pod — pack firmly but don't compress to concrete.
Fill reservoir with fat. 1.75 cups coconut oil for a standard run.
Set temp 160°F, time 2 hours. Press start.
No stirring needed. The machine cycles oil through the pod.
When finished, lift the pod out. No straining needed — oil is clear.
Pour into storage jar. Fridge 60 days, freezer 6 months.

Running AVB in a Levo

AVB is the best use case for Levo 2. Pack 11g per pod, run 160°F for 2 hours, two pods per batch into 1.75 cups coconut oil. Retention from AVB varies 30–50% of original potency depending on your vape temp — the math in the calculator below uses 45% as a default. Your first batch is a calibration exercise. Test a small serving and adjust from there.

Double Boiler (Stovetop)

3–4 hours · hands-on · full smell

The method that requires zero specialized gear. A pot, a heat-safe bowl, water, and a thermometer. Most flexible for odd batch sizes. Most smell. Most attention required — you can't walk away for long stretches.

Temp

160–180°F / 71–82°C

Time

3–4 hours

Capacity

Whatever fits your pot

Retention

~60–75%

Fill a large pot with a few inches of water. Bring to a low simmer.
Place heat-safe bowl or smaller pot on top — water should not touch the bottom of the inner vessel.
Add decarbed cannabis + fat to the inner bowl. 1 cup fat to 1 oz flower starting ratio.
Stir every 20–30 minutes. Never let temperature exceed 180°F — use a candy thermometer.
Maintain for 3–4 hours. Add water to the lower pot as it evaporates.
Strain through cheesecloth into a storage jar. Press firmly to extract every drop.

Temperature discipline is everything

The lower pot's water keeps the infusion bowl from exceeding 212°F (water's boiling point). That's the safety floor. But THC starts degrading around 220°F and terpenes start flashing off at 310°F. Keep the fat temperature between 160–180°F — not higher. The slower infusion is the better infusion.

Slow cooker alternative

A slow cooker on "low" typically runs 170–200°F — workable, but check yours with a thermometer first. Many modern slow cookers run too hot. If yours stays below 190°F on low, it's functionally equivalent to a double boiler with fewer dishes. Same 3–4 hour timing.

Infusion calculator

The math on your batch. Enter what you're starting with, pick the method, and see what you'll end up with. Every output below updates as you type.

Tool

Batch Potency Calculator

Numbers are estimates. Actual potency depends on your flower's THC%, your decarb quality, and your method's real-world retention — which nobody can measure exactly without a lab test.

Starting material Use the THC% from your dispensary label.

THC percentage Auto-filled from starting material. Override with your actual label.

Amount of material In grams. 1 oz = 28g. 1/8 oz = 3.5g.

Fat / carrier Affects binding efficiency slightly.

Volume of fat (cups) 1 cup = 16 tbsp = 48 tsp = 237 ml.

Method Retention varies by how well you hit temp and time.

Target dose per serving (mg) 5–10 mg rec · 50–100 mg+ medical / tolerance.

Decarb quality How well THCA was converted to THC.

Potency per tablespoon

—mg THC / tbsp

Total batch

— mg

Per teaspoon

— mg

Per cup

— mg

Servings at target

—

The only rule that matters

You can always take more. You cannot take less. Start with half your calculated target dose, wait two hours before considering another bite. 11-hydroxy-THC (the metabolite from eaten cannabis) is stronger and longer-lasting than inhaled THC. There's no undo.

What the numbers assume

Binding efficiency varies 60–95% depending on fat, method, time, and temperature.
Retention percentages in the method dropdown are averages from home-user reports — not lab-measured.
AVB default (10% THC) assumes 22% flower vaped at typical dry-herb vape temps retaining ~45%. Your retention may be 30–50% depending on vape temp and session length.
Store-bought distillate and RSO are pre-decarbed — keep the decarb dropdown on "Pre-decarbed" for those.
Test your batch. The only way to know real potency is to start with a small serving, wait 2 hours, and adjust from there. The calculator gets you in the right neighborhood — your body confirms the math.