Can You Make Cannabis Mints With Tincture?
Yes. A cannabis tincture is already decarboxylated, which means the cannabinoids are active and you can stir them straight into a mint base. The real constraint is volume. Tincture is a liquid, and most mint recipes are dry or sugar based, so too much liquid turns a batch sticky, soft, or gritty. Keep added tincture under about 1 teaspoon (5 mL) per 8 ounces of base, or reduce an alcohol tincture first so you add less liquid for the same dose.
Cannabis Mint THC Content per Piece: Dose Guide
Before You Start
- A kitchen scale that reads to 0.1 g
- Silicone mint molds
- A candy thermometer for hard candy
- Your tincture, with the potency printed on the label
- Peppermint extract or food-grade peppermint oil
Pick a Base
Chocolate or candy coating. Easiest option. Melts at low heat and hides the tincture flavor well.
homemade cannabis mints recipe
Pressed sugar mints. No cooking. Powdered sugar plus a small amount of liquid, dried and pressed into tablets.
cannabis mints vs edibles potency
Hard candy. Crisp and shelf stable, but the sugar gets to 300°F and you have to time the tincture addition, so it is the least forgiving.
Sugar Free Cannabis Mints: Brands and Label Checks
Steps
- Read the tincture label and write down the potency in milligrams per milliliter.
- Multiply that potency by the volume you plan to use. A 5 mL pour at 20 mg/mL gives 100 mg total.
- Divide the total milligrams by the number of mints you want. 100 mg across 25 mints is 4 mg per mint.
- Melt 8 ounces of chocolate or candy coating in a bowl over simmering water, stirring until smooth.
- If you are using an alcohol tincture and need less liquid, pour it into a shallow glass dish and set that dish in a warm water bath until the volume drops by half. Work away from open flames with the window open.
- Move the melted base off the heat and let it cool to roughly 110°F for chocolate or 250°F for hard candy.
- Pour in the tincture and stir for a full 60 seconds so it spreads through the whole batch. Short stirring leaves hot spots.
- Add 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon of peppermint extract, or 2 to 3 drops of peppermint oil, then taste a cooled dab of the base.
- Pour the base into silicone molds and tap the tray on the counter to knock out air bubbles.
- Chill chocolate mints for 20 minutes. Let hard candy sit at room temperature for 30 minutes. Give pressed sugar mints 12 to 24 hours to dry.
- Pop the mints out and weigh three or four of them on the scale. If the weights vary, note the average and dose by weight instead of by piece.
- Write the dose per mint on a label and stick it on the storage container before you forget the math.
Pressed Sugar Variation
Whisk 1 cup powdered sugar with 1 tablespoon cornstarch. Add the tincture a few drops at a time while stirring, then add 1 teaspoon water only if the mix will not hold together. Rub the mixture through a sieve, spread it on a tray, and let it dry overnight. Press into molds with the back of a spoon and let the tablets cure another 12 hours.
Problems to Expect
- Sticky or soft mints: too much tincture. Reduce the tincture first or make more mints from the same batch.
- Grainy texture: sugar seized from liquid hitting hot candy. Add the tincture at a lower temperature.
- Uneven effects: the tincture was not stirred long enough, or the mints are different sizes.
- Crumbling tablets: not enough binder. Add water one drop at a time.
Storage
Keep mints in an airtight jar away from light and heat. Chocolate mints last about two weeks in the fridge and three months in the freezer. Hard candy and pressed sugar mints hold for several months in a cool cupboard. Refrigerate any batch that contains fresh dairy or fruit within two hours of making it, and keep the container out of reach of children and pets.