Are You Using Terp Pearls to Save Your Sesh from Blandness?
We’ve been offering terp pearls (not to mention terp pills, marble valves, and marble caps as part of slurper sets) at Dab Nation for a while now, but we still get curious customers asking us about these tiny dab distribution devices pretty frequently. They’re a relatively new invention, even in a facet of the community that is relatively new itself. As anyone who’s stepped through our doors can tell you, we love to answer these kinds of questions. You may have heard of them as terp pearls, dab pearls, terp balls, or maybe you’ve never actually heard of them at all. But now that you’ve been introduced, here’s everything you need to know about these unassumingly useful orbs.
The Unassuming Look of Terp Pearls
If you’ve never heard of a terp pearl, you’ve likely never seen one either. They pretty much look like miniature marbles… and when we say “miniature”, we mean micro. Seriously, the average dab pearl is about 4mm to 6mm in diameter. But they need to be tiny because they’re going to have to fit in your banger’s bucket with plenty of room to move. You can often find affordable borosilicate glass terp pearls but more exotic materials are also readily available at a higher price. Our shops regularly carry ruby, opal, and sapphire varieties in a wide spectrum of colors, not to mention dab pearls with glass ornamentation such as intricate milli work. These are the perfect fashionable yet functional accompaniment to heady glass setups. Now you know what they are but you’re probably more curious about why they are. Simply put, they help to evenly distribute your oil, allowing for premium efficiency and thorough consumption.
The Science Behind Dab Pearls
The flavor improvement as a result of using terp pearls is significant, to say the least. We’re going to put our science hats on for a minute. By adding dab pearls to your bucket, you’re increasing the amount of heated surface area that comes into direct contact with your oil. Once the carb cap is added, the bucket’s interior experiences an atmospheric pressure drop which aids in full consumption without any waste. The mechanics of dab pearls are perfect for low-temperature techniques. As the pearl rapidly spins around the interior of the bucket, it moves the oil and hot air around, preventing pooling and promoting even distribution. Rather than work around the annoyance of heat getting trapped in a few select pockets of your banger, the pearls move it about for even consistency. This motion also aids in retaining the heat trapped inside your banger. Now, to bring it all back around, the reason low-temperature techniques are rising in popularity has to do with an emphasis on flavor. Since less heat is being used in the initial heating of the banger, fewer terpenes are being burned off. More terpenes mean more flavor.
How to Properly Use a Terp Pearl
So, you know what they are, you know how they work, but you still may not understand how to actually use terp pearls. We recommend dropping your terp pearl (or even a couple terp pearls) into your banger prior to heating it. You could drop them in afterward, but it risks cooling your oil, thereby canceling out the heat-retaining edge you’re trying to achieve in the first place. When you heat your banger, make sure to evenly heat all of the surface area, including the area of your banger where your dab pearls are at rest. When the temperature’s cooled down to your preference, drop your wax, cap your banger and when you take your draw, the terp pearls will fly into motion, circling through your banger and distributing the oil. You’ll need to be using a carb cap compatible with terp pearls to properly get them moving. A spinner cap, offers a perfect choice with directional airflow control that propels the tiny marbles into motion.
Keeping Those Pearls Cleansed
Your terp pearls require similar maintenance to your bangers and inserts. You can swab them down with your trusty Dab Nation Dab Swabs after each use or, if they’re starting to chazz, you can bathe them in some Adam iLL iLLcohol for a solid 30 minutes. If using the latter cleaning method, make sure to give your pearls enough time to properly cool. Otherwise, the rapid shift from heat to cool iso could subject your dab pearls to thermal shock and lead to stress cracks. It’s worth noting that the opal, ruby and sapphire varieties do a much better job at handling heat than the borosilicate glass varieties, so the extra investment pays for more than an aesthetic.
Don’t let their tiny size fool you… terp pearls can make big changes to the quality of your sesh. They give your flavor a boost and make it easier to enjoy low temperature techniques. And they come in such a wide variety of colors and designs, you’ll have no problem pairing them up with your heady glass. Without terp pearls, your banger just feels empty inside.
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