🌿 How to Preserve Cannabis Aroma and Flavor: Terpene Degradation Explained | UKHTA420

🔬 Terpenes and Their Boiling Points

For example, the terpene 🍋 Limonene has a boiling point of 177°C (350°F).

The boiling point is the temperature at which a compound transitions from liquid to gas. However, don’t assume that terpenes won’t evaporate at lower temperatures.

👉 If you can smell your cannabis flowers, that’s already terpene evaporation happening.

A study (Repka et al., 2006) showed that terpene stabilization (the point where evaporation stops) occurs at +4°C (39°F). You can even try a simple experiment: place aromatic herbs or cannabis in the fridge for a few hours. After cooling, the smell will be almost gone — because the evaporation process slows dramatically.

⚠️ Most terpenes stop actively evaporating at temperatures below +15°C (59°F).

🌡️ Why Growers Lose Up to 40% of Terpenes

According to research (Boveda, Jed Walker), most growers lose up to 40% of terpenes in the first week of drying and curing!

This is why cannabis flowers should be dried at relatively low temperatures (18–24°C / 64–75°F) to minimize terpene loss.

🚫 But avoid freezing your buds. At sub-zero ❄️ temperatures, water molecules crystallize, and after thawing, they accelerate degradation of valuable compounds.

🪴 Terpenes Start Evaporating Immediately

Cannabis plants start losing terpenes right after harvest. And no humidity packs (even Boveda) can restore the natural terpene profile once it’s gone.

👉 If your buds are over-dried, rehydration may restore some moisture, but the original terpene content cannot be artificially replaced.

📉 Long-Term Storage Losses

Another study (Bueno et al., 2022) showed that during storage of cannabis flowers for over 127 days, the loss of active compounds ranges between 18% and 34.3%, depending on conditions.

The final nail in the coffin for terpene content is 🫧 oxygen.

Terpenes are hydrocarbons.

Terpenoids are their oxygenated derivatives.
All oxidation processes accelerate in contact with oxygen, which makes airtight, oxygen-free storage the most effective way to preserve cannabis aroma and potency long-term.

🧪 Bonus Fact: Determining Flower Age

By analyzing the ratio of certain compounds in cannabis flowers, experts can even estimate the age of the product, since terpene degradation happens at a relatively stable rate over time.