We are regularly asked questions about blending terpenes. There are a number of best practices for dealing with these volatile chemicals, not to mention the sometimes unclear mathematics behind product formulation.

Ideal Ratios

Since our terpenes are highly concentrated, with no included carriers to provide any dilution, care must be taken in their handling, but in the right quantity in food, the best qualities of the flavor profiles can be enjoyed. When adding to food products, start low: a 1% or less ratio may be more than enough for a candy or beverage product, still leaving you with the ability to add more as necessary to achieve the ideal taste. Vapor products on the other hand will require ratios anywhere between 1-10%, and as always it is best to start low - adding more to provide a lower viscosity to the product.

The math behind the ratios

Calculating your target ratio for a specific volume or weight of concentrate or food ingredients can be tricky, but there are a couple of ways to attack the problem. It is important to note that 1ml of terpenes is equal to an approximate average of 0.80g. When doing large batches it is helpful to weigh it out yourself to get a confirmation of this ratio.

Method 1: Selecting a target weight of end-product. If you wish to have an end product of 100g with a 5% terpene concentration, one would require 95g of material and 5g of terpenes. It's a lot easier to use this method, but not always most practical.

Method 2: Create a formula based around initial weight of concentrate material. If you're looking to create product with a 10% ratio of terpenes to 100g of starting material, the equation looks like this:

Y = P% * X

In (sort of) English, that means Y (our starting material) is P (concentration of starting material) percent of what? We have to solve for X, which is the total volume of the end product. With a 10% terpene ratio, the concentrate is going to represent 90% of the end product.

Adding in our values, we see: X = 100 / 90% or X = 100 / 0.90.

That means that X, our target volume, is 111.11g. With 100g of starting material, one would have to add 11.11g of terpenes to the blend in order to achieve a 10% terpene ratio.

Heating a terpene mixture

Terpenes, like many other volatile chemicals, have varying boiling points - myrcene and limonene will boil off at around 160-170 degrees celsius, while beta caryophyllene will have a higher boiling point around 268 C. Best practice, if a mixture must be heated (and it often will for the sake of a lower viscosity), should be to add terpenes at the very end when the mixture is ready to be taken off heat and transferred, and blended swiftly to reduce overall exposure to higher temperatures.

Hopefully this information is helpful for some. We are available weekdays by phone and most of the time by email, or through our contact page for those with other Terpene questions.