Small pieces of cannabis flower that were once part of larger buds. Shake usually falls off buds when handling them or when they get jostled around in packaging. It can be used by producers to make pre-rolled joints. 

“Is this joint made with shake or trim?”

“I like to add kief to my shake to up the potency.”

The pros and cons of shake

Shake is cannabis flower that has naturally broken down through handling. It’s small parts that have come off of larger buds. For the average consumer, shake collects at the bottom of your stash, which you can also use to make joints. Convenience is the real benefit of shake—you can put it in a joint without having to grind it down. However, it is thought to be lower in quality. 

If shake includes kief that also fell off of buds then the shake will likely be potent. Shake is usually of lower quality because it’s the last to go from your stash and has had the longest time to dry out and degrade. 

Difference between shake and trim

Trim is what gets trimmed off cannabis buds after harvesting—it is mainly the resinous tips of buds, but sugar leaves, stems, and some chunks of flower might make their way into trim depending on how it was trimmed. 

Shake is what falls off in your jar or bag after buds have been handled over time.