I have rubbed my own charas as I lived in Himachal for a decade. I guess charas and hashish making techniques developed with the dryer regions being better for screening and the not so dry regions being better for hand rubbed 
I remember reading somewhere ( possibilly Svoboda in the Aghora trilogy ) that in Sanskrit texts Cha = plant and Ras = juice so essentially charas in Sanskrit means juice of a plant.
Great writeup @jessethestoner I’m impressed by the knowledgeable people on OG and how dedicated and committed the this community is.
The best charas I smoked came from Magic Valley near Malana and the best hashish came from Mazar -e- Sharif.
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@globalhead . Hello brother ! 
do they age charas in any way ? Are there any specific indicators that they look for to know the best time to rub charas ?
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Fresh charas is horrible to smoke and will make you sick …but because villagers need money to stock up for winter they want to sell it as quickly as possible.
Also 1 kg charas will become 800 grams if you store it for a year.
You just look at the fields and you instinctively know at which point the plants are best for rubbing.
There is a team of people rubbing and 1 person who is called the maal comander who just takes takes it off the rubbers hands so they can keep on rubbing without having to stop to remove.
I would say ageing charas for at least 3 months is required if you want a smooth smoke without coughing and ideal is 1 year.
&
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Which do you think is a better product , Charas or sifted hash ?
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Nothing can compare to Malana super cream in my opinion but I have smoked some Morac which was called zero zero …purest shifted gear which was pretty good.
Actually it depends on many variables but both are good.
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So what exactly is it that makes Malana cream so unique ? Do you think it is the climate or the harvesting and curing technique or is it just the unique genetics of the plant itself ?
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Primarily it is the soil and the altitude which plants receive UV light …Malana soil is a bit dry since water drains of the tops pretty quick which the plants love.
Cream and super cream are rubbing techniques, for super plants are not rubbed but just touched with both opposing palms 
…it takes a long time to make and output is very less.
As far as the genetics go Malana people source the seeds from Banjar valley which is at a lower altitude.
Farmers discovered that if they used seed from Malana itself the plants were mutating as in the charas looked good but the high was absent
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To answer this question honesty I have to touch upon an aspect which is rarely spoken about.
Hash is more like a standard factory product where each batch will be the same while as charas has a very personal aspect to it wherein each piece… each ‘hand’ will be unique.
A rubber’s product will have their unique signature …for example If I know what Rob’s rub tastes like and you give me ten different pieces I will know which is Rob’s hand.
This is more pronounced in the junglee plants (plants which grow naturally) …each plant is totally different is taste and high.
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Allegedly the Melana/Malana village was not a hash making place until an Italian stumbled up the hippie trail in the 1980s & showed them how… 
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Malana doesn’t make any hash in the traditional way but I have heard this story that a westerner showed the people how to make a better product and I personally knew one of the pioneers who taught them to make oil and bubble.
I have learnt lots in the field of entheogens from travellers and I’m grateful
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I roll Hash balls all the time and hand technique does make a difference.Do the classic form a ball of sifted Keif and spread it in your hand warm it up make it flat first and then roll away you get one thing but take that same ball and flatten it out and start folding it over then fold it the other way layer at a time like folding Damascus Steel then smash it all together roll it in a ball for a bit and do it over and over for a bit keeping that ball warm.That smoke will taste much more in depth and it will burn very smooth.When you see the wave pattern in the hash ball you will know what i mean.Maintains the consistency of a warm tootsie roll for awhile
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Lovely balls! If you don’t smoke it immediately and wrap it in stretch & seal and keep it for a month at least it will keep changing and getting better.
In India in the plains when you make a chillum you take a small ball (about 1/3 of a gram) and mount it on the end of a matchstick and give fire to it until it alights and then mix into the tobacco… Yes we never smoke without tobacco.
So the heat decarbolises the ball and allows it to mix evenly.
In the mountains however people break/pinch the charas into tiniest pieces possible and then mix and smoke.
Do you smoke the charas pure??
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I keep my hash wrapped in Cellophane . I like to smoke my hash pressed into a small disk and placed on top of bowl of good Ganja.I take my lighter and i warm up the hash till it bubbles and let it settle into the herb till its almost a liquid i let it cool for a second then i combust and consume
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To me Dry Sift is the best quality, charas is killer don’t get me wrong haha I smoked some malana charas that will blow your mind
Also smoked killer hash in Morocco
But all these methods involve chemical reactions (heat, friction, cold) and it causes changes in the high/taste
Full melt dry sift is (when you do it right) 95%+ resin heads, untouched, untempered, pure.
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