Drying, Curing, and Taste

[legalizeit]

I have a plant that I did an early harvest on. Plant will be ready to harvest in two or three more weeks. I did a sample harvest about 7 days ago. Trimmed off large leaves and left smaller leaves that cover buds. In 5 days the outer leaves were dry and could be snipped away. Buds are now in brown paper bag, drying nicely and VERY aromatic. Nice sweet skunky smell. Now here is my question(s):

I sampled some before and although the taste is slightly skunky, it does not seem nearly as pronounced as it should be. Will this change as they dry more and how much more?

How much effect does curing have on taste? In about a week or so I am going to move my early harvest to a sealed glass mason jar for two weeks. Of course I will monitor daily for mildew and open the jar every day for a few hours to air out.

Lastly, how much more pronounced will the flavor get as the plants ripen more over the next few weeks?

Thanks all!

[jackel]

cure has a big impact on smell. it will taste much better after a week long cure.
Also dont leave in paper bag too long as that will make it crispy, and too fast of a dry will make it taste like lawn clippings.

[legalizeit]

Thanks. I am making sure to dry it slowly as this is what I learned here really brings out the flavor. At the rate it is drying it will be only a few days in the bags...5 days or so..tops. I monitor the inside of the bud to ensure it dries nice and slow but does not mold.