EDUCATION
Concentrates
Cannabis concentrates are highly potent extracts derived from the cannabis plant. They’re produced by extracting cannabinoids like THC and CBD, along with terpenes, using methods that isolate and concentrate them into a more potent form than found in the plant itself. Common types include wax, shatter, oil, and hash. Concentrates are typically consumed by vaporizing, dabbing, or incorporating into edibles. Their potency makes them popular among medical users seeking precise dosing and recreational users for intense effects.
Types of Concentrates
Distillate
- Distillate cannabis extract oil is a highly refined concentrate derived from cannabis. It undergoes a purification process that removes impurities and isolates specific cannabinoids, typically THC or CBD, into a potent and clear liquid form. Distillation involves heating the extract to vaporize cannabinoids and then condensing them back into oil, resulting in a product with high purity and consistency. Distillate oil is versatile and commonly used in vaporizers, edibles, and tinctures due to its potency, flavor neutrality, and ease of dosing.
- Most used in vape cartages
- Solvent based extract (which means a median is run through the cannabis flower to extract its cannabinoids and/or terpenes)
- To achieve the isolation of compounds like THC into a pure, thick oil, several stages of refinement are necessary. Due to the volatile nature and differing boiling points of THC, cannabinoids, and terpenes, initial separation from the cannabis plant occurs through hydrocarbon or CO2 solvent-based extraction methods. This step extracts valuable volatile compounds while leaving behind fats, lipids, and other plant components. Further refinement is then required through winterization, a process employing solvents such as ethanol to eliminate these undesirable substances.
- CO2 extraction employs carbon dioxide to partition components, offering enhanced customization by adjusting pressure, temperature, and solvent ratios to produce diverse products such as shatter, wax, sap, crumble, and vape oil. This method excels in preserving a higher proportion of the product’s terpenes compared to distillation, leveraging the varying boiling points of terpenes for retention.
LIVE RESIN
- Live resin stands out among cannabis concentrates due to its unique process of using freshly frozen cannabis. This involves freezing the plants immediately after harvest and maintaining them in a frozen state throughout extraction. By bypassing the usual drying, curing, and trimming stages of traditional harvesting, live resin preserves the freshness and integrity of the plant’s terpenes and cannabinoids more effectively.
- Freezing the cannabis plant right after harvest preserves its trichomes in live resin, maintaining the plant’s essential terpenes, original flavors, and aromas throughout extraction and in the finished product. The entire extraction process keeps the plants at sub-freezing temperatures. Following extraction, live resin is frequently subjected to vacuum oven heating. It is commonly packaged as-is or utilized in cartridges for vape pens.
- Solvent based extract made with:
- Butane
- Propane
- Ethanol
- CO2
- Cured Resin
- The primary distinction between live resin and cured resin concentrates lies in their starting materials: Cured resin originates from dried plant material, whereas live resin is derived from plant material that is frozen immediately after harvesting
LIVE ROSIN
- Rosin is a cannabis extract produced through the application of heat and pressure: cannabis plant material is placed between heated pads in a press and compressed, effectively extracting hot oil. This method is completely solvent-free, ensuring no solvents or chemicals are involved in the rosin-making process.
- This method is widely recognized for producing a cleaner extract. Rosin has gained popularity primarily due to its superior flavor profile compared to other cannabis concentrates, attributed to its solvent-free extraction method. Its taste is notably cleaner, purer, and richer in terpenes. While rosin generally exhibits lower potency than some other extracts, its overall quality can vary depending on the initial source material used.
- Full-spectrum cannabis extract
- Flower Rosin
- Typically sourced from dried buds, mid-grade cannabis, shake, or trim, these materials are commonly used to produce rosin, known for its richer flavor compared to hash rosin.
- Hash Rosin
- It utilizes bubble hash or dry sift hash, typically resulting in a harsher experience compared to flower rosin due to the nature of hash. Depending on the specific hash employed, it can also offer increased potency.
- Curing Rosin & Why
- After extraction, rosin is frequently cured to enhance the expression of terpenes in a distinctive manner, achieve desired textures, and prolong its shelf life when stored at room temperature. The process of “curing rosin” involves placing the extract in a sealed glass container at cool or moderate temperatures for several hours to several days, allowing it to develop the desired texture.
- The primary purposes of curing rosin include enhancing terpene expression in a distinctive manner, improving shelf stability at room temperature, and diversifying textures and consistencies beyond those achievable through pressing, alone.
- Cold vs Heat Curing
- There are two primary methods for curing cannabis rosin: cold curing and warm curing, also known as heat curing. Cold curing typically yields a wet badder consistency and maximizes terpene preservation, while heat curing is employed to produce distinctive textures such as diamonds, sauce, and jam.
- Cold curing is preferred over heat curing for terpene preservation because it maintains the rosin below 70 °F, a temperature threshold at which certain terpenes may start to evaporate.
BUBBLE HASH
- Freshly harvested plants are frozen to preserve the terpene profiles. The frozen buds are put into a bath with ice and water, continuously mixed to knock off the trichome heads. The trichomes are then sorted by micron size: 70u, 90u, & 120u. The trichomes are then freeze dried to remove moister.
- In short, bubble hash is a form of hashish created through an ice water extraction process, consolidating cannabis resin glands, known as trichomes, into a solid concentration.
- It is important to note that kief and bubble hash are not the same thing. Kief refers to the dried resin glands that cover the surface of cannabis buds, appearing as a brown crystalline powder that separates from the buds in a grinder. It is distinguished from hash as the uncompressed precursor in its natural form.
FRESH PRESS
- Fresh pressed live rosin is a type of rosin that represents what state and consistency the rosin is for the consumer
- Fresh Press – “If the consumer had it right off the press”
- The rosin is immediately frozen after being pressed to preserve it consistency. It should be noted that it is required to be kept in a freezer to maintain this “Fresh Pressed” state. This will prevent the product from “buttering up” or drying out.
