What Are Cannabis Concentrates?
Did you know that when you smoke cannabis, you consume a lot of additional plant matter that doesn’t contribute to your high? A lot of people utilize cannabis concentrates to bypass that.
Cannabis concentrates are considered to be the “purest” form of cannabis. They’re often present as a sticky or gooey substance resembling honey or butter. By placing the flower through a concentration process, it removes any remaining plant matter thus isolating the cannabinoid and terpenes. The goal of this is to keep all of the primary elements of the flower intact: potency, aroma, and flavor. Flower on its own is said to produce 10-15% THC while concentrates are known to produce between 50-90%. (That’s one spicy meatball!)
How Do Ya Get the Goo Out? (How Cannabis Concentrates Are Made!)
While there are more ways to cook up a meatball, (ergo: extract some cannabis concentrate) we’re going to focus on the primary two: solvent-based and solventless extractions.
Solvent-based extractions involve the use of one), the flower and two), some sort of chemical solvent! These can include: propane, butane, ethanol, or carbon dioxide. With the help of a specialized device made for exactly this process, you take the chemical solvent and attempt to dissolve the plant bits! Then you CAREFULLY extract the remaining cannabinoids and terpenes. Let’s keep the solvent-based extractions in the lab, yes? Yes! This can be quite dangerous and involves certain equipment to perform the operation efficiently.
Solventless extractions cut out the use of harmful chemicals and instead opt in the use of applied pressure, filtration, or temperature to extract the cannabinoids and terpenes! The most common solventless extraction methods include: flash-freezing, ice water agitation, dry sifting, or a heated press. While these methods are all certainly safer, we recommend further research into these methods before experimentation!
Why Concentrate on Concentrates?
If you’re looking for a powerful punch to your potent pack – look no further! Even in its minimal forms, cannabis concentrates still contain a higher average of THC than its counterparts. Some argue that utilizing concentrates produces a much more impactful effect than traditional forms of cannabis. Users that are browsing the scene and looking for a smokeless high, you’ve come to the right place! Concentrates are super vestile and come in a wide variety of forms. Easily integrated into most recipes, cannabis concentrates make especially potent edibles!
Common Ground on Concentrates: Top 7 Types!
Want to include image of each concentrate beside it. – Marley
- Hash Oil: This concentrate is made using a solvent-based extraction process, primarily butane, and is honeycomb-like in appearance! Hash oil is consumed via dabbing!
- Fun Fact: Dabbing is the utilization of heat to dissolve various types of concentrations. They’re typically inhaled through the use of a dab-pen, dab-kit, or an e-rig.
- Wax: This one’s all in the name! With a texture similar to actual wax, it can vary between hard to soft textures. The consistency of wax can be flakey or more creamy in consistency. Wax is consumed via an oil or dab-rig.
- Shatter: Shatter is called that because of its glass-like appearance that seems to crack or, “shatter” when broken apart. It’s typically made using a solvent-based extraction process like butane. While users often speculate that shatter is more potent of a high, that isn’t always the case. The primary distinction between it and wax is 1) the ease of use, wax is so much more pliable, and 2) purely cosmetic, shatter is hard and transparent in structure.
- Crumble: This one is more honeycomb-like in texture, and is just a little more crumbly than wax. Perfect to sprinkle on top of a bowl or joint, crumble is an ideal for someone who is new to cannabis concentrates! They’re typically lower in potency than its wax or shatter counterparts.
- Live Resin: Live resin is formed by flash-freezing the cannabis flower then running it through a solvent-based extraction process to obtain the terps and cannabinoids! This incredibly sticky mass needs to be handled utilizing tools; it often comes out somewhere between a wax or a sauce. Cannabis users LOVE live-resin because its flavors and aromas closely resemble the original flower.
- Rosin: Is made via a solventless extraction process! It uses heat and presume to condense then collect the hot oil from the flower. Rosin can be made in minutes, making it one of the most efficient ways to extract the cannabinoids and terps. It’s commonly smoked via dab or dab-rig.
- Budder/Butter/Batter: Budder, (or one of its well known variants) is named as such because of its butter or frosting-like appearance! It’s typically made using solvent-based extraction processes and is green-pale yellow in color. You can consume budder using a dap-pen or kit!
Let’s Sum it Up!
There are dozens of cannabis concentrates and these are just a few of the most well known types! Concentrates are consumed via a dabber, or dab-kit. We do recommend checking out our blog post: Let’s Dabble in Dabs; There’s Room For Vapes, Too for the essentials on how to get the most out of your dabbing experience! There’s a pretty nifty guide on how to use those tools, too!
These concentrates pack a powerful punch of THC potency, making them ideal for seasoned stoners that are looking to elevate their current high. Don’t worry, baby stones – we’ve got ya covered, too. If you’re new to cannabis concentrates, we recommend checking out crumble. It’s lower THC content and malleable texture make it the ideal starter, or even additive, to your current cannagame.
If you’re looking for a purely powerful cannabis experience, concentrates are the best way to go!
