Are you one of those stoners that keeps their dab rig in the center console? We know your type – work, gym, beach, family function, kid’s birthday party, doesn’t matter. You’re dabbing in your car while everyone wonders where Uncle Matt went. Exhilarating and necessary as car dabs may be, they’re a huge pain in the ass. From finding a power source for your e-nail, to the dangers of using a torch in an enclosed space (please don’t ever do this); on-the-go glass use has historically been reserved for the bravest and most heady of connoisseurs.
G Pen changed the narrative in 2019 with the launch of their flagship Connect, the first portable and self-contained concentrate vaporization product on the market at the time. With the launch of Hyer two weeks ago, G Pen takes their classic proprietary technology one step further with a dual-use, battery-operated vaporizer that works for dabbing and dry herb vaping (tank sold separately). Besting its predecessor—the original G Pen Connect—Hyer boasts a 6,000 mAh lithium ion battery versus Connect’s 850 mAh, in addition to the available dry herb tank attachment. Hyer’s sleek appearance and easy-to-use interface offers safe, consistent heat at five different temperatures and time settings and more than enough muscle to produce thick, billowing clouds.
Courtesy of G Pen
The Hyer Experience
My coworker comes over to aid in the Hyer review process and we chit-chat about work for approximately 26 seconds before he busts out a thick, stout piece of purple-rimmed glass and some freshly acquired Cookies and Cream hash rosin by Kache, a Dank Czar brand. I unzip Hyer’s aesthetic AF hemp storage case and pull out the direction card. It’s easy enough to follow: select temperature, select time, and press start. With only three buttons and five small LEDs to denote selections on the 2”x4” battery pack, it’s pretty hard to mess up. I slip the 14mm male glass adapter into the joint, remove the magnetic, ceramic-lined cap and load the goods into the quartz tank with the included stainless steel tool. The temperature is set to turquoise at 572 degrees Fahrenheit (each of the five different temperature settings correspond to a color on the LED display). I press the start button twice, and wait 15 seconds for the beep telling me my dab is ready.
I blissfully inhale the thick, milky cloud of vapor blossoming in the glass chamber and keep inhaling, again and again, until my 45 second timer expires and the half gram of hash rosin is all but cashed. The last hit tastes as good as the first.
I sit back for a few minutes, eyes half shut, and switch out the concentrate tank for the ceramic-lined dry herb tank. I bump up the temperature to the yellow setting of 410 degrees F, and wait 25 seconds for the beep. Clean, light, and herbaceous, the taste was spot on, but not as intense as I would’ve hoped for. I can’t say with certainty I’d spend the extra $50 on this attachment. It does the job, but dabbing is truly where Hyer shines.
Courtesy of G Pen
The Review
Hyer is stoner convenience at its finest, with many pros and few, if any, cons. The first thing you’ll notice about the pieces is their weight. The housings are constructed from anodized aluminum and the battery pack, quartz tank, even ceramic-lined concentrate cap all feel substantial in the hand. The cord is a thick braided cable with large magnetic ports which easily snap in with a satisfying, weighty clack. It’s somewhat akin to closing the door on a Mercedes, you feel like it’s made to last. I can’t comment on the actual longevity or durability, however, G Pen offers a two-year limited warranty for defective units with product registration should things go south.
Hyer’s greatest strength lies in the robust battery. Offering approximately 25 sessions on a single charge, this beast has the juice to generate the thick, flavorful puffs we crave while accurately controlling the temperature so those terpenes can shine. It takes a standard (and included) USB-C charger, like the one for your MacBook, and can fully charge in about two hours.
There are five heat settings for concentrates, ranging from 482 to 842 degrees F; and the dry herb tank, ranging from 356 to 428 degrees F. My one issue with the concentrate temperature settings is that I wish there was a setting between 482 and 572 degrees—that’s a big jump and my sweet spot is typically right around 500. I wouldn’t recommend the highest concentrate setting for consumption, but I did use it to burn off the leftover residue. Clean up is a breeze, just make sure you have Q-tips on hand like you would for a typical banger and wait 2-3 minutes before swabbing.
A quirky detail I love? The concentrate cap has two tiny holes the dab tool can screw into, creating a little handle either on the side or top of the cap. Overall, Hyer is a great addition to any dabbers arsenal. The power combined with portability make for a winning product and it looks good, too. Even if you don’t feel the need to dab on a hike or parked in your grandma’s driveway on Christmas, dabbing doesn’t get any easier than this.
If any cannabis lover had all the money in the world, their house would be full of all of the many weed accessories that are now available in the 21st century. The innovation that is now behind the cannabis industry is booming and, consequently, there are a plethora of exciting, strange and beautiful products.
The rosin press, a device that allows the user to create their own potent cannabis concentrates, is one of the more advanced accessories that a weed lover can buy. But in the capitalist world we live in, with thousands of new products coming out every week, it’s hard not to wonder: is it actually worth it? Should you bother buying a rosin press when the heat and pressure from a pair of hair straighteners could – theoretically – do the same job? Let’s find out.
What is a Rosin Press?
Don’t stress, the cannabis industry has so many random devices and tools that it’s not hard to get lost in them all. What ever happened to the days of a gram of bud and a lit joint, eh? Well, times have changed. There are now vapes to unlock the flavorsome terpenes and potent effects of weed, as well as edibles if you’d rather not inhale anything at all. But there is also something else, an industrial level rosin press that allows you to unlock the world of cannabis concentrates.
This device comes in many shapes and sizes, but it is worth noting that they are often large – definitely too large to take around in your pocket. Some are so big that you probably wouldn’t even be able to pick them up at all without some help. Remember – rosin press’ use heat and pressure to turn cannabis buds into concentrates.
How Does it Work?
Whilst a rosin press might look like a highly advanced and complex machine, it actually is pretty simple. The press has two slabs of metal that are heated to a certain temperature. These two slabs then press together – with the cannabis buds or hash between them – and eventually this results in a batch of concentrates, such as rosin or wax. It is important to remember that concentrates can be super sticky, so placing the cannabis in some baking paper before placing it on the machine is essential. This way, when the process is over, you can unfold the paper, slowly scrape out the wax and enjoy it. The common rosin press is powered by either pneumatic, hydraulic or manual power.
Pneumatic Rosin Press
This type of device uses air or gas in order to create pressure. A pneumatic rosin press is usually bigger as it needs an air compressor, but it usually has a higher yield. This is because air pressure can work quicker than water pressure.
Hydraulic Rosin Press
Hydraulic powered machines usually come smaller and more portable. These use heated liquid in order to create the pressure. The issue is that the yield can be lower with these machines.
Manual Rosin Press
This type of device is the simplest. It allows the user to use their own force to press the cannabis. These rosin press machines are the easiest to use and usually the most portable.
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Cannabis Concentrates
A key factor to consider when debating whether to purchase a rosin press is whether you actually want to create cannabis concentrates. For some people, the idea of consuming a 40-70% THC product is close to a dream. For others, a 10-15% THC joint or vape hit is potent enough. Concentrate and its strength is not for everyone. NIH writes:
“Marijuana concentrates have very high levels of THC. Solvent-based products tend to be especially potent, with THC levels documented at an average of about 54-69% and reported to exceed 80%, while non-solvent based extraction methods produce average THC levels between 39-60%”
A rosin press is just one way of creating these sorts of substances, there are many other ways that involve both solvent and non-solvent solutions. Solvent methods use CO2, alcohol or hydrocarbons. Whereas non-solvent methods can use ice water, sifting or the rosin press (pressure and heat).
Types of Concentrate
There is a wide range of cannabis concentrates that exist in the world, and many of them seem like they are just the same substance but with a different name. Nonetheless, people find strict differences in each of them. Here are some of those:
Cannabis concentrates – if purchasing from a dealer – can cost you anywhere from $50-150. The market is wide open, and often many buyers don’t know how much they should be paying. This is why many cannabis fanatics are considering purchasing a rosin press and making the concentrates themselves. If you’re one of those people, then let’s take a look at the average price of a rosin press. To be brutally honest, finding a device that costs less than $300 will be a stretch, with some larger ones easily surpassing $1000. Remember, these are industrial-quality machines. However, there are smaller ones – such as the Nectar Pollen Pincher – that acts as a great beginners rosin press.
If you think of it mathematically, the purchase of a rosin press only really makes sense if you’re going to use it reasonably frequently. The cost of a device can be around 5 times the cost of a gram of concentrate – at the least – which means that you’ll be starting in a deficit but can quickly reach a profit. This, of course, will only happen if you’re a cannabis concentrate connoisseur. Picture this:
You buy a gram of concentrate once a week for 2 months:
8 x $75 = $600
But what if you bought a rosin press?
Let’s say a rosin press costs $300
8 grams of usual bud, which you’ll use to put in the machine, costs around $100
This totals a $400 expense.
Therefore, in around 2 months you’ll be spending less than you would have done. However, if you’re not going to use it that much, then perhaps an alternative option is better.
DIY Rosin Press
On Amazon, you can buy a pretty basic hair straightener for around 20 bucks. If you want to invest a little more than you can purchase one with specific heat controls, which will increase the yield of your concentrates. That’s right, you can use a device like this to create these substances too. It might sound crazy, but many people use this method as a cheaper and beginners way into the world of cannabis concentrates. It has heat and it has pressure. The issue is, the yield of a pair of hair straighteners is going to be a lot less than an industrial rosin press. For your information, the yield essentially means the amount of concentrate you get from your cannabis buds, and how much is or is not wasted. Nectar Medical Vapes writes:
“The usual yield received from a DIY rosin press (hair straighteners) is only about 5%… It’s harder to manually change the temperature and pressure of hair straighteners, whereas with a rosin press it’s built into the system… However, with a shop bought rosin press the usual yield increases to about 40%, which is a great deal better and more efficient.”
It’s also important to note that the durability of straighteners is far less than a rosin press, which is literally designed to create wax. But, again, if you’re only wanting to try to concentrate every so often then it probably isn’t worth investing in an expensive rosin press. Straighteners will do the job if you’re looking to experiment and don’t mind wasting a bit of your stash.
Is it Worth It?
So, the question still remains, is buying a rosin press actually worth the money? Well, now you understand a little better about the different types, the price and what these devices can do, the answer to that question is left to you. It is evident that if you’re a concentrate lover then, in the long term, purchasing a rosin press will eventually become far more worth it. However, if you’re someone that simply wants to try these substances and are not looking to indulge in a long-term, industrial creation process, then why not just buy some straighteners? A rosin press is a powerful and wonderful device, but only if you really need it.
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It seems simple; Oxford defines extraction as “the act or process of removing or obtaining something from something else.” And rosin is a cannabis concentrate made using heat and pressure. But rosin falls into the extract category while hash is a separation for reasons not found in the lay dictionary. A chemistry textbook instead defines […]
Few names carried the hype of Royal Key Organics entering the era of legal cannabis, and the snowball looks ready to keep rolling ahead of the brand’s relaunch later this year.
While we’ll get to all the heat in general, the basis for Royal Key and any great hash company is the quality of the inputs. “Inputs” mean a lot of things in the weed space. You might be talking about the material you’re going to make hash out of or the nutrients going in your plants. But it all carries through with great hash. Every input along the way is detectable, lack of effort and shortcuts amongst them. So when you see a company with legendary hash making it exclusively with its own material, it makes it that much more special. To this day, the most famed batches of Royal Key live resin would hold up with the best hash ever made.
Royal Key’s founders, Josh Vert and his wife Erin Hamilton, have been cultivating cannabis together for 12 years. Their products have placed first in every live resin contest that they’ve entered since 2017, totaling five Emerald Cups. After whipping up top-shelf flowers for the Northern California market’s most elite shelves for much of the early 2010s, they formed Royal Key. There they would build the brand identity brick by brick into the powerhouse it has become today. The list of how many companies with Royal Key’s scale of operations that command as much respect as they do would be a short one.
While the dynamics of that talking point will change as Royal Key is preparing for massive growth in the years to come, its ethos won’t. Whether a brand had 50 lights or 5,000, they would kill to have the same kind of name recognition.
Nana-Breath (Moongazer x Royal Key) via Suprize Suprize / Courtesy of Royal Key Organics
The Road To Royal Key
These days, Hamilton handles the growing while Vert works on business development. But back in 2015, Royal Key Organics was just the name they settled on as they began to conceptualize their brand. Conceptualization turned into execution, and once their hash made its mark on the new budding “live extract” scene, they were a household name with the most elite tier of cannabis consumers.
“Royal Key in 2015, ’16, and even ’17 was 100% propane-based because there were zero residual solvents,” Vert said. “We were doing testing and selling directly to the clubs at that time with our paperwork and everything.”
Royal Key was dropping insane sauces during that time with extraction techniques they’d work to develop in-house. It was a long hard process to get dialed in, but the results quickly spoke for themselves as they hit the market.
Royal Key’s techniques were not being imitated. They had the juiciest propane-extracted terps by a mile. A lot of the propane extracts had the now mostly retired pull and snap consistency.
Vert weighed in with why he thought his competition couldn’t achieve similar results back then.
“I think it was what we were growing,” he said. “Without me knowing what their starting material is, all I could do is tell you we were pheno hunting, growing indoor, and taking the whole crop that we picked for live resin and making it into live resin, which no one was doing at that time.”
Vert noted that Southern Humboldt Concentrate was doing greenhouse-grown flowers for live resin before Royal Key was doing it indoors.
“I tasted Bruce and Pete’s Zkittelz; it blew me away and influenced me,” Vert said. “It made us go to the drawing board. Nobody was going to help us out. There are no classes for live resin or anything, but we did it. I think it was terpene-rich and heavy because of the way we were growing indoors and using those cultivars.”
But during this whole R&D process to develop their hash technique, their flower was already commanding top dollar. Vert said it was really hard at that moment to take such a huge risk with the material instead of getting easy money for it because it was so good.
While terrifying at the moment, it would be a major mile marker for Royal Key.
“It was a huge risk,” Vert said. “There was a crux of it right where you’re like, ‘Hey, this little batch worked, but let’s try the whole batch’ kind of a thing. And that was really scary. Because we weren’t sure what we were gonna get, like how good it would be, all those things. And so it was tough. It was daunting, but the product prior to that and testing was so good. And we had such a good response from it that we just went for it. And it ended up working out, but yeah, it was scary.”
Papaya Valley Dog (Moongazer x Royal Key) via Suprize Suprize / Courtesy of Royal Key Organics
Suprize Suprize
Eventually, things would reach their peak at the 2017 Emerald Cup. Royal Key had released nearly 20 flavors they hunted in-house. One of the reasons they went all out was because they knew they were exiting the market to build out the property they’d secured in Arcata. They worked extensively through 2018 to relaunch at the cup a year later.
“But we had shut down everything and we just have been able to gamble on opening the lab first before the cultivation of the flower,” Vert said. “So, therefore, Suprize Suprize launched first at the Emerald Cup, and there was no Royal Key because we weren’t growing it yet.”
While Royal Key was all in-house grown material, Suprize Suprize would be the mechanism that allowed them to collaborate with others they’d been hoping to collaborate with, like Alien Labs.
In the years since they launched Suprize Suprize, it has joined Royal Key on top of the pantheon of California heat while adding to the trophy shelf. As Royal Key worked to build out its new grow, Suprize Suprize kept expanding. The dice roll to open the lab before the grow paid off. They became major players in the white label market, and in doing so, they helped other producers process their material. We asked Vert if he ever saw that coming.
“We hoped it would,” Vert replied. “But also at the same time, we wanted it to always really be good quality. So it’s tough because whenever I hear white label, I’m like, you know, it’s something that feels like it’s not something you can’t get passionate about, or it’s not good. I didn’t want it to be watered down. I did think it could be something bigger because, obviously, it goes beyond what we can grow.”
Through all the madness, Vert watched the price of live resin plummet. The $40 wholesale numbers his product once commanded no longer existed in the market. At this point, Royal Key put their foot on the gas when it came to R&D on rosin. It wasn’t easy.
But one thing that helped the cause was that the Royal Key flower, including a cultivar called M-Con #8, was starting to drop.
“Thank God,” Vert emphasized. “At that time, we would watch M-Con #8 in 2019 in the LA market primarily, but also throughout Northern California. That saved our asses when everything was just starting to be a mess in the extract world.”
As the pandemic hit, Royal Key’s solventless products were getting a bit more in order, but Vert wasn’t truly satisfied. But on the live resin side, despite price crashes, Royal Key was still the best in the world. There was a dip in the live resin production when their longtime extractor, Pete, passed away. He was a core member of the team and is greatly missed.
Eventually, everything was back at full blast.
Despite the praise the flower was getting, Vert said the business was challenging. Royal Key was using lights from the Proposition 215 medical era in the buildout. The intensity of the lighting was a bit lower than what he felt like they needed to achieve the maximum expression of the crop.
But everyone else thought it was stupid heat, myself included.
“We’re struggling to grow like, you know, as high quality as we can, but it’s just really fucking hard,” Vert said of the 2019 comeback harvest. “Everything that we do seems like moving through quicksand, but we’re able to lock some batches, and people were really happy with it. You know, it saved our ass.”
Riddles (Red Pop S1 #37) / Courtesy Royal Key Organics
Growing A Brand
Due to the limited output, Royal Key remained exotic. They definitely left some money on the table, as word of how heat the M-Con #8 they grew from a pack of Equilibrium Genetics seeds got around.
Vert explained what it was like watching the brand explode in popularity but not having enough product up to their quality yet to meet the ever-growing demand.
“It’s like feeling like you’re in a straitjacket all the time. You’re just financially in a straitjacket, and there’s problem after problem,” Vert said.
As he watched demand increase, it felt like he oversaw the company go through eight to 12 near-death experiences of their business during this time as well. But the financial perils have come to a close. In 2021, Royal Key found someone who believed in the vision. Through all the rough waters, they were constantly attempting to fundraise. Regularly, they would get deep into discussions with groups who would come at them with a buyout offer despite the fact they were never looking for one. Vert would move on to the next opportunity in hopes of finding someone who wanted a piece of the vision and not all of it.
Vert and Hamilton were very adamant that they didn’t want to sell and needed someone who believed in them. They wanted to be a good partner, but couldn’t let someone else steer the ship. The various negotiations led to some sleepless nights. It can be tough to rest after you’ve just turned down a big-money offer that would take you out of peril.
Eventually, Royal Key found Holistic, which was happy to come in as a minority partner on the proven brand.
“We’ve fixed a lot of the problems that we had,” Vert said of the capital infusion. “We told them that we were going to exit the market, which was sketchy for us to do because everyone still needs results when you’re getting investment. They don’t want you to lose money for seven or eight months, but we exited the market.”
During their time away from shelves, Royal Key has done two back-to-back phenohunts. Vert also found some phenomenal hash artists who needed to work in a good home. He argues the new additions truly bumped up everything to a world-class level.
We asked Vert if it was ever tough to watch Royal Key’s solventless lines develop while the BHO was renowned out the gate.
“For sure, and I’m always willing to admit that, and we did admit it,” Vert said. “It just never met the grade until 2021. Probably in the spring of 2021 is when it changed, where everything changed perhaps, and then by the end of 2021 we are entering contests.”
Vert thinks the solventless hash is there now. It was always about getting Royal Key’s solventless products to the same respect levels as its live resin.
“I mean, I’ve taken it everywhere,” he said. “I’ve taken [out] the full melt that we found. The only thing that we’re yet to show is the single source, in-house stuff. Stuff that we grow and phenohunted for. And once we release that stuff, I think there won’t be any question.”
The cannabis market has been booming over the last few years as more countries around the globe begin to accept the wonders of the plant. What once was an illegal, unacceptable drug, is now – slowly – becoming a legal medicine and even a legal recreational pastime. One of the more modern inventions inside the cannabis world is cannabis concentrates.
Whilst some have been around for centuries, others have been created more recently by the wonders of science. There are several different cannabis concentrates out there, so sometimes it’s hard to find the information you want. In this article, we’ll be taking you on a whistle stop tour of all of the main cannabis concentrates. And don’t worry – this tour is completely free of charge. Put your seatbelt on. Let’s begin.
Cannabis concentrates can be found on dispensary shelves, boasting names like shatter, butter, wax, resin, and more. Any specific cannabinoid can be concentrated, so regardless of whether you’re looking for delta-9 THC, delta-8 THC, delta 10, THC-O, THCV, CBG, or something else, it can be found in concentrate form. This is great for delta-8 THC users, because it allows a concentrated form of this alternate form of THC which doesn’t cause anxiety like half-brother delta-9, and which leaves users with a clear head and energy, while having a similar medical profile. We’ve got great deals for delta-8 THC and many other compounds, so take a look, and try ’em out!
What are Cannabis Concentrates?
Once someone has total control over the marijuana plant, there are many ways to transform and eventually consume it. Cannabis can be placed in oils, edibles, the usual buds and even synthesised concentrates. It all depends on the creation process. But before we discuss how they’re made, let’s first truly understand what they are. And, as always, there’s never a better places to find complex definitions than wikipedia:
“A cannabis concentrate (also called marijuana concentrate, marijuana extract, or cannabis extract) is a highly potent tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and/or cannabidiol (CBD) concentrated mass. Marijuana concentrates contain extraordinarily high THC levels that could once range from 40 to 80%, up to four times stronger in THC content than high grade or top shelf marijuana, which normally measures around 20%”
It’s in the name really, isn’t it? Cannabis concentrates are designed to be especially potent in comparison with cannabis buds or other products. By getting rid of any extra, unnecessary parts of the cannabis plant, cannabis concentrates are able to focus on what really matters: the terpenes and cannabinoids. It’s within these that the aromas and effects of cannabis are found – which is why people have spent years trying to find a way to harness them in the greatest possible way. That is why cannabis concentrates come in so many different shapes and sizes, and are made in a variety of ways.
Cannabis concentrates is an umbrella term for many different substances; some are liquids, some are solids and some are a mix of both. There are two main ways of making cannabis concentrates and that is through solvent extraction, and solventless extraction. One uses chemicals, labs and science coats, whilst others are easier to make and more natural. Let’s figure out what these are.
What is Solvent Extraction?
A solvent extraction is essentially when a chemical is used to separate the cannabinoids and terpenes from the cannabis plant. By introducing certain chemicals, as well as heat and pressure, into the equation – this separation occurs. However, there isn’t just one way of completing this process. Some use carbon dioxide, whilst others use butane; these are two of the most common ways of using solvent extraction to create cannabis concentrates.
Carbon Dioxide Extraction
Carbon dioxide extraction is complex because, obviously, co2 is a gas, not a solid. However, the amazing result of a beautiful cannabis concentrate makes the process worth it. The carbon dioxide is first placed in a chamber where it is pressured and turned into a liquid through low temperatures. The co2 is then reheated, which due to the nature of carbon dioxide, makes it a supercritical substance. This substance is then passed through a chamber containing the cannabis plant. The supercritical substance will extract the trichomes, which contains the pure and potent compounds desirable to create cannabis concentrates. The substance that is left after this process can then be used to create a variety of cannabis concentrates.
Butane Extraction
Butane extraction is most popular for creatine hash oil. But how does it work? As mentioned earlier, any solvent extraction to make cannabis concentrates uses some sort of other chemical – which in this case, is butane. The cannabis is first covered with butane, in its liquid form. Butane happens to be a very easily liquefiable gas. Once this is done, heat and pressure is used, and yet again, what is left is a cannabis concentrate. This can be used to create hash oil, budder, shatter or crumble.
What is Non-Solvent Extraction?
Non-solvent extraction is a far less complicated process, and one that doesn’t leave you scratching your head quite as much. However, that’s not to say that the result is any less wonderful. Non-solvent extraction is made, as you can imagine, without chemicals in the creation process.
For example, kief and hash would both be cannabis concentrates that are made with non-solvent extraction. But, yet again, there are a variety of ways that non-solvent extraction can take place. Kief is made through rolling the dry cannabis plant over a sieve, and allowing the whitey yellow thrichomes to collect. Trichomes also look a bit like mini snowdrops up close. These are hugely potent and hold all of the best compounds of the plant.
Another example of a non-solvent extraction would be in the creation of hash. Hash is one of the oldest types of cannabis concentrates. In fact, a scientist called Gmelin first mentioned the substance in 1777. The process of creating hash can vary depending on technique. However, one way of making hash is in water. The cannabis plant is tumbled in icy cold water and is then filtered through a mesh. This substance is then dried and pressed into small blocks. The resin, which is what the substance is made out of, is very high in THC.
Before we take a whistle stop tour through some of the main and post popular cannabis concentrates, let’s first ask the question: why are they so popular? Well, it’s first important to realise that any connoisseur of any substance will always search for the most pure version of it. Think of pressed olive oil, some people will spend their lives searching for the first press because it will be the highest quality oil.
This is the same with orange juice, the first press of orange juice is considered to be the purest, healthiest and tastiest. Cannabis concentrates are no different to this. People who love cannabis and the effects of it, are always discovering new ways to enjoy it in its purest and most powerful form. As mentioned earlier, the average cannabis concentrate can have THC levels of over 60%. This is why cannabis concentrates are becoming more and more popular.
The Cannabis Concentrates
Non-Solvent
Kief
Kief is a collection of resin trichomes. Kief is one of the easiest cannabis concentrates to make. In fact, some three-part grinders have a section at the bottom that collects fallen down kief over time, which can then be placed in a joint and smoked. It is golden in colour, and powdery.
Hash
Hash is usually sold in brown blocks. Some are dark and some are light brown. Usually, a good way to tell if hash is good quality is to see if it burns like a candle. If it does, then your hash is excellent. Usually hash will be heated before consumption, so that small parts can be separated from the large block. These small parts of hash are then placed in the joint.
Charas
Charas comes primarily from India and Jamaica. It looks quite similar to hash but is usually darker and sold in balls, rather than blocks. The difference between hash and charas is that the latter is made from the entire cannabis plant, whereas the former is made from dried trichomes.
Shatter is an example of cannabis concentrate that is made from butane extraction. The substance is golden in colour and looks like shattered glass. It also looks quite a lot like frozen honey.
Wax
Wax is very similar to shatter, except it’s slightly more liquidy. Whilst the aroma and potency of wax is almost identical to shatter, it’s the consistency that differs. Wax is opaque and malleable. In addition, wax is dabbed into a joint in order to smoke it.
Crumble
The average crumble has THC levels of anywhere from 60-90%. Again, there are many similarities between crumble and the rest of the solvent cannabis concentrates, however the look and consistency is different. Crumble literally crumbles in one’s hands. Crumble is also dabbed in order to use it.
The Tour Is Now Over
So there you have it, that was a quick and concise whistle stop tour of the cannabis concentrates. There are many other cannabis concentrates that people might mention, and all of them are very slightly different to the next. Like any enthusiasts, cannabis-lovers like to invent and name new cannabis concentrates constantly – even if they look and feel the same as before. Nevertheless, there’s no doubt that cannabis concentrates are a highly potent and quite amazing substance.
But what’s your favourite cannabis concentrate? Drop us a line in the comment section below!
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Want to feel lucky? Consider the statistical probability of being alive on planet Earth at precisely the right moment in human history to witness a technological renaissance and cultural revolution in cannabis. You won that cosmic lottery — we all did.
So what better way to celebrate our good fortune than dabbing some freshly pressed rosin made at home? This simple but powerful extraction method has surfed a tsunami wave of excitement across the continent, obliterating obstacles for would-be dabbers in even the most prohibition-darkened corners of the cannabis landscape.
And rosin isn’t just for people without access to critical concentrates. Even in states, where BHO shatter and wax can be obtained with a quick trip to the nearest dispensary, the potency and flavor of rosin has captured the imaginations of many diehard dabbers, myself very much included.
A nug of Do-Si-Do.
My first rosin dab set an exceptionally high bar for everything I’ve tried since. It was a transparent, amber glass shatter pressed from connoisseur-grade bubble hash. The effects were astoundingly powerful, with a flavor profile that offered a sweeter, cleaner variation on the classic earthy spice of full spectrum hash.
But not everybody has access to top-shelf hash, which is why a lot of the buzz around rosin tech has to do with pressing flowers. My initial attempts to press my own proved less than successful, but I later learned that I was pressing at too high a temperature. Once I corrected that error, rosin tech became a quick, convenient way to literally squeeze a few tasty dabs out of my flower stash.
Flower Rosin
Rosin’s simplicity allows anybody with access to cannabis and a few common household items to make dabs at home in a matter of minutes. And if you don’t have one or more of the things you’ll need, nothing required should cost more than $50.
A bud is placed in between parchment paper in preparation to be pressed into rosin.
If you’re reading this, odds are you’ve got some cannabis flowers handy. Grab a few grams from your stash — two to four works for our purposes.
Now fetch a flat iron from the bathroom. I know there’s a roughly 50/50 chance you don’t know what a flat iron is, but if you live with someone who has long hair there’s also a roughly 50/50 chance that you’ll find one in the bathroom.
OK, it’s like a pair of barbecue tongs with electric heating plates that touch each other when you squeeze the handles. It’ll have a power cord and (hopefully) a temperature dial on it… did you find it? Now all we need is parchment paper (NOT wax paper) or a “dab mat,” previously known as a silicone baking mat and still sold as such for half the price of the “heady” ones.
Now take a medium-sized bud and either fold it into an envelope of parchment paper or wrap it inside a silicone mat. Take the resulting bundle and press it hard between the heating plates of the flat iron.
You’ll need to find the ideal temperature for the strain you’re using, but for me it was right around 250° F. A higher temperature can coax out a slightly higher yield, but it can also compromise the consistency and flavor of the final product. As a general rule, the lower the pressing temp, the more stable the final product will be.
In terms of pressure, apply as much as you possibly can without breaking the iron. I had great success pressing the iron into the floor with my knee… then I broke the iron. Experiment and find what works for you.
Once you’ve pressed long enough (some say three seconds, some say until you hear a sizzle) it’s the moment of truth. Peeling the paper or mat back the first time combines the anticipation of unwrapping a gift with the anxiety of waiting on test scores, but if you got it right you’ll know right away because you’ll see a golden halo of rosin around your now flattened bud.
Gather up all the rosin with a tool and fire up your dab rig, because the clock just struck 7:10.
Hash Rosin
If you do have access to some bubble hash, you can use more or less the same method to press that into rosin as well. Only you’ll want to reduce the temperature substantially. Most of the professional hash makers I’ve spoken with agree that between 160° and 180° F is where high-quality hash should turn into rosin. If your starting material isn’t that great, it might require a bit more, but don’t expect magical results. As in all cannabis extraction, what you get out is largely dictated by what you put in.
Or as Evan X. from High Noon Extracts once told me, “You can’t turn chicken shit into chicken salad.”
You also don’t have to press rosin to dab bubble hash, you can just press the hash lightly, so the “loose” hash becomes a cuttable, pickable, dabbable patty of gum. You can achieve the same effect by rubbing loose hash against itself in the palm of your hand. But however you do it, the idea is to heat up the hash just enough to make it malleable and then finesse it into a glob.
Dabbing pressed bubble provides a unique sensory experience that amplifies the flavors and effects of full spectrum hash, giving you the immediacy of a dab and the deep complexity of a classic hash high. If your hash is already full melt, this is all you really need to do with it.
And if you do have some tasty hash that needs a boost in potency and melt – or you just want an experience similar to dabbing shatter without concerning yourself with residual solvents – pressing it into rosin could be just what’s called for.
Rosin pressed from a bud of Julio’s Dog by Hashbury Extracts.
No matter which starting material you chose, remember that it all boils down to heat and pressure. I’ve seen rosin made with a pneumatic press that exerts enough pressure to crush bones, but you don’t need to get even close to that. T-shirt presses, coffee mug presses – anything that combines heat and pressure has the potential for creating rosin.
And a final word of caution: make sure you know what’s in your cannabis. This is important even if you don’t plan to make rosin, but especially if you do. When you squeeze the cannabinoids out of flowers you also squeeze out any residual water, which can contain pesticides, chemical nutrients and other potentially harmful remnants of the cultivation process. Like the desirable THC, these elements will also be concentrated in the final product, so clean starting material is a must. Only press flowers from trusted suppliers.
Originally published in the print edition of Cannabis Now as Rosin Up Your Rig.
As states and countries begin to loosen their restrictions on marijuana laws, the market for these products seems to have exploded overnight. Learn about the top 10 cannabis products trending out of California. Smoking bud has evolved into cannabis oil cartridges for those who prefer vaping, topical treatments for those suffering with various skin conditions, […]
Arthritis is a painful and sometimes debilitating condition characterized by joint swelling, pain, and stiffness, along with a decreased range of motion.
As a consultant for cannabis patients, I often work with those who are suffering from arthritis and looking for alternative ways to manage the painful condition. Often these patients come to me when they have exhausted the conventional options.
When arthritis gets severe, painkillers (such as opiates) are usually the primary treatment that these patients are receiving. But opiates have their limits. Patients adjust to their dose and it has to be continually increased. In some cases, opiates can actually increase sensitivity to pain. Many have already reached the highest allowable dose and will receive less and less relief from the drug as time goes on. Patients who have been relying on that pain relief are suddenly left without any recourse.
Thankfully, cannabis offers new hope for safely and effectively managing arthritis. As a potent painkiller and anti-inflammatory agent, cannabis has helped many with their arthritic symptoms. It can also be used safely in conjunction with opiates, so patients who are still using opiates, or tapering off of them, don’t have to worry about dangerous interactions. Research shows that cannabis use actually allows patients to decrease their opiate use, and in states where cannabis is legally accessible, opiate-related deaths have gone down by 25 percent.
In addition, research suggests that cannabis can do more than just ameliorate the symptoms of the condition, it may also be able to reverse it, leading to increasing improvements in mobility, inflammation and pain. Research shows that arthritis patients actually have a higher level of CB2 receptors in their damaged joints, than most.
One study, conducted in Canada, researched the effects of topical applications of cannabis on rheumatoid arthritis. The researchers behind it believed that saturating the patients CB2 receptors with cannabinoids will not only aid with pain relief but may actually repair the joint damage that has already been done.
Treating Arthritis with cannabis topicals
In my own experience with arthritis patients, topical applications of cannabis have been extremely helpful. Patients often complain that the topical isn’t doing much at first, but with regular saturation, they experience a gradual but significant change in their pain and mobility.
Those looking to try treating arthritis with cannabis topicals should start by finding a topical cannabis product that they can regularly apply. For patients with mild arthritis, you might start with a regular strength topical. I am a big fan of Leafy Botanicals’ hard lotion balm, as well as their massage oil. These topicals not only work well, but they smell delicious, with hints of lavender and rosemary.
For those with more severe arthritis, I recommend Fleurish Farm’s extra strength balm. This incredibly potent product was designed specifically with arthritis sufferers in mind, and I have seen it deliver immediate pain relief to some of the most severe arthritis patients I have worked with. This whipped balm is unscented and made entirely of oils that score a zero on the pore clogging scale, so it is light and hypo-allergenic enough for even the most sensitive skin. It’s also infused with high-quality rosin, a solventless cannabis concentrate, which contains powerful terpenes in addition to the cannabinoids found in most topicals.
Whether you are using topicals, edibles or inhaling it, cannabis can help ease the pain of arthritis and may even lead to long lasting improvements in joint health. If you are one of the 50 million people struggling with daily arthritis pain, cannabis just might be the perfect solution. Talk to an MD who specializes in cannabis to find out if it is right for you.
Want to feel lucky? Consider the statistical probability of being alive on planet Earth at precisely the right moment in human history to witness a technological renaissance and cultural revolution in cannabis. You won that cosmic lottery — we all did.
So what better way to celebrate our good fortune than dabbing some freshly pressed rosin? This simple but powerful extraction method has surfed a tsunami wave of excitement across the continent, obliterating obstacles for would-be dabbers in even the most prohibition-darkened corners of the cannabis landscape.
And rosin isn’t just for people without access to critical concentrates. Even in states, where BHO shatter and wax can be obtained with a quick trip to the nearest dispensary, the potency and flavor of rosin has captured the imaginations of many diehard dabbers, myself very much included.
My first rosin dab set an exceptionally high bar for everything I’ve tried since. It was a transparent, amber glass shatter pressed from connoisseur-grade bubble hash. The effects were astoundingly powerful, with a flavor profile that offered a sweeter, cleaner variation on the classic earthy spice of full spectrum hash.
But not everybody has access to top-shelf hash, which is why a lot of the buzz around rosin tech has to do with pressing flowers. My initial attempts to press my own proved less than successful, but I later learned that I was pressing at too high a temperature. Once I corrected that error, rosin tech became a quick, convenient way to literally squeeze a few tasty dabs out of my flower stash.
Flower Rosin
Rosin’s simplicity allows anybody with access to cannabis and a few common household items to make delicious dabs in a matter of minutes. And if you don’t have one or more of the things you’ll need, nothing required should cost more than $50.
If you’re reading this, odds are you’ve got some cannabis flowers handy. Grab a few grams from your stash — two to four works for our purposes.
Now fetch a flat iron from the bathroom. I know there’s a roughly 50/50 chance you don’t know what a flat iron is, but if you live with someone who has long hair there’s also a roughly 50/50 chance that you’ll find one in the bathroom.
OK, it’s like a pair of barbecue tongs with electric heating plates that touch each other when you squeeze the handles. It’ll have a power cord and (hopefully) a temperature dial on it… did you find it? Now all we need is parchment paper (NOT wax paper) or a “dab mat,” previously known as a silicone baking mat and still sold as such for half the price of the “heady” ones.
Now take a medium-sized bud and either fold it into an envelope of parchment paper or wrap it inside a silicone mat. Take the resulting bundle and press it hard between the heating plates of the flat iron.
You’ll need to find the ideal temperature for the strain you’re using, but for me it was right around 250° F. A higher temperature can coax out a slightly higher yield, but it can also compromise the consistency and flavor of the final product. As a general rule, the lower the pressing temp, the more stable the final product will be.
In terms of pressure, apply as much as you possibly can without breaking the iron. I had great success pressing the iron into the floor with my knee… then I broke the iron. Experiment and find what works for you.
Once you’ve pressed long enough (some say three seconds, some say until you hear a sizzle) it’s the moment of truth. Peeling the paper or mat back the first time combines the anticipation of unwrapping a gift with the anxiety of waiting on test scores, but if you got it right you’ll know right away because you’ll see a golden halo of rosin around your now flattened bud.
Gather up all the rosin with a tool and fire up your dab rig, because the clock just struck 7:10.
Hash rosin
If you do have access to some bubble hash, you can use more or less the same method to press that into rosin as well. Only you’ll want to reduce the temperature substantially. Most of the professional hash makers I’ve spoken with agree that between 160° and 180° F is where high-quality hash should turn into rosin. If your starting material isn’t that great, it might require a bit more, but don’t expect magical results. As in all cannabis extraction, what you get out is largely dictated by what you put in.
You also don’t have to press rosin to dab bubble hash, you can just press the hash lightly, so the “loose” hash becomes a cuttable, pickable, dabbable patty of gum. You can achieve the same effect by rubbing loose hash against itself in the palm of your hand. But however you do it, the idea is to heat up the hash just enough to make it malleable and then finesse it into a glob.
Dabbing pressed bubble provides a unique sensory experience that amplifies the flavors and effects of full spectrum hash, giving you the immediacy of a dab and the deep complexity of a classic hash high. If your hash is already full melt, this is all you really need to do with it.
And if you do have some tasty hash that needs a boost in potency and melt – or you just want an experience similar to dabbing shatter without concerning yourself with residual solvents – pressing it into rosin could be just what’s called for.
No matter which starting material you chose, remember that it all boils down to heat and pressure. I’ve seen rosin made with a pneumatic press that exerts enough pressure to crush bones, but you don’t need to get even close to that. T-shirt presses, coffee mug presses – anything that combines heat and pressure has the potential for creating rosin.
And a final word of caution: make sure you know what’s in your cannabis. This is important even if you don’t plan to make rosin, but especially if you do. When you squeeze the cannabinoids out of flowers you also squeeze out any residual water, which can contain pesticides, chemical nutrients and other potentially harmful remnants of the cultivation process. Like the desirable THC, these elements will also be concentrated in the final product, so clean starting material is a must. Only press flowers from trusted suppliers.
Originally published in the print edition of Cannabis Now. LEARN MORE
Bigger isn’t always better, and Farmhouse Hemp is making that clear with their premium line of solventless, small-batch CBD products.
The vertically integrated company out of Fort Collins, Colorado oversees all aspects of the operation, ensuring the highest quality standards are implemented, even before the seed hits the soil.
“I wanted to create a company that was 100% natural from start to finish,” said Crosby Moresco, who co-founded the company in 2016 out of a desire to create the healthiest CBD products on the market and close the transparency gap he was witnessing in the industry. Having been diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis, a chronic respiratory disease, Moresco was personally invested in finding healthy, homegrown products.
Moresco says they have intentionally kept the operation small to maintain a high-quality product while ensuring full transparency. Creating CBD oil in small batches at their licensed certified Fort Collins headquarters allows for full traceability and a complete understanding of the genetics.
“One of the reasons we extract and formulate in small batches is for quality control,” Moresco explained. “We can dial in every variable and factor, from our strains and terpene profiles, to our rosin and end products. This creates an extract that has the most efficacy.”
What also sets Farmhouse Hemp apart is their all-natural extraction method, which utilizes low heat and pressure, as opposed to the industry standard of ethanol and CO2.
Choosing the Rosin Route
Prior to starting Farmhouse Hemp, Moresco had spent years extracting THC from cannabis in Colorado. He witnessed first-hand the dirty side of solvent-based extraction and the harmful chemicals that can go into it.
The rosin tech extraction method, on the other hand, is completely solventless, and as Moresco says, is “hands-down one of the safest extraction methods.” By keeping chemicals out, rosin tech makes for a cleaner, healthier product that Farmhouse believes is more effective.
“With rosin, we can retain everything,” Moresco said, adding that at Farmhouse Hemp, they are firm believers in the entourage effect – a synergistic effect in which the many components that make up the plant produce a stronger effect on the body combined than alone.
“We want to keep this the way Mother Nature intended it to be. If we are going to be this vertically integrated company, we need to make sure it’s as close to the whole plant as we can get,” said Farmhouse’s Marketing Director, Jake George.
CO2 and ethanol used in other extraction methods can degrade the oil in terpene and cannabinoid retention. With CO2, extracts can contain levels of carbonic acid which can alter the flavor, making it more bitter. George also touches on the sustainability factor of rosin, commenting that it is one of the most sustainable extraction methods on the market.
“We don’t have hazardous waste afterward,” he said. “And the waste we do have can then be 100 percent composted.”
The compostable waste George refers to is also known as the rosin chip – what’s left over after squishing 60 grams of hemp under a rosin press. Any remaining CBD left in the rosin chip is steam distilled and used to formulate their pet drops. Farmhouse Hemp then takes the rosin chip and explores whether it can still be useful for things like feeding goats and chickens before composting it.
With all the benefits of using the rosin extraction method, one might wonder why more companies aren’t doing it.
But Moresco explains that it’s labor-intensive, and not as economical. He estimates that less than one percent of the industry is implementing rosin extraction.
“Companies looking to make a quick buck will never do rosin because it takes time and money,” he said.
“Because we are vertically integrated and doing everything ourselves, we can cut a tremendous amount of costs by cutting out the middleman,” Moresco said, giving another reason he chooses to keep the operation small. “We can provide a really high-quality CBD product at a competitive price.”
Closing the Transparency Gap
Farmhouse Hemp’s dedication to maintaining control over all factors of production is driven by their underlying goal to close the transparency gap in the cannabis industry. They are able to use everything they grow – no outsourcing is needed.
“We wanted every batch to have full transparency and full traceability,” Moresco said. Before starting Farmhouse Hemp, Moresco says finding testing information for CBD products was extremely difficult, and companies weren’t talking about where their products were grown or what practices they were using.
“Since hemp picks up everything in the soil, knowing that your hemp is grown on organic soil in a safe place becomes important information,” he said.
With a firm belief in the power of transparency, Farmhouse Hemp implements rigorous testing at every single step of the process and will gladly tell consumers about everything in their products.
In fact, it’s what they strive for.
“It’s a difficult industry for consumers to navigate, so for us, it’s about education,” George said. “We can’t overstate how that is seldom seen in the industry. The onus is on the consumer, so you really have to operate with corporate responsibility.”
View the company’s full line of CBD products at farmhousehemp.com. First-time customers can enter the discount code hemp20 at checkout for 20% off.
