Have cannabis extracts turned you off because they contain harmful solvents? Do you avoid extracts in general because they often burn your throat and taste funky? Luckily, there’s Rosin.
Rosin is an alternative to traditional cannabis concentrates, offering the same convenience without any harshness. Read on to learn more about Rosin’s origins and how it works, and discover why it’s an outstanding way to get you high.
What Is Rosin?
Rosin is a form of cannabis concentrate made using a solventless extraction process. Also, it is highly rich in cannabinoids and terpenes and looks like honey. Using a combination of heat and pressure, manufacturers squeeze out the resinous sap from a specific starting material, including kief, hash, or flower.
When the plant material is exposed to a high temperature, it undergoes decarboxylation resulting in the activation of cannabinoids. As a result, honey-like translucent material is produced called Rosin.
What makes Rosin the best of all concentrates? The extraction process is 100% solvent free. That’s why it’s superior to other concentrates and Butane Hash Oil (BOH). Like bubble hash, Rosin cannabis concentrate contains no residual solvents and is safer to produce and consume.
History Of Rosin
The details on the origin of what is Rosin are murky as it might have been made long ago accidentally. However, a member at Compashon forum introduced this highly pure cannabis Rosin to consumers in 2006.
Still, its popularity escalated only in 2015 thanks to Phil “Soilgrown” Salazar. He shared pictures attempting to productively use hash that is of subpar quality. While Salazar was pressing the hash, he noticed the resin that spewed out and caused the original hash to be dried and worthless.
With the thought of discovering a new technique, Salazar pressed a piece of hash using a hot dab nail after wrapping it in parchment paper. Oil came out of the parchment paper, now famous as Rosin.
Since then, manufacturers have been producing Rosin using industrial presses to keep the quality and quantity of Rosin consistent.
Why Is Rosin So Sought After?
Rosin is an easy-to-find cannabis concentrate that almost anyone can make at home with minimal equipment and expertise. Because of its convenience and unique properties, Rosin is rapidly becoming one of the most popular deals in the cannabis industry.
What Is Rosin Made From?
You can use a variety of cannabis types to make Rosin. These include hash, kief, nugs, flowers, or trim. The quality of input material greatly influences the quality of Rosin you will get; out of all, flowers or nugs make the best quality Rosin.
Therefore, most people use nugs or flowers to make Rosin as they want to boost the flavor profile of their dabs. However, if you have a surplus hash, trim, or kief, you can make Rosin using them. Although the quality of the final product with hash, trim, or kief is not comparable to nugs, pressing into Rosin will surely refine them.
Does Rosin Have Any Types?
Rosin has three main types, depending on the starting material used for pressing. These are as below:
- Flower Rosin
A flower is pressed using a flat iron or press produces flower Rosin. One can make their own Rosin with professional techniques and homemade methods. The quality will stay the same given the input material both ways.
So, if you want to make high-quality Rosin, use high-quality THC-rich strains. Still, you can get high-quality flower Rosin at home only if you seamlessly combine the moisture content of the material with the ideal temperature and pressure.
- Hash Rosin
Hash Rosin is a result of the double extraction and filtration process. With the help of the right temperature, pressure, and filter paper, you can purify the hash. If you have the talent to press hash correctly, you can enjoy great quality hash that effortlessly melts on smoking or vaporizing. This technique is particularly viable for reusing the ice production hash leftovers.
- Live Rosin
As its name shows, live Rosin is made using fresh, living plant material. Usually, fresh frozen Rosin is used in the process with fresh trichomes rich in terpenes. In the fresh frozen harvesting, the excess leaves are cut down immediately after harvesting, and the rest of the plant is frozen for about 24 hours.
Rosin Vs. Live Resin – What’s The Difference?
THC and CBD connoisseurs often confuse live resin with live pressed Rosin. Not only do live resin and Rosin have a similar name, but their appearance is also comparable. So, here are some crucial factors that set live resin and Rosin apart.
- Production Process
Makers produce Rosin by exposing plant material, hemp flower, kief, or marijuana, to high temperatures and pressure. Compared to other cannabis products, Rosin is natural since it does not involve solvents in the extraction process.
Contrastingly, plant material is cryogenically frozen after harvest to make live resin. Manufacturers then use propane or butane to extract a specific cannabinoid from the plant, i.e., CBD, delta-8 THC, or delta-9 THC. These hydrocarbon solvents are removed from the final product and ready for consumption. Still, live resin is not as natural as pressed Rosin.
- Taste
Both live resin and Rosin feature different flavor profiles. Rosin contains full-spectrum cannabis extract with cannabinoids and terpenes. You will get a more natural taste from smoking or consuming Rosin due to the terpenes present. Most cannabis enthusiasts state that Rosin has a more remarkable taste than hemp flowers.
- Price
Lastly, price is another important factor that differentiates live resin from Rosin. While the live resin is mass-produced at a cheaper price, Rosin production only utilizes a small amount of plant material. Therefore, the price of Rosin is generally 10% higher than that of live resin. However, you will find live resin products to be 20% more costly than standard cannabis distillates.
How Does Rosin Get Its Color Variation?
Good quality Rosin features a golden-yellow color with nice brightness and transparency. When you create Rosin, three factors can impact the color of the final substance.
- Plant Material Quality
The quality of raw plant material is a predominant factor that greatly affects the coloring and clarity of Rosin. The Rosin quality depends on the cannabis and the extraction process you use to make it.
However, some indicators to look for are trichome density, terpenes profile, active cannabinoids, and material density. Besides, the method used for drying and curing the input material also dictates the clarity of Rosin. In simpler terms, the quality of input will be the quality of output.
- Material Freshness
The Rosin that you will get on using the freshest and the most recent plant material will be unmatchable. Freshness is a second factor that affects Rosin clarity. Cannabis flowers, hashish, and kief continue to oxidize as the time between harvest and use increases.
It also alters the cannabinoid profile of plant material. So, the best time to press the material is immediately after drying and curing. This will ensure that the plant has not oxidized much and its terpenes profile is intact. Still, the Rosin press of a high-quality material that has extensively cured will be of darker color, but its taste will be enriching.
- Rosin Pressing Temperature
Another key determiner of the Rosin’s quality and clarity is the temperature you use to press the material. If you press your plant material at high temperatures for a long time, Rosin’s color will darken, and you might as well lose many plant terpenes.
The material you use for pressing decides the right temperature. The majority of hash manufacturers use a temperature between 165 to 250 F. However, pressing the material at 250 F will disrupt its terpene profile resulting in degradation.
How Is Rosin Made?
The principle of Rosin is simple: heat-press a cannabis flower between a hot metal surface and a piece of parchment paper. The result is an oil containing all the cannabinoid content without harmful solvents.
Traditional extraction methods extract only one or two cannabinoids. No matter how state-of-the-art an extraction system is, it can never separate THC from CBD or CBG from THCA.
However, the Rosin lets consumers control their high, deciding what to include or exclude from their final product. So, you’re experiencing the same effect with no harsh side effects.
How To Make Rosin At Home?
Rosin is made using solvent-free extraction that turns solid cannabis flowers into an oil concentrate with the consistency of ear wax. The extraction involves using a hair straightening iron to expose the oils in the cured flower.
Then oil separates and produces a sticky extract high in cannabinoids and terpenes (pungent plant compounds). While making it easy to make at home without special tools, commercial Rosin producers use counter-pressure technology to extract the concentrate at higher quality and yield.
What Cannabinoids Are In Rosin?
Rosin is rich in cannabinoids and terpenes, depending on the plant material used in the extraction process. It is a full-spectrum cannabis extract. Besides, the double filtering process highlights the significant therapeutic potential of Rosin. However, this filtering process is risky because it leaves high concentrations of THC in the product.
How Much Is THC In Rosin?
Commercial Rosin products feature a THC concentration between 75% and 85%. Different strains of marijuana contain 15% to 25% THC content. So, comparatively, Rosin is four times the strength of a typical marijuana flower from a dispensary.
Instead of using store-bought Rosin, you can make it at your home using a homemade press. In this condition, THC content will fall between 40% to 60%.
Furthermore, if you use a starting material with a high THC concentration, your Rosin will also have high levels of THC. For instance, medical strains with nearly 30% THC produce Rosin with higher THC levels. Conversely, Rosin’s potency will be low if you use strains with 15% of THC.
Is Rosin More Psychoactive Than Other Weed Types?
Generally speaking, pressed Rosin is less potent than other cannabinoid concentrates that manufacturers produce using solvents like shatter. However, it all depends on the starting material you use to press the Rosin – the higher the quality of the input material, the higher the quality will be. Because of their high terpenes profile, you will find Rosin to be more flavorful than other concentrates.
How To Use Rosin?
Generally, people vaporize Rosin, which is a safe way to use the product since even a little concentration of this substance packs a strong punch of cannabinoids. So, you must carefully utilize Rosin as it can have up to 90% of pure THC. This much THC concentration can lead to physical discomfort and a poor cannabis experience if not used cautiously.
How Can You Store Rosin?
Storing Rosin in an air-tight glass container preserves its freshness and quality. You can buy a standard Rosin container from the market that usually holds up to a gram; they are small in size.
These small containers ensure freshness and lessen the air packed in the container. You must protect your Rosin from the air, as exposure to air will oxidize the valuable terpenes and cannabinoids.
Thus, you can store Rosin at room temperature easily by storing the substance in a small, air-tight container. And if you want to store it for a long time, put the container in the freezer.
Is It Legal To Use Rosin?
The legality of Rosin follows the legalization of hemp and marijuana. Therefore, the government regulations surrounding them vary from one state to another. Besides, the type of Rosin is a key determiner of its legality.
According to the 2018 Farm Bill, CBD Rosin is legal as long as it is from hemp plants. Following that, delta-9 THC is also legal in states where the use of delta-9 brands THC is lawful. Considering the persistent illegality of marijuana at the federal level, products containing delta-9 THC, like Rosin, are also illegal.
If delta-8 THC Rosin is from a hemp plant, it is legal at the federal level. However, there might be variations in law according to your state government.
To know more about where to buy weed online legally, read more.
To Wrap It Up: What Are Rosin Cannabinoids?
Rosin is a pure, natural, and safe cannabis extract that you can make from either hemp or marijuana. Delta-9 THC, delta-8 THC, and CBD are in higher concentrations in this substance. Besides, due to significant levels of natural terpenes, smoking or vaporizing Rosin leaves an aromatic taste in your mouth.
Among cannabis enthusiasts, Rosin is famous because of its purest extraction. Thus, you can expect to buy this premium product at a higher price than other cannabis extracts.
