Cannabis Concentrates: What is Rosin?

Rosin cannabis products have been gaining in popularity recently and for good reason. When done properly, the result of the process is a clean, premium solventless concentrate that retains the terpene profile of the source material. In this article, we briefly discuss the history of various forms of rosin, how it’s made, and offer some ideas as to what’s to come with this top-shelf concentrate.

The History of Rosin

Although the term has just come on the radar of many cannabis consumers recently, rosin from other plants dates back many years, perhaps centuries. Traditionally, it comes from pine trees and other plants and is a solid form of plant resin that gets its form by vaporizing its components. Rosin from trees has many uses, including for printing inks, applied to stringed instruments to prevent movement during vigorous playing, and is even used by baseball pitchers or bowlers for a better grip on the ball.

Cannabis Rosin Defined

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The source material of rosin can come from hash, kief or flower, and is then made into hash oil. Higher quality rosin has a translucent property that is similar to shatter as it is sappy and brittle, making it great for dabbing. If the source material for is cannabis flower, the result tends to be a full-spectrum product. Full-spectrum cannabis products retain the best representation of the full plant profile – including its cannabinoids, flavors, and terpenes.

Hash rosin is usually a broad-spectrum or select-spectrum product. It is different from resin in that resin tends to have more viscosity and is stickier. Live resin is typically fresh frozen at subzero temperatures, which retains the flavor and aroma of the plant material. Rosin comes from various source materials, and extraction processes vary meaning it might not always maintain the terpene profile as well as live resin.

The Popularity of Rosin

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Arguably, the main reason for the popularity of rosin is that its extraction requires no solvents. Traditionally, producing cannabis concentrates required the use of a solvent – such as Co2, Butane, or propane. While many safe and quality extracts are still produced using solvent-based methods solventless cannabis concentrates are quickly becoming the choice of connoisseurs.

For extraction labs, solventless concentrate making is attractive, as rosin presses and other necessary equipment cost significantly less than their solvent-based counterparts. Traditional extraction methods use complex mechanical systems. Even the best extraction labs can leave residual solvent after their lengthy extraction processes. With solventless rosin, the need for the process is removed, leaving what is thought to be a cleaner product that still has much of the terpenes and flavonoids intact.

Cannabis Innovation at its Finest

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The simplicity and purity of the solventless process are two reasons why this concentrate is so popular. Industrial-sized rosin presses have been on the market for a few years now, and innovations to this product occur all the time. The purity and relative ease of making this concentrate make it an attractive product for consumers and dispensaries alike, which is why you’ll find this concentrate on many retail shelves. If you have any questions, our friendly budtenders here at Remedy are happy to help you.

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