Resin and Rosin

What Are They ? 

Since legalization, cannabis extracts have undergone innovative extraction processes, resulting in products such as resins and rosins. In this article, we'll highlight the nuances of resin and rosin, a new product category in our portfolio, and explore their characteristics, production methods and possible uses.

Resin and rosin: What’s the difference?

First, cannabis resin is what we call the sticky parts found on the trichomes of the cannabis plant. It's important to distinguish resin products from rosin products:

Resin: cannabis extract produced from dried flowers, processed with a solvent.

Rosin: cannabis extract produced from dried flowers, obtained using heat and pressure. These products are therefore solvent-free.

Live resin and live rosin

Live refers to the use of fresh, unrefined cannabis.

Live resin and rosin are extracted from fresh cannabis flowers that are frozen immediately after harvesting. This helps retain certain attributes of the flower's original characteristics, such as terpenes. In the case of standard resin and rosin products, trichome extraction is carried out on dried flowers.

Resin and rosin: How it’s made

Resin in the making:

• Extracting the active components from the cannabis plant using solvents, where the trichomes are solubilized.
• The solvent is fully evaporated, revealing a crude oil containing the cannabinoids and terpenes that can then be used for a resin product.
• This procedure can be applied to both dried and fresh-frozen cannabis flowers, distinguishing resin from live resin

Rosin can be made in many ways, but never using solvents.

1. Using hashish, in which the first steps follow the same hashish extraction process using ice water:
   1. A large volume of very cold water, usually with ice, is used with dried flowers or fresh frozen flowers to collect the trichome heads, then filtered, dried and sieved.
   2. The hash is then placed in a nylon mesh screen and heated in a hot press until melted, then pressed to extract the rosin.
2. Using dried flowers
   1. A hydraulic and pneumatically heated press is used to extract the rosin. Flowers can also be placed in a nylon mesh screen with a certain porosity prior to extraction of the rosin from the pressed flowers.

A wide spectrum of textures

Depending on the extraction process and the methods used, resin and rosin can take on different textures. Here are some of the most common ones:

Shatter, diamonds: glass-like, fragile texture, may be in the form of crystals

• Wax: sticky, wax-like texture
• Budder, butter, badder, batter: creamier texture, from butter consistency to that of creaming or cake batter
• Crumble: crumbly texture, reminiscent of cheese
• Sauce: a liquid texture, sometimes combined with diamonds

Temperature has a direct impact on texture. Resin and rosin products often become liquefied when exposed to high heat, whereas at low temperatures, products tend to be more solid, and occasionally more viscous.

How to use rosin and resin?

Vaping, dabbing or added to a joint.

How to store resin and rosin?

Both resin and rosin can be affected by heat, light and oxygen exposure. We therefore recommend storing them in a cool, dark place.

A reminder of responsible use of cannabis

Since resin and rosin are more highly concentrated products, they must be taken in smaller quantities than dried cannabis flower to prevent the risk of overconsumption. We recommend starting with a small dose (about the half the size of a rice grain) to minimize this risk.

Keep in mind that each person's endocannabinoid system is different, so never rely on another individual's pattern of use or reaction to regulate your own use. Learn more about responsible cannabis use.

Got questions? Please feel free to reach out to our advisors in-store or chat with them on our website.