Live Resin vs. Rosin
Unveiling Cannabis Resin Concentrates: Resin, Live Resin & Rosin
Cannabis concentrates are a hugely popular way to consume the plant's active ingredients-- cannabinoids and terpenes. If you haven’t tried them, treat yourself and see what you’ve been missing!
Three of the most popular concentrate types are resin, live resin, and rosin. What are they?
“Resin” is a type of concentrate made by extracting the resinous trichomes from cannabis flowers. Trichomes produce the cannabinoids, terpenes, and flavonoids that give cannabis its unique effects and flavor. The trichomes can be extracted from the flowers in a couple of ways, using either a solvent-based extraction method or a completely solvent-less extraction method relying instead just on heat and pressure.
So… what the heck is “live resin?” Why the different terminology? Because “live resin” is a subset of resins—a type of resin made using only fresh, frozen cannabis flowers. Why frozen, you ask? Because the freezing process helps to break down the cell walls in the flowers, releasing more cannabinoids and terpenes! These concentrations give live resin a more flavorful and aromatic profile than traditional resin. Live resin is also more potent than traditional resin!
Finally, “rosin” is a relatively new type of concentrate, and it’s quickly gaining popularity due both to its clean flavor and to its high potency. Rosin is made using a solventless process by pressing cannabis flowers between two heated plates. The heat and pressure cause the trichomes to burst, releasing the resinous oil containing the compounds you’re after.
Live Resin vs Rosin: Flavor, Potency & Consumption Methods
Which type of concentrate is right for you? It depends on your personal preferences!
Ask your Novel Tree budtender about specific brands and concentrate products, try them, and see what you like best! If you are looking for a flavorful and aromatic concentrate, then live resin can be great. If potency is what you’re after, then rosin is a wonderful choice. Your Novel Tree budtender will guide you about those choices and explain the ways to try these concentrates: they can be smoked/vaporized, or used in edibles.
Smoking concentrates seems to be the most common way to consume them. This is done by using a “dab rig” or a “wax pen”. You can learn more in our post about “Tools for Smoking Concentrates,” but briefly a dab rig is a glass pipe with a special “nail” that is heated up to vaporize the concentrate. A pen is, you guessed it, portable, but it works the same way: it heats up the concentrate and vaporizes it. The trick in either case is to vaporize the concentrate to inhale the luscious terpenes and cannabinoids that make you feel so good.
Edibles! Edibles are yet another way to consume concentrates. They are made by infusing the concentrate into food or drinks. Edibles are a great option for people who prefer not to smoke or vaporize their concentrates.
Your personal preferences will ultimately help you land on a favorites way to consume concentrates, and if you are new to them, it is a good idea to start with a small amount, see how you react, and adjust from there. Your Novel Tree budtender will help you through the selection process!
