Description

What Are Live Resin Cannabis Concentrates?

Live resin belongs to the cannabis concentrates category. Unlike the majority of concentrates available for sale, we make it from freshly harvested plant material. We put the plant under subcritical temperatures prior to and during the extraction. Freezing a live cannabis plant allows us to preserve its entire terpene profile. Other types of concentrates use dry and cure flowers, which seriously compromises their fragrances. With live resin, the plant gets frozen right away after being collected —we then maintain these freezing temperatures throughout the whole extraction. This, in turn, captures the plant’s valuable terpene profile, keeping the original aromas and flavors inside the concentrate.

The Origins of Live Resin

Live resin is relatively new compared to other forms of cannabis concentrates. The first time it was extracted was between 2011 and 2013 by a small group of Colorado-based growers who introduced it to the market. They created a special BHO extractor that operated on extremely low temperatures necessary for making the concentrate. Together, the growers came up with an extraction method that was capable of extracting concentrates that contained remarkable amounts of terpenes — much more than what typical extraction would yield with dried flowers.

What Does Live Resin Look Like?

Live resin can take plenty of colors and forms. The type of cannabis strain used for extraction is an important factor in determining both the physical and chemical characteristics of the final product. As mentioned, it is full of terpenes, offering much higher ratios than other dabs. With the extra terpene content, the consistency is closer to a liquid than a solid form such as shatter or budder.  The more terpenes inside the concentrate, the runnier and less stable it will get. The most common types of this concentrate are the sauce, budder, sap, and sugar.

How is Live Resin Different than Other Concentrates?

As mentioned, the most striking difference between live resins and other concentrated forms of cannabis lies in their terpene content. This concentrate packed with more terpenes on average than a typical BHO concentrate. The higher levels of terpenes can also lead to more potent psychoactive effects and enhanced medical benefits of the strain because terpenes interact with cannabinoids to create synergistic effects also known as the entourage effect. The above characteristics have made live resin cannabis concentrates one of the most desired weed formats among consumers. As you may guess, this cannabis strain comes at higher prices than most concentrates — we’ll get to that later in the article. In the meantime, let’s focus on how to consume it.

Most Common Consumption Methods of Live Resin Cannabis Concentrates

The most effective route of administration for this cannabis concentrates is through inhalation — either by smoking it in a dab rig or vaping it in a vaporizer. Here’s more about each method.

1. Dabbing

To smoke live resin, you’ll need a dab rig for the job. In essence, dab rigs are more advanced water pipes with special features designed for concentrate consumption. A dab rig is equipped with a nail (a flat bowl to hold your live resin), a gas-powered torch, and a dabber, which is a spoon-shaped tool for measuring out concentrates. To use a dab rig, you simply scoop out a portion of your concentrate product and transfer it onto the red-hot nail. The best temperature for dabbing it is around 315–400 degrees Fahrenheit. Higher temperatures may result in wasting the terpenes. The final step requires you to inhale the extract through the mouthpiece of your rig — simple as that.

2. Vaporization

Finally, live resin vaporized in a vape pen. Vape pens are portable devices that come with oil cartridges attached to the battery. You can fill these cartridges with live resin instead of your regular concentrate. Here, things are even simpler. You simply screw the cartridge onto the pen’s battery, turn on the heating coil, and inhale the vapor through the mouthpiece.