Rosin is a popular form of cannabis concentrate. That’s because it’s made without solvents, which are chemicals used to remove the cannabinoids from the plant material to make typical extracts. Instead, rosin is made using only heat and pressure to melt the trichomes and separate them from the plant, creating a clean, high-potency, premium product.
Let’s dive into everything you need to know about buying and consuming rosin at Nativa Cannabis in Niagara Falls!
What Is Rosin?
As mentioned above, rosin is a form of cannabis concentrate. It is made using a heat press, which applies both heat and pressure to melt and squeeze the trichomes off the cannabis plant. It can be made with cured buds or trim, which includes sugar leaves and stems that contain trichomes and cannabinoids but are too harsh to smoke.
Rosin is similar to hashish, a compressed cannabis concentrate that has been popular for centuries throughout human history, often made with kief and water/ice-extract from plant material.
However, the name is derived from the Rosin Tech press. Rosin Tech was founded in 2015 as legalized cannabis spread across North America. These presses soon exploded in popularity, as the output is much cleaner than full-melt hash. A rosin press can be manual, electric, or hydraulic, and they have heated plates that can be precisely controlled.
Although many more companies now sell heat presses, the name “rosin” stuck as a generic product name, similar to Xerox, Chapstick, Popsicle, and Kleenex.
The temperature to extract rosin depends on the type of material being extracted–cured flower is typically extracted around 200 degrees fahrenheit, while kief and bubble hash are pressed as low as 140 degrees. Higher temperatures (up to 20 degrees hotter) provide more cannabinoids, while lower temperatures (known as cold pressing, between 130-170 degrees) preserve more terpenes to improve the flavor.
Why People Choose Rosin
Many people choose rosin because it is a solventless extract. This is especially important for medical marijuana patients, as they are often seeking cannabis as a natural alternative to traditional pharmaceuticals. Using harsh chemicals like ethanol, butane, isopropyl alcohol, hexane, and ethyl acetate can leave residue in cannabis concentrates if not properly purged after extraction.
Rosin also has a unique flavor and impact due to the cannabinoid, terpene, and flavonoid content. It is often compared to hashish, as they are similarly compressed, but rosin is much more filtered and therefore cleaner than hash. In fact, rosin can be extracted from hash to increase potency.
Home growers also love rosin because of the ease of making it at home. Using solvents requires an expensive closed-loop system and must be done in a well-ventilated area with proper safety precautions. However, a countertop rosin press for home use can be bought for as low as $100, making it easily accessible and easier to use in a home.
When buying a rosin press, look for hydraulic rather than electric or manual presses. These are more expensive up front but take the least amount of work to get the highest output of clean rosin.
How Is Rosin Different from Resin?
Although they are only separated by one letter, rosin and resin are two entirely different things in cannabis culture.
Resin typically describes the tar-like residue that accumulates in a pipe after smoking. It is dark black, because it contains combusted material from your lighter flame. Resin can be collected and smoked/vaped, although it’s important to be careful. Not only does it have a reduced cannabinoid content, but it can ruin a pipe screen and season your dab nail impacting the flavor of everything else vaped after.
On a live plant, resin is what gives cannabis concentrates like oil and shatter their trademark consistency.
If you look at a live plant under a magnifying glass, you’ll see both glandular hairs called trichomes. They’re covered in a sticky resin that acts as a natural pest control that tastes bitter and protects the trichomes from insects and animals. It also contains all the cannabinoids and terpenes we want to extract.
Live resin is another form of resin. This is a cannabis concentrate that is extracted from flash frozen freshly harvested plants. These are often used in place of a tolerance break, as the same strain will have a different terpene and cannabinoid profile when it’s fresh versus cured. It’s typically made with solvents, although live rosin is a solventless version of live resin.
Where to Find the Best Rosin in Niagara Falls, New York
The best cannabis rosin should range in color from golden to opal to dark yellow, with a smooth, malleable consistency that looks and feels similar to honey. Opalescent rosin often indicates purer trichome heads. Since trichomes themselves are clear or milky white, the clearer the rosin, the “cleaner” and more refined it tends to be. On the other hand, darker rosin could mean more plant material or other contaminants made their way into the press.
Because rosin is a premium, solventless concentrate that requires time, care, and skill to produce, it’s typically priced a bit higher than other concentrates. However, the result is worth it with a flavorful, full-spectrum product that captures the essence of the strain!
Rosin is consumed much like other concentrates: by heating and vaporizing it with a dab rig. However, for those who prefer to enjoy their rosin on the go, portable options like electronic nectar collectors or Puffco devices now make it easy to dab discreetly and conveniently without sacrificing quality.
At Nativa Cannabis, we make the best rosin in Niagara Falls. This includes live rosin and hash rosin extracted from a wide variety of high-quality strains. We use only the cleanest ingredients to make our solventless concentrates to ensure our customers get a memorable and healthy experience.
Check out our online menu to see our current rosin selection, or stop by the dispensary to speak with our knowledgeable budtenders to find out which rosin is best for your personal needs.