The cannabis market has been growing and evolving. With recent changes in laws and regulations about this revolutionary plant worldwide, especially in the last few decades, this growth is even more noticeable. These changes in the legality of cannabis worldwide have given way to the appearance of many new ways of consuming it. Among these new upcoming consumption methods, one of the most popular is cannabis concentrates.
When we talk about cannabis concentrates, the conversation can become confusing due to the wide variety of current concentrates and the remarkable similarity between some of them. Nevertheless, it is undeniable that some of the most popular cannabis concentrates nowadays are Wax and Live Rosin.
Although Live Rosin and Wax share the characteristic of being cannabis concentrates, they have very significant differences in many ways, from the extraction process to the final result. But what exactly are each of these concentrates, and how are they made? Live Rosin vs. Wax, which of them is better? This article will delve a little more into the subject and analyze Live Rosin and Wax more closely to provide you with all the necessary information you will need when making your choice.
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What is Live Rosin?
If you are familiar with the subject of cannabis concentrates, you have undoubtedly come across terms like "live" or "rosin.” But, Live Rosin? Well, it turns out that it is one of the purest, highest quality concentrates and one of the most sought after by cannabis connoisseurs both online and in dispensaries worldwide.
In the world of cannabis concentrates, the term "live" refers to concentrates manufactured with cannabis immediately frozen after harvest. Making concentrates with frozen cannabis plant matter better preserves its cannabinoids, terpenes, and flavonoids, which makes concentrates made from "living" plant matter keep all the plant's odors and flavors, in addition to its cannabinoids and therapeutic potency.
Although we used to see the term "live" more commonly associated with resin when talking about concentrates, Live Resin or
BHO shouldn’t be confused with live Rosin. While BHO or Live Resin is butane hash oil made of frozen cannabis flower or trim, Live Rosin is a solvent-free cannabis hash oil made from full melt bubble hash from the freshly frozen cannabis material.
The cannabis concentrates world is a vast and confusing one. Learn more about the differences between
Live Resin vs. Live Rosin in our blog.
How is Rosin Made?
To make Live Rosin, producers first make ice wax from fresh material frozen immediately after being harvested. Then, they let that concentrate dry before pressing it to obtain the Rosin. As you can see, it is not as simple as taking the material out of the freezer and putting it in the press to extract the Rosin. First, companies need to make sure they get full melt ice wax, one of the highest quality hashes you will find on the market. When ready, producers place it in a filter bag and set the rosin press at a low temperature, and press to obtain one of the highest quality and most flavorful extracts you will ever see on the market.
Types of Live Rosin
Although Rosin is essentially a cannabis extract obtained by applying heat and pressure to the cannabis material, variations in the starting material and the exact extraction process can significantly influence the final result. Considering this, it is good to know that there are different types of solvent-free rosin on the market from which you can choose the one you like the most.
The different types of Live Rosin that currently exist are:
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Flower Rosin: This is the OG of solvent-free concentrates and where it all began. It consists of simply pressing the cannabis flowers between two hot plates to obtain the therapeutic potency-rich oil. It is one of the simplest ways to get cannabis concentrate without using any type of solvent.
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Live Rosin: Extracted from plant material frozen immediately after being harvested, applying cold temperatures throughout the extraction process. In this way, the concentrate preserves more volatile oils, terpenes, and flavonoids, resulting in one of the most aromatic and tasty concentrates on the market.
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Solventless Sauce: This type of Live Rosin is treated with cold or hot temperatures, then left to cure for a while so that the extract goes through a curing process that matures the concentrate just as a fine wine does. Solventless Sauce should not be confused with Live Resin Sauce since their extraction processes are completely different. Live Resin uses a light hydrocarbon solvent to remove the plant matter from the rest of the end product.
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Hash Rosin: This is very similar to flower rosin but with the difference that instead of pressing the rosin directly from the cured flower, first you have to separate the trichomes from the rest of the plant matter
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Rosin Distillates: Rosin distillate is one of the most modern techniques in the world of cannabis distillates today. This method is also one of the most complicated and expensive, most similar to turning whiskey into beer. This distillation process takes rosin and turns it into a more concentrated and pure version of itself.
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Whipped Buddha Rosin: You can apply the Whipping Buddha method to any type of rosin. It simply consists of beating air into your concentrate to leave it with a butter-like consistency. This concentrate is much easier to handle, is room-temperature stable, and can eliminate the need for heat mats and the precision tools usually required for dabbing.
What is Sugar Wax Concentrate?
Sugar wax concentrate, sometimes simply called "sugar," is a cannabis concentrate obtained from BHO or wax. As the name suggests, it has the appearance of wet sugar or sugar mixed with some liquid but not completely dissolved. In general, users of cannabis concentrates associate the word "wax" with an extract exclusively rich in THC.
Nevertheless, there is CBD wax nowadays since manufacturers of CBD products have managed to extract CBD from the hemp plant, thus expanding the spectrum of possibilities in terms of cannabis concentrates. In theory, you could also make CBD sugar wax just by using CBD-rich BHO instead of the regularly used THC-rich wax.
This type of concentrate is rich in flavors and odors and is generally easier to handle than other concentrates since its consistency is thicker. You can obtain Sugar Wax with a chemical extraction method applied to the dried or cured cannabis flowers or from cannabis flowers frozen immediately after harvest. The result is a bright yellow to deep amber wax consistency liquid similar to shatter concentrate but with a different texture.
How is Sugar Wax Made?
Initially, Sugar Wax appeared as an accident when the wax, with the passage of time, condensation, and crystallization, affected the concentrate, creating tiny crystals that give the appearance of half-melted sugar to this delicious cannabis concentrate.
The extraction process to obtain the Sugar wax is quite similar to the one used to obtain BHO. Still, it also involves substantial agitation during the process in order to get the desired final product. Manufacturers have perfected this extraction method for better crystallization and proper condensation, usually using cannabis strains that retain water better.
How to Consume Concentrates?
Nowadays, there are several different types of cannabis concentrates and, at the same time, different ways of consuming them. Some types of concentrates come in more explicit forms such as cannabis oil, cannabis vaping juice, or concentrates such as
BHO or wax, rosin, shatter, and others more discreet such as cannabis edibles, capsules, or balms. Depending on the type of cannabis concentrate you choose, the way you consume it will most likely vary, and the results will do it as well.
Although the most common form of consumption associated with cannabis concentrates is dabbing, there are other ways of consuming concentrates such as tinctures, topicals, edibles, vape pens, etc. So, to choose the best consumption option for you, it is good first to establish your needs and the results you hope to obtain. This section will talk a little about two of the most popular ways to consume concentrates: vaping and dabbing.
Vape Concentrates
Vaping consists of heating the concentrate to the point where the THC or CBD boils and releases its vapors. To vape cannabis concentrates, you must use a concentrate vaporizer, better known as a vape pen. Reusable and disposable vape pens are currently available on the market. Deciding which is the “best” vape pen will mostly depend on your needs or what you are looking for.
Reusable vape pens use special resistance and temperature to vaporize cannabis THC or CBD-infused vaping juice. Other reusable vape pens use pre-filled vape cartridges, which screw into a
510 battery.
Moreover, disposable vape pens already come with a battery connected to a pre-filled cartridge that you cannot refill and that you can simply throw away after you finish it.
Dab Concentrates
Dabbing is undoubtedly one of the most popular and well-known ways for cannabis users to consume concentrates. This method consists of heating the concentrate to a point where it produces a vapor rich in therapeutic potency that the user can inhale.
To consume your concentrates using this method, you will need a "dab rig," a device similar to a glass pipe. The difference between a dab rig and a glass pipe is that you don’t use a lighter to light up the ground cannabis in the bowl of your pipe. In a dab rig, you must use a torch to heat the nail or "banger" to a point where your concentrate boils and releases its vapors when you put it in it, making it possible for you to inhale them. To do this, people usually use butane torches.
We recommend heating the nail until it is red hot to keep it clean between sessions. While the nail cools, use a stick tool to take a concentrate portion into the nail and inhale the steam that comes out of it. Liquid concentrates evaporate at a different temperature than wax, so the ideal temperature will depend on what type of concentrate you want to dab.
In addition to the traditional dab platforms, there are the well-known E-nails. These dab rigs use an electronic resistor instead of a torch to heat the nail or banger and usually come with a voltage regulator box that plugs into the wall and allows you to adjust the temperature at which you want the nail to heat up. With an e-nail, all you have to do is connect it, wait for it to heat up to the desired temperature, and then consume your favorite concentrate without using a torch.
What's The Difference Between Rosin And Wax?
Rosin and wax are both thick and sticky, but they also have characteristics that make them entirely different types of concentrates. Although similar, the consistency of rosin is somewhat more liquid than that of wax. Wax tends to look like ear wax or scraped wax, while the texture of rosin is slightly more oily. In addition to this, the methods used to obtain the wax or BHO and the rosin are entirely different, affecting the final smell and taste that we perceive from these concentrates.
Ultimately, the differences between live rosin and wax can be very relative since there can even be significant differences between different types of wax and between different types of rosin. These differences will depend on several factors ranging from the strain used, the exact extraction method used, storage, and the product´s quality.
Potency
Wax vs. Rosin, which one is stronger? Although both wax and rosin are manual extraction methods, in terms of potency, rosin may be subtly less potent than wax since the extraction process for this concentrate is slightly less sophisticated.
Extraction Process
Rosin is a solventless extraction method that only uses heat and pressure. Unlike rosin, the technique used to obtain wax uses solvents such as butane, propane, or alcohol to separate the trichomes from the rest of the plant matter. Sometimes residual solvent remains in the final product, altering the odor, taste, and, therefore, the concentrate’s quality. However, if done correctly, all butane should leach out from the rest of the cannabis during the explosion process.
Taste
The flavor of rosin and wax can vary greatly depending on the strain used for extraction and the quality of the extraction method used. Nevertheless, the method used to obtain rosin, especially live rosin, preserves more terpenes and flavonoids than that used to obtain the wax. Therefore, live rosin is one of the most aromatic and tasty concentrates available on the market.
Cost
In terms of cost, live rosin can be a bit more expensive than wax. While a gram of wax is between $25 to $30, a gram of live rosin can be around $70. This significant price difference is since the extraction method used to obtain the live rosin is solventless, more time-consuming, and somewhat more traditional than the method used to get BHO or wax. Due to this, live rosin preserves more natural compounds from the cannabis used to obtain it. That’s why most cannabis experts consider live rosin a higher quality product than industrially-made wax.
