Andrew Ward
The world of cannabis concentrates has swelled in recent years thanks to advanced and innovative production methods. The plethora of options generates ample confusion among consumers, especially those just beginning their explorations with extracts. Don't feel bummed if you find yourself among the confused. It can be difficult telling the difference between concentrates, including live rosin, live resin, rosin, live hash rosin, wax, shatter and a seemingly growing number of options.
With so much confusion, you may find yourself in a position asking if live rosin is better than shatter without actually knowing which is which. Again, have no shame if you find yourself unsure of your cannabis extracts. We're here to help you out.
In this entry, we'll be unpacking live rosin, one of the newer types of cannabis concentrates you'll find at the dispensary. This more recent market entry comes at a higher price tag most connoisseurs don't seem to mind paying for. Using top-quality cultivars and a solvent-free extraction process, live rosin retains as much of the plant's profile, including its terpenes and cannabinoids, as possible. The result is a premium cannabis concentrate packed with an array of compounds.
If you're ready to try live rosin, Nugg Club delivers California's best brands of live rosin and other premium cannabis products directly to your door. You'll receive 5-7 premium cannabis products, at least $225 worth, for just $99 a month!
Before exploring live rosin, it's best to explain what its cousin rosin is. Like live rosin, cannabis brands create rosin using a solvent-free process relying on heat and pressure to forcibly extract the oils from the cannabis plant, kief or hash. Each option is a suitable choice, but many prefer flower for their ability to work with and retain the source material's profile before any plant processing occurs.
The end result of a superior rosin extraction process, which includes pressing the source material with a dual-sided food-safe metal press, is what's called full melt hash oil. Full melt stands out for its ability to melt fully when heated for dabs and its yellow to off-white hue rather than rosin's golden amber color.
Keep in mind that the names may sound the same, but the processes vary quite a bit when comparing live resin versus rosin or live rosin. If you ever find yourself unsure of the two, remember that rosin's extraction uses zero chemicals while live resin does. More on these two in a section down below.
In the battle of live rosin vs rosin, the winner is often clear: you, the consumer.
Live rosin follows in rosin's footsteps as a premium, solvent-free product. Taking it one step further is what makes it "live." Rather than using harvested flower, kief or hash, live rosin uses flash-frozen, freshly cut cannabis flower. In other words, live rosin never uses dried or cured plant material.
Essentially, once the flower is harvested from the soil, it’s placed in a freeze dryer until ready to begin its extraction process. Doing so minimizes terpene damage while retaining the flavor, aroma, and effects of the source material. The flash freezing method is believed to preserve more compounds than regular rosin or other extraction processes. The preservation of the monoterpenes, terpenes and cannabinoids, as well as other plant compounds, gives you the most flavorful extract on the market today. While debatable, some even say live rosin provides a "cleaner" high.
In all, many believe the process helps deliver consumers with an enhanced entourage effect than other products on the market today.
In addition to the benefits already mentioned, live rosin and other solventless products are popular because of supply and demand.
Unlike solvent-based production methods, solventless extraction trails in production yield. That is fine in a "quality versus quantity" mindset for those that consider solvent-free superior. However, the occasional inaccessibility of live rosin creates a demand that sets a higher price tag for a "pure" raw extract product.
While live rosin may be considered a better product, price and availability make wax a more common purchase among connoisseurs.
If the bit above didn't drive it home, let's clarify before going further: live resin and live rosin are not the same things.
They are both 'live' for using fresh-cut or flash-frozen cannabis flower for extraction. However, live rosin ultimately retains more of the profile, as live resin sees many compounds stripped away once butane chemicals are introduced. The results see many producers reintroducing terpenes, be they synthetic or natural, into the final product.
There are additional benefits to wax that consumers may prefer over live rosin. While the soft, wax-like texture doesn't pack the "purity" of live rosin due to its use of butane, wax does contain a significantly larger dosage of THC, typically between 60 and 80%.
While the potency boost is a selling point to many, some may still prefer live rosin and other products that avoid being butane blasted during the extraction process.
That said, don't write off wax or other products made from solvents. All chemicals are removed during the production process, many steps before ever reaching dispensary sales shelves.
The answer boils down to your preference. Shatter and live rosin offer substantially different products. Live rosin contains a solvent-free product rich in the plant's profile. Like wax, shatter offers much more THC potency, sometimes exceeding 90%.
In the end, choosing live rosin, rosin, shatter, wax or any other cannabis concentrate boils down to your needs and budget. Ask what you're looking for out of your next dab or consumption experience, then assess how much it'll cost to get there.
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