Cannabis concentrates are products made by separating the resin, where the THC and terpenes are made and stored, from the rest of the plant. Solventless concentrates such as kief, dry sift, bubble hash and rosin use screens, ice water, heat and pressure. Solvent extracts such as shatter, wax, live resin, CO2 oil and distillate dissolve the resin out with a solvent that is removed afterward.
What are cannabis concentrates?
Cannabis concentrates are the plant’s resin, collected and concentrated. The resin is made in the trichomes, the tiny glandular heads on the flowers: a 2021 review from McGill University describes cannabinoids and terpenes forming in secretory cells at the base of each head and being stored in a cavity under its skin. Everything else on the plant is packaging, and every concentrate is a way of getting the resin out and leaving the rest behind.
Types of cannabis concentrates
Types of cannabis concentrates are named for how they are made, and each one is either solventless or made with a solvent:
| Type | How it’s made | Solvent? |
|---|---|---|
| Kief and dry sift | Resin heads sifted off dried plants through screens | No |
| Bubble hash | Resin heads washed off in ice water and caught in filter bags | No |
| Pressed hash | Kief or bubble pressed into a block, or resin hand rubbed off live plants | No |
| Rosin | Flower, kief or hash pressed with heat | No |
| Shatter, wax and budder | Butane or propane extracts, finished glassy, crumbly or creamy | Yes |
| Live resin | A butane or propane extract of fresh frozen plants | Yes |
| CO2 oil | Extracted with pressurized carbon dioxide | Yes |
| Distillate | A solvent extract distilled to 90% THC or more | Yes |
Solventless vs solvent concentrates
Solventless vs solvent concentrates is the main dividing line in the concentrate world. Solventless methods take the resin heads off whole, so nothing has to be removed afterward; solvent methods dissolve the resin out, then the solvent is purged or distilled away. Rosin, pressed from hash or flower, is the solventless answer to the butane extracts. Bubbleman has been on the solventless side for almost 30 years, and the story of the word is in solventless, but he defends everyone’s right to the other side.
From the archive: Bubbleman on solvent and solventless
From the archive, Bubbleman on solvent and solventless in his own words, recorded live on Season 12, Episode 15, The Edibles Episode, with Marigold Sweets and Space Gems. Tap a time to hear that moment.
I don’t love BHO, but I would fight for the right for it to exist, and I would fight for the right to people to have access to it because I know that my ego of what I like and don’t like doesn’t represent the entire planet of people.
On the other sideOne thing we know for sure, that bubble hash is pulling out polar, non-polar, and semipolar components… the solvents are pulling out components that are related to their polarity, whereas the bubble and the dry sift methods are pulling out everything, all of it. So, you know, the BHO guys are like, hey, we only want this, which is fine, no problem.
On what each method pulls out
How strong are concentrates?
Concentrates are strong, far stronger than flower: Low Temp puts concentrated cannabis in general at about 52 to 95 percent THC, with live resin around 60 to 90 percent and distillate upwards of 90. Puffco’s advice for a first dab is an amount the size of a grain of rice.
How concentrates are used
Concentrates are used in more ways than flower. Most are dabbed (more on that below); refined oils go into vape carts; kief and hash go into joints and bowls; and almost all of them can be cooked into edibles. Hash, the oldest of them, has its own section in what is hash.
Dab concentrates
Dab concentrates are the ones you vaporize off a hot surface instead of burning, and most of the types in the table above get dabbed. Puffco notes that dab concentrates are named for how they were extracted and for their consistency, which is where names like shatter, wax and budder come from.
Concentrate guides
Concentrate guides, from dabbing to terpenes:
- What are dabs?Dabbing explainedExplainer
- How to dabTemperatures, tools and techniqueHow to
- Live resinWhat it is and how it’s madeExplainer
- Live resin vs distillateFlavor against purityComparison
- TerpenesWhat they are and what they doExplainer
- Terpene chartAromas and boiling pointsChart
Concentrate questions
Concentrate questions, answered short:
What are weed concentrates?
Weed concentrates are the same thing as cannabis concentrates: products made from the plant’s resin with the leaf and flower removed, such as kief, hash, rosin, live resin and distillate.
What are the types of concentrates?
The types of concentrates are solventless (kief, dry sift, bubble hash, pressed hash and rosin) and solvent extracts (shatter, wax, budder, live resin, CO2 oil and distillate).
Are concentrates stronger than flower?
Yes, concentrates are stronger than flower: Low Temp puts them at about 52 to 95 percent THC, so start with a very small amount.
Is hash a concentrate?
Yes, hash is a concentrate: it is the plant’s resin heads collected and pressed together, without a solvent.
What is the difference between solventless and solvent concentrates?
The difference between solventless and solvent concentrates is how the resin comes off: solventless methods separate the resin heads whole with screens, ice water, heat or pressure, while solvent methods dissolve the resin out and remove the solvent afterward.
How do you use concentrates?
You use concentrates by dabbing them, vaping them, adding them to joints and bowls, or cooking them into edibles.
Sources for this guide to cannabis concentrates
Sources for this guide to cannabis concentrates:
- Cannabis glandular trichomes: a cellular metabolite factory (Tanney and others, 2021), Frontiers in Plant Science
- Key differences between live resin vs distillate, Low Temp Industries
- Live rosin vs live resin, Low Temp Industries
- Dabbing dos and don’ts: a guide for beginners, Puffco
- Puff Wednesday with Vancity Extracts, Bubbleman’s World on YouTube
- Hash Church Season 12, Episode 15: Bubbleman on solvent and solventless, linked above