A Beginner’s Cannabis Guide to Different Types Concentrates

The cannabis world has so much jargon you need to know about. One of these terms is concentrates. The name refers to concentrated extracts taken out of the marijuana plant. Concentrates are the outcome of an extraction process that separates the good potent stuff from the plant material waste. Let’s take a look at the different types concentrates

A concentrate can either be a cannabinoid or a terpene. Terpenes are the sweet-smelling extracts that give marijuana its unique aroma, while cannabinoids are the substances that directly affect the mind or the body. Marijuana has two main cannabinoids: CBD and THC. THC is the cannabinoid that creates the psychoactive effect, while CBD has a calming effect.

Marijuana concentrates may have one of the main cannabinoids or a combination of the two. You only have to choose the type of cannabinoid you want and its potency level. THC levels vary from one strain to another, but concentrates are extracted from the most potent ones.

Types of Cannabis Concentrates

The primary factor determining the type of concentrate is the cannabis strain. There are as many concentrates as there are marijuana strains. Each strain has specific properties and concentrations designed to address a particular issue. You only choose the right concentrate based on your need and the effect you are looking for.

The second factor that influences the type of concentrate is the extraction method. Typically, concentrates are extracted either through the solventless or solvent method.

The solventless method uses water, pressure, and agitation to detach the active ingredients from the plant matter. This method produces some unrefined concentrates like dry sift, kief, bubble hash, and rosin. The method produces concentrates that still carry bits of plant material.

The solvent extraction uses a hydrocarbon or carbon dioxide to dissolve the active ingredients, separating them from the plant matter. This process takes a complicated method and advanced equipment but produces pure concentrates like budders, waxes, and shatters.

The solventless extraction method is thought to be more holistic and vegan friendly. Some people do not like the idea of using hydrocarbon gases and consider them to be toxins. However, this is just a misconception. The solvents leave the concentrates entirely and do not contaminate.

Here are some concentrate types:

Shatter

Shatter is a concentrate with a glass-like appearance. When broken, it breaks into glass-like pieces. Made using butane as a solvent, shatter is among the purest cannabis concentrates. The extra purity and potency is a result of the additional filtration the extract goes through. Shatter has a golden-ish amber colour. It might also be a little sticky covered in terpenes. Shatter hits hard and should be taken with utmost care.

Wax

Wax is a concentrate whose name reflects its candle wax-like appearance. It looks a little like shatter only that it’s very sticky. However, some forms of it are crumblier, less sticky, and with a honey-like texture. The variation is brought by the differences in moisture and heat levels during extraction. The brittle kind is called crumble, while the sticky, gooey one is called budder. Consume your wax using an oil rig or a vaporiser.

C02 Oil

When carbon dioxide is used for a solvent, the extract retrieved is called C02 oil, but when butane is used, it’s called hash oil. This extract is called an oil because of its runny consistency, but with increased concentration, it tends to have a thick consistency.

Cannabis oils have a high concentration of terpenes because the temperatures do not rise too high during extraction. At high temperatures, terpenes start fading out. If you buy a vape pen, the liquid in it will most likely be cannabis oil. Cannabis oil is also commonly used to make cannabis edibles.

Butane Hash Oil

Hash oil, also called BHO, is also a popular cannabis concentrate. It is among the most potent marijuana extracts, and you need only a small amount to get high. Hash oil is the outcome of extracting terpenes and cannabinoids using butane. Butane is a highly flammable hydrocarbon that requires extreme care when using it. Once all the active material is removed, butane evaporates, leaving behind a residue. The residue goes through further purification in a vacuum chamber to eliminate all impurities and solvent residue. Always seek to know whether your BHO went through a residual solvent test to affirm that it is a pure product.

Rosin

Rosin is a concentrate derived through the solventless method. It is derived through a combination of pressure and heat. The pressing of cannabis produces an extract called rosin. You could easily make this product at home, with only a hair straightener and some parchment paper. However, the high-grade product requires a mechanical or hydraulic press because they apply tremendous pressure.

Kief

When you peel off the trichomes layer from a cannabis bud and dry it, it forms a sticky substance that looks like sand called dry sift or kief. The trichomes are the holders of terpenes in a marijuana plant. A collection of these trichomes, dried and pressed together, results in kief. You may smoke kief by itself or add it to ground cannabis to increase its potency. You may also press kief to make hash.

Hash

Hash is a popular and most known form of marijuana concentrate. It is made through different methods, the first being compressing kief to make small green pucks. Hash also forms when resin builds up on a person’s fingertips when handling cannabis leaves and buds. The small hash amount that forms is called finger hash. There also exists another way of deriving hash in larger quantities and more purity. Since the trichomes do not dissolve in water, the hash is made by dipping the trichomes in ice water then filtering the resultant material through micron screens. As the solution goes through meshes of different sizes, the hash continually becomes refined, giving rise to a high-quality hash like Bubble Hash. Bubble Hash produces actual bubbles when smoked.

Hash is preferred to kief because it’s more potent and has less unwanted plant material.

Conclusion

There are many more concentrate types besides the ones discussed. You are spoilt for choice when it comes to cannabis concentrates. Only remember that concentrates are more potent than regular weed. Stick to the recommended dosage to derive the best experience. Get your concentrates from Daily Marijuana. We stock a wide array of them. Check out our reviews from independent sites such as Cannabis Ontario and Trust Pilot.