How Concentrates are Made!

Concentrates have been rising to significant popularity over the last few decades. Cannabis concentrates are substances in which the cannabinoids and terpenes have been isolated from the cannabis plant. Cannabinoids and terpenes contain all the things we love about cannabis – effects and flavors and aromas oh my! Despite the continuously growing selection of concentrate options, the process of creating a cannabis concentrate starts like any other form of cannabis – with the plant!

Flower tends to produce more and bigger trichomes when grown in a climate controlled environment with complete organic soils and no pesticides. Some growers practice lowering the temperature in the grow room right before harvest. This is thought to cause flower to produce even more trichomes in order to protect itself. From here, there are two different ways to move forward before terpene extraction.

• Freezing the flower without curing prevents the breakdown of terpenes and cannabinoids which can more fully capture the profile of the strain.
• If concentrate extraction is not the end goal (or you are undecided with your own home-grow!), it’s always safe to dry and cure plants to protect the trichomes.

…to oil

Once the flower is ready, there are two options for extraction. First, the mechanical or physical separation process uses pressure and/or action rather than solvents to remove the trichomes. Second, the chemical extraction process uses solvents to dissolve the trichomes from the plant.  

For any live concentrate like live resin, the trichomes are extracted from a fresh plant that is flash-frozen to preserve the full flavor profile of the plant. Otherwise, concentrates are extracted from plants that are dried and cured before starting the extraction process. 

Mechanical Separation 

To separate trichomes through mechanical separation processes, methods of centrifugal action, gravity separation, and filtration are used. Three different techniques can be used for mechanical separation:

Sieving: The ground plant is sieved through a screen by hand or with a mechanical tumbler equipped with screens to remove exposed trichomes resulting in kief.

Ice-water method: Plant materials, water and ice are combined in a vessel and agitated until the trichomes break away from the plant and sink to the bottom often resulting in bubble hash (it bubbles when burned!) 

Cold and warm press methods: This process results in rosin by using heat and pressure to remove the terpenes and cannabinoids from the flower. Extreme pressure is applied until resin is excreted from the plant.

Chemical Separation 

Solvent-based extraction is the most efficient way to remove trichomes. The liquid form of solvents essentially “wash” the plants of the terpenes and cannabinoids. Solvents with low boiling points are ideal in order to boil off the solvent while maintaining the full spectrum of compounds found in the trichomes. Solvent-based extraction happens under fairly low pressures and temperature. There are a number of solvents that can be used for extraction. Two of the most commonly used solvents are butane and carbon dioxide.

Butane: Butane is best for stripping all cannabis compounds from the trichomes.

Carbon dioxide: CO2 is a more selective solvent used for extracting selective terpenes and cannabinoids. Repeatedly passing CO2 through the plant material in a closed-loop system will typically extract all of the cannabinoids.

No matter what solvent is used, all concentrates will need to go through a “purging” process to remove the chemicals before you can consume it. Different “post-processing techniques” result in the various forms like budder or diamonds that you see on the shelf today! 

Methods of Consumption

Concentrates can be consumed in a variety of ways. Cartridges or “vape” pens, nectar collectors, and dab rigs are the most common forms of concentrate consumption.

As always, talk to your knowledgeable patient consultant about all of our concentrate and consumption options to find what is right for you!

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