Celebrate 710 with Resin, Rosin, and Sauce

Get inspired for your next dab-worthy product with a deep dive into the concentrates that started this holiday. Happy Dab Day!

It may not be as widely celebrated as 4/20, but true cannabis connoisseurs are getting geared up for this seriously dank holiday. As a celebration of all things concentrates, 710 pays homage to the technical mastery required to make such wonders as live resin, shatter, wax, and so much more. 

Why July 10th? Unlike the rest of this holiday, the answer is stupefyingly simple—turn the number 710 upside down, and it looks like OIL. 

From the early days of hashish all the way to ice-hash rosin and liquid diamonds, cannabis lovers have been tinkering with different ways to preserve aromatics, flavors, and beautiful cannabinoids. We don’t know about you, but as scientists and cannabis lovers, this is something that really resonates with us.

Plus, recent innovations have created even more avenues for creativity. Want a dab that perfectly captures the genuine aroma of Skywalker OG? Interested in adding high-intensity flavor to distillate? Today, all of that and more is possible.

So, let’s celebrate all things dank and dab-worthy by taking a look inside the technical artistry of iconic concentrates. Grab your rig or your favorite vape. Things are about to get saucy.

Solvent vs. Solvent-less Extraction

To understand the world of cannabis concentrates, it’s important to understand the methods by which they’re made. Some of these methods have been around for centuries, while others are recent developments. Either way, we’ll do our best not to geek out too hard.

Solvent-less extraction is technically easier and less expensive than solvent-based methods, but it’s worth noting that it’s difficult to scale and can have a low capture rate. Once you get your hands on a particularly well-made solvent-less concentrate, however, you’ll understand why these methods are considered an art form. 

These include rosin, hash, dry-sift kief, etc. While technological advancements have influenced the way some of these are made, they’re still some of the oldest extraction methods.

Solvent-based extraction, however, is used to make concentrates like live resin, shatter, or wax. A solvent is used to dissolve trichomes from freshly frozen cannabis plants, and all the goodies (terpenes, flavorants, cannabinoids, etc.) are left behind when the solvent gets removed. The costs and technical expertise required for solvent-based extractions can vary quite a bit, though.

Liquid solvent extraction, for example, is an excellent method for producing large amounts of crude extract. Unfortunately, similar boiling points between terpenes and the selected solvent can make it impossible to create high-quality full-spectrum products.

Hydrocarbon extraction, on the other hand, can preserve terpenes, keep desired ingredients from decarboxylating, and doesn’t degrade or remove valuable terpenes when solvents are recollected. These extracts have an exquisite melting glass structure, and the aromatics are next-level. 

Supercritical CO2 extraction is also popular because it results in high extraction yields from the use of high pressure and temperature. However, this requires fairly expensive equipment, making it somewhat impractical for smaller businesses.

Resin

The next time you get the chance to examine cannabis under a microscope, take a look at the trichomes. With their long stalks and bulbous heads, trichomes can sometimes look a bit extraterrestrial, and they can even give cannabis flowers a beautiful frosty appearance. Looks aside, these glands are where that natural sticky icky resin gets produced.

This resin contains various cannabinoids, terpenes, and other aromatic compounds, from which concentrates are extracted. For example, if you’ve ever collected the fine powder from the bottom of your grinder, you’ve technically used solvent-less extraction to make your own kief concentrate. Good job!

“Live Resin” is made via solvent-based extraction and results in a sticky, syrupy concentrate with a potent aroma. Using plants that have been frozen immediately after harvest helps maintain the natural array of aromatic compounds. While different methods can cause aromatic variations, live resin is able to preserve that aroma well over time and is very popular for vaping.

Rosin

Rosin is made using solvent-less extraction. Technicians use a combination of heat and pressure to extract the trichome-rich resin, resulting in a concentrate with a butter, cake, or shatter-like consistency. This can be done with regular flower, trim, kief, bubble hash, freeze-dried bubble hash, and more. 

In our recent research, The Science of Exotic I: The Dawn of Flavorants, we specifically used ice-hash rosin because it was ideal for measuring low-concentration analytes. Put more simply, this highly potent concentrate just made it a lot easier for our equipment to pick up on compounds that were present in very, very small amounts. 

When combined with live bubble hash or live kief, rosin has the potential to produce particularly high-quality extracts. Want to experience rosin's aroma potential? Using the rosin we analyzed in the previous study, we created new botanically-derived formulations of savory GMO and tropical, petroleum-fueled Orange Apricot.

Sauce 

Sauce is something seriously special. Like live resin, it’s made using solvent-based extraction. Unlike other concentrates, however, this process can take anywhere from several days to several weeks. But trust us when we say that it’s all worth it in the end.

Instead of removing the solvents all at once, they’re left in much longer to encourage the crystallization of specific cannabinoids. Once all of the solvents have been removed, you’re left with a yellow or amber-colored liquid that has “diamonds” floating on the surface. The liquid portion will be extremely high in terpenes, while the crystals are rich in cannabinoids.

Creating high-terpene extracts like this is definitely not for beginners, but these products are incredibly popular for their beautifully robust aromatic profiles. Want to experience it for yourself? Then you’ve got to get your hands on iconic cultivars like bright Acapulco Gold and dank Dynasty OG.

Design Dab-Worthy Concentrates for 710 with Industry Experts

Okay, so maybe 710 is still a niche holiday, but it won’t be for long. All joking aside, the global cannabis industry is still just getting started. Consumers are becoming more educated, and it's more important than ever to offer one-of-a-kind products with the science to back them up. That’s why we’re so passionate about pushing the industry forward with peer-reviewed research and collaborative educational efforts. 

To date, we have successfully lobbied to legalize hydrocarbon (BHO/PHO) extraction in Canada, performed groundbreaking research to discover entirely new classes of compounds in cannabis, and we’ve partnered with six different universities in ongoing research studies.

Oh, yeah. Let’s not forget about our true-to-type botanically-derived cannabis profiles. Whether they’re based on rosin, flower, or sauce, our Native Series products are designed to taste and smell exactly like the original cannabis material. Except they’re not limited by supply, and they don’t cost your firstborn child.

Contact us today, and let’s create a product worthy of 710. 

Terpenes Extracted from Rosin, Sauce, and Flower

SHOP GMO

As the first to benefit from our breakthrough discovery, GMO is kicking off the next era of botanical aromatics. Flavorants Skatole and Indole multiply its notoriously savory and funky notes for a loud, gassy, and undeniably pungent finish.

SHOP Orange Apricot

Revel in the next evolution of botanical aromatics with bright petroleum-fueled Orange Apricot. Tropicannasulfurs create an exhilarating medley of Tangie-forward citrus with deafeningly loud notes of sweet gas. Welcome to the future.

SHOP Skywalker OG

If only you knew the power of Skywalker OG. Gas top notes create a tension, a balance, that binds together light floral herbs with dark OG elements of wood, earth, and citrus. Come to the dank side.

SHOP Acapulco Gold

Acapulco Gold is far out, man. With its rich combo of gilded honey, bright citrus, and that splash of gas, this landrace cultivar perfectly captures the cool gulf breezes and blazing Mexican sun of the 60s.

SHOP Dynasty OG

Dynasty OG has inherited all of the authoritative dankness of its OG Kush lineage. Regal elements of pine, citrus, and earth merge with loud gassy aromas to inspire loyalty, relaxation, and respect for the OG.