What is Live Rosin, How It’s Made, and How to Smoke and Vape It

Anyone exploring the cannabis market will come across many different products, from fresh frosty bud to vapes to golden extracts and concentrates. Marijuana concentrates are just that, concentrated forms of cannabinoids; extremely potent and enjoyed in small portions in dab rigs, vape pens, and flower infusions. Among the wide world of concentrates, only one offers the benefit of being created without a chemical solvent: rosin.

Rosin is rich with everything that makes cannabis both psychoactive and delicious. Packed with terpenes and cannabinoids, rosin is the most natural type of cannabis concentrate that you can dab. But just what is rosin, how is it made, and how do you smoke or vape it? All great questions that we’ll cover below, starting first with:

What is Rosin?

Rosin is a solventless marijuana concentrate. Solventless is a coveted term in the cannabis space; it’s a cannabis concentrate made without butane or alcohol. When you hear solventless, think rosin. Depending on the extraction method – more on those in a minute – it can range from a creamy tan hue to a deep tan with hints of green.

So, if there’s no solvent to isolate cannabinoids and terpenes, how is it made?

How Do You Make Rosin?

Rosin is a beloved outlier in cannabis concentrates, as it’s crafted without a solvent. Instead, rosin is made using a simple combination of heat and pressure.

To make rosin, marijuana trichomes are collected from the cannabis plant. Trichomes are what give bud its frosted appearance and are the potent creators and holders of cannabinoids and terpenes. These trichomes can be extracted in a variety of ways, but to create rosin, no matter the collection method, the trichomes are pressed using heated mechanical plates to express the precious oils. The extracted cannabis oil drips into a sticky extract, that’s then manipulated into a variety of forms.

Types of Hash Rosin

There are three types of rosin that you might come across in your local dispensary. Each one is created by pressing cannabis material between highly pressurized heated plates, but the result is a little different depending on what type of cannabis material you start with.

• Flower rosin
• Dry sift
• Ice water extraction

What is Flower Rosin?

In lieu of isolating trichomes, flower rosin is crafted using whole bud. Cannabis flower, dried and cured or freshly harvested, is pressed between the rosin-making heated plates in order to extract the cannabis oil directly from the plant matter. This form of rosin is deeper in hue due to the presence of the colorful flower leaves.

What is Dry Sift Rosin?

Dry sift, also known as cannabis kief, is created when trichomes are separated from the cannabis bud; if you have a three-piece grinder, it’s what’s collected at the bottom. When crafting rosin, dried and cured flower (what you purchase in dispensaries) is jostled on a series of mesh screens. These mesh screens decrease in size so as to isolate solely the trichome heads, and to ensure as little flower makes its way to the press as possible.

This dry sift is collected en masse, then pressed between the heated plates to create an extremely potent and pure form of cannabis rosin. Dry sift rosin is often deeper in hue due to the inevitable addition of plant matter.

What is Hash Rosin?

Hash rosin is created by further concentrating ice water hash, crafted via ice water extraction.

Ice water extraction uses water, ice, and agitation to break the trichomes gently but efficiently from the cannabis flower. This wet, sticky hash slurry is refined through mesh screens that decrease in size, and then dried. To make hash rosin, the ice water hash (also called bubble hash) is then pressed between the heated plates to create hash rosin. This method is the most efficient in isolating solely trichomes, as the water softens the bud while freezing the delicate trichomes, which are knocked off by the ice. Hash rosin is creamy tan in hue.

Live Hash Rosin vs. Hash Rosin: What's The Difference?

Solventless is a buzzword in cannabis, as is live.

Live cannabis is flower that is harvested and immediately frozen. This flash-freezing of the plant is incredibly beneficial, as it preserves what’s referred to as the plant’s living terpene profile. Cannabinoids and terpenes are so volatile that the simple act of drying and curing causes dissipation of these beneficial compounds. Flash-freezing combats this by preserving the plant’s profile as it was growing in the pot it was harvested from.

Live hash rosin is crafted using live cannabis flower, resulting in an incredibly tasty and potent extract.

Hash rosin is made using dried and cured flower, which creates a concentrate that is potent and flavorful, though to a slightly lesser degree to that created with live flower.

How Do You Smoke Hash Rosin

Now that you know what this solventless concentrate is, let's explore how to smoke rosin or vaporize it in a dab rig.

Smoking Rosin in a Bowl or Bong

If you're looking to smoke rosin, you don't need any special tools or equipment, so long as you have cannabis flower.

When you load your bowl, add flower, then a small sprinkle of rosin. Add more flower atop, then repeat the process if you need an especially potent dose. Too, you can start with just flower, mix your flower and rosin together, add atop the base layer, then add a top layer of just flower. By layering in the concentrate, you’ll ensure to not burn off the delicious extract prior to inhaling.

Infusing a Joint with Rosin or Live Rosin

Infusing a joint with rosin or live rosin uses the same logic. Our preferred way is to add pure flower at the start and end of your j. In between, crumble the rosin into small chunks, and mix evenly with more flower. Use this infused bud in the middle of the pure flower, then roll. This will ensure a nice, even burn.

Dabbing Rosin in a Dab Rig or Dab Pen

You can flash-vaporize or dab rosin in a dab rig by dropping a small ball of the concentrate into the super-heated nail of the dab rig. It will vaporize instantly, and you will be able to inhale the vapor through the mouthpiece of the rig. This gives you the purest experience of the concentrate, allowing you to savor the intense flavor.

If dab rigs are too intense, the same method can be used with dab pens. These portable concentrate pens are convenient, allowing you to load your desired dab into the chamber, closing, heating, and inhaling.

For the simplest vaping, live rosin vapes are a rarity, but an exciting addition to solventless. Live rosin oil is loaded into cartridges, crafting the most flavorful, true-to-flower vaping experience.

Best Temperature for Smoking Hash Rosin

Because of the concentration of terpenes, the best temperature to dab hash rosin is at 500°F. This will allow you to maximize the flavor of the concentrate – be sure to savor each dab. If you're using a dab pen, the lowest heat setting is best.

To best tailor your dab temps with a traditional rig, be sure to use an e-nail, a device that you hook to your banger and heats it to a specific temperature.

Effects and Potency of Hash Rosin

Because hash rosin is a collection of expressed trichomes, the concentrate is incredibly potent. These trichomes are the holders of terpenes, the driver of strain-specific effects. Expect the effects of the strain extracted, on a grander scale. Because rosin is dabbed or smoked, you can expect immediate effects that last 2-4 hours.

Where Can I Find Hash Rosin Near Me?

Rosin is a highly popular form of cannabis concentrate because it is powerful, easy to use, and appeals to those seeking for solventless products. You can find a great selection of live rosin coins, badder, and even vapes at a MÜV Dispensary near you, or even for cannabis delivery. Explore your favorite cannabis strains in a flavorful and potent format that you’re sure to come back to.