A Handbook of Cannabis Concentrates: Definitions, Applications, Potency, and Testing

Dispensaries have added more than 300,000 new high-potency extracts to their inventory this year alone, making cannabis concentrates the fastest-growing segment in the market. Brands are able to innovate while driving larger yearly revenues because to this 600% rise. Meanwhile, companies need to seize this chance to inform customers about the functionality of these items.

There is still a lot of misunderstanding regarding the variations in cannabis concentrate kinds, despite the industry’s maturity, including anything from potency to consumption to safety and equipment.

Let’s investigate.

What are concentrates made of cannabis?

Condensed collections of the plant’s trichomes that contain the maximum concentration of flavonoids, terpenes, and cannabinoids are known as cannabis concentrates. The resultant products differ in consistency, look, terpene content, and effect profiles, and usually contain 60% or more THC. Cannabis concentrates are produced by manufacturers using a variety of extraction methods, although they may be broadly classified into two groups: solvent-based and solventless.

Solventless: The resin heads on cannabis material are broken off using agitation in this extraction method. It then uses high-pressure, low-heat machinery to melt the trichomes into concentrated oils. Solventless extracts are a member of the “rosin” family of concentrates and are produced without the use of chemicals. Products made from rosin include 6-star hash, rosin fresh press, rosin jam, rosin badder, and rosin dry sift.

Solvent-based: In contrast to rosin extracts, solvent-based extracts use solvents to separate the plant material’s trichomes. Common solvents include CO2, methanol, butane, and ethanol. To produce a finished product that is safe and clean, producers need to remove the solvents from the recipe after extraction.

Cannabis Concentrates: Items, Applications, and Strength

1. Concentrates of Wax

Examine and Sensitize

The consistency of wax concentrations is sticky wax. They frequently have a golden appearance, are thick, and may have granular texture. The strong aromas and tastes of wax concentrates are well-known, and they differ based on the cultivar from which they are made.

Strength

THC content in most wax concentrations ranges from 60% to 80%, while it occasionally goes beyond 90%.

How They’re Made and Why They’re Waxy

The most popular method for making cannabis wax is butane hash oil extraction, which involves blasting the plant material with butane to extract all the flavonoids, terpenes, and cannabinoids into a sticky, concentrated resin. Because butane has a low boiling point, the plant material’s cannabinoids, aromatic terpenes, and flavonoids dissolve, preserving their unique smells and scents. After that, the extracted cannabis oil is heated to a certain temperature and stirred until it develops a golden hue and a waxy consistency.

Terpene concentration: Cured buds with a comparatively high terpene concentration are used to make premium wax concentrates. After proper extraction, these items exhibit rather noticeable terpene levels of about 5.9%. The manufacturer and the original flower will determine how many points this number varies.

Application

Wax is typically difficult to use in vape pens, and most of the temperature-sensitive terpenes are destroyed when wax is lit straight up against smoke. The majority of seasoned cannabis users utilize a dab rig, a certain kind of bong, or a water pipe with a nail connected to smoke wax and other thick concentrates through water vapor.

A full-scale vaporizer is another well-liked technique; its coils burn hot enough to handle wax. Dab rigs and vaporizers, which convert wax into a vapor, may help lessen the lung damage associated with smoking and provide instantaneous benefits for the user.

2. Shatter

Feels and Looks

Shatter is a thin, glass-like-looking wax concentration. It resembles hard candy. Superior quality shatter has a distinctive amber hue and is almost translucent.

How They’re Made and Why They’re Glassy

Butane is typically used in the extraction procedure for shatter. To get its final texture, it combines the extract less vigorously and with more heat than wax. Shatter has a more clear, glassy hue because light must pass through because the molecules must be precisely aligned. This takes greater accuracy. The process of rigorous filtering used in Shatter also adds to its consistency of hard candy.

Strength

Typically, shatter maintains between 80% and 90% of its THC potency. Shatter, in contrast to live resin, has a reduced terpene concentration since it goes through several purifying and filtration steps to get its perfect structure.

Terpene Content: High-quality shatter, a kind of wax, usually has a comparable amount of terpene—about 5.9%.

Application

Shater is more difficult to deal with than other concentrates, like wax, because of its glassy texture. Its shelf life is greater and it is more stable. Because shatter burns best at continuously high temperatures because to its stiff, brittle composition, it may readily destroy equipment such as ordinary vape pens. Dabbing and vaporizing shatter are the two most popular ways to smoke it. In order to prevent the shatter from burning directly, vaporizing entails putting it in a container and heating the air around it.

Are Concentrates Safe to Use?

THC concentrates are safe to consume as long as they are obtained from a reliable dispensary and utilized appropriately. To meet the growing demand for cannabis concentrates, extraction laboratories and manufacturers have been producing higher-volume manufacturing processes using increasingly complex equipment. Organizations must, however, properly test the finished product for impurities and leftover solvents before selling to customers. Always check the certificate of analysis (COA) before buying a concentrated product, customers. Customers must get a Certificate of Analysis (COA), which is an authenticated record that offers information on the strength of the product and guarantees that it is devoid of germs, mold, heavy metals, and pesticides.

Lower Line

In the cannabis industry, concentrates are the product category that is expanding the fastest. They are available in a wide variety of flavors and textures. Often just a small portion of what consumers need from cannabis flower, their strong THC and terpene concentration provides potent effects and medicinal advantages.

At the same time, the majority of concentrates use strong chemical solvents in order to extract and use the terpenes and cannabinoids found in the plant. Consequently, these compounds must be eliminated from extraction procedures, and the purity of the finished product must be confirmed.