Table of Contents
- What is Live Resin?
- How is Live Resin Made?
- What Makes Live Resin Different from Other Cannabis Concentrates?
- What are The Benefits of Live Resin?
- Disadvantages of Live Resin
- FAQ
- Conclusion
If you have been around the cannabis scene for a while, you have probably heard the word “live resin” thrown around. What does that mean? It’s that sticky, gooey stuff that some people say is the best way to get high.
But what exactly is live resin? It is a cannabis concentrate made from fresh buds that have been immediately frozen after they’re harvested. This process preserves the terpenes in their natural state, which gives live resin its distinctive aroma and flavor profile.
Read on for more information about live resin, how it’s made, and how it differs from other types of cannabis concentrates, including its benefits.
What Is Live Resin?
Live resin is a cannabis concentrate that’s made from fresh frozen buds. It’s a relatively new form of concentrate that’s gaining popularity with cannabis enthusiasts. The term “live resin” is used to describe the process of freezing fresh buds immediately after they’re harvested, as well as the product that results from this process.
Most types of cannabis concentrates are made from dried and cured buds, which means more than 50% of terpenes have been removed during the drying process. But live resin is an exception to this rule. It’s made without any heat being applied to the buds, which means all the terpenes and cannabinoids are still present in their natural state.
This makes live resin a more flavorful and aromatic type of concentrate than other types on the market.
What Are Terpenes and Their Role in Live Resin?
Terpenes are organic compounds in plants that give them their unique aromas and flavors. These compounds play an essential role in how cannabinoids interact with the human body, making them an important component of live resin.
Terpenes also have their own health benefits that make them popular among cannabis consumers. For example, some studies have shown that limonene can help relieve anxiety, while pinene may help improve memory and focus.
When Was Live Resin Created?
William Fenger and Jason Emo pioneered the live resin extraction technique in 2013. Although hemp has been around for a while, more recent innovations like dabbing, waxes, cannabis oil, flavored edibles, and live resin carts have helped popularize cannabis.
So How Is Live Resin Made?
Most live resin extraction methods use a simple process as other cannabis concentrates. The plant material is passed through a solvent, which is then vaporized. However, the solvent is cooled to 40°F for extraction.
Also, unlike other concentrates, the final product undergoes the purging of solvents at a considerably lower temperature. But this isn’t how all live resin is made. Some concentrate producers tweak the method to make unique products.
Here are the basic steps to making live resin:
1st Step – Flash-Freezing
The first step in the process is to quickly freeze freshly harvested cannabis plant material. This is commonly done using dry ice or liquid nitrogen.
2nd Step – Extraction
The plant material remains frozen until it’s ready for the next step, which is extraction. Generally, extraction is performed within 36 hours of thawing the plant material. Also, the plants are kept at extremely low temperatures throughout the extraction process.
3rd Step – Live Resin Processing
After extraction, live resin is often heated in a vacuum oven. It can be packaged in its current form or put on carts for vape pens.
What Makes Live Resin Different from Other Cannabis Concentrates?
Sugar, crumble, shatter, wax, butter, and so on are just a few of the many forms cannabis concentrates can take. However, not all concentrates are produced with live resin. Concentrates produced using the conventional drying, curing, and extraction methods are thus likely to have a lower terpene content.
Terpenes are what give various cannabis products their particular sensory qualities. So, cannabis consumers who value aroma and flavor could be missing out. What’s even more crucial is potentially getting a product with low total terpene content and reduced overall effectiveness caused by the reduced synergy between cannabinoids and terpenes.
Live resin extract provides the best possible experience and the greatest potential for capturing the most therapeutic benefits.
What Are the Benefits of Live Resin?
Live resin is much more potent than other forms of cannabis. It contains a higher concentration of cannabinoids and terpenes, which is why it’s a popular choice for medical marijuana patients. Live resin also has a stronger taste and smell than other types of cannabis concentrates.
The benefits of live resin include:
1. Higher Terpene Concentration
Live resin has a higher terpene concentration than other types of cannabis extracts. It’s also made with fresh frozen buds, meaning there’s more flavor and aroma than other products.
2. It Captures the Plant’s Full Chemical Profile
A live resin extract can capture the complete chemical profile of a strain. It captures the full range of cannabinoids and terpenes found in the original plant material, making it an excellent option for medical cannabis patients.
3. It Has an Increased Synergistic Effect
The term “synergistic effect” refers to the way compounds interact with one another. In live resin, you’ll find a wide range of cannabinoids and terpenes that work together to create an enhanced experience. And for medical cannabis patients, this is especially important as they need more specific benefits than recreational users do.
4. Improved Therapeutic Benefits
One of the increased benefits of live resin is its properties to increase you focus and creativity during your tasks.
Again, live resin’s increased synergistic effect can be beneficial in a lot of ways. This effect may lead to improved therapeutic benefits than those found in other products.
Live resin has many therapeutic benefits, including:
- Reduced stress
- Increased focus and creativity
- Better sleep
- Improved mood
- Less pain and inflammation
Disadvantages of Live Resin
When a brand-new product hits the market, there are bound to be both good and bad points to consider. Live resin is difficult to make at home, but so are most concentrates. But when compared to competing products, live resin’s superior taste and feel set it out as the winner.
Complex Manufacturing Process
If you want a top-notch experience, preserving all aromatic terpenes may come at a cost. Making it requires a lot of time and effort in the lab, and there are several potential dangers when using cryogenic freezing. Essentially, you’ll need to submerge the cannabis in liquid nitrogen, which isn’t something you can easily do in your kitchen.
More Expensive than Other Concentrates
Because of the difficult process involved, live resin tends to be more expensive than other types of concentrates. These products’ selling points often include their aroma and ability to produce a particularly intense high.
To provide some perspective, the typical THC content of dry-cured cannabis is around 20%. Live resin can range in concentration from about 65% to approximately 95%, depending on the make.
Supply Issues
Supply issues are common for newly released products, particularly in regions like Europe. If you’re shopping for a product in the US and Canada, you should only buy from a trusted manufacturer. Still, live resin’s popularity is on the rise, and if you prefer pure concentrate, it’s a fantastic option to consider.
Frequently Asked Questions – Live Resin Explained
What Is the Difference Between Live Resin and Regular?
The terpene content of live resin cartridges is higher than other vape products. Overall, the terpene concentration in live resins is higher than that of traditionally cured BHO extracts.
Does Live Resin Make a Difference?
Solvents like carbon dioxide or ethanol are used in the extraction process of live resin. Live resin is more potent than other types of resin since it is made from undried and uncured cannabis.
Does Live Resin Make You High?
Yes. You may expect a very potent high from live resin. Terpenes can magnify the effects of the cannabinoids, making the physical and mental effects of cannabis much stronger and more long-lasting than those of cannabis distillate alone.
A popular way to smoke live resin is to heat up the nail with a torch and smoke a dab of it through your glass rig.
Is Live Resin More Potent than Regular Carts?
A live resin cartridge is less potent than a distillate one. Resin’s THC percentage is usually around 45-50 percent, while that of distillate can be up to 85 or 90 percent. However, when you consider the “entourage effect,” it becomes clear that concentrating on THC levels alone is not necessarily a good idea.
Is Live Resin the Same as Dabs?
Live resin dabs are different from traditional dabs in one crucial factor — how it’s made. For the standard stuff, cannabis bud is traditionally dried, cured, and crushed up, whereas live resin is created from the newly harvested marijuana flower.
Conclusion – Live Resin Concentrate
Live resin is a next-generation cannabis product that’s rapidly growing in popularity and availability. While there are many different methods of extracting concentrates, live resin is one of the most popular methods because it uses fresh plant material to create a solventless concentrate.
The main benefit of live resin is that it provides a stronger, more potent high. This is because cannabinoids and terpenes are preserved during the extraction process. Since they’re not lost or burned off, they remain in their natural form.
Because live resin typically contains more terpenes than other concentrates, it means they have a stronger aroma and taste profile than their similar counterparts. This makes them ideal for dabbing and vaping.
