Cannabis-based products are now becoming mainstream in the cannabis world. Cannabis concentrates quickly gained popularity. Resin is one such concentrate due to its potency, versatility and rich flavor. Enthusiasts and medical patients always seek new and exciting ways to consume it. In this article, we will explore the difference between live resin vs cured resin and the extraction process involved in making it.
What Are Concentrates From the Cannabis Plant?
The cannabis plant possesses different natural plant compounds that offer many therapeutic benefits. As the final product of cannabis plants, cannabis concentrates have high concentrations of cannabinoids and terpenes.
Even after processing, the cannabis plant retains its natural compounds. These compounds include cannabinoids, terpenes, flavonoids, and other natural plant compounds.
Medical cannabis patients who require high doses of cannabinoids for pain relief or other conditions use these concentrates.
Cannabis Concentrates
Cannabidiol (CBD) and tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) are two types of cannabinoids that are prevalent in cannabis concentrates.
Producers extract the resin from the cannabis plant to create various cannabis concentrates like wax, shatter, budder, and crumble. Each of them has its unique properties and methods of consumption.
These concentrates can be created using various extraction methods, like solvent-based extractions and heat press extractions.
A solvent-based extraction process produces butane hash oil, another popular cannabis concentrate.
What Is Cannabis Resin?
The cannabis resin is a concentrate from the cannabis plant’s natural compounds. These natural plant compounds are sticky, tar-like substances that people have used for recreational and medicinal purposes for centuries.
There are several forms of cannabis resin, such as live resin, cured resin, and hashish. Live resin comes from fresh plants that are flash-frozen immediately to preserve their freshness and terpene profile.
Cured resin, conversely, comes from dried plant material that has undergone a curing process to remove excess moisture and enhance natural flavors. Hashish is from a plant’s trichomes.
What is Cured Resin?
Cured resin is cannabis resin that has been dried and cured to remove excess moisture. The process lasts for several weeks to allow the terpenes to develop fully.
This process results in a resin that is high in cannabinoids but lower in terpenes compared to live resin.
Cured Resin vs Live Resin – What’s the Difference?
Do you want to know why cured resin vs live resin differs? It’s in their production process!
Cured resin comes from cured, and a dried cannabis flower is made using a curing process. It involves drying and storing cannabis flower or plant matter over time.
While live resin comes from freezing plant material, this difference in the production process results in different chemical compositions and effects. This process helps create terpenes and preserve the live resin smell of the cannabis flower.
Both live resin and cured resin can be used to create cannabis oil and other cannabis concentrates.
The process of creating live resin vs cured resin differs. Read this whole article to learn more.
What are the Benefits of Resin Concentrates?
Resin concentrates have lots of benefits medically and for recreational purposes. They provide high concentrations of cannabinoids and terpenes, which can result in more potent effects and a more nuanced flavour and terpene profile.
What is Live Resin?
You may wonder, “what is live resin?” if you’re new in the cannabis world. Here, live resin vs cured resin is the most explored topic. Cannabis producers make live resin by immediately freezing freshly harvested cannabis plants.
Also, this freezing process preserves the cannabinoids and terpenes found in the plant. They then extract the cannabis trichomes using solvents, resulting in a potent and rich flavor cannabis concentrate.
Furthermore, many use dry ice in the extraction process to freeze and separate the plant’s trichomes from the plant matter, producing live resins and other concentrates with high cannabinoid content.
After purification, users can consume the concentrate in various ways, including dabbing, vaping, or adding it to edibles.
Benefits of live resin
Live resin has a higher terpene content than cured resins, which can result in a more flavourful and aromatic experience. Some users also report a more uplifting and energetic outcome from live resin.
Types of live resin products
The most common live resin products are live resin carts, sauce, budder, sugar, shatter, and edibles, among many others.
- Live resin carts: These cartridges are pre-filled with live resin oil that one can use in vaporizers. They’re convenient and easy to use without having to dab it.
- Sauce: This live resin product has a high terpene content and a liquid consistency. It’s made by separating the terpenes from the THCA crystals and mixing them back together, resulting in natural flavors and a potent final product.
- Budder: This type of live resin has a creamy, buttery consistency.
- Sugar: This type of live resin is a crystalline product that resembles sugar granules.
- Shatter: This type of live resin has a glass-like consistency and is brittle enough to break into shards. It’s produced by using solvents to extract the live resin from the cannabis plant and then purging the solvents to create a potent and pure final product.
- Live resin edibles: These are edible products that are infused with live resin oil. They offer a long-lasting and potent high and can be an excellent option for medical cannabis patients.
For those seeking a more natural cannabis experience, live rosin is another option, which involves using heat and pressure to produce terpenes and cannabinoids from the cannabis trichomes without the use of solvents.
You can consume these in various ways, such as smoking, vaping, or dabbing.
Cured Resin Extraction: How Is Cured Resin Made?
The extraction process of cured resin involves solvent. One can grind up the dried and cured buds and mix them with a solvent, like butane or CO2. These solvents extract cannabinoids and other compounds from the plant material.
After purging any residual solvents, the final product undergoes a curing process, which results in a hard, brittle substance that one can consume.
What Is the Cannabis Drying Process?
The cannabis drying process is an essential step in preparing the plant for consumption or extraction. After harvest, the cannabis plant is hung upside down in a cool, dry, and dark environment for a period of time.
This allows the moisture to evaporate and the plant to dry out slowly, preserving its potency and flavor. The length of the drying process can vary, but it typically takes between 5-15 days.
Once the cannabis is adequately dried, it can be cured and stored for long-term use or processed into various cannabis products such as edibles, oils, or concentrates.
How much does live resin cost in Canada?
In Canada, the price of live resin varies on which product you choose and where you buy it. On average, one gram of live resin can cost between $40 and $100.
Where Did Live Resin Originate?
Live resin originated in Colorado, on the West Coast of the US, circa 2012 and has since become a popular cannabis extract.
What Does Cured Resin Look Like?
Cured resin is a sticky, tar-like substance that ranges in colour from light golden yellow to amber brown.
What Is a Cured Resin Cartridge?
A cured resin cartridge is a container-filled vape cartridge that contains cured resin. It can be used with a compatible vape battery for easy and convenient consumption.
What Is the Difference Between Live Resin and Other Concentrates?
The starting material for live resin and other concentrates is the plant matter from a marijuana plant. The container filled with the plant material is then subjected to a live extraction, which can involve solvents and liquid nitrogen.
Live resins are the type of live concentrates made using a solvent-based process, such as butane or CO2.
This process preserves the natural terpenes and other compounds found in the living plant, resulting in a product with a more potent and natural flavor.
In contrast, other live concentrates, like a cured flower, are made from dried plant matter that has gone through a curing process before being extracted using solvents. This results in a concentrate that may have lost some of the plant’s flavor and natural compounds.
How is live resin different from other concentrates?
Live resin is a cannabis concentrate that differs from other concentrates in several ways. Here are some of the main differences:
- Extraction Process: Live resin extraction process involves using fresh, frozen plant material that is kept at very low temperatures to preserve freshness and the plant’s natural terpene profile. Other concentrates, like shatter and wax, are typically made from dried plants.
- Retained Plant Compounds: Live resin contains more of the cannabis plant’s natural compounds, including terpenes and cannabinoids, than other concentrates.
- Natural Flavors: Because the live resin is made from fresh cannabis plants, it often has a more natural, distinct flavor compared to other resin concentrates.
- Specialized Equipment: Producing live resin requires specialized equipment, like liquid nitrogen and closed-loop systems. Other concentrates typically do not use this equipment.
- Chronic Pain Relief: Live resin may be particularly beneficial for people with chronic pain due to the high concentration of beneficial cannabinoids and terpenes it retains.
How to Smoke Cured Resin or Take Cured Resin Dabs?
You can break it into small pieces to smoke cured resin and add it to a bowl or pipe. You can also make edibles or sprinkle them on a joint or blunt.
To take cured dabs, you will need a dab rig, a nail, a torch, and a dabber tool. Heat the nail with the torch until it is hot, then use the dabber tool to apply a small amount of resin.
Inhale the vapour through the rig and enjoy the effects. It goes the same as how you smoke cannabis. Note that consuming cannabis extracts in any form can have adverse side effects.
It’s always best to start with a small amount and go slow until you know how it affects you.
How Do You Store Cured Resin?
To properly store cured resin, keeping it in an airtight container away from direct sunlight and excessive heat is essential. The best option is to use a glass container with a tight-fitting lid.
Additionally, it is essential to handle the resin with clean hands or tools to prevent contamination.
How to store live resin
Properly storing live resins is crucial to maintain their potency and flavour. We recommend keeping live resin in a cool, dark, and dry place, away from direct sunlight and heat sources.
Furthermore, the ideal temperature for storing live resin is around 315-400°F. You can use an airtight container, such as a glass jar with a lid, to keep live resin fresh and prevent it from exposure to air and moisture.
Remember to label the container with the strain and purchase date so you can keep track of its freshness.
Live Resin Extraction: How Is Live Resin Made?
To produce live resin, the marijuana plant must be freshly harvested and immediately frozen using liquid nitrogen or dry ice. This is to preserve their natural cannabis flavors from the drying and curing process.
Moreover, the live resin extraction process retains more of its cannabinoids and natural terpenes, resulting in a more flavorful and potent cannabis concentrate.
Live resin differs from cured resins. Manufacturers produce this using frozen plant material and very low temperatures in contrast to cured resins, which extract plant matter from dried cannabis.
What Is a Live Resin Cartridge?
A live resin cartridge is a pre-filled cartridge that contains live resin extract. Manufacturers design these carts to use with a vaporizer or vape pen. It provides a convenient and discreet way to consume live resin.
When deciding on a cannabis strain, it’s crucial to consider factors such as potency, flavour, and effects.
How to Smoke Live Resin or Take Live Resin Dabs?
There are several ways to smoke live resin or take live resin dabs. One popular method is using a dab rig, a type of pipe designed for dabbing.
To dab live resin, get a small number of live concentrates, then place it on the end of a dabber tool. Heat it using a torch or other heating element. After heating the cannabis concentrate, individuals inhale it through the dab rig, providing an intense and flavourful experience.
Another way to consume live resin is to use a vaporizer or vape pen. Additionally, live resin cartridges designs are compatible with these devices and provide a convenient and discreet way to consume live concentrates. Attach the cartridge to the vaporizer or vape pen and inhale to enjoy the benefits of live resin.
Summing Up
Both types of cannabis resin concentrates offer unique benefits and experiences. At yourelements.co, we have a wide selection of high-quality products, including pens and resins suitable for you. Whether you prefer the potent and flavourful experience of live resin or the more subdued experience of cured resin, we have the right product. Visit us today to learn more about our selection of cannabis concentrates and find the perfect product for your needs.
