Rosin Hash, high quality solventless concentrates

It is no secret that cannabis concentrates are becoming more and more popular during the last years. Thanks to the legal status of the plant in some places, the evolution of cannabis extracts has been amazing for the past decade. After some years in which BHO was the most popular extract, soon a new solventless technique was discovered and became favourite for many connoisseurs, especially those who don't like solvents.

This new technique was named Rosin Hash or Rosin Tech, and was based on a simple principle: apply heat and very high pressure on the plant material to extract its resin. As happens often, this technique ws soon improved, achieving awesome results and captivating plenty of cannabis aficionados. Today there is a whole industry dedicated to this type od extract, with stunning presses that have improved both yields and quality. Furthermore, there are several ways to use this technique no matter the cannabis strain we grow, mainly depending on the starting material.

Rosin Hash, solventless resin extraction

The very first attempts at making Rosin Hash were made with a hair straightener and temperatures around 150ºC, pressing the buds for 4-5 seconds. The bud was wrapped in parchment paper, put between the plates and pressed as much as possible. A few seconds later, and after the bud cracked, it was removed. Almost miraculously, the bud was completely flat but surrounded by small amber drops, the precious resin. Soon, different types of clamps were used to apply much more pressure to the plates, which allowed extractors to lower the temperature to 100-120ºC, thus getting a much more delicate taste and scent.

As soon as the first high-grade Rosin concentrates were popularized, the first companies dedicated to manufacture presses and Rosin bags appeared. Rosin bags are small mesh bags (like tea bags) very useful to press other concentrates like dry sift or ice water hash (they can be found in different sizes and pore-sizes). Today we have a wide range of rosin presses available on the market, with manual, pneumatic and hydraulic presses. Some of them are designed to press buds, with wider work surface, while others are especially designed to press resins.

The use of these modern presses enables accurate control over the working temperature of the heating plates, something essential to obtain best results. Furthermore, the pressure used (35 tons in some models) also enables to lower the temperature drastically, extending the pressing time for one minute or more and thus getting a product with superior organoleptic properties, besides improving yields notably, especially when using plants with high trichome production.

As we mentioned, rosin bags also enabled to wrap the bud before pressing so that no plant debris would contaminate the extract. Not only this, now users could fill these bags with hashish (either pressed or not) and press it just as buds were being pressed, thus getting an amazing final quality. As we'll see now, all this resulted in the development of different techniques according to the starting material.

Rosin Techniques

As we already now, it all started with pressing buds. At first, plant material was thoroughly dried before pressing at high temperatures, which caused contamination by plant debris and toasted aftertaste. By using higher pressures, temperatures could be lowered so the final taste was highly improved. Moreover, it was now possible to press half-dried buds, plant material which had been dried for just 4-5 days. In this way, it doesn't break loose as happens when it's completely dried, thus reducing contaminants and improving the purity of the concentrate, which should have no plant debris at all if made correctly.

Soon after the first Rosin concentrates became popular, a few wise extractors realized that, apart from presing buds and getting a high quality solventless concentrate easily and quickly, the Rosin technique also enabled them to press resins and thus refine other concentrates, getting a product of superior quality, especially when compared to the starting material. Today, Rosin Hash is made either from bud or different concentrates, like ice water hash, dry sieved resin or even Rosin itself. Indeed, and before resins wee pressed, some people would press buds, collect their resin and repeate the process, but pressing the rosin instead of buds. The final product was then purer, more potent and flavourful.

Pressed dry sieved resin often produces top grade Rosin Hash; it can be said that, the better the quality of the starting material, the higher yields and better quality are obtained, reaching 90% return in some cases. Import hashish is also pressed often, with varying yields and quality which obviously depend on the purity of the product used. We've also seen lately Rosin Hash made from concentrates produced from fresh plant material (called Frosin), either water hash or dry sieved resin.

As you can see, the diversity of applications of this technique seems almost endless. It has been doubtless one of the reasons of its success, since one can get amazing results with just a press and good plant material. The variety of different products and textures that can be obtained by using different starting materials is wide, but they all have some things in common: they're solventless concentrates, extremely potent and with amazing taste if made properly.

If you decide to make Rosin, and especially if you're using a hair straightener, using thermal gloves is highly recommended to avoid burning your hands. On the other hand, if you're usnig a press remember to follow the instructions of the safety manual strictly. Despite being a solventless extraction, using heavy machinery can be dangerous!

Happy pressing!