It’s safe to say that concentrates have been the biggest buzz in cannabis since they burst into the mainstream in the last decade or two. But the story of cannabis extracts is far from said and done.
Enterprising producers are always searching for new and exciting ways to unlock the cannabis plant’s potential, and with live resin, they’ve arguably reached a—shall we say— high point. While live resin bears similarities to other concentrates, it’s little exaggeration to say that for many of us, it represents the pinnacle of cannabis potency and flavor.
What’s the story? Strap yourself in as share what we know about this unusual and one-of-a-kind cannabis concentrate.
Live Resin: Capturing the Essence of Fresh Cannabis
At heart, all cannabis and extracts aim to distill cannabis flower into a concentrated and self-stable product. That’s what animated the ancient Arabic botanists who first produced hashish from sifted trichomes, or the chemists who created modern liquid cannabis concentrates back in the 1940s (though for a very different purpose).
But nearly all cannabis concentrates start with cured flower, in other words, the dried, ready-to-smoke version we know and love. What sets live resin apart is that it’s made from fresh, never-dried cannabis flower as well as the small “sugar leaves” that grow out of them.
But rather than being cured like regular flower—a time-consuming but necessary process for producing smokable cannabis—the plants destined for live resins are flash-frozen before being processed. As a result, nearly all the flavorful and aromatic terpenes are preserved, yielding an almost hyper-realistic smoking experience. It’s the closest you can get to smoking a live cannabis plant, and it’s an unforgettable experience!
How to Use and Store It
Because live resin is a definition and not a consistency, it can come in several different formats, including wax, badder, budder, and others still. And in terms of how it’s used, live resin isn’t much different from other concentrates: You can dab it through a specialized dabbing rig or add a tiny dot to a joint, blunt, or bowl. You can even find some flavorful vape cartridges featuring live resin.
As with any other concentrate, live resin should be approached with caution and respect: Potency is very high, typically exceeding 40%. While that’s lower than the 90% figure sometimes achieved by some cannabis distillates and concentrates, many find that the intense, terpene-rich experience is noticeably more complex and intense than with other products. Go low and go slow with this stuff!
Of course, there’s a price for this experience. Live resin typically costs a bit more than other cannabis concentrates, so you should be sure to protect your investment. Store it in a lightproof and airtight container, and many experts recommend keeping it in the refrigerator (or at least a colder part of the house). If your live resin changes noticeably in terms of color or consistency, it’s a sign that it’s suffering from the effects of exposure or age. For this reason, it actually makes sense to purchase smaller amounts at a time so as to forestall losing the live resin’s precious potency and flavor.
Needless to say, nothing beats actually sampling live resin for yourself. If you’re interested in experiencing this truly exceptional cannabis concentrate, we’ve got you covered. And if you have any questions about live resin, cannabis concentrates, or anything else in the world of cannabis, reach out anytime. We’re here to help!
Want to try it for yourself? Get in vape form or concentrate form at our Venice Beach dispensary.
