Thanks to their hard-hitting potency and intense flavor, cannabis concentrates have become the go-to option for many cannabis aficionados. Concentrates like shatter, wax, and distillate have been flying off shelves and filling up dab rigs. But when it comes to flavor, one extract towers above the rest—live resin.
What Is Live Resin?
Live resin is a cannabis concentrate that is known for retaining much of the natural flavors of the cannabis plant it was extracted from. Like many other concentrates, it can feature potency levels of anywhere from 50% to 90% THC. But when compared to most concentrates, it is simply tastier and more flavorful. Why?
Because it is processed differently than most concentrates so the final product retains more of its natural terpene profile. Terpenes are hydrocarbon compounds that give plants like cannabis their aroma. But as cannabis is harvested, cured, processed, and handled, it tends to lose some of those terpenes. For example, the curing process alone is known to result in the destruction of up to 60% of a bud’s natural terpene content.
Unlike other concentrates, the plant material used to produce live resin is not cured. Instead, it is immediately frozen after harvest to prevent the terpenes of the plant material from fading away as it ages. When it’s time for extraction, the plant material is thawed before undergoing butane, ethanol, or CO2 extraction. The final product is a concentrate that is both intensely flavorful and super potent.
How Do You Use It?
Arguably, the simplest way to use live resin is to smoke it. Just use a dab tool or a toothpick to place some on top of the ground bud in your bowl. When exposed to flame, the resin will melt down into the bowl, covering the herb inside, and making it several times more potent. But with all those terpenes, it’s kind of a shame to expose the extract to an open flame that will simply destroy many of them upon contact. Smoking resin won’t let you enjoy those natural flavors as much as vaping it will (but it will definitely get you ripped!).
Another way to enjoy it is to dab it out of a dab rig. Dab rigs are glass waterpipes that are known for producing large, flavorful hits of vapor/smoke. If you’re gonna vape a super flavorful concentrate, you may as well do it using a device that brings out those flavors as much as possible. If you’re new to dabbing, it may take a few minutes to get the hang of using a dab rig and a torch, but once that tasty vapor starts flowing you’ll see that it was well worth it!
Dabs rigs are great, but they’re also stationary. Enter wax pens. Wax pens are vape devices shaped like large pens that have been specifically designed to vaporizer wax-based concentrates. Fitting right into the palm of your hand, wax pens are great for on-the-go dabbing. If you’re looking to enjoy concentrates outside of the house, a wax pen is likely your best option.
Don’t have a wax pen or a dab rig? If your vaporizer is designed to work with concentrates and extracts, you can also vape your resin out of that. But it’s important to make sure that your unit can handle extracts before trying!
Looking to try out some live resin for yourself? Check out our online menu for a wide selection of cannabis concentrates and much more!
