Over the last few years, there has been a continuous rise in the demand for cannabis-based products. In addition, the numerous medical benefits of cannabidiol (CBD) are changing the consumer perception and behavior towards CBD-based products.
As more and more people are trying CBD products, the legal marijuana market size (global) is expected to grow by 26.7% from 2021 to 2028.
Nonetheless, it is essential that consumers know about cannabis concentrates before they start using them.
Type of concentrates:
There are two categories of cannabis concentrates, i.e., solvent and solvent-free extracts.
Solvent extracts are mostly used among medical marijuana patients. Moreover, it includes the use of chemical solvents. This makes the solvent extraction process volatile and can also get dangerous. Many reports have also shown fire and explosion incidents due to the use of unprofessional techniques of extractions. Therefore, only professionals with the proper equipment should extract it.
Solvent-free extracts do not include any chemical solvent. Besides that, the extraction process is also very simple. It includes separating the compounds by grinding marijuana and sifting using metal gauze or wire mesh. Thus, many cannabis users prefer this.
Here are some of the techniques you can use to extract the concentrates.
Rosin
Rosin has gained popularity in recent years as it is extracted directly from the flower of the plant. It is a solid form of extract which is made by pressure and vaporization. To begin with, you need to break down the plant material and mold it in a rectangular shape. Place the material into the mesh bag. After that, you need to heat the material in a rosin press. To get the maximum rosin press yield, gradually increase the temperature from 250 degrees to 335 degrees. Within a few minutes, you’ll see golden brown resins collecting on the mesh bag. And there you have it – your own homemade rosin.
Hand rub hash
It is one of the easiest techniques to make hashish. To start, you need plants and other materials like trimming and sticky buds. Now, you need to move your hands back and forth up from the bud. Make sure to rub your hands in between resin-covered flowers. Do this with each branch for 20 to 30 seconds.
If the resin glands start sticking to the hand, brush off the debris instantly. It will ensure that the resins remain pure. To remove the resins, rub your palms so that it creates a sticky ball. Lump the balls together to form pieces that reach your desired consistency.
Kief Hashish
Bubble hash is one of the most popular non-solvent extraction techniques. Ideally, the Kief is sifted over wire mesh or in a mesh bag and placed inside a bucket filled with ice-cold water. You may need to use different mesh sizes to trap trichomes since not all trichomes are of the same diameter. It is noteworthy that you should not let the bags sit in the ice-cold water ideally. It would break the trichomes instead of extracting them. So, what you’ll need to do is constantly stir the mixture for some time. The material that’s left behind in the mesh bag would be pure trichomes. You can then form balls or small pills of the same.
To sum it all up!
Solvent-free extracts are safer, and the process can be done easily at home. Besides, the extraction and distillation process mentioned above helps remove unwanted compounds and gives pure and natural extracts.