5 Simple Steps to Make Live Rosin at Home
In the last decade, live rosin went from a little-known, niche product to a highly sought-after commodity for many weed users.
While resin may be expensive to buy, unlike some other cannabis concentrates, learning how to make live rosin at home safely is possible.
All you need is patience, some equipment, and the no-how on how to make live rosin yourself, which our online dispensary is now happy to provide.
What Is Special About Live Rosin?
Live rosin has become a favourite among weed purists because of its strong flavour. The waxy substance also creates a chemical-free clean burn that can be enjoyed by anyone who requires or prefers to keep their weed pure.
In addition to its purity, live rosin is popular for its potency.
Using trichome-rich strains will ensure a potent high that burns clean. Keep this in mind if you plan to make live rosin at home.
Rosin vs. Resin
Although the difference between live rosin and live resin is noticeable up close, cannabis newcomers may be confused by the similarly named cannabis concentrates. To further muddy the water, both are used for similar reasons.
Rosin and Resin are highly potent and use fewer solvents in their processing. Both can also use fresh frozen cannabis flowers to create their highly concentrated forms.
Your choice will depend on your taste in the rosin vs. resin debate.
The main difference between Resin and Rosin is that resin use some chemical solvent (typically butane), whereas rosin, is entirely solvent-free.
As a result, it’s highly valued for its potency and purity, and many weed connoisseurs prefer it.
Because of the use of highly flammable and potentially toxic chemicals, it’s vital to get your resin from a reputable source.
It’s also impossible to safely make live resin in a home environment. Companies like Next Level Farms do a great job at creating a safe product for consumption.
Resin is known for its potent high and flavours like the popular Birthday Cake Resin that we offer.
Live Rosin, however, is a popular make-at-home weed product for many cannabis enjoyers.
What’s All This Live Business?
Live Rosin refers to cannabis rosin made from fresh frozen plants. In contrast, other rosins can be made from dried trichomes or hash but would not be considered live. Another thing to keep in mind if you plan to make live rosin yourself.
What Equipment Do You Need to Make Live Rosin?
As mentioned, while many concentrates require commercial equipment, you can make live rosin at home with primarily simple items. That does not mean, however, that pro equipment isn’t available.
Rosin presses control the specific amount of pressure and temperature in your rosin, but we will focus on the more DIY-friendly approach in this next section.
Want to know how to make rosin hash? First, you’ll need the following equipment.
- At least 2 Buckets of equal size
- Plastic or Metal Spoon (not wood – a wooden spoon can hold bacteria or other contaminants)
- 10 to 15 lbs of ice for each pound of flower
- Micron Bags of various sizes typically (220, 150,120, 70, 25)
- Funnel or business card
- Ice Water Hash Washing Vessel
- Parchment Paper (NOT WAX)
- 1-3 gallon sprayer
- Either a Rosin Press or a Hair Straightener
How to Make Live Rosin in 5 Easy Steps
1. Prepping
Your first step, as in any endeavour, is to pick out your ingredients and equipment.
You’ll want very pure water in both liquid and ice form and high-quality fresh frozen cannabis strains. Ideally, your water should be reverse osmosis filtered for maximum purity.
The purity of your product is vitally important in cannabis rosin. You are going through the effort of making live rosin because of its purity, so be sure to use natural and chemical-free weed!
If you’re experienced in making cannabis concentrates, you may like mixing strains to create a blend using complementary strains.
On the other hand, if you’re new to making your own product, it may be best to start simply with a single strain.
Next, prepare your equipment. Make sure your bags and buckets are in good working order and have no holes or debris.
Finally, clean all your equipment thoroughly.
You’re going through a lot of trouble to create a solvent-free, pure product. Don’t let carelessness introduce another contaminant into the mix.
Prepare a clean, clear shelf in your freezer unless using a freeze-dryer.
Now fill your sprayer and can with clean ice and water.
Now you layer your micron bags on top of each other in a container arranged from the largest micron to the smallest micron.
An alternative, easier way of doing this is to get uniform-size buckets and cut the bottoms out of each of them, then line each bucket with a different micron bag and stack them inside of one another.
This method takes more equipment but is more manageable than handling loose bags.
Ice Water Bath
Now soak your flowers in the bucket of ice water and soak for 20-30. After soaking, stir for 5-20 minutes with a plastic or metal spoon.
The goal is to separate your trichomes from the rest of the plant material, but you also have a secondary objective. Creating a whirlpool effect will help the trichome heads to separate, so keep it in constant motion.
You want to keep the mixture as cold as possible to prevent the chemical breakdown of your cannabinoids. Insulate the bucket and do it all in a cold room.
Now let sit for 1-2 minutes so the trichomes can settle on the bottom.
Filtering
First, filter your water through the 220 bag that lines the buckets by carefully pulling the bag out of the bucket. Next, dump the water from the first bucket into the multi-bag lined bucket (or series of buckets).
Pull out the first bag (or bucket and bag). Using the sprayer filled with purified ice water, spray the bag so that all material filters from the largest bag to the next. Repeat this for each bag.
Now your final bag has clean hash!
Rinse & Freeze
Using a clean metal or plastic spoon, scoop the hash onto a freezer tray and spread it evenly. If you own a freeze dryer, you can now place it in it.
You’llYou’ll need to freeze-dry it for a full day (that’s 24 hours). Freeze drying helps to remove the moisture while freezing and will save you some effort if you have one available.
Without a freeze dryer, the next step is to drain the hash over a 25-micron screen and push on it, allowing the water to drain out. Once all the water is out, place it in the freezer to freeze.
After freezing in a freezer, you will remove and break apart the patty in an even layer over parchment paper and place it in a cold room (40 to 50 degrees Fahrenheit) for a week to dry. A wine cooler works well for this.
If your goal had been hash, you’d be done with the process now. But since we’re making hash rosin, we move on to the next step.
Pressing Live Rosin
At this point in turning your hash into has rosin, there are many divergences. The best way to press live rosin is with a rosin press. They control the heat and pressure. Most rosin presses will not exceed 220 degrees to ensure that your rosin remains “live.”
There are several types of presses, from inexpensive manual to much more elaborate hydraulic and electric.
Commercial models can cost thousands of dollars. They work great, but if this is your first time, we’re betting you don’t have one.
So the next best thing is a hair straightener set on the lowest setting. If you want to dip your toe into making live hash rosin before committing, a hair straightener or manual press may be your best option.
Before pressing your rosin, you will place it in a micron bag or fashion a container out of folded 4×4 piece of parchment paper. Again: parchment paper and wax paper are not the same things!
If using a micron bag, size 36 micron should do the trick unless you have larger trichome heads. You can use a funnel or a business card to keep the bag open and ensure you don’t lose any hash. Pour your hash into the bag, being careful not to overfill.
Once you fill the bag, you can press it into place. Your press or vice will ensure that the bag doesn’t blow out during processing.
If using a rosin press, follow the manufacturer’s instructions. Typically, you will line your rosin press with parchment paper and set the temperature and pressure. You can raise the pressure slowly as needed.
If using the hair straightener, set it at its lowest setting (under 300 degrees). Next, position the straightener around the parchment paper or bag and press firmly for a few seconds (no longer than seven).
In both cases, your golden rosin will now flow. You can now use it or collect it for later, storing it in an airtight glass jar.
Wrapping Up
Now that you know how to make live rosin, If you’ve decided to make your own rosin hash, start off with some value buds from our online dispensary.
Our cheap buds maintain quality. Buying weed in Canada is easy with Low Price Bud.