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Cannabis concentrates at a glance
Cannabis concentrates are products made by extracting cannabinoids and terpenes from the cannabis plant. This is done through various techniques, solvents and mechanical methods. We have already written a bit about this, but here is a complete overview.
The finished extracts contain 60-99% THC and are the most potent cannabis products around. The effect is stronger and comes on faster.
Bubble Hash
Ice water extraction separates the resin from the plant material. With the help of various very fine microfilters, the trichomes are filtered out of the ice water. Learn more about the production of Bubble Hash here.
The filtered material/resin is then pressed into shape. The quality of the bubble hash depends on the resin content and the flowers used. For very high-quality and pure bubble hash, only resinous high-quality flowers are used.
Bubble hash, which has a higher plant content, makes a bubbling sound when it is first lit. Very high-quality and pure bubble hash melts when lit. So the quality is easily recognisable. Bubble hash is the highest quality and most potent hash we know.
Bubble Hash from Trim Leaves
Full Melt Hash (Bubblehash)
Full Melt Hash leaves no traces after it has been lit. The Full Bubble Hash contains most of the plant parts, Half Melt Hash less and Full Melt Hash consists as good as of pure trichomes and contains only traces of plant parts.
Cannabis oils
Cannabis oils are produced in a complex extraction process. In some cases, laboratory equipment, heat, vacuum and solvents such as ethanol, butane gas or even CO2 are used to separate the resin trichomes from the plant parts. The most commonly used solvent is butane gas, which is used to produce the popular BHO (Butane Hash Oil).
Cannabis oil can have very different colour and consistency depending on which strain, solvent and purging method is used.
Shatter
Shatter is clear, hard and resembles glass. Shatter is a very pure version of BHO, which usually requires several steps so that all plant parts and residues are removed. A vacuum is usually used for the production of shatter.
Shatter is semi-transparent and usually yellowish or amber in colour. It is very potent and can contain a THC content of 90% or more. Learn more about the Production of Shatter. Other names for shatter are: Amber Glass, Glass
Wax
Wax is made by beating and stirring cannabis oil during the purging process. It has a consistency like plasticine and is easy to handle. Wax has a very high THC content of 90% or more.
Cannabis Wax is a soft and opaque cannabis oil that has lost transparency after extraction. Cannabinoids have partially crystallised and light can no longer pass through the molecules, so it appears opaque to us.
Wax can have a different consistency depending on the temperature. The percentage of moisture also plays a role: oils with a higher percentage of moisture tend to become more waxy or like Budder. Wax is easy to use and very popular. It can be used very well in the vaporizer.
Budder
Budder is very sticky and tough. It is made by beating and stirring the wax after the solvent has been completely removed within the purging process.
Crumbel
Crumble is very dry, has a crumbly and crumbly texture and is also easy to handle. It is produced like wax by beating and stirring it for a long time during the purging process with the addition of heat. This allows air to get into the concentrate and it ends up containing less moisture. It becomes rigid and crumbly. By using the vacuum chamber, the remaining butane gas as well as moisture kit and other residues can be retrieved from the concentrate.
Wax, budder and crumble are polycrystalline, which means that light is frequently refracted in them and they therefore appear opaque, unlike shatter, which is a uniform and recurring pattern of molecules.
However, due to the longer heating process during purging, terpenes can be lost that are already degraded at room temperature. This is the reason why crumble or wax is often less aromatic than shatter.
- BHO occurs in 3 forms: as shatter, as wax and as liquid, sticky oil.
Honeycomb
Honeycomb is very similar to crumble, but air bubbles form in it during the purging process. This happens because of the lower heat during the purging process. The wax does not melt and the air bubbles do not collapse. In the end, the typical small holes remain, reminiscent of a moonscape. Honeycom is very potent and can have a THC content of 90% and more.
Qwiso
Quick Wash Isopropyl Alcohol Cannabis Oil is made by placing dried buds in isopropyl alcohol for a short time. All plant parts are then filtered out of the alcohol with a very fine microfilter or coffee filter. The alcohol is then left to evaporate, leaving Qwiso behind. You can read more about this method here.
CO2 oil
Co2 extraction is considered the purest form of extraction. However, it can only be carried out with professional laboratory equipment with appropriate extraction systems. Carbon dioxide (CO2) and very high pressure are used. It can be used to produce so-called supercritical fluids, which contain both gases and liquids.
With CO extraction, cannabinoids and terpenes can be dissolved and extracted most effectively and contain a higher proportion. For example, BHO typically has 0.5-3.5% terpenes, whereas Co2 concentrates contain an average of 10% terpenes.
A modified Co2 process, in which ethanol is used at the same time, manages to dissolve up to 98% of the THC. When only CO2 was used, THC was the last cannabinoid to be dissolved by CO2.
With the aid of Co2 extraction, it is also possible to Live Resin can also be produced. This is made from the fresh and highly aromatic flowers and has the most heavenly fresh smell of cannabis and the highest terpene content.
Cannabinoid Crystals / THC-A Crystals
Various American manufacturers now offer cannabinoid crystals consisting of (almost) pure THC-A or other cannabinoids. These crystals consist of the trichomes of the female cannabis plant. THC-A crystals deliver a very high amount of THC-A or other cannabinoids and are considered the purest cannabis extractions ever (99-100%).
This pure THC-A converts to THC when vaporised. It produces clear, cerebral effects or remains without psychoactive effect depending.
A semi-solid CO2 oil (75% total cannabinoid content) was found to form crystals on the bottom of a small glass beaker under gentle heat and over several days. The experiment was repeated using an ethanol solution saturated with CO2 oil. The whole was then filtered through a 0.2 um nylon filter and winterised. larger crystals and more formed as a result. The beaker was heated to 40 C continuously for another few days and the crystals grew.
With cannabinod crystals, an individual combination of individual cannabinoids and the associated effects is possible, both in terms of psychoactive and medicinal effects. Furthermore, individual terpenes can be combined and used in a targeted manner.
THC-A crystals with a purity of 99.6%.