Have you ever tried live resin? Highly potent and incredibly flavorful, this delicious concentrate has quite a reputation due to its ultra-desirable qualities and true-to-strain experience.
But what exactly is it, and where does it come from? Is live resin the same as live rosin? Get all your burning questions answered right here—we’ve pulled together everything we know about live resin, from how it’s produced to how it’s consumed and everything in between.
What Is Live Resin? A Uniquely Flavorful Concentrate
Live resin is a cannabis concentrate—it’s one of many of a uniquely varied family of products. While they’re all derived from cannabis, concentrates run a broad range in terms of their textures, consistencies, flavors, and how they are made.
Live resin first appeared in the early 2010s when a team from Colorado pioneered its unique extraction process. This rich, flavorful extract is usually sticky and soft, much like a thick sap or syrup. The consistency can be smooth or have a wet-sugary appearance, and the color can range from light gold to deep amber, depending on the extraction process and the strain.
At the simplest level, live resin—like all concentrates—is made by extracting the active cannabinoids and terpenes from the cannabis plant and concentrating them into a shelf-stable and extremely potent form. Cannabinoids include THC and CBD, among a few others, and terpenes are aromatic oils found in many parts of the natural world, including fruits, vegetables, and even some insects. Thanks to its unique flavor profile and potency, THC live resin is a true crowd-pleaser at all of our Michigan dispensaries.
What Does “Live” Resin Mean?
To understand live resin completely, you must first know about resin, a potent, concentrated cannabis extract that has grown to be one of the most popular concentrates on the market, and when it’s labeled “live,” it’s even better.
What puts the “live” in live resin? In short, resin—along with other concentrates with the label—is considered “live” when made from fresh-frozen cannabis plants straight after harvest. Fresh freezing is preferred for retaining most of the existing compounds in the plant at the peak of its maturity, potency, and terpene content.
How Is Live Resin Made? The Power of Freezing
The intense flavors and effects of resin come down to chemistry, what happens during harvest, how the raw buds are handled, and the extraction process. Live resin is made from freshly harvested buds and sugar leaves—stems and large fan leaves are excluded due to their lower terpene and cannabinoid content. Just after harvest, the buds and sugar leaves are fresh-frozen to -40℉, either by being placed into a freezer or by being inserted into an insulated cylinder of liquid nitrogen.
When it’s time for the extraction process, the frozen plant matter is broken down into smaller pieces and then goes into a controlled chamber for either butane, ethanol, or CO2 extraction. The process from here can vary depending on the type of solvent used. For example, with CO2 extraction, the CO2 is converted from a gas to a liquid, and the liquid is used to strip the terpenes, flavonoids, and cannabinoids away from the plant material. The CO2 is then converted back into a gas, which means it easily evaporates, and the final product is “purged” for up to 48 hours to remove any leftover chemicals or impurities.
The final steps after the primary extraction and purging process can vary depending on the processor’s end goal—some processors further filter or manipulate the live resin to give it a specific consistency. Live resin is the fundamental concentrate used to make other concentrates, such as shatter, wax, and budder.
The Benefits of THC Live Resin: Preserving Precious Compounds
If you’ve ever taken a dab of live resin, you know how aromatic and delicious it can be. What’s the source of those incredibly vivid flavors and enhanced effects? It all comes down to its terpene and cannabinoid content. Here are the benefits of live resin and how terpenes and cannabinoids play a vital role.
Live Resin is Highly Potent
One of the most significant effects of both fresh freezing and the solvent-based extraction process used to produce live resin is the high-potency outcome of the finished concentrate. On average, live resin can boast a THC content of 80% or higher—significantly higher than flower, which generally ranges from 16 – 35% THC.
Due to its high THC content, live resin is considered one of the highest-potency cannabis products you can buy. It can be especially valuable for those with higher tolerances or for medical cannabis patients. It can also be an excellent choice for those who prefer to use less product to achieve the same effects as smoking a lot of flower.
If you’re new to live resin or other concentrates, remember to start low and go slow. You can always have more cannabis, but you can’t have less!
Live Resin is Full Spectrum
When cannabis compounds are consumed together, as they naturally are in the plant itself, you may have a more nuanced experience due to the cannabinoids and terpenes working together. As a high-grade, full-spectrum extract, live resin can offer an array of potential benefits due to so many of its compounds staying intact throughout the fresh freezing process and in the final product. This is what scientists refer to as the “entourage effect,” but it also explains why live resin delivers a true-to-the-strain experience.
In other words, if you enjoy the typically relaxing, mentally soothing effects of a good indica strain, the live resin made from that strain will provide a similar experience.
Live Resin Has Incredible Flavor
The curing process that most cannabis undergoes dries the flower out, removing moisture and humidity and making it ready to smoke. It can also result in the loss of up to 60% of a bud’s terpene content. Since fresh freezing better preserves the terpenes, live resin has a more pronounced flavor profile than most other concentrates or other forms of cannabis.
Studies also suggest that terpenes may deliver therapeutic and experiential benefits alongside those tantalizing aromas and flavors.
How to Smoke Live Resin
Now that you know where live resin comes from and why it’s valuable, how do you use live resin products? Whatever devices you have on hand, you have several options to consume live resin based on your personal needs and preferences.
Vape Pen or Cartridge
Live resin is one of the most commonly used extracts in pre-packaged disposable vape pens and re-loadable cartridges. Therefore, if you would like to try the effects of live resin in a convenient and non-intimidating way, vapes can be an excellent choice for you. Live resin vape pens and cartridges are available from multiple brands and in various strains and potencies.
Dab Rig
Many experienced concentrate fans invest in a purpose-made dab rig. While they’re not inherently complicated, dab rigs still require a little explanation and care, especially as the element—the “nail”—is typically heated by an open-flame butane torch. Dab rig setups come in different shapes and sizes, and once the nail is heated, a “dab” of resin is added to the hot nail. This produces vapors that can be inhaled through an incorporated mouthpiece. For reference, a dab is only a small portion of resin, usually about the size of a grain of rice.
Live resin, along with concentrates such as rosin, is considered to be the top choices for dabbing, and many modern and electric dab rigs do a great job of hitting individual terpene vaporization points and producing a potent and tasty vapor loaded with terpenes. If you’re in the market for a dab rig, be sure to ask one of our friendly budtenders for tips on selecting one and its use.
Add Live Resin to Flower
One of the simplest ways to use live resin is to mix a small amount of it with ground flower to enhance your bud’s potency or effects. This method works best if you have a pipe or bong with a bowl, as the resin needs to burn hot enough to hit a flash point, which is harder to do in a rolled joint.
Mingling concentrates with flower—sometimes called “twaxing”—can take a little trial and error to get everything to burn evenly. However, it’s an excellent way to kick up the effects of lower-potency flower or even make your own mixtures catered to your preferences with different strains.
Other Live Resin Products
While you’ll find live resin primarily in the cannabis concentrates section, you’ll also find it in other forms that might not be as obvious at the outset. This high-quality extract is used to craft many other products, such as:
- Edibles, including gummies, chocolates, drinks, and hard candy
- Concentrate-infused pre-rolls
- Other concentrates, such as live diamonds, live sugar, and shatter
Whichever method you use to consume live resin, you’ll be met with a highly potent product that delivers on its fresh aromas and potent effects.
Shop Premium Live Resin and More at Exclusive
Without question, live resin is one of the most preferred and potent cannabis concentrates at our family of Michigan dispensaries. Due to it being taken from freshly harvested plants, it retains a higher THC profile, as well as a full spectrum of other compounds like major and minor cannabinoids and aromatic terpenes.
Ready to try this fresh and flavorful concentrate yourself? You’re in the right place! At Exclusive, we offer premium cannabis sourced from a range of local growers and product manufacturers. So, if you’re on the hunt for high-quality live resin, the choice is easy: We’re here for all your concentrate needs.
Want to learn more about cannabis concentrates or other cannabis-related topics? Take a deep dive through our informative blog, where you’ll find in-depth guides on Live Resin vs Live Rosin, answers to why some cannabis strains look purple, and so much more.
