Many cannabis consumers get rosin and live resin mixed up. While the two types of cannabis concentrates are similar in the way that they are both extracts of the plant, they are two completely different things.
Live Resin vs. Rosin
The main difference between live resin and rosin is that the former is extracted using a solvent, while the latter is solventless. Rosin is extracted without the use of any solvents. However, the main similarity is that they are both concentrates that can be consumed the same ways; this includes dabbing it in a rig or nectar collector, vaporizing it in an electronic vape, putting it on a bowl or in a joint, or using it for edibles (though, both will need to be activated/decarboxylated before eating.)
Rosin
Photo by Reef Organic
Rosin is the pinnacle of cannabis concentrates due to its extreme purity; this is mainly thanks to the lack of solvents or chemicals used for extraction. First, it is important to understand that there are two types of rosin, HSO (solventless hash oil) and live.
The “live” in both live rosin and live resin means that fresh cannabis is frozen immediately after harvest and used for these extracts. However, the difference between HSO rosin and live rosin is that HSO uses flower or kief, while live uses bubble hash from freshly harvested flower (utilizing water to extract the bubble hash first). Extraction methods can vary by company, such as using ice water over regular water, which creates a range of different types of rosin.
The texture of rosin can vary from gooey-like batter to soft and crumbly like crumble or hard like shatter. It can range from a light eggshell color to a deep golden and everything in between. These characteristics can also vary depending on the way it is stored.
Live Resin
Live resin is another cannabis concentrate that reigns in popularity compared to other extracts. This is mainly because, in addition to it being cheaper and easier to make, the flavors and aromas are preserved better than in most other extracts. This means that live resin typically holds a more complex terpene profile, which might result in a more complex high.
Live resin sticks out from other cannabis concentrates and can be compared closer to live rosin than most because it is created using fresh frozen cannabis. This means that it skips the drying, curing, and trimming phases; which, such processes can have a devastating impact on trichomes and may affect the plant’s flavor, aroma, and effects.
Now, the main thing that makes live resin different from rosin is the extraction method. While rosin is solventless, live resin is extracted using a solvent such as butane or propane. Additionally, live resin is extracted from cannabis buds. In contrast, rosin is extracted from bubble hash (live) and flower and/or kief (HSO.)
The consistency of live resin sits between wax and sauce concentrates. Meaning it isn’t quite as tough as shatter, but it isn’t as wet as sauce; it is more like a soft taffy consistency. The color of live resin ranges from light yellow to dark golden.
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