If you are not familiar with the process of making rosin, brace yourself for a cannabis DIY experience that will turn around your consumption instantly and forever.
But what is rosin? It is a concentrate made through the exposure of cannabis to pressure and heat to force out cannabinoids and terpenes found in the trichome glands. Additionally, rosin can be made out of dry sift, flower, or subpar hash with tools you likely have in your house.
Since it is made without necessarily using solvents that can alter the flavor, users who do not want any kind of man-made chemicals in their systems prefer it. The technique of extraction has been put into use by other industries for many years. It is like squeezing oil out of olive or juice out of an orange. The rosin making process starts by pressing the material until it produces a solventless, potent concentrate. It could even turn into hash that will not melt into a malleable product.
The rosin technology has been in existence for so many years, but it was not that popular until Phil Salazar started sharing photos of his experiments on rosin and discussing techniques with cannabis users. While Salazar is not responsible for the invention of the extraction process, he played an essential role in creating the much-needed hype that motivated many rosin enthusiasts to start experimenting on their own. Are you ready to start? Let’s dive into it!
Making Rosin
Before you create your inaugural batch of rosin, you will need parchment paper, hair straighter, cannabis, heat resistant gloves, a rosin bag and a dabber, to collect rosin once finished.
In addition, 2-inch plates with a hair straightener and adjustable temperature perfectly controls work, but the process will still be effective low medium, high settings straightener. It will only take you a little trial and error to figure which one is the best.
In the rosin making process, temperature plays a very important role in determining the overall yield and quality as the perfect temperature is heavily linked to the chemical composition of cannabis used. If your dry sift, flower or hash is terpene-rich, much lower temperatures are needed.
The reason behind this is that terpenes squeezed out of trichrome in the previous press act as a solvent to stimulate the rosin process. With limited terpenes left to play that role, you will need more heat and pressure to get the cannabinoids out of glands.
Making Rosin and Temperature Levels
Just like the thumb rule says, the levels of temperatures between 260-310° or 120-148° will produce a more stable and firm resultant like rosin makers. Temperatures between 300-335° or 149-168° tend to produce sappier textures. These temperatures are not ideal for rosin making. Therefore, it is recommended that you work with temperatures that will produce a much more firm, dependable, and stable rosin. Temperatures have a very important role in determining how the final product will look like. Using the available tools carefully is also very important.
You can also make it through pressing a gently broken, full-spectrum nug directly in between 2 pieces of parchment paper. Placing dry hash or sift into a rosin mesh bag or screen in the parchment paper can also give some tangible products. As much as more advanced rosin makers mostly use these bags and screens, they are also used to filter out the plant components that can possibly make way into the finished product. It is important to know that the smaller the size of the screen, the more particulates it will retain. This, however, will restrict the particle flow of rosin and consequently reduce the overall yield.
The Importance of Size
As you might be aware, picking the right screen size is a complicated balance that needs high concentration levels. The finer mesh screens are perfect for any kind of dry hash or sift. Additionally, the larger mesh screens can also be applied in either trims or light ground nugs. The use of gloves is highly recommended to avoid burning fingertips. A good number of hair straighteners come with a pair of gloves,. If you don’t have a piar of gloves, you can easily get them on online shopping platforms.
In case you are using a hair straightener, you must use hands to apply the necessary pressure through squeezing the tip of the flat iron. This should be done with caution.
Another thing to note with making rosin is that you should never overfill bags, screens, or parchment paper with unnecessary buds.
The reason behind this is that a full rosin bag could easily burst and screens filled with too much material can overflow. Overflows can take away the efficiency of the entire process. It is important that you slowly with low pressure and then gradually increase for the best possible outcomes. You should also not overload the flat iron or bag.
So what are the exact steps to making rosin? We discuss that next!
Steps to Making Rosin
Below are the steps:
Breaking Down Plant Material
The first step is breaking down plant material and then molding it into a small rectangular shape. The reason for that is reducing any kind of plant particles that could easily end up in rosin. Additionally, also ensure that you use buds that are cured properly and too dry or too wet.
Screening
If you are using the rosin bag, place the material plant into the filter carefully. Experts recommend a mesh bag or nylon food-grade screen. It is important to note that this step optional if you are using flowers instead.
Setting the Temperature: Hair Straightener
The third step is setting the temperature on the hair straightener. We would advise you that you start with the low temperatures to build your way up.
Use of the Parchment Paper
Place your loose flower or bag in between two pieces of the parchment paper. In addition, only use as much material that will strictly fit under the heating area. You should leave a few inches of extra parchment paper on either edge to trap the produced rosin. This will prevent rosin from spilling over to the ground.
Pressing the Parchment Paper
The fifth step is pressing the parchment paper with plates or the heated straightener for around 20 seconds. The period you need to press is dependent on the quality of the flower you used. For best results, firmly press the straightener lying flat just like a stapler. This might take you a few times to experiment with the hang of it.
Confirm the Oil Levels
After eliminating the flower from parchment paper, confirm the oil levels. If there is a low yield, you may need the repeat the process several more times. Do so by placing the parchment back on the straightener.
Collect it
Once you have pressed the product, you should use the dabber or clean bag to collect the residues. After collection, you can package or keep it for later use. You can also turn it into rosin taffy through stretching, twisting, and pulling it with the dabber until it is taffy. The final product can be tested through consumption methods like vape.
Making Rosin: What Is a Good Yield?
Perhaps, the main goal of pressing rosin is getting terpenes and cannabinoids out of the glands of trichome. In theory, if the cannabis you are using has 2% terpenes and 18% cannabinoids, then the product you will get pressing a gram of flowers would be around 0.2g of rosin. As any rosin maker understands, many factors can affect the general quality and output of rosin.
If you are not satisfied with the produce of your first creation, you are free to take a new parchment paper and press cannabis again. Increasing the pressure or temperature on the second attempt will make sure you get the very last bit of oil. You should also keep in mind that when pressing nugs to produce rosin, you are squeezing the exact plant matter. Under not so good conditions, the plant gland might get into the final product, but that does not mean the final product is bad. Rosin as a product is often determined by a six-star grading system on every concentrates. Additionally, the product is supposed to be shaken upon exposure to heat. Any kind of plant impurities or particulates will bring down the amount of bubbling. This affects the overall rating of the product.
How Do Experts Press Rosin?
Highly experienced rosin makers and home-based makers may choose to buy kits that have heat controllers, hydraulic presses, and many more features.
This is because they can produce larger amounts of rosin and have better control over certain parameters that have been involved. The prices ranges from around $500 to more than $5,000. They also have customizable features to spice it up.
Wrapping Up
Whether you want to try your hand at the rosin arena with hair straighteners or you are seeking to invest in more established rosin processing plants, it is important to go for products that work well with your available tools.
Experts say that you should opt for flowers as ingredients of production because they are cheaper, affordable and could lead to better yields and products. Flowers also give better quality rosin, which could earn you more money.