Live Rosin Vs. Live Resin: What's The Difference?

By Author: Steve Austin
Total Articles: 15
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Although smoking cannabis is still the most popular consumption method, the market is getting increasingly diversified. Everyday consumers like you, are looking for different ways to consume cannabis that are more potent or offer a different experience.

Weed concentrates in Canada are beginning to rise in popularity with experienced cannabis users. In particular, two concentrates are taking the cannabis market by storm: live resin and live rosin.

Although they have similar names, the concentrates themselves are very different. In this article we will take a look at both types of concentrates and how they differ from each other.
The Live Concentrate Movement
The term "live" when referring to cannabis products can be slightly misleading. It sounds like the concentrates still contain live material or that they have been extracted from the plant when it's still alive. The second is closest to the truth, although you can't use heat and pressure on freshly harvested cannabis. If you do, it creates boiling water and steam due to all ...
... the plant's moisture.
Live means that the concentrate is extracted before the cannabis has been dried or cured.

Typically concentrates, like wax and shatter, are extracted after the curing process. As the moisture is extracted from the flower, it can lose some of its terpenes. When you extract the concentrate before the drying and curing process, the product holds on to all its terpenes, meaning that the final product is more potent and flavourful.
What is Live Rosin?
Live rosin is a solventless, shatter-like concentrate produced from cannabis. It's one of the most high-quality concentrates you can get because it both doesn't use solvents and isn't made from cured cannabis. Live rosin looks almost like honey, with its amber colouring and sticky texture.

Since no chemicals are used to extract live rosin from marijuana, those who are health-conscious are partial to this concentrate. It also retains all of its terpenes since it doesn't go through a curing process.
How is Live Rosin Made?
Since live rosin is a solventless extract, it requires a more complicated process. Typically, live rosin is made by pressing bubble hash, made from live flowers or flash-frozen flowers. Bubble hash is made without solvents or heat. Instead, it just requires ice water, agitation, and a sieve, thus preserving the terpenes. Once the bubble hash is made, it can be pressed to create the rosin itself.

What is Live Resin?
Live resin is a solvent-based concentrate that is incredibly potent due to its highterpenoid profile. Typical resin is extracted after the curing process, meaning it loses some of its terpenes. On the other hand, live resin retains them, giving it a strong flavour and high potency.

There are four main types of live resin. These include:

Live resin batter
Live resin batter is yellowish-brown in colour and resembles the look and texture of cake frosting.
Live resin sauce
Live resin sauce is a concentrate that has clear crystals submerged in a thick, amber coloured liquid. The liquid is HTE or high terpene extract, which is very high in terpenes but lower in cannabinoids. The crystals are THCa Crystalline, which packs a potent THC punch.
Live resin diamonds
Live resin diamonds are isolated THC crystals that can contain up to 99.9% THC content. They are the same crystals that you'll get in live resin sauce, only without the liquid.
Live resin sugar
Live resin sugar looks exactly how it sounds: like sugar. It resembles granules of sugar in blobs of honey. Sugar concentrates are notorious for their potency and often smell exactly like the cannabis plant since they still retain so many terpenes.

How is Live Resin Made?
Producers extract live resin from cannabis plants that were either just harvested or flash frozen, preserving the full terpenoid profile. The concentrate should always go through the extraction process within 36 hours of freezing the cannabis to preserve the quality.

Unlike live rosin, which is extracted without using solvents, live resin is extracted using solvents. Typically, producers will use butane, propane, ethanol, or CO2 to extract the concentrate with a single pass extraction to capture the most terpenes. It's also essential to keep the cannabis cool throughout the whole extraction process to preserve the active compounds.

Some producers will even dip the cannabis into liquid nitrogen first before running it through their solvent of choice. Since the process is so intensive, you need professional-grade equipment to make the concentrate effectively and accurately.

What Are the Main Differences Between Live Rosin and Live Resin?
So, how exactly are the two concentrates different? The main difference between live rosin and live resin is the production method. Live resin is extracted using a solvent, which helps separate the terpenes and the cannabinoids from the plant. Using solvents can be dangerous and can cause burns if spilled onto the skin, so producers need to take precautions to ensure total safety during the extraction process.

Live rosin does not require the use of solvents to extract the concentrate. Instead, the production method involves pressing bubble hash, which is made by water sieve extraction.

Both live resin and live rosin are high in potency when compared to other concentrates. They also have a better flavour profile and taste thanks to the retention of terpenes. Rosin will tend to be more expensive because it's a purer substance and also more labour-intensive to make. That said, both will cost you more as they require fresh or newly frozen cannabis to produce