What is Live Resin |
How to Use |
Benefits |
How to Store |
Cured resin vs live resin |
Live resin vs distillate |
Live resin is relatively new to the cannabis concentrate scene. It’s origins go back to 2022-2013 with a small group of growers and extractors in Colorado.
Among them, William Fenger, also known as “Kind Bill,” and EmoTek Labs founder “Giddy Up,” pioneered the live resin extraction process by developing a specialized BHO extractor capable of maintaining very low temperatures needed to produce live resin.
Together, they were able to preserve terpenes, flavour and aroma of the living plant during the extraction process to create the delectable concentrate we love today.
Live resins usually have a more complex terpene profile and can deliver a more potent experience.
What is Live Resin?
Cannabis concentrates are often named by their textures or consistencies; some may be hard and brittle, such as shatter. Some could be waxy, or thick and gooey like batter. And some can be like sauce. By definition, live resin is a more malleable concentrate, sitting on the spectrum somewhere between a wax and a sauce.
It is typically dark golden in colour but can vary from light gold to white. Like all cannabis concentrates, it is extremely sticky, and you will need a dab tool to handle it.
Live resin is more potent than flower, with a lot of THC. Consumers love it because of it’s intense flavours and aromas which carry over from the original plant.'
How to use live resin
Live resin can be used in a few different ways.
Dabbing
Dabbing is the most popular way to consume most concentrates. You will need a dab rig, torch and a nail, or an e-mail. You’ll also need a dab tool to handle the concentrate and place it in the nail, most likely something with a scoop on it.
Vaping with a dab pen
You are also able to use live resin in a dab pen, which is essentially a small handheld e-rig that allows you to easily control temperature and ab on the go. Make sure to use a dab tool to get the live resin into the bowl of the dab pen.
Live resin can also come in disposable cartridges, similar to vaping distillate.
Topping off
You can add live resin on top of a bowl, joint or blunt for an added kick.
Benefits
Consumers love live resin because it is more flavourful and full of terpenes than other concentrates. In preserving trichomes and terpenes, it retains the flavour profile of the original living plant. Preserving the trichomes also keeps cannabinoids intact, and live resin is very potent as a result.
How to store live resin
Keep live resin cool and in an air-tight container, preferably in a fridge if you can. This will preserve it’s terpenes and keep it tasting and smelling great for awhile.
Leaving it out in the open with the lid off will expose it to air, light and heat, which will degrade the quality of the live resin and make it less flavourful. This can also cause it to dry out and harden.
Cured resin vs live resin
The difference between these two concentrates is mainly in the starting material. Cured resin is made from dried plant material, whereas live resin is made from frozen plant material that is kept frozen throughout the extraction process.
Cured resin is also more of a general term for an extraction from dried cannabis that ill be turned into shatter, wax, batter or various other types of concentrates.
Live resin vs distillate
Distillate is a cannabis oil that is created when a resin is refined, either to remove impurities or to isolate a specific compound. It does not use frozen cannabis plants as its source material as live resin does.
When distillate is processed, it usually lacks terpenes, and therefore smell, taste and flavour. Some consumers may prefer this neutral flavour in a vape cart, but it is quite different than the flavourful, terpy live resin.
