Hydrocarbon Extracts vs Solventless Concentrates

Alright this week I want to talk about hydrocarbon vs solventless extraction methods and some of the end products they produce. Is one actually superior to the other? Do most consumers even know the difference?

I want to discuss the recent increase in popularity of solventless concentrates on the Oregon rec market, the basic differences between hydrocarbon extraction and solventless hash, as I understand them, and my personal experiences with both. Due to the character limits and nature of IG, I have decided to post this discussion in four parts. The majority of the information for this article comes from my personal experiences, independent research over the years, and knowledge I have gained through discussions with people in the industry. Other sources are sited.

Part 1: Recent increase in popularity of solventless concentrates on the Oregon rec market

Solventless concentrates have exploded in popularity on the Oregon rec market since late 2018, when Happy Cabbage won first place and runner up for best rosin at the DOPE Cup. At the time, live resin diamonds were the hot product on the market, the CRC craze was taking off, and there were very few brands putting out quality solventless products at all.

Flash forward to today, diamonds have lost their shine, CRC has become synonymous with low quality, and it seems like every day there is a new hash rosin on the market. We have seen a major shift from just a few years ago when live resin was the most hyped product and commanded the highest price in it's category. Today, hash rosin has taken the place of most premium product on the dab shelf at many dispensaries and more and more consumers view BHO as an inferior product.

Due to the nature of this "new" and emerging market, it's understandable that trends would shift quickly in the beginning, as they have. But is hash rosin just the latest hype train or have high end dabbables just become more accessible to the masses? 

 

Part 2: Hydrocarbon Extracts

So what exactly is a hydrocarbon extract anyways? What's a hydrocarbon? According to "Hydrocarbon", published Nov 4 2020, in the Encyclopedia Britannica, "A hydrocarbon is any of a class of organic chemicals made up of only the elements carbon (C) and hydrogen (H). The carbon atoms join together to form the framework of the compound, and the hydrogen atoms attach to them in many different configurations."

The most common hydrocarbon gas used for making cannabis extracts is butane, hence the name butane hash oil (BHO) given to most hydrocarbon extracts. I'm told a mix of butane and propane is common these days although the name BHO has stuck around. These gaseous hydrocarbons are used as a solvent to extract the cannabinoids and terpenes from the cannabis plant in order to create many of the dabbables we know today. The gas is then purged from the extract, typically in a vac(uume) oven. On the Oregon rec market these products are tested for residual solvents before being sold to dispensaries.

Live resin, BHO made from freshly frozen material, is the most popular type of BHO on the market currently and while high end cured resin is starting to see a little more demand, most consumers still seem to view live resin as inherently superior (another good topic for discussion perhaps). Hydrocarbon extracts can be presented in many different forms including "shatter", "pull n snap", "sugar", "sauce", "budder", and "diamonds".

 

Part 3: Solventless Concentrates

So what is a solventless concentrate? It's an extract made using mechanical separation instead of chemical solvents, hence the term "solventless". For this discussion we will be talking about ice water hash and the hash rosin made from it, although there are other forms of solventless concentrates including kief, dry sift, and flower rosin.

Ice water hash is made using water, ice and agitation to separate trichomes from the cannabis plant. This can be done with either cured or live material however again, live is seen as inherently superior by many consumers. After separation from the plant material, trichomes are then separated further using bags with varying micron sizes. The bags are stacked on top of each other, with the highest micron at the top and lowest at the bottom. When the water is poured through the bags, it allows for collection in a range. For instance, a 90u bag would collect the 119u-90u when used in conjunction with a 120u bag. I believe some common bags used are 180u, 150u, 120u, 90u, 70u, and 40u with a 220u "wash bag" to hold the material, but other micron sizes and more or less bags are most certainly used.

After collection, the trichomes are dried (air dried or freeze dried) and depending on quality and other factors can be sold as "hash", pressed into hash rosin using heat and pressure from a rosin press, or used for edibles. Hash rosin can be sold in several forms including "fresh press", heat teched "jam" or cold cured "badder". Many times select bags, often the 90u, are kept separate and sold at a premium.

 

Part 4: Personal Experiences with BHO and Hash Rosin

So what are my personal thoughts of and experiences with these products? I personally dab both BHO and hash rosin and I enjoy them both for different reasons. I don't believe any of the fearmongering about either product and I don't believe what you choose to dab says anything about you as a person.

I generally prefer live resin BHO when it comes to flavor. For one there is a wider variety of profiles available due to not every strain washing well for hash rosin. Additionally, some terpenes are definitely lost to the water more than others in the hash making process and hydrocarbon extraction seems to get the full profile from more strains.

Hash rosin on the other hand does seem to provide me with a more complex high. I don't really know how else to explain it but the effects do generally feel higher quality and more long lasting to me. I'm not sure if this is because of the nature of seperating trichomes and only dabbing certain sizes or if it's because higher quality starting material is going to hash rosin since it commands a higher price.

The problem with hash rosin for a lot of consumers is the price though. I generally find that hash rosin of equal quality and flavor to live resin costs considerably more. For instance I would compare a $60-$72 (med) gram of hash rosin to a $40-$50 (med) gram of live resin. For this reason I've found live resin to be the more affordable option for quality and flavor while still meeting my medicinal needs. Recently I've been able to keep a good mix of the two around though and it's been very nice.

What are your experiences with these two types of products? 🕵️ Do you have a preference?

Sources:

Carey, Francis A.. "Hydrocarbon". Encyclopedia Britannica, 4 Nov. 2020, https://www.britannica.com/science/hydrocarbon. Accessed 26 May 2021.