Live resin

Live resin is a cannabis concentrate that gets its name from the freshness of the cannabis plant from which it’s made. … Products extracted using the live resin process — flash-freezing the cannabis plant material, then extracting it — are associated with high-quality and flavorful concentrates.

Of the many different types of cannabis concentrates or extractions, live resin is relatively new to the cannabis world. It has become popular among consumers and producers alike—it preserves the flavors and aromas of the living plant better than other cannabis extractions and is cheaper and easier to make.

Live resins usually have a more complex terpene profile and can deliver a more complex experience, making them highly desirable.

What is live resin?

Cannabis concentrates are often named or described by their textures or consistencies: some are hard and brittle, like shatter; some waxy; and some like sauce. Live resin is a more malleable concentrate, sitting somewhere between a wax and a sauce—not quite like taffy yet not too wet.

It is typically dark yellow in color but can vary from light yellow to white. Like all cannabis concentrates, it is extremely sticky, so you’ll need a dab tool to handle it.

Live resins tend to be potent with a lot of THC, and consumers love it because of its intense flavors and aromas which carry over from the original plant.

How to make live resin

Live resin distinguishes itself from other types of cannabis concentrates because it is created with fresh frozen cannabis—plants that are frozen immediately after being cut down at harvest. These plants are kept frozen throughout the extraction process and skip the drying, curing, and trimming phases of harvesting.

The drying and curing processes that cannabis plants usually go through can have a devastating impact on terpenes, the plant’s flavor and aroma compounds. Terpenes are present in trichomes, which cover buds and surrounding foliage.

During drying and curing, moisture and chlorophyll leave the plant. This can expose trichomes to heat, oxygen, and light, all of which can degrade terpenes. Trichomes also tend to break off of a plant as it is handled and moved around during harvesting.

By freezing the plant immediately after harvest, trichomes are preserved and the cannabis plant retains its valuable terpene profile, original flavor, and fragrance throughout the extraction process and into the final product.

After harvesting, frozen plants are put through a solvent extraction process, using butane, propane, or another solvent.