A Guide to Cannabis Concentrates

There are two broad categories of concentrates: solvent-based and solventless. Solvent-based concentrates are made by using a chemical solvent (typically butane, propane, or CO2) to strip cannabinoids and terpenes from the plant material. The solvent is then purged from the final product.

Solventless concentrates are made using mechanical or physical processes — heat, pressure, ice water, or screens — without any chemical solvents. Many consumers prefer solventless products because they're seen as a cleaner, more natural extraction method.

Shatter is a solvent-based concentrate with a hard, glass-like texture that literally shatters when broken. It's typically amber or golden in colour and is one of the most recognizable concentrate formats.

Shatter is made using butane hash oil (BHO) extraction and is then purged at low temperatures to create its characteristic rigid texture. It tends to be high in THC and relatively low in terpenes compared to some other formats, which means the flavour profile can be less complex.

Wax and budder are also BHO-based concentrates, but they're whipped or agitated during the purging process, which creates a softer, more opaque texture. Budder has a creamy, butter-like consistency. Wax is slightly firmer and more crumbly.

These formats are generally easier to handle than shatter and are popular for dabbing. The agitation process can preserve more terpenes than shatter, which often means better flavour.

Live resin is made from cannabis that was flash-frozen immediately after harvest, before the plant has had a chance to dry and cure. This preserves the terpene profile of the living plant in a way that dried-and-cured flower cannot.

The result is a concentrate with an exceptionally rich, complex aroma and flavour that closely mirrors the smell of the fresh plant. Live resin is generally considered one of the premium concentrate formats for this reason. It's available in a range of textures from sauce to sugar to badder.

Rosin is a solventless concentrate made by applying heat and pressure to cannabis flower, hash, or kief. The process squeezes out a resinous oil that retains the full terpene and cannabinoid profile of the source material.

Because no solvents are involved, rosin is often described as one of the purest concentrate formats. The quality of the final product is heavily dependent on the quality of the starting material. High-quality flower or bubble hash pressed into rosin can produce an exceptional product.

Hash is one of the oldest cannabis concentrate formats in the world. Traditional hash is made by collecting and compressing the resin glands (trichomes) from the cannabis plant. Modern hash production in the legal market often uses ice water extraction to separate trichomes from plant material, producing what's called bubble hash or ice water hash.

Hash can range from a soft, pliable texture to a harder, more compressed form depending on how it's made. It's typically less potent than other concentrate formats but retains a full spectrum of cannabinoids and terpenes.

Distillate is a highly refined cannabis oil that's been processed to isolate specific cannabinoids, typically THC or CBD, at very high purity levels. The distillation process removes most terpenes and other compounds, resulting in a nearly odourless, flavourless oil.

Distillate is the base ingredient in most vape cartridges and many edibles. Because the terpenes have been removed, producers often add them back in after the fact, either from cannabis or from other botanical sources. The quality of the final product depends heavily on the quality of those added terpenes.

The most common method for consuming concentrates is dabbing, which involves using a dab rig — a specialized water pipe with a heated nail or banger — to vaporize a small amount of concentrate. The learning curve is steeper than smoking flower, but many experienced consumers prefer it for the flavour and efficiency.

Concentrate-compatible vaporizers are a more accessible entry point. Many portable vaporizers now have settings designed for concentrates, and some are specifically built for them.

Concentrates can also be added to flower in a joint or bowl to increase potency, or used in edibles if you have the right equipment to decarboxylate them properly.