“Fire in, Fire out,” is what we say in the industry. The quality of cannabis concentrates is heavily dependent on the quality of the source material. And this fact is even more true when we are talking about one cannabis concentrate in particular: Hash Rosin.
The solventless processing of Hash Rosin results in an unadulterated product, closer to the plant’s essence than any other concentrate product. For cannabis consumers that prefer flower, hash rosin still fits the bill for a suitable smoking experience.
In this article we want to share with you information on what makes a quality hash rosin product, specifically, the origin and the processing.
You cannot make good Hash Rosin with poor quality flower
Hash Rosin is a minimally processed concentrate product. Various manners and methods of making hash have existed for thousands of years.
Hash is the world’s oldest form of cannabis concentrate. You may hear phrases or references to “Lebanese hash” or “old school,” “Moroccan Hash” by old timers who traveled over seas during military service.
Modern day hash rosin, however, has become the ultimate object for connoisseurs of concentrates. Because of it’s minimal processing, which uses no chemicals, solvents, or extraction methods, the product shares a resemblance to the plant. The smell, taste, even touching and feeling the batter, has a familiar likeness to cannabis flower.
Hash, after all, is a minimally processed version of cannabis flower, that concentrates the portion of the plant that provides the high and the most flavor.
For this reason, the quality of the flower is paramount to producing a quality hash rosin product.
Poor quality flower will produce poor yields & poor quality hash rosin
You need “Fire in” to get “fire out,” and your inputs will dictate your outputs. Color, texture, and taste will all be affected in a negative way, in addition to poor yields, since bad flower isn’t usually covered in trichomes.
There are other factors that will dictate the outcome of the hash, as there are some really fire flowers out there that are not ideal for washing. This mostly relates to the physical qualities of the buds, such as the shape of the calyxes, and how those qualities impact the hash-makers ability to separate the trichomes from the plant.
Strains that are really dusty and kiefy generally allow for the kief/trichomes to be easily removed, as are strains that have longer shaped calyxes. Strains that have even a larfy texture generally allow for easier entry of the ice water on to the surface of the bud and greater removal of the trcichomes needed to produce the best hash.
Above all, great tasting hash comes from great flower. Hash that has a beautiful texture requires excellent quality flower. And ultra terpy, smelly hash cannot be achieved without great source material, namely a picture perfect, beautifully complex cannabis plant.
Making Good Rosin requires a Talented Hash Maker
When it comes to shopping for the best hash in your market, you must first look to the reputable brands with talented hash makers.
Making hash involves a delicate process, that is more skill-intensive than processing using CO2 extraction or BHO processing methods. Not that there aren’t skills involved in operating the machinery of those forms of chemical processing – it’s just different from the hands-on craftsman ship of making hash rosin.
Making solventless hash-rosin involves washing plant machine in ice water, in an attempt to delicately remove the trichomes from the leaves and buds. Micron screens are used to filter out those delicate trichomes. This process continues until the items are completely separated, and all plant material has been removed from the screens, leaving only isolated trichome heads.
Those trichome heads are collected and then compiled on wax paper, to be squished by a hot press.
It sounds simple, but in reality, it’s very easy to mess it all up. Which is why hash making is considered a craft. An inexperienced hash maker can completely ruin resulting product from perfectly good flower.
At Smokey Okies, we have always respected the art of making hash rosin. We have never produced it in bulk quantities, and we have always preferred to collaborate with talented hash makers, such as Cicada Labs.