The Different Types of Cannabis Concentrates

What are cannabis concentrates?

Cannabis concentrates are derived from cannabis after excess plant matter is extracted, leaving behind unique profiles of cannabinoids and terpenes. The goal of cannabis concentrates is to keep the desirable elements of the plants without any plant matter. This is what gives concentrates their flavor of potency.

Concentrates come in various forms and consistencies, ideal for patients and customers looking for immediate pain relief or a more powerful high.

The different types of concentrates

Concentrates are produced in one of two ways: solvent extraction or solventless extraction. Solvent extracts use chemicals such as butane or propane to create the concentrate, but solventless ones do not. Solvent extracts are cheaper to produce, but the final product must be tested below a certain threshold of solvent presence to be sold on the legal market. 

Solvent Extracts

Live Resin & Cured Resin

Resin is a malleable concentrate – somewhere between the consistency of wax and sauce. It’s not quite like taffy, but also not too wet, and it’s typically colored dark yellow, light yellow, or white.

Live resin is made with fresh frozen cannabis, while cured resin is made from dried plant material with significantly fewer trichomes than fresh frozen cannabis.

Clearly California makes several live resin concentrates.

Shatter

Named for its glassy texture, shatter is a thin, clear, sheet-like extract typically colored amber or gold. It is one of the purest cannabis extracts and has high THC levels ranging from 50-90%, which makes it great for people with chronic pain, mood swings, depression, and stress. 

Wax

Wax is a gooey, ear wax-like texture with a yellow-brownish color. Like shatter, it is produced using BHO and has a potent THC content. Unlike shatter, it is a thick, malleable concentrate. 

Budder/Batter

Budder and batter are known for their high terpene content, smooth consistency, and THC potency north of 80%. It has a soft, buttery texture. Budder is primarily made from cured cannabis buds, while batter is made from fresh frozen cannabis. This concentrate tends to produce a joyful and euphoric experience. 

Distillate

This is what you most often find in vape cartridges. Cannabis distillate products undergo a complex extraction, separation, and purification process, leaving behind a tasteless, odorless, 99% pure THC concentrate.

Crystalline (Diamonds)

Crystalline – also known as crystals or diamonds – looks like coarse sugar. THC or CBD is extracted from all other cannabinoids to produce pure isolate crystals without flavor, color, or aroma. THC extracts can have up to 99.9% concentration.

Clearly California uses a proprietary method of extraction to create some high-quality Diamonds. Check out our Twin Fin products. 

Sauce

Sauce is a goopy concentrate of cannabinoids and terpenes with a robust flavor. It often has diamonds in it and a yellow or amber color. What makes sauce unique is its high concentration of terpenes. Sauce can be made of up to 30% terpenes, making it flavorful.

Clearly California has a High Terpene Extract concentrate (in the Twin Fin), which is made from this oil on the top, and Diamonds (also in the Twin Fin), which are made from the crystals on the bottom. Sauce is a mixture of these two products. 

Solventless Extracts

Rosin

Rosin is resin’s solventless counterpart. It’s malleable, and the texture is soft and creamy. Because it is made without a solvent, rosin retains more of the terpenes and flavonoids contained in the plant. 

Instead of a solvent, a machine uses ice water to remove trichome heads and crystals from the plant, then they’re pressed between two hot plates, turned into oil, and cooled.

Hash (Dry-sift)

Hash – or hashish – is cannabis kief packed or pressed together and typically colored brown. It’s made by either freezing trichomes off with dry ice, pressing them together, or collecting resin and rolling it into a ball. The latter way of making hash has been common practice in northern India for centuries, and they call these hash balls “charas.” 

Bubble Hash (Ice Water Hash/Ice Hash)

Bubble hash, like rosin, ranges from light blond to dark brown and is made using ice water. The liquid is filtered through a series of mesh bags to remove plant matter. The “meltier” the hash, the higher quality. Bubble hash can be made into rosin if pressed between hot plates. 

Ready to go?

If you need some help choosing a product to get started, we can help.