"SOLVENTLESS"

What does “solventless” mean? Before explaining this concept it is important to note that trichomes(the juiciest most valuable part of the plant) are shaped kind of like a mushroom- with a stalk and a head. When talking about resin content, the trichome heads are the cream of the crop and what we strive for when growing. Those bulbous heads contain the most flavorful and cannabinoid-dense parts of the plant. When we extract using a hydrocarbon process such as butane, we are not isolating the head but instead stripping the entire plant of the stalks and heads and other resin glands. When we extract using ice and water only we are attempting to isolate those heads by gently breaking them off the stalk without the membrane bursting and allowing the ’juices’ to release.

“Solventless”. A controversial term in this industry that categorizes cannabis concentrates that have been created using only water, ice, heat and pressure. Water Hash, Dry Sift, Hash Rosin and Flower Rosin are all common forms of solventless concentrates. We focus on Water hash and Hash Rosin specifically at @710labs and because of this we will focus on the education of those solventless concentrates today. Yes, water is technically a solvent. However, when in reference to cannabis concentrates, and more specifically Water Hash, it is used as a carrier in a mechanical separation process.

What exactly does that mean? To create Water Hash, plants are added to large tubs of very cold (almost freezing) water and ice, then stirred. Once gently agitated for some time the water solution is drained thru a set of filters to catch the different sized trichome heads that have come off of the planet and into the water. The collected heads are then dried into a powder like dabble consistency.

Hash Rosin is a further refined byproduct of Water Hash. The Water Hash is packed into small screen bags and put onto a slightly heated press machine(Similar time t shirt press for printing). These small bags are then squeezed until the resin seeps thru the screens into a typically light golden sappy oil referred to as rosin.

We will be doing more in depth posts on Water Hash and Rosin individually coming soon