May 31

What’s in my Vape? Distillate vs. Live Resin Vapes

By Annemarie Porreca Cannabis 101

What’s in my Vape? Distillate vs. Live Resin Vapes

Chances are, your local Massachusetts dispensary carries more than a few different vape options for you to choose from. Hardware options include reusable batteries with cartridges, high-voltage dab pens, disposable models and more. But when it comes to what’s inside, will you be looking at distillate or live resin vapes?

Located off of 495 in Lowell, MA, Smyth Cannabis Co. is the most popular dispensary for distillate and live resin vapes in Andover, Ayer, Billerica, Burlington, Chelmsford, Nashua, Dracut, Groton, Haverhill, Lawrence, Littleton, Lowell, North Andover, North Reading, Reading, Stoneham, Tewksbury, Tyngsborough, Wakefield, Westford, Wilmington, Woburn and the surrounding towns.

What is Distillate?

Cannabis distillate is a refined cannabinoid oil free of taste, smell and flavor. Unless otherwise indicated, most readily-available flavored vape carts are made of distillate. Distillate vapes are relatively inexpensive and may contain up more THC than live concentrates, as they are more refined.

How is Distillate Made?

In short, cannabinoids such as THC are isolated from plant matter and then concentrated into a pure liquid form using heat and vacuum technology. Terpenes are destroyed during this process and must be added back into the potent solution after distillation.

Distillate vapes may be flavored with terpenes derived from either cannabis plants or other organic sources. You can find distillate vapes that mimic the flavor of your favorite strains, or distillate vapes that don’t taste like cannabis at all.

What Does it Mean When a Vape is “Live?”

Live resin vapes are made from cannabis plants that have not been cured.

During curing, harvested cannabis plants are laid out or hung up to dry and age for up to several weeks. This reduces moisture, chlorophyll and excess sugars inside of the buds, but also degrades some of the sensitive terpenes and other natural compounds.

With Live resin and live rosin vapes, the process of curing is skipped and plants are instead flash frozen immediately after harvest.

Live Resin Vapes

Live resin vapes are made by flash-freezing freshly harvested plants for up to 48 hours in order to preserve their terpene profiles. After that, solvents such as butane and propane are used to extract both terpenes and cannabinoids.

Live Resin vs. Live Rosin

Contrarily, manual extraction methods such as dry sifting and ice water extraction may also be used in place of solvents. Pressure and low heat are then applied to concentrate the extracted matter. Solventless concentrates made from flash-frozen cannabis plants are known as live rosins.

The method of extraction is the only thing that differentiates live resins from live rosins. And while live resin vapes tend to contain slightly more THC than live rosins, they usually come at a higher price tag due to the complex extraction process required to make them.

Cured Resin

Cured resin vapes are made using cured buds that have been dried and aged.

When it comes to flower, smoking cured bud provides a smoother and much more enjoyable experience. However, the difference between smoking cured resin vs. live resin concentrates is more subjective, as there is no substantial difference in potency or quality.

Which Should You Choose?

Price Point — Distillate vapes will almost always be the most affordable option due to the fact that that the integrity of the plant does not need to be preserved. Distillate can be made with trim, shake and low-testing buds, even from a blend of different strains. All that will remain after the distillation process is THC in pure liquid form.
Flavor / Terpenes — Live resin vapes are going to taste like weed. Terpenes are preserved from the plant to bring you a similar, yet more potent, experience to smoking flower. If you find your favorite strain available as a live resin cart, you’ll probably be stoked with the results. Contrarily, if you do not like the taste of weed, you can easily find a cartridge that’s been flavored to taste more appealing
Potency — If testing strength is what you’re looking for, you may want to choose a distillate vape. It is very common in the Massachusetts recreational market to find distillates testing well into the 90% range.

Visit Smyth Cannabis Co. For The Best Distillate & Live Resin Vapes in MA

Whichever type of vape you prefer, you can find it at an unbeatable price at Smyth Cannabis Co. Conveniently located right off of I-495 in Lowell, MA, our recreational dispensary carries top quality vapes, concentrates, flower and more. We’re proud to offer our own line of distillate vapes, flavored with terpenes from both your favorite strains and other botanical blends. Live resin vapes are also be available from Fernway and other brands you love.

Check out our menu to see what we have in stock today!

Mar 15

Love3

Types of Dabs & Cannabis Concentrates — Which to Choose?

By Annemarie Porreca Cannabis 101, Products

Types of Dabs & Cannabis Concentrates — Which to Choose?

What are Concentrates?

With so many types of dabs available, which one should you choose? Concentrates, oils and extracts, also known as “dabs,” are products that have been processed to extract cannabinoids and terpenes from the cannabis plant while removing excess plant material. The process involves separating the trichomes from the rest of the plant. Because of this, concentrates have a much larger concentration of cannabinoids and terpenes than flower alone.

The oldest type of concentrate is hash, or dried blocks of packed kief. People have been making it for thousands of years. Originally, the technique involved hand collecting and separating the hash. While some small shops still incorporate traditional solvent-free methods, most producers have moved to solvent-based extraction.

Solvent-Based Extraction

During solvent-based extraction, essential oils within the cannabis plant are separated using chemical solvents such as butane, propane, alcohol and CO2. Solvent-based extraction will make many different consistencies, depending on how the product is treated. Today, most concentrates and types of dabs are identified based on their consistency.

Usually, the harder a dap is, the less terpenes it contains. Concentrates with gooey and saucy consistencies tend to have the highest amounts of terpenes. However, if the concentrate is too runny, it will be difficult to smoke. To sum it up, concentrate consistency is a matter of personal preference.

And while the terms concentrate and extract are often used interchangeably, they are not actually the same. Extracts are a specific type of concentrate made using solvents. In short, all extracts are concentrates, but not all concentrates are extracts.

Types of Dabs & Cannabis Concentrates

Shatter

Brittle, see-through concentrate made with solvents

Terp Sauce

Terpenes are concentrated into a runny liquid, oil or “sauce”

Bubble/Water Hash

Trichomes are separated using only ice, water and filters

Crumble

Dried oil with a texture similar to honeycomb

Crystalline/Sugar

Isolated cannabinoids in their pure crystal form

Wax

Sticky and sappy type of concentrate for dabbing

Distillate

Refined cannabinoid oil free of taste, smell and flavor

Badder/Budder

Whipped under heat into a cake batter-like texture

Rosin

Solventless concentrate made using heat and pressure

What are the Benefits of Concentrates?

Most types of concentrates do not need to be smoked. For example, most consumers choose to go smoke-free by vaporizing or even eating them.
Cannabis concentrates are potent and effective. So, it takes less product to get the results you’re looking for.
Extracts are refined. Essential oils and cannabinoids are separated from plant material to create a smooth, clean flavor-forward experience.

Smoking Dabs

You don’t need to have a fancy dab rig set up to enjoy smoking concentrates because you can get an extra boost of potency just by simply mixing your flower with powdery kief or wrapping some wax around your joint.

If you are looking to further explore the world of dabs, you’ll want to invest in a dab rig. Dab rings are usually made of glass, ceramic, titanium or quartz and are equipped with a “nail” (the equivalent of the bowl of a bowl), which is heated up and applied directly to the concentrate, creating vapor which is then inhaled. Traditional methods require a high-temperature torch to heat up the nail, but electric nails are also on the market.

The Peak Pro by Puffco

Vision Plus by Puffco

In addition, most weed stores carry a selection of vape pens. A vape pen is a discreet and portable option for smoking concentrates. Although it will not produce vapor as potent as a dab rig, it is an excellent choice for convenience.

Vape pens consist of a battery-operated heating element that is activated either by a button or by taking a drag, and a cartridge which is then heated up and vaporized. While some cartridges can be refilled and reused, you’ll find a selection of pre-filled vape cartridges at your local dispensary. Most of these are designed to fit most vape pens using universal 510 threads.

Different types of concentrates require different levels of heat in order to burn properly. Therefore, you should check with your budtender to make sure your rig is compatible.

Check out this article for some other factors to consider when choosing your dab concentrates.

How Else Can Concentrates be Consumed?

Most people are familiar with “dabbing,” or heating up a concentrate and inhaling its vapors. But you do not need to dab in order to consume concentrates. Other options include tinctures, topicals and edibles.

Visit Smyth Cannabis Co. For All Types of Dabs & Concentrate Supplies

Smyth Cannabis Co. in Lowell, MA offers the highest quality cannabis flower, pre-rolls, edibles, concentrates and more. Whether you’re already a dab lord or just getting started, our friendly budtenders will help you pick a concentrate and get you set up with any necessary rigs. Come visit us in Lowell to learn more about our lab tested products.

distillate