Cannabis concentrates are a topic most struggle with, leaving some unfortunate gaps in education. This is mainly because they have a more significant learning curve. Concentrates are a lot harder to pick up and just smoke. Many Calgary dispensaries and cannabis shops across the province have struggled to convert current users from unregulated markets and entice active regulated consumers to try them. The cannabis store near you may not be educated in this area or value putting the extra effort into educating their budtenders to get them up to speed. In this blog, we break it down and provide easy tricks to get you started trying cannabis concentrate.

First, what is a concentrate? To keep it simple, think of any other concentrate you know. You start with a base product and break that down to get a highly concentrated form of the original product. Take something like orange juice, for example. It starts as a fresh orange from the orchard and then it is processed, removing much of the organic matter and leaving a liquid. Cannabis concentrates are the same. You take a freshly harvested plant and break it down to harvest the cannabinoids and terpenes. The resulting concentrate depends on how it is processed.

Hash is arguably one of the first classics of the cannabis concentrate world. It can be found in a few types at a cannabis store near you. Hash might be dark, light, sticky, or hard depending how it is processed. The simplest form of hash involves pressing kief and resins together to get a brown, sticky substance. Some hash is filtered using ice or very cold temperatures using sifting bags. It’s then pressed resulting in more of a blonde, hard brick. You can smoke hash straight or mix it into some regular flower. Hash is much simpler for beginners because it requires very little extra equipment and is easy to start smoking.

Rosin is another great cannabis concentrate and is one of my favourites. Rosin is produced by pressing freshly harvested flower with a bit of heat. This pressing squeezes the resins from the plant onto a parchment sheet producing a beautiful concentrate full of flavour and potency from the original plant. Unlike hash, rosin has limited plant matter in it; however, it requires much more traditional styles of equipment to use. Joints or pipes won’t work because it is very sticky and requires hotter heat. Dab rigs or electronic dab tools are a much better way to consume rosin. These types of tools use hotter temperatures and keep it much cleaner.

Shatter has become a very popular method of consumption over the last few years. Shatter is essentially a glass-type texture produced by breaking down the plant until it’s primarily all THC. Shatter has very little taste and is primarily for the high. Unlike rosin, and hash, it can be used in multiple methods. Do it straight in dabs, mix it into a bowl, or even roll it into a joint. It will perform better under hotter heat but is usable in many different ways.

There are several other offshoots from these methods, but the processing is similar. These include Resin, Diamonds, Bubble Hash, Moon Rocks, and dab cartridges. Pick your cannabis store wisely because every dispensary is a bit different; the best will be able to adequately educate you in both application and experience.

Lake City cannabis has knowledgeable budtenders who can answer any questions you may have and help you select a product that is best for you. Visit us today!