What is live resin?

It is a cannabis concentrate that gets its name from the freshness of the cannabis plant from which it’s made. Unlike the majority of cannabis products, live resin is made from plant material that hasn’t been dried or cured. The starting plant material used for live resin includes fresh flower buds and sugar leaves; the large fan leaves and stems are excluded. The flash-freezing process helps preserve the most desirable compounds and retain the full flavor of the cannabis plant. Concentrate enthusiasts tend to gravitate toward it thanks to its more flavorful and aromatic dabbing experience.

Capturing the full essence and aroma of living cannabis is the primary goal. The live resin production process — flash-freezing the plant material, then extracting compounds from it — is associated with high-quality and flavorful concentrates. Bypassing the typical drying and curing stage allows for a greater proportion of essential oils. These essential oils, technically called terpenes, are the compounds responsible for the distinctive flavors and aromas in weed, and in the final extraction product.

What does live resin look and feel like?

It comes in a variety of colors and forms. The type of cultivar, or strain, used for the concentrate affects a lot of the chemical and physical characteristics of the extract. Live resin is chock full of terpenes in greater proportions than other concentrates. With the additional essential oils, the consistency is typically looser than other concentrates. The more terpenes, the runnier and more malleable the concentrate. The most common consistencies of live resin are sap, sugar, badder/budder, and sauce.