Education

Cannabis has come a long way from the days of hand-rolled joints filled with homegrown bud. Today’s dispensary shelves are filled with a variety of cannabis products that can be used in a variety of ways.

One of these is cannabis concentrates, a collection of products prized for their high potency and bold flavors. What are concentrates and what do you need to know about them? Let’s dive in!

What Are Concentrates?

Cannabis concentrates are extra-potent cannabis products that feature much higher cannabinoid and terpene levels than cannabis flower. Some people think that concentrates are a new thing, but in reality hash (the original concentrate) has been used for over a thousand years and perhaps much longer. Today, there are many different types of extracts out there, all differing in shape, texture, consistency, and appearance.

Concentrates are made by using various methods to collect the trichomes that cover cannabis plants. It’s kind of like squeezing the juice out of an orange so you can enjoy the really good stuff. Trichomes are small glands that contain the cannabinoids and terpenes, and concentrating them creates a final concentrated product with a high potency level and strong flavor/aroma.

Perhaps the most important distinguishing characteristic of concentrates, and one to be mindful of when consuming these products, are the high THC levels. While cannabis flower can reach about 30% THC content, it’s very common to see a concentrate clocking in at anywhere from 50%–90%+ concentrated THC.

How Are Concentrates Made?

There are many different types of concentrates and many different ways to make them. In general, cannabis concentrates fall into one of two categories depending on how they were made: solvent-based and solventless.

Solvent-based concentrates are made with the use of a solvent like butane, ethanol, or carbon dioxide, which is purged from the final product after extraction. Solventless concentrates, on the other hand, are made using mechanical and physical methods that avoid the use of extra solvents altogether.

Shatter, for example, is a solvent-based concentrate typically made by using liquid butane to strip plant material of its potent trichomes. Rosin, on the other hand, is a solventless concentrate made by applying heat to plant material and squeezing the resin/rosin right out of it with pressure. Shatter and rosin are two types of concentrates made through very different methods but they usually reach around the same level of concentrated THC.

It’s up to you to decide if a concentrate’s extraction method matters to you or not. While some people feel that solventless concentrates are more health-conscious, others prefer the fact that solvent-based extracts tend to have higher levels of concentrated THC. In addition, any concentrate for sale at our dispensary has been safety and quality assured, meaning that you don’t have to worry about unsafe levels of residual solvents in any product we sell.

How Do You Use Concentrates?

Most of the time, cannabis concentrates are either smoked or vaporized.

Many different types of vaporizers can be used to vape concentrates. Conventional vaporizers, wax pens, vape pens, and special water pipes called dab rigs can all work to vaporize concentrates and extracts. Just make sure that your vaporizer is fully compatible with concentrates and extracts before using it.

Cannabis concentrates can also be smoked, although handling some of them can be a frustrating experience since they’re so sticky and viscous. You can add concentrate on top of the flower in your bowl or sprinkle it into your joints to give them a boost in potency.

Just remember that concentrates are very potent, so very small amounts will contain a high number of milligrams of THC and other active ingredients. Start low and go slow with concentrates, and consider using a microscale to measure out precise dosages.

Find Different Types of Concentrates at Takoma Wellness

From some simple hash and kief to potent distillate oils and sticky rosin, we’ve made sure to stock our dispensary with many different types of concentrates. Come by our Takoma, DC dispensay today or shop our online menu right now to speak with our wonderful team and find the right concentrate for you!