Live Resin vs. Distillate vs. Live Rosin vs. Cured Resin

A lot of us tend to overlook one of the most critical aspects of any hemp product, which is how the compounds in the plant are lifted from the raw material via extraction. Now that live resin is exploding on the scene, we’re starting to consider extraction methods more carefully, so it’s time to compare live resin to other types of hemp extracts to see how it compares.

Live Resin

First up, we have live resin, which is a hemp extract made from fresh, flash-frozen plant material as opposed to plant material that has been dry-cured. Flash-freezing freshly cultivated hemp preserves the sticky, terpene-rich trichomes that cover the plant, resulting in a much higher compound density in the resulting extract. This gives the user stronger, fresher flavor and more potent effects, while enhancing the entourage effect together with the plant’s cannabinoids.

Live resin is a great way to experience a hemp experience that’s as close to how nature intended as possible. Even raw flower buds are dry-cured, and so their terpene profiles may be suppressed to some extent.

Distillate

Distillate is a type of extract used solely to extract and isolate cannabinoids out of the hemp plant, which means that most live resin products contain a distillate as well. These extracts serve two totally different purposes as their aim is to offer the best extraction of two different types of compounds found in the hemp plant.

Distillate is made by applying a solvent to the plant material, followed by distilled steam in varying levels of temperature and pressure, to discard each undesired cannabinoid until all that remains is a purified form of one specific cannabinoid. Distillates are also free of terpenes and flavonoids.

Live Rosin

Live rosin is similar to live resin, except it’s basically live resin in dab form. It’s a type of concentrate that is dabbed, and it’s a solid rather than a liquid, meaning it requires the proper dabbing gear to vaporize.

Like most dabs, live rosin is very thick and sticky, and is a solventless type of concentrate, which is rare. There are no added ingredients, making it extremely pure. As live resin is a liquid extract made from fresh, flash-frozen plant material, live rosin is a dab also made from fresh, flash-frozen plant material. To make live rosin, you take this plant material and squeeze it using heat and pressure. Live rosin, like live resin, promises a richer terpene flavor and a more potent effect overall.

Cured Resin

Cured resin is, in fact, the blanket term used to describe any hemp extract made from dry-cured flower – pretty much the type of extract we’ve been consuming since the hemp market started. Cured resin is the alternative to live resin, and so you’ve probably consumed quite a lot of it over the years. Cured resin is not inherently bad, it’s just going to give you a lower concentration of terpenes and flavonoids compared to its live counterpart.

Dry-curing is done to prevent the spread of mold and other pathogens on the material, which can also be accomplished through live resin. Dry-curing involves placing the plant material in a dark and cool room with a 45-55% humidity level for around a week, before placing it into an airtight jar to cure further. From there, the plant material can be turned into an extract using standard extraction methods.

Dry-curing is great for raw flower. It’s also perfectly useful in gummies, vapes, tinctures, etc. But, it will always have a lower concentration of terpenes and flavonoids compared to live resin, which means you’ll be missing out on the full extent of what the hemp plant’s chemical composition is capable of.

Different Extractions = Different Results

Ultimately, live resin serves a distinctive purpose, and is arguably preferable to cured resin. It’s harder to compare to live rosin and distillate since those two products serve completely different purposes from what live resin is trying to achieve. Luckily, you can simply explore all four types of extracts for yourself since all of them are widely available in all kinds of product forms and delivery methods on the market.