What Is CBD Rosin? (And How to Make It Yourself)

On Jan 21, 2021

Ever since cannabis products started becoming available, products offering CBD, THC, or both have become available in a growing range of varieties.

In the past, the most common products were CBD oils and raw hemp flowers.

Now, you can find CBD in just about any form imaginable. One of the rising stars in the industry is CBD rosin (sometimes called CBD concrete) — which is a special type of CBD extract.

But what is CBD rosin, exactly?

Let’s take a closer look at what it is, and how to make CBD rosin at home.

What Is CBD Rosin?

Essentially, CBD rosin is similar to other cannabis or hemp concentrates, the main difference being that while many concentrates are made using harsh solvents (which can leave nasty chemical residues). Rosin is extracted using pressure and heat but no solvents at all, resulting in greater potency and purity.

CBD rosin is highly versatile. Perhaps the most common involves “dabbing” (a process that involves vaporizing your resin through a “dab rig” attached to a water pipe, which many people prefer because it is one of the fastest, most powerful delivery methods).

You can also smoke CBD rosin in a pipe, roll it into or apply it to the outside of a joint, or use it in creating CBD oils, tinctures, edibles, topical creams, or virtually any other product.

The Benefits of Using CBD Rosin

Now, among the many CBD product types on the market, what are the benefits of using rosin?

Besides its extreme versatility, many CBD users choose rosin because it’s a particularly health-conscious option. While CBD products are often extracted using hydrocarbons such as butane or propane, rosin is entirely free of chemical solvents during extraction.

In addition to CBD, this method also retains a range of compounds such as terpenes, CBC, CBG, CBN, and various fatty acids, all of which deliver a range of health benefits.

What’s more, solvent-free CBD rosin tends to have a better taste than other extraction processes.

How to Make CBD Rosin?

Next up — how to make CBD rosin.

You might think that it takes a lot of fancy equipment and master’s degree-level know-how to make rosin. But you’d be wrong. In truth, all you really need is a mechanical press, CBD-rich cannabis flower (or any other cannabis/hemp material such as stems, leaves, shake trim, etc.), and some parchment paper.

Let’s start by taking a look at the press. In theory, you can use any food-grade mechanical press, just like those used for squeezing oil from olives. But there are also presses on the market that is specifically made for cannabis products, and these can be helpful to ensure the best possible combination of pressure and temperature.

If you’re working under a budget, a simple countertop oil press will get the job done. The benefit to these is that they’re inexpensive, easy to use, and take up very little space.

If you really want to get serious about making your own CBD rosin, your best bet is to get a press that’s designed for cannabis products.

PurePressure, for example, is a reputable company that offers a wide range of both manual and automatic presses, as well as a variety of other helpful pressing tools.

Choosing Hemp Flower for Making CBD Rosin

The next essential element is, of course, the cannabis or hemp from which your rosin will be pressed.

While you’ll get the most rosin from the buds or “flower” of the plants, you can actually use any part of it — stems, trim, shake, kief, and so on — in the pressing process. So feel free to pack it all in: waste not, want not.

Unless you want your rosin to have psychoactive effects, you’re going to need to specifically seek out cannabis strains that are high in CBD but almost entirely free of THC.

A few popular strains that are packed with CBD but have less than 0.3% THC include:

Charlotte’s Web
Harle-Tsu
Suzy Q
Ringo’s Gift
ACDC
Remedy
Harlequin
Sour Space Candy
Cherry Wine

If all else fails, contact your nearest dispensary, and they’ll point you toward the right plant.

Keep in mind that the dryness of your plant matters. Your goal should be to find plant material that is as fresh as possible, which will not only result in greater retention of healthy compounds but often tastes better too. The drier flower will also reabsorb some of your rosins, resulting in a lower yield.

What is the Best Temp to Heat CBD Rich Rosin?

Before we dive into the actual process, a quick word on heat.

Heat is a key part of the rosin pressing process, but it’s essential that you keep the temperature without a specific range.

Too cool, and you’ll limit your yield.

Too hot, and you’ll burn off all the healthy CBD and other compounds.

So what is the best temp to heat CBD-rich rosin presses?

Your goal should be to maintain a temperature between 160 and 220 degrees for somewhere between 45 seconds and five minutes. Finding a specific temp and time depends on factors like which strain and press you’re using, as well as your personal taste and potency preferences.

You can raise the temperature as high as 330 degrees, which will result in greater yield but less potency. So if you’re looking for a larger quantity of more subtle rosin, this is the way to go.

Start out by creating small batches of rosin, and try out different temperatures and times to determine the best ratio. Keep track of factors like temperature, time, strain, and plant material weight so that you can not only track results and adjust as necessary but so that once you do find your preferred recipe, you can replicate it with ease.

How to Make CBD Rosin at Home?

Now without further ado, on to the actual process for making CBD rosin:

Step 1: Prep the Material

Prepare your plant material by breaking it up into small pieces. Make sure there’s a somewhat uniform ratio of flowers to stems to trim between batches to ensure consistency. Feel free to play around with the levels, and document any adjustments.

Step 2: Back The Material Into a Mesh Bag

If your press came with a mesh bag, pack it with the plant material, then place this on a piece of parchment paper. If you don’t have a bag, no worries, just place the plant material directly onto the parchment paper. The only downside to this is that you may end up with some plant material leftover in your rosin.

Step 3: Set the Temperature

Use the manual to set the temperature and pressure on your press correctly, then allow it to heat. Place the bag or parchment paper between the pressing plates.

Step 4: Start Applying Pressure

If you’re using a manual press, crank it down to the desired pressure. If it’s automatic, simply set it to press. Some automatic presses have built-in timers; otherwise, relieve the pressure after the desired amount of time.

Step 5: Remove The Bag

If you’re using a mesh bag, remove the bag and set it aside. The rosin should be left behind in a thin, semi-translucent, sappy layer. Now scrape the rosin from the paper using the tool included with your press, a paint scraper, a knife, or anything else that will get the job done.

Step 6: Storing Your Rosin

Ideally, you’ll store your rosin in a glass container. This makes it easier to handle than when stored in plastic (to which it tends to stick), and it ensures that no potentially harmful plastic byproducts will leach into your rosin. If you’ll be bringing your rosin on the go and you’re worried about breaking a glass container, silicone is a good alternative.

If you only plan on storing your rosin for a few weeks, it should be pretty stable, so you won’t have to worry about losing potency. But if you’ll be storing long-term, be sure that it’s kept in an airtight container someplace cool and dark.

Final Thoughts on CBD Rosin

There you have it — your very own homemade CBD rosin. It’s perfect for smoking or making edibles, and properly stored will hold its potency for months or even years.

At this point, CBD is legal in most states and countries, but there are still a few that have resisted the CBD call to health. Be sure to check your local regulations.

Do you have any questions about how to make CBD rosin or CBD rosin in general? Comment below to learn more.