Types of Cannabis Extraction

Types of Cannabis Extraction

Hydrocarbon Extraction

The traditional cannabis oil or extract referred to as BHO comes from hydrocarbon extraction. Butane and propane are the main hydrocarbons or solvents used for this type of extraction. BHO loosely standing for butane hash oil or butane honey oil has been a long-time product in most dispensaries. These products range from wax to shatter to even live resin! In recent years an additional filtered hydrocarbon product has also become available known as crc, or color remediated concentrates. This extract or concentrate is clean of impurities and as a result a highly purified extract in general comparison to the unfiltered hydrocarbon products. This filtering process can affect the flavor and aroma of the cannabis extraction, best practice is to see how it smells to you. Don’t forget the nose knows 👌

Ethanol Extraction

Ethanol extraction is widely used for biomass that does not meet the quality requirement for other forms of extractions. This material will be washed in a bath of ethanol, followed by an extraction known as distillation to create the product you know as distillate. Distillate is widely used in many of your favorite edible and vape products. This form of cannabis extract is nothing more than purified cannabinoids completely free of terpenes. For this reason, most distillate vapes will have flavors reintroduced to them from other terpene sources such as fruit. This provides the end user with a plethora of flavors to choose from! You can also purchase distillate in a self-serving syringe to create your own edibles at home 🙏

Co2 Extraction

Co2 was a popular extraction method when cannabis first started being extracted as many people saw it as a safe method of extraction because Co2 is not flammable. However, these Co2 extraction machines operate under immense pressure, and are not efficient in today’s market. Many consumers know the unique and not so pleasant taste of a Co2 extract. This extraction is generally found in a vape or sometimes a wax form. Due to lack of product variety, off putting flavor/aroma, and slow output Co2 extraction is slowly being phased out of the cannabis industry. Our consensus here is leave the Co2 at the soda fountains where it belongs 🫡

Solventless Extraction

Water is the universal solvent that we all use to create our “solventless” extractions. In modern day tech there are a few advanced systems doing static extractions; however, they are currently few and far between. The general solventless extraction starts with a water wash with this was being sieved with different levels of micron collection anywhere from 45um-160um. This leaves you with a product know a either bubble/ice/water hash. This water hash collected from the sieve will then need freeze dried to remove the remaining water and be a finished product. Once dry this water hash can be further refined by being loaded into smaller micron bags to be squished or pressed on a “rosin press”, this process produces the product we all know today as rosin. This product after pressed can be manipulated into many different end products including cold-cure, rosin jam, and even vapes 💨