I’m looking to step up my extraction game and produce that transparent, golden, top-tier look similar to commercial brands. I currently have a rosin press, but I don’t have a freeze dryer, which makes drying bubble hash properly a huge bottleneck for me.
To give you an idea of my current setup and materials: I have top-shelf flower with beautiful white trichomes, along with butane and Pyrex dishes on hand.
I wanted to ask the community:
Since I have butane and Pyrex, would running a small-batch BHO extraction with this top-tier flower be a better route to get that commercial clarity, or should I stick to trying to figure out a non-freeze-dryer method for bubble hash?
If sticking to bubble hash without a freeze dryer, what are the best alternative drying techniques to avoid oxidation and keep it light-colored?
Any workflow tips or advice on post-processing would be hugely appreciated. Thanks!
If you don’t have a closed loop, stick to rosin. Don’t open blast. Head over to some of the rosin/hash threads and do some reading, you should find all of the tips you need to be successful.
Thanks for the solid advice! I’ll definitely steer clear of open blasting.
Since I’m sticking to my rosin press, do you (or anyone else here) have any go-to tips or specific threads for pressing top-shelf flower with nice white trichomes to get that premium, light-colored, commercial-grade look without a freeze dryer? Appreciate you pointing me in the right direction!
You’re right, full bubble hash and freeze-dryer is top tier, but for a home setup without a freeze-dryer, can a clean dry sift still give good results?
If you want amber/gold, you need no plant matter in the mix; Plant matter is going to turn it back into a beige/brown/not gold color in very low %'s. How you do that is the question, and with rosin it’s usually knocked off in an ice bath and then sent through numerous filter screens (usually 190/120/90/73/etc) to get rid of said plant matter without disturbing the heads too much, and then freeze-dried to get rid of the water, and pressed in yet another filtration bag.
I don’t dry sift, so I can’t give an experience, but I would lean towards you’re going to end up with a milky beige/yellow rosin (which Google seems to confirm) due to less filtration and more popped heads/cuticles in the mix. I’d dab it, but certainly wouldn’t be a clear product.
A small closed-loop BHO system is not too expensive; Like a (few?) grand? You need some fire flower, though, or else you get a very dark product fast (oxidation).
I don’t have a freeze-dryer, and since my 1,500 grams of material is very high quality, I can’t risk ruining it. I really want a top-tier, grade-A extract. Do you have any alternative suggestions?
Define very high quality. Is it a looker? A number %er? Known well presser?
There are a ton of factors that go into the production of concentrate, period, and then a whole other subset to get the high-shelf shit. One of the strains we pressed at work yielded something like 0.003%. 180g from a 60,000 g fresh-frozen, very high-quality flower grow, due to little fault of our own.
If this is make-or-break for you, it may be more economical to pick a different product such as kief, whole flower, etc. There is a very good chance something does not go as intended when making concentrates for the first time.
The strain is Skywalker, it has amazing trichomes and looks incredible. So given that, what method or path would you recommend I take for this? Just to add, I do have a rosin press, Pyrex dishes, and butane, but no freeze-dryer.
It will likely be darker. If you are going for carts, try looking into static tech. I remember some pretty cheap DIY ways that don’t require a fancy machine (nitrile glove balloon comes to mind).
Master Rogue: perhaps you could answer a couple of question concerting trichome sift. I have had rosin pressers tell me it is debatable with regards to quality end product or not. Whether freeze drying enhances the end product. Under high vacuum and heated trays a lot of terps end up in the condenser. So who are the quality experts that qualify the rosin ??? Seems taste basis for certain flavors might factor in, but in terms of THCA content and ultimate vaped product aerosol…well that is another known unknown. I have seen rosin “experts” vape base water THCA hydrates , You know the hits these guys take! And have them tell me they NEVER got that high smoking rosin! So what is the real purpose of freeze drying wet sift. In regards, to this question, one must ask , is the bulk of the water on the outside of the trichome , or does the volume element of each trichome contain internal water. I would suggest that the internal volume is rather low on water. If water was prevalent in side the capitate volume, freeze drying would freeze fracture each and every capitate head, and there would be a sticky mess every where. So, what is it , that the freeze dryers are doing that contributes to a better press and rosin product ??? @Roguelab, @SubstituteCreature .
thank you for your time and consideration in these matters.
