March 17, 2024
About Our Live Rosin Infusion Process
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Live rosin is a concentrate held in high regard in the cannabis community due to its abundance in naturally occurring compounds and solventless manufacturing process. At Hometown Hero, we employ this rich, golden sap in many edibles, such as our Absolute and Canna Classic collections. If you're curious about the dedication and craftsmanship it takes to produce these edibles, read on as we take you through our process.
It All Starts With Hemp
All of our live rosin and cannabinoid extracts come from hemp, but what exactly is hemp? Hemp is a type of cannabis (the same species as marijuana) that Congress first legalized through the 2018 Farm Bill. The difference between hemp and marijuana is not one rooted in science but instead in law. In the U.S., hemp is cannabis with a 0.3% or lower concentration of Delta-9 THC by dry weight, and marijuana is cannabis with any concentration that is higher than this.
This same standard applies to all hemp-derived cannabinoids (type of compounds found in the cannabis species)- whether CBD, Delta-8, or even Delta-9. Delta-9 THC (derived from hemp) is legal if it does not take up more than 0.3% of the product's dry weight, which is why you will only find it in an edible, not vapes or flower.
Hemp Strains
As you browse our Live Rosin collection, you'll notice names such as Northern Lights, Gelato, and Blue Dream. These are the hemp strains from which live rosin is extracted and infused into our products.
If they sound familiar, it's because they share the same names as classic marijuana strains. And in almost every other respect, they're the same strain itself. But from hemp. How can that be?
Well, growers can create hemp strains by selectively breeding marijuana strains until they reach a Farm Bill-compliant concentration of Delta-9 THC. This process happens outside of our home state of Texas for obvious legal reasons. However, the final result is a legal plant in Texas and many states nationwide.
"But what are these 'Sativa' and 'Indica' Absolutes?"
Our Absolutes line comes from our in-house, custom strains you won't find anywhere else. There are a variety of factors that differentiate cannabis strains from one another, like phenotype (physical appearance) and cannabinoid levels. One of the most crucial factors, however, is the terpene profile.
Terpenes are aromatic plant compounds in cannabis and other plant species. They can also have a type of synergistic effect when combined with THC. For example, mycrene may help THC cross the blood-brain barrier faster.
A terpene profile is a group of terpenes that help deliver a strain's unique touch. With our Absolute collection, the hemp breeds we developed feature a terpene profile that offers a pure representation of the Indica, Sativa, and Hybrid cannabis varieties.
Our Growing and Manufacturing Process
The farm where we grow our hemp is nestled within the Texas Wine Country, known for its abundant sunlight, mineral-rich sandy loam, and cool nights promoting growth.
Here, every plant gets a headstart in a climate-controlled greenhouse, then moved outdoors to finish. Throughout this process, we employ a variety of sustainable and organic farming processes, such as:
- Using protective microbes instead of chemical pesticides
- Nourishing the soil with organic compost, not chemical fertilizer
- No-till farming techniques to reduce erosion while biological activity in the soil
Our live rosin products come from two separate aspects of the plant: large buds and small buds/trimmings.
Small Buds/Trimmings
The Delta-9 THC for our live rosin edibles comes from tiny buds and trimmings. We then send these pieces of the plant to an extraction facility that uses supercooled CO2 to break down the plant matter and "push" the cannabinoids out of the hemp. CO2 extraction is nothing new. It's the same technique used to make decaffeinated coffee beans.
Then, we derive our Delta-9 from the cannabinoids extracted from the trimmings and small buds of the plant.
Large Buds
The larger buds are where the live rosin comes from. Usually, growers cure their larger buds to dry them enough (but not too dry) for an ideal smoking experience. With live rosin, we forgo this process to preserve the "living terpene profile" of the plant, hence the name "live" rosin.
But if we don't cure these buds, then what do we do with them?
Producing Live Rosin
Instead of curing the larger buds, we flash-freeze them. Just like CO2 extraction, flash-freezing isn't anything new either. It's the same process used to produce the frozen pizzas and vegetables in your local supermarket. This process is crucial because, as mentioned before, it preserves the living terpene profile of the plant matter.
From there, we use the frozen plant matter to craft bubble hash. For those unfamiliar, hash is a concentrate that is made by using a mesh screen to filter out the trichomes (crystalline structures on the plant that are rich in cannabinoids), which are often called "kief," and then pressing the kief together to make a potent final product.
Bubble hash follows the same principle with specialized mesh filters but with cold water and ice to help scrape out more trichomes. Making bubble hash at home can be done with buckets and filters; however, since we produce live rosin on an industrial scale, our specialized machine handles this process more consistently.
From there, we put the bubble hash into a specialized press that applies immense pressure and added heat over a long period to squeeze out a rich, golden sap containing the plant's living profile along with its nuances in flavor and effect. And yes, this golden sap is, in fact, live rosin.
Infusing Our Gummies
There are many approaches one can take when making cannabis gummies. Some manufacturers will buy their gummies from an outside source and externally apply (i.e., spray) the THC distillate onto the surface of the edible. This process tends to be cheaper to make and buy, but you get what you pay for. In other words, it can often lead to an inconsistent product with a funky distillate taste. This method makes sense in some instances and can yield excellent results with precision, but it isn't ideal for gummies.
We produce our gummies from start to finish and implement the Delta-9 distillate derived from small buds and live rosin derived from the larger buds with a technique known as "infusion." Infusion means mixing the THC and concentrate into the gummy mixture.
This process costs more, but again, you get what you pay for. It's a product with a smoother taste and even distribution of cannabinoids (which allows you to feel confident that 1/4 of a 5mg gummy, for example, is ~1.25mg Delta-9 THC). And that's all there is to it.
Final Thoughts
We hope this blog post sheds some light on our process for producing our Live Rosin Gummies. Essentially, we grow our hemp on a small farm in Texas and use some parts of the plant to produce Delta-9 and some parts of the plant to produce live rosin. Making live rosin and infusing our gummies is an extensive process, but once you taste and feel the effects of our gummies, it's worth it.
Until next time, happy exploring and Mind Your Mind.
