Pressing solventless rosin may be the simplest way to make cannabis concentrates, but despite its ease, there’s still a whole lot that can go wrong with rosin tech. Now of course, learning from your mistakes in order to avoid making them again is of huge importance on that long road to rosin mastery, but what about the mess you just made?
Well, no matter how bad it may look, don’t throw away your rosin mistakes, because there’s almost certainly something you can do about it. Here’s 5 rosin disasters, and how to save the day.
#1 Blowouts
Where better to start than with the most common rosin disaster there is, the dreaded “blowout”. There’s a great deal you can do to avoid a blowout, but even experienced rosin makers still get the odd one from time to time, so it’s worth learning how to spot one, and what to do if it happens.
As you press, pay close attention to the color and consistency of your rosin flow. If you start to notice green discoloration and or visible detritus escaping, then you know you have a blowout on your hands.
The most important thing is to stop, and release the pressure immediately, then quickly add a new bag, and press again onto a fresh piece of parchment paper. The quicker you can do this the better your outcome will be, so it pays in this situation to have a spare filter bag and parchment ready so you can jump in like a first responder.
#2 Plant Material Contamination
A green and bitty appearance is the hallmark of plant material contamination. With plant matter present, your rosin will have a distinct chlorophyll taste, and unless you like your grass to taste literally like grass, you’re not going to want to hit that. However, don’t throw away your tainted rosin just yet, because there is something worth trying.
Lightly re-pressing your rosin through a finer filter can remove a significant amount of plant contaminants. You’ll sacrifice some yield and a fistful of terps in the process, but you will at least end up with something vapeable. Just remember to use low temps and pressures when re-pressing so as to retain as many terpenes as possible, just enough to re-liquefy your rosin and force it through the finer filter.
#3 Rosin Spillage
We’ve all had it happen, moving the next fat dab onto the nail and then splat, you drop it. No matter how careful we are, sometimes we just spill our concentrates. Over the course of a dabber’s life, rosin can end up splattered all over the place, and although they can be very difficult to remove from some surfaces, there’s no need to leave those fallen dabs behind.
Just a small amount of heat makes rosin easier to remove from non-stick surfaces, and a good old hair dryer comes in handy in this situation. A gentle reheat should be enough to make your dropped rosin malleable enough to be re-collected with a dab tool, even from the most stubborn of surfaces.
You can help yourself out here by always making and dabbing rosin on a large flat surface, with an equally large non-stick dab mat laid down on top, that way you’ll catch any spillage on an easy to remove surface.
#4 Liquid Spillage
It’s not just rosin that can get spilled either, drinks and water pipe rigs often get knocked over, causing oily rosin and watery liquids to come into contact with each other. Oil and water don’t mix, and trying to vape wet dabs will produce some explosive results inches from your face.
Clearly, you’re going to want to dry out your dabs first. If you’re lucky to live in a hot climate, that probably won’t take long, but do avoid direct sunlight as this will heavily degrade your solventless rosin. A warm dry place in your home will also do the trick, and again a hair dryer can be a lifesaver when it comes to quick drying dabs after a spillage.
#5 Dark Rosin
Dark colored rosin is often the result of poor quality starting material, too high temps, or too long of a press. Creating rosin that is light and clear is something that you get better at as you progress with your rosin skills, but what can be done if you overdo your concentrates?
Well unfortunately, there’s nothing you can do to repair the damage, those terps are toast, and they’re never coming back. However, the cannabinoid content is still there, and that means even burnt rosin, while horrible to dab, is far from useless. One of the best things you can do here is use solventless separation to make THC diamonds, which are almost 100% pure THC crystals.
Even the worst rosin disasters can often be rescued, but even if you manage to mess up so badly there’s no possibility of salvaging your error, don’t throw it away, because you can always infuse it into edibles as a last chance saloon.
Always remember that no matter how far gone your rosin disaster may appear to be, there’s probably something you can do to save the day. And if not, you can always make edibles!
