The concentrate case can be intimidating if you don’t know what you’re looking at. Shatter, wax, rosin, live resin, hash, badder, diamonds. Twenty different textures and price points. The first question we usually ask is: solventless or solvent-based? That one answer narrows the menu a lot.
Solventless concentrates (rosin, hash, ice water hash, kief) are extracted using only physical methods like heat, pressure, ice, and screens. Solvent-based concentrates (BHO, CO2 extracts, distillate, live resin, shatter, wax) use a chemical solvent like butane or CO2 to pull the cannabinoids and terpenes out of the plant.
Want to see what we’ve got in stock? Stop into a Cannabis & Glass, or stop into a Cannabis & Glass shop and we’ll match you with the right concentrate based on your gear and your budget.
Solventless: How It’s Made
No chemistry involved. The main techniques: Hash. Trichomes (the resin glands on the flower) get separated from the plant material using sieves or agitation. Pressed into a brick or ball. Centuries-old technique.
- Ice water hash (bubble hash). Cold water makes the trichomes brittle, agitation knocks them off, screens separate them by size. The cleanest grades are sometimes called “full melt” because they melt completely when heated.
- Rosin. Heat and pressure squeeze the oil out of flower, hash, or kief. Can be pressed at home or done industrially. Quality depends on the input material; rosin made from full-melt ice water hash is the high end.
- Kief. Loose trichomes collected from grinding or sifting. The simplest solventless product, often used to top a bowl.
Solvent-Based: How It’s Made
Chemical solvents pull the cannabinoids and terpenes out of the plant. The solvent then gets purged off, leaving the concentrate behind. Common types: BHO (butane hash oil). Butane extraction. Shatter, wax, badder, crumble, and sauce all start as BHO with different post-processing.
- CO2 extracts. Supercritical CO2 as the solvent. Common in vape cartridges. CO2 is gentler than butane but typically produces a different terpene profile.
- Distillate. Heavily refined extract, usually pure THC. Strips out most flavor and terpenes. Used in carts and edibles where pure cannabinoid content is the goal.
- Live resin. Solvent extraction from fresh-frozen cannabis (not dried). Preserves more terpenes than dried-flower extracts. Often considered the gold standard of solvent-based concentrates for flavor.
Is solventless stronger? Not necessarily. THC% is similar between top-grade solventless and solvent-based concentrates. The difference is in flavor and terpene retention, not raw
What’s “live” mean? Made from fresh-frozen cannabis instead of dried flower. Preserves more terpenes. Applies to live rosin (solventless) and live resin (solvent-based).
What should I try first? If you’ve never dabbed, start with a small amount and try a live resin or live rosin. The flavor and terpene profile will give you a sense of why people love concentrates.
What’s the Real Difference for You?
- Flavor. Solventless and live products generally taste more like the strain. Distillate is the most neutral. Cured-flower BHO falls in the middle.
- Price. Solventless tends to cost more, especially the high grades of ice water hash and rosin. Distillate carts are usually the cheapest per milligram of THC. Live resin is mid to high range.
- “Cleaner” perception. A lot of customers prefer solventless because it doesn’t involve any chemical solvent. Washington’s testing standards apply to all licensed products, so residual-solvent risk on shelf product is minimal either way, but the preference is real.
- Gear. Most concentrates work in a standard dab rig with a banger. Cartridges need a 510-thread battery. Hash and kief work in bowls or vapes. Ask us what you’re using and we’ll point you at the right format.
Is solvent-based dangerous? Properly purged and tested products meet Washington safety standards. The residual-solvent limits are tight. Issues mostly come from unlicensed product, not what’s on a legal menu.
Stop By and We’ll Walk You Through the Case
Concentrate menus change fast. New brands, new releases, limited drops. Easiest way to figure out what’s worth trying right now is to stop in and ask. We’ll show you what’s fresh and match it to your gear and price range. Stop by any of our three Spokane-area shops.
Shop Concentrates at Cannabis & Glass
Cannabis & Glass is a locally owned, WSLCB-licensed dispensary with stores in Spokane Valley, Spokane North, and Liberty Lake. The concentrate case rotates weekly across solventless rosin, hash, and ice water hash plus solvent-based shatter, wax, live resin, and distillate.