Hello, thanks for reading my words, I appreciate it. For those of you thinking “water is a solvent”, just ignore the title.
Solvents suck. I'm talking about propane, butane, ethanol, pentane, hexane, and anything besides water, it all really sucks. I'm not just saying that. There are countless research papers conducted by universities, third party labs, and departments of government which all point to hydrocarbon solvents as hazardous materials responsible for human health issues. ITS BAD FOR YOU. Anyone still blasting BHO (butane hash oil) in 2023 does not care about the consumer, just yields and money. On that note, I should also explain how much higher a yield is from a solvent extraction. The entirety of the plant is being chemically separated which results in all of the available cannabinoids leaching out into the final extraction. This efficiency also works for the parts of the plant that have no medicinal value, such as pigments, plant waxes, residues from the field and much more. Anything undesirable on the material before a solvent extraction is exacerbated in the product by the solvent extract process. This means you're smoking much more than trichome oils. Aslo, its very rare an extractor will remove the entirety of the residual solvent. Another reason why solvents suck so much is the color remediation cartridge which essentially pulls the color from the extract making it appear cleaner and more marketable, However this process also leaves the terpenes very “single sided”, lacking complexity and its intended medicinal value. Basic extracts for basic people, and if you’re reading this, I already know you aren't basic.
Solventless is awesome. For those that are unfamiliar or don't know the process, you take a bunch of frozen weed and agitate it in cold water and ice for a few minutes until the trichomes separate from the flowers and are suspended in the water, the water is then filtered to capture the trichomes which have been suspended in the water. At that point you have water hash thats wet and it goes into a freeze dryer. This preserves the terpenes and keeps the product tasting the way it should. If you have melty hash and selected the proper microns, it is ready to consume then. However, it is common that the dry hash is then pressed through a filter into rosin using heat and a ton of pressure. The whole process takes place without any harmful solvents or chemicals and solely relies on mechanical separation techniques.
Both melt and rosin are far superior products when compared to solvent extracts based on quality alone, and the health aspects make it a no brainer. I know the price can bar some consumers from enjoying solventless hash, but as time goes on and the process becomes less expensive and has more users, it will drop in price and become more accessible.
Solventless vs everything else? I know what I'm choosing!