How to Make Rosin from Kief
Rosin is one of the most popular concentrates that can be extracted from flower, hash and kief. Did you know that with the right materials and equipment, you can make it at home and enjoy its outstanding flavor and high potency? All you need to do is follow the steps on how to make rosin from kief.
In our expert guide, we will walk you through the process of rosin extraction and give you some tips on how to preserve the flavor and potency of kief. Let’s see how you can get the most out of the material you have.
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How to Make Rosin from Kief
Cannabis extracts are differentiated into two categories: solvent and solventless extracts. If we had to vote for the most popular solventless cannabis extract, it would undoubtedly be rosin. While rosin can be made from different cannabis products, kief rosin is particularly valued for its higher potency and purity. As a popular concentrate among many consumers, kief rosin is made by applying heat and pressure to the kief without the help of any additional chemical solvents.
But what if we told you, you could make it yourself?
Materials You’ll Need
Before starting the pressing process, you’re going to need a high-quality, clean kief, parchment paper, a rosin press, some rosing bags, and, let’s not forget– heat-resistant gloves.
There are different types of rosin press machines available, such as pneumatic, hydraulic, manual, and electric/hybrid presses. Manual rosin presses are the most affordable and favorable in a home setting, while pneumatic rosin presses are typically the choice of professional rosin extractors.
Step-by-Step Guide to Making Rosin from Kief
Preheat the Rosin Press
Before starting with anything, set the rosin press to the temperature necessary for kief rosin. The perfect temperature to ensure a proper decarboxylation process while preserving the terpenes of kief ranges from 180°F to 220°F.
Prepare Your Kief
The kief’s quality may directly influence the flavor and effects of the rosin concentrate. As a rule of thumb, the lighter the kief, the better the effect. You can be your own kief maker and collect it from the flower, or you can purchase a ready-to-use product.
In our experience, unrefined kief is not suitable for making rosin. Consequently, the cannabinoid should be refined and pass multiple filtration levels. Once you have the best kief, ensure it’s clean and dry.
As you now understand the factors that come into play when choosing kief, it’s time to prepare the kief to press it into rosin.
Spread the kief evenly over a parchment paper. Make sure it’s not too densly packed for proper decarboxylation and extraction.
Or you can use rosing bags. To get the best rosin from kief, you should use bags with lower micron ratings. We personally recommend bags with 36u or 45u micron ratings. Yet, bags between 25u and 90u will also work for making rosin from kief.
Here are some tips for packing the micron bag with kief:
Fill the bag evenly ensuring there are no empty spaces.
Don’t overfill the bag because it might burst. A perfectly packed micron bag can be flattened.
The thickness of the kief should be a maximum of ¼ of an inch.
Press the Kief
Besides reaching the desired pressing remperature, you’ll also need to adjust the pressure for the extraction. It is recommended to use pressure between 300 and 800PSI for pressing rosin from kief if you want to achieve the best yield and quality.
Although many people believe that the plate size of the press is a determining factor for the required pressure to press rosin, that is not the case. The main consideration is how you apply and what what material you aply for the extraction of the rosin.
For optimal rosin pressing, you should place the bag or parchment paper in the middle of the plate. The pressing intervals depend on whether you are hot or cold pressing rosin. For the hot kief pressing method the pressing intervals should be short – from 45 seconds to 3 minutes.
In contrast, for cold pressing rosin (that is when the rosin plates are below 180°F), you can press a little longer than 3 minutes.
Collecting the Rosin
When the press has done its magic, you can start collecting the rosin. You can use various tools to collect it from the parchment paper, such as glass swizzle sticks and scrapers.
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Storage and Preservation of Rosin
To get the most out of the rosin, store it in an airtight container. If you expose rosin to air, it will oxidize and potentially lose its potency. Carefully choose the storage container as rosin is known to react with some materials. We recommend using silicone containers or glass jars, as they are made from non-reactive materials.
Keep in mind that rosin is sensitive to humidity. Too dry environments might make the rosin brittle and buttered up. On the other hand, too much humidity might moisturize the rosin and make it hard for dabbing. In our experience, the best humidity range for storing rosin is between 55% and 62%.
You should keep the rosin-filled storage container in cool and dark places. If rosin is exposed to light for a longer period, it can degrade and lose its cannabinoids and terpenes.
If you plan to store it for a longer time, you should vacuum seal your container, to preserve its quality and potency. Also, we recommend you place it in the freezer in containers with small amounts.
Conclusion
Once you learn how to make rosin from kief, chances are you will prefer to make it yourself instead of buying it as a ready-to-use concentrate. The process of making rosin starts by preparing the needed materials and tools.
Get yourself a high-quality kief, rosin press, collection tools and parchment paper or micron bags. Prepare the kief, set the rosin press, put the kief in the micron bag or parchment paper and press it. The heat and pressure will extract an oil-like substance from the kief material, which is rosin. Collect it, store it properly and enjoy its effects.
