Extracted from Scott Sondles’s LinkedIn page.

Live resin extracts are increasing in popularity due to their unique flavors and medicinal properties. Live resin plants are fresh frozen plant material that does not go through the conventional curing process. Conventional live resin extracts are most often made from butane extractions–and not through the use of CO₂ which is not recommended as a solvent due to the high water content of live resin.

Live resin extracts are more flavorful and fragrant due to higher concentrations of terpenes. Live resin is often more granular looking than conventional plant extracts due to the higher presence of THCa.

When it comes to the chemical makeup, live resins contain higher amounts of smaller monoterpenes that are most volatile to high heat and can even degrade at room temperature. The traditional curing process creates a plant material that is low in monoterpenes (myrecrene and linalool) and high in the bigger sesquiterpenes (beta-caryophyllene). Both small and big terpenes provide unique medicinal properties.

Due to the high concentrations of terpenes, live resins appear more “fluid like” than cured plant material extracts. Over 50% of plant terpene production can be destroyed during the curing phase. For details reguarding cannabidiol extraction, see how cbd oil is made.

The most fragrant and flavorful essential oils or extracts are created by first freeze drying the plant material. Freeze dryers aren’t mainstream in the essential oil markets, but by incorporating a freeze dryer into the fresh frozen extraction process you will be processing dryer material, which means higher yields.

It is important to note that freeze drying your bud does not decarboxylate your plant material.

Extraction operators can manipulate the texture by heating and purging off undesirables until they get the desired consistency.