LIVE RESIN DIAMONDS: WHY CANNABIS USERS LOVE THESE GEMS
You know what live resin is. That saucy-like consistency of dabs that you love for tasty flavors and getting stoned. But what about the textures that make it up?
Live resin has two textures that make it a complete concentrate: the diamonds and the sauce.
The sauce is obviously a terp-full liquid at the bottom of live resin. But those crystals on top? Diamonds.
Let’s talk about what they are, how they’re made, and why people love dabbing them.
What are live resin diamonds exactly?
Live resin diamonds are the THCa diamonds that form in live resin terp sauce, appearing as crystallized solids.
THCa is the precursor to THC, the cannabinoid that gets us high. When you apply heat to THCa, it turns into THC. Diamonds are 99.9% pure THCa, meaning consuming them will get you absolutely blitzed.
Live resin diamonds for potency. Terp-sauce for flavor.
How are live resin diamonds made?
Live resin itself is created through a solvent-based extraction process.
Live resin uses fresh frozen cannabis plants as starting material to lock in the strain’s terpene content. From there, those plants are washed through a hydrocarbon solvent mixture that uses butane, ethanol, or a combination of the two to pull trichomes from the plant.
The trichomes are then processed, and purged of solvents, to give us those flavorful live resin dabs and vapes.
If you let live resin sit for several weeks, the THCa diamonds will naturally separate from the semi-viscous terp sauce. To do so manually, you apply various degrees of heat and pressure to the mixture through a closed-loop extraction system.
This process is referred to as diamond mining or recrystallization. Different degrees of heat and pressure dictate the size of the THCa diamonds.
The most important thing here is making sure that the diamonds are properly purged of residual solvents so that they are safe to consume for the end user.
You usually won't find live resin diamonds sold without the terpene sauce.
How to consume live resin diamonds
Consuming live resin diamonds is the same process as consuming live resin. You either dab or vape them. Most of the time, the answer is dabbing.
Diamonds are rarely sold individually because consumers know the entourage effect is based on the synergy of both cannabinoids and terpenes.
So even pure, isolated THCa crystals are often combined with a high-terpene extract to promote harmony between flavor, potency, and experience.
If you’re vaping live resin diamonds, you simply need a good vape battery that allows you temperature control, so you can make sure to not burn away the terpenes.
If you’re dabbing live resin diamonds, you need a whole dab rig setup. The necessary materials include a dab rig, a torch, a carb cap, and some cotton swabs for cleaning the leftover sauce post-dab.
How do you like to consume live resin diamonds?
How to dab live resin diamonds
If you’re working with pure THCa diamond isolate, then you’ll either be tossing it into an infused joint or dabbing it. If you’re dabbing isolate, you’ll want to combine it with terpenes to get some actual flavor in your experience.
This is why people just buy live resin, which already has both THCa diamonds on top of a high terpene extract.
Here are some steps you can follow to ensure the best dabbing experience. If you’re new to this, consider trying it out with someone who’s done it before. Either way, go easy.
Step 1: Scoop your dabs up
To consume these, use your dab tool/scooper to grab a glob of live resin. Then sit it aside while you heat your dab nail, also called a banger.
Step 2: Heat your banger
You can use an e-nail or a torch to heat your banger. That is unless you’re using an electronic dab rig like the Puff Peak Pro or the Carta 2.
When heating your banger, make sure to watch the temperature. Each type of concentrate has its own optimal temperature, mostly between the range of 300 and 600 degrees Fahrenheit.
Lower temperatures help preserve your terpenes and flavor. The 400-450 degrees Fahrenheit range tends to be a sweet spot for consuming live resin diamonds.
Step 3: Wait for your banger to cool down
See above. Don’t take red hot dabs and burn your throat. Wait for it to cool down to the optimal temperature before dropping your live resin diamonds into the banger.
Devices like the Dab Rite and Terp Timer are great for dialing in dab temperatures.
Step 4: Drop your live resin diamonds into the banger
Once the banger is at the proper temperature, drop your live resin diamonds into it. Inhale as the concentrates melt up.
Step 5: Add your carb cap
Carb caps go on top of your banger to improve heat and airflow distribution for your dabs. Use one as you dab your live resin diamonds.
Step 6: Clean your banger
Always clean your banger after dabbing. Live resin diamonds won’t fully melt, which means there will be leftover dab residue. Use a cotton swab to clean that residue so your next dabs aren’t ruined by your past sessions.
How to store live resin diamonds
No matter the type of cannabis concentrate, always store them in a dark, cool environment that will keep the terpenes from evaporating. Make sure the container is airtight.
Many people store their live resin diamonds in the refrigerator or freezer, but be careful, as too hot or too cold of temperatures will change the consistency of your dabs.
Dabs naturally change texture as time progresses, but you don’t want to help them do so faster.
What is so amazing about live resin diamonds?
What’s good about live resin diamonds is that they are super high in THC potency and super high in terpene concentrate. So when you dab them, you get an excellent expression of the strain’s genetic potential.
Cannabis consumption is all about flavors, and the high that follows. When consuming live resin diamonds, you get the best of both worlds for a more affordable price than products like live rosin badder and live rosin jam.
Beauty, potency, and flavor packed together—what's not to love?
What’s the price range of live resin diamonds?
Again, you’re probably purchasing a full live resin mixture of both THCa diamonds and terp sauce, not just THCa isolates. For that, you’ll be paying a price of between $25-$50 per gram at most dispensaries.
The prices set are entirely up to dispensaries, based on their markup systems and what they purchased the live resin diamonds for.
Price doesn’t always reflect quality, but for the most part, you can assume that the higher costing extracts required more labor and expertise to create. More labor and expertise equals a higher cost.
At STIIIZY, we only use premium flowers for all of our cannabis concentrates, including live resin pods, curated live resin, live resin diamonds, and much more. Explore all of STIIIZY's products here.
