Different Types of Wax Dabs: A Beginner’s Guide
Due to their potency and smooth flavor, dabs like wax are increasing in popularity with marijuana enthusiasts. However, if you’ve shown interest in learning about dabs, you might have encountered an overwhelming array of choices, making the selection of a dab confusing or frustrating.
Never fear. The knowledgeable team at Fast Slice is here to help with this beginner’s guide to different types of wax dabs. We’ve got everything you need to know about wax dabs and how to select the perfect product for your needs.
How Are Dabs Made?
Dabbing is one method of marijuana consumption that involves vaporizing a concentrated cannabis product and drawing it into the lungs. On the surface, dabbing appears similar to smoking or vaping marijuana. However, dabbing involves vaporizing highly potent cannabis concentrates at lower temperatures instead of burning marijuana flower.
How do you make a cannabis concentrate or dab? The process called extraction, which involves extracting and distilling cannabinoids, terpenes, and other compounds from the cannabis flower, produces dabs as a highly potent concentrate. There are two methods for creating a cannabis dab: solvent-based extractions and solventless extractions.
When making dabs using solvent-based extraction, commercial makers use chemical solvents such as butane, ethanol, or carbon dioxide to dissolve cannabis flower. The solvents strip the chemical compounds from the flower. A purging process allows the remaining solvents to evaporate, leaving the pure cannabis concentrate behind. One of the most common solvent-based extraction methods utilizes butane gas to extract cannabinoids, terpenes, and other compounds from the cannabis flower. Commercial operations must use close-look equipment to extract the concentrate because butane is highly flammable.
Another popular solvent-based extraction method involves using CO2 to extract cannabinoids and terpenes at lower temperatures. The process helps retain more chemical compounds in the cannabis flower and results in a thick, syrupy concentrate.
Dabs can also come from solventless extraction methods. These methods typically utilize means to extract compounds from cannabis, like pressure, temperature, and filtration. Different techniques will result in different types of dabs.
Dabs are extremely potent and highly concentrated. Since the production of dabs involves extracting chemical compounds from marijuana flower, many people notice an intense flavor profile, enabling consumers to identify specific flavor notes from their favorite cannabis strains. The result is a less muddled cannabis flavor.
Types of Dabs
Exploring the world of dabs can be confusing because they come in numerous forms. Typically, the method used to make dabs dictates the distinct type of dab product. Solvent-based cannabis dabs typically include shatter, wax, resin, and crumble. The solventless methods of extraction can yield budder, rosin, and hash.
Some of the most common types of dabs include:
- Wax – “Wax” is a sort of catch-all phrase that covers several different types of dabs. Generally, wax dabs are dabs that are soft to the touch and pliable. They may also feel tacky or sticky.
- Sugar wax – Sugar wax, sometimes just called sugar, feels wet and sticky to the touch. Created by accident when extracts were left out during the extraction process, and condensation caused the product to crystallize, it lacks the creamy consistency of most waxes.
- Shatter – Shatter is a solvent-based concentrate that resembles shattered glass. It can be sticky but hard. Often considered one of the purest forms of cannabis concentrate, it stands out in its category.
- Crumble – Waxes that have a less gooey and drier texture are typically known as crumble. Increasing heat and moisture levels during extraction yield the drier, crumbly material that breaks apart easily when handled.
- Honeycomb – Honeycomb is similar to crumble but generally has a more porous texture than traditional crumble.
- Live Resin – Another solvent-based concentrate, live resin is made by using frozen cannabis flower. The result is a thick, glossy concentrate with a robust flavor profile because freezing the flower tends to preserve the integrity of the terpenes better than other extraction methods.
- Distillate oil or Cannabis oil – These products, sometimes referred to as crude oil, are typically used to create vape cartridges.
- Budder – Budder results from a labor-intensive, solventless extraction process. The unique extraction method makes budder a remarkable pure product with a creamy or gold color and buttery consistency.
- Rosin – Rosin is another solventless product, created through intense pressure and heat. The final product is a thick, yellow to amber syrup.
- Terp sauce – Sometimes called “sauce,” this product contains high levels of terpenes and can be extremely flavorful. Most sauce has a thick, almost gravy-like consistency.
- Hash – Hash is a solventless concentrate product. While similar to marijuana flower, it can be intense and potent because of the solventless extraction process of collecting and compressing the trichomes of the cannabis plant.
How to Dab
Dabbing resembles smoking with a bong. However, the equipment needed to dab properly is different. Most people dab using a dab rig. The rig includes a small, bong-looking device, nail, torch, or electric eNail device.
You can also enjoy dab concentrates without a special dab rig by using a dab or vape pen, rolling dab into a joint, or making homemade edibles with a concentrate product. You can also smoke wax in a standard bowl along with some marijuana flower. However, these methods may not yield the same results that using a dab rig can provide.
Where Can You Find Quality Dabs?
Quality dabs and concentrates aren’t hard to find when you know where to look. At Fast Slice, our knowledgeable team can help you find premium cannabis products that will deliver the satisfying cannabis experience you are looking for. Whether you need discreet delivery or easy curbside pickup, we’ve got you covered. Explore our range of products today and let us help you create a tailor-made cannabis experience in the D.C. area.
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