Hash rosin can be used for a wide variety of products. If you are making edibles, vape carts or topicals you will need to decarboxylate the rosin. This done by applying heat. On a craft scale the process is often done in jars that are placed in forced air convection ovens.
The timelapse below shows rosin being decarboxylated over a period of a few hours:
Clear jars are used so that you may asses the process by monitoring the amount of co2 bubbles being released. The bubbling starting to slow down is a simple indication that the decarb reaction is approaching completion.
This is the chemical reaction that is occurring when you decarboxylate your rosin:
Items Needed:
- Hash Rosin
- Scale
- Mason Jar
- Oven
Start by filling your jar with hash rosin. I typically use 4oz mason jars and never decarboxylate less than 28 grams at a time. Container loss is minimized by working with larger amounts. I prefer single sourced material but you can blend different hash rosins together as well.
WARNING: CO2 GAS IS RELEASED DURING THIS CHEMICAL REACTION. MASON JARS TYPICALLY SELF VENT ABOVE 5PSI AS THAT IS THE MAX PRESSURE THE LID CAN WITHSTAND. THE JAR CAN EXPLODE IF THE LID ALLOWS THE PRESSURE TO BUILD PAST THE JARS CAPACITY. THIS IS RARE BUT CAN HAPPEN. PROCEED AT YOUR OWN RISK. ALTHOUGH PEOPLE OFTEN LEAVE THE JAR LID ON TIGHT TO PRESERVE TERPENES THE SAFEST METHOD IS TO LEAVE THE JAR LID LOOSE.
Remember not to overfill the jar either. During decarb rosin will raise up and foam/bubble during early phase changes. Never fill the jar past 75% capacity or you will have a sticky lid to deal with and could risk the jar exploding.
Fully cured hash rosin ready to be decarbed. You can also decarb fresh press hash rosin.
Set your over to the lowest setting possible. I set mine to 170F but the temperatures fluctuates in the low 200’s. Home ovens are often pretty inaccurate at low temperatures. It is not a bad idea to have a temperature probe in there so that you can track what is going on in the oven.
My target temperature for rosin decarboxylation is 220F.
The hash rosin will start to melt during the first phase.
Small CO2 bubbles will begin to form and the hash rosin may foam up during this stage.
As you can see above the rosin volume has increased substantially during his phase change. This is why you don’t want to overfill the jars with hash rosin.
In the next stage the rosin will begin to darken and turn into a thick liquid with heavy bubbling. The bubbles are CO2 and are released as a byproduct of the decarboxylation process.
In the final stage the oil will being to clear up.
At this stage partial decarboxylation has been achieved. As soon as the oil looks clear like this it can be used to fill vape carts.
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If you are trying to go for a full decarboxylation then keep heating until no bubbles are produced.
Do not open the jar until it has had some time to cool down and come to room temperature. Decarbed rosin should be stored in the fridge or freezer and brought back up to temperature gently before it is used in formulation.
The visual change in rosin appearance after decarboxylation never ceases to amaze me, especially for such a simple process.
Happy rosin decarbing!
