by Rachel Hantula, Customer Experience Director

Cannabis concentrates take many forms and are consumed in many different ways. One of the most popular ways to indulge is through vaping cannabis oil in a pre packaged vape cartridge. This is a preferred method for many folks for a few reasons. Vapes are discreet and inconspicuous. They are also simple to use when compared with more elaborate ways to vaporize such as “dabbing.” 

Check out our Introduction to Dabbing series for more information on this method of consumption.

There are many qualities and features one could search for in a cannabis oil vape cartridge.

How to begin your search depends entirely on the specific experience you are searching for. At Hashtag, we serve many guests from all walks of life seeking vastly different experiences and products. We pride ourselves on maintaining a selection that can serve as many different tastes, palettes and preferences that walk through our doors as possible. No matter what you’re searching for, rest assured, we have something for you. We can tailor your experience to fit specific needs and desires, including the way in which and what you are vaping.

Some individuals are searching for pronounced, distinct effects such as stimulating creativity or intense relaxation. Some folks prioritize flavor. Some seek out power and potency. Some simply demand clean and the best in quality. 

Despite all the differing needs, wants, and opinions that folks have surrounding their cannabis oil vapes, there is one specific attribute our guest requests that ring loud and clear, consistently: 

Clear.

Colorless, translucent, odorless, pure and potent distilled cannabis oil. This is what many individuals seek in a vapor cartridge. Clear vape cartridges are highly requested as many associate the lack of color with higher quality or potency. While this may be somewhat true for distillate, specifically, as one determining factor of quality, color is never going to be the end all be all determining factor in the subjective quality of any concentrated cannabis oil. In fact, producing completely clear, colorless distillate is hard to achieve. Distillation is labor intensive and time consuming.

While truly pure, distilled THC can be completely colorless, most vape cartridges are not composed of only distilled THC. If this were the case, vape cartridges would not taste like much of anything, due to the lack of aromatic compounds like terpenes. Most distillate vape cartridges mix in terpenes (either cannabis-derived or botanical) to provide “strain specific” flavor and effects. The addition of terpenes to a clear distillate will add a tinge of golden hues. 

How do some cannabis oil producers achieve a colorless, translucent oil? The answer is relatively simple--not all distillate is created equal. The quality of starting material plays a determining factor as well as dedication to the craft, process and art that is distillation.

The general rule when it comes to any cannabis concentrate is “fire in- fire out”. If the material being extracted (for distillate, trim is utilized or other raw/crude  cannabis oils to be further refined, and full flower is almost never used) is of the highest quality, the resulting extracted oil will be of higher caliber. But don’t forget--the process of distillation is just as important as the quality of the cannabis being extracted.

How Is Cannabis Distillate Made?

Even before the distillation process is initiated, the cannabis plant must undergo multiple steps including being properly dried and cured after harvest. Once dried, the plant goes through an initial extraction using one (or more) solvents including carbon dioxide, butane, propane, and/or ethanol. The initial extraction process involves removing the valuable, cannabinoid-rich trichomes from the cannabis plant.

Trichomes are sticky resin glands that can be found covering the cannabis plant. These resin glands are the cannabis plant’s factories for trichome and terpene production. To extract the compounds contained within the resin glands, the plant matter is put through an initial extraction process using one of a few different methods, such as CO2 extraction, light hydrocarbon (propane/butane), or ethanol based extraction.

The end result is a valuable, but not particularly pure, crude oil. This concentrate still contains certain impurities, such as plant lipids and chlorophyll, and an array of cannabinoids and terpenes found in the trichomes. During the winterization process, ethanol is mixed with the extracted crude oil, and then stored below freezing for up to 48 hours. This causes some of the unwanted constituents, such as plant lipids and waxes, to coagulate or harden. These unwanted compounds are then easily filtered from the chilled mixture.

The next step is decarboxylation. Decarboxylation is the process of transforming cannabinoids with heat and time to enhance their ability to interact with the body’s receptors. Decarboxylation transforms the acidic forms of cannabinoids into the actual cannabinoids themselves without the acidic molecules.

For example, THCA (tetrahydrocannabinolic acid) must be converted into THC, and CBDA (cannabidiolic acid) must be converted into CBD. Without this important step, the cannabinoids will not produce psychoactive effects. Each cannabinoid becomes decarboxylated at a different temperature. The winterized, filtered crude oil is decarboxylated at its appropriate temperature to convert the desired cannabinoids.

Final distillation involves using cannabis distillation equipment to almost completely separate the existing cannabinoids from everything else that remains in the crude oil. The distillation equipment uses precise temperature control and vacuum pressure to vaporize the different compounds. Those vapors are then condensed onto an internally located condensing column, and the temperature difference of the column converts the vapors back into a liquid form. 

Distillation equipment can remove the ethanol, carbon dioxide, or hydrocarbon solvents and almost everything else besides the cannabinoid through multiple passes. Running the crude extract through the equipment multiple times helps to remove as much of the plant matter, terpenes, and flavonoids as possible. The first “pass” removes volatile solvents, gasses, and water, while additional passes remove terpenes and flavonoids from the final product.

The final product of distillation is a runny oil ranging from completely clear to golden in color.

The more “passes” an extraction lab makes in the distillation process, the more pure the extract will be. Completely clear distillate can be an indication of great care during every step in the distillation process as well as the quality of starting material. That being said, golden colored distillate can still be pure and potent, and color should never be the sole determining factor when assessing for quality.

At Hashtag, we carry a wide array of distillate vape cartridges from various manufacturers and brands. If you’re searching for a clear vape cartridge, Xtracted Labs is about as close as you might get! They have perfected the art of turning cannabis into oil and take their craft incredibly seriously. They’re industry leaders here in Washington state, and we greatly value the ability to offer up their products to our guests.

Their quality is proven time and time again by some of our best selling products across the ENTIRE STORE:

Northwest Concentrates- Death Star Distillate Vape

Northwest Concentrates- Blue Dream Distillate Vape

Northwest Concentrates- Pineapple Express Distillate Vape.

All these products are produced with love and dedication by the team at Xtracted Labs and are consistently a smash hit among our budtenders and guests alike. The consistency in quality, availability, and transparency is unparalleled. Xtracted Labs also produced distillate vape cartridges under their Refine line.

Refine distillate vapes are special in that the terpenes they mix into their distillate are poured directly from their “Loud Resin” extractions, the loudest of loud, the dankest of the dank terps to give you the most accurate to strain flavor and overall effect as one would expect from the flower form, but with added potency from the purified cannabis distillate.

Are there any benefits of consuming a distillate vape cartridge over any other form of cannabis extraction?

YES!

Distillate is potent and pure--while a benefit for many, this can also be a downside to the nature of distillate. Many people need and want the other compounds originally present in cannabis to help modulate some of the more uncomfortable effects sometimes associated with THC such as anxiety, paranoia, etc. Consume with caution!

Due to the removal of lipids, waxes, and other plant matter, distillate concentrates tend to have a significantly smoother experience on the nasal cavity and throat when vaporizing. Distillates tend to be less smelly, depending on the type and amount of terpenes added or reintroduced after distillation. Distillates can be discreet for this reason, if low in terpene content or if no terpenes are readded at all.

Distillate highs tend to come on hard and fast! They’re effective, and you don’t have to wait long to feel their power. What goes along with this is the tendency for highs produced from distillate to wane faster than other extraction types with more full-bodied and chemo-diverse chemical makeups.

You can learn about other types of vape cartridges and vaping in general by exploring our blogs below!

Different Type of Cannabis Vape Cartridges

Know Your Grower- Xtracted Labs

Know Your Grower- Heylo Cannabis

Which Kind of Vape Cartridge Is Right For Me?

What Battery is Best For Vaping Cannabis?

Cartridges & Batteries: 4 Questions to Ask Your Budtender Before You Buy