Easy to Understand Guide All About Chottle Tech Style

To make cannabis rosin products, either flower or hash is placed between two heated plates. These plates then come together and the pressure squishes the rosin out of our starting material. Rosin bags are used to hold your starting material. When pressed on the rosin press, these fine nylon mesh bags will hold in unwanted plant material while allowing the rosin to flow through. For this reason, rosin bags are also known as “filter bags”. You may also hear them referred to as “micron bags”. The term “micron” means one millionth of a centimeter.

For reference, a strand of your hair is about 50 microns (µ). Rosin bags come in a wide variety of micron sizes; the larger the micron, the more space between the nylon mesh. Higher microns usually mean higher yield, but the quality may be lessened. Flower rosin is usually produced using 37µ to 220µ. Hash rosin is usually produced with 15µ to 37µ rosin bags. How you pack your rosin bag and how you place it on the rosin press can have a drastic impact on the quality of your rosin and the overall yield. Let’s take a look at a few different techniques.

Chottle, Bottle, and Pillow Tech

There are three (3) main methods used to pack rosin bags and place them on the rosin press. Traditionally, the rosin bag is packed to leave about ½ an inch at the top to fold over and “close” the bag. This is then laid flat onto the rosin press. It appears much like a pillow on a bed hence the name “pillow tech”. This method can be used for either hash rosin or flower rosin production.

Bottle tech style (BTS) changes things up quite a bit. The rosin bag should be filled in the same way as a traditional pack (pillow tech). Avoid air bubbles and leave about ½ inch of space at the top to “close” the bag. Instead of folding the extra space over to close the rosin, the sides are pinched inward to create a seal. The final difference is how the bag is placed on the rosin press.

Rather than laid down like a pillow, when pressing BTS, the filled rosin bag should be placed vertically on the rosin press so that the bottom of the bag and the closed top of the bag are touching the bottom and top press plates respectively. This technique is not generally used to produce hash rosin. For flower rosin production, some feel that pressing BTS allows the pressure to maintain better control over the pressure being applied. There is also less surface area of the rosin bags touching the press plates. This results in higher yields and reproducible results.

Chottle Tech is very similar to Bottle Tech, but with two major differences. For one, the top of the bag will not be closed; leave it open! The second difference is pretty interesting. Cut the bottom of the rosin bag off so it is as open as the top. Now you have a tube! Place the tube vertically on the press plates as you would be BTS. Many feel that, for pressing flower rosin, this takes advantage of the decreased surface area compared to pillow tech while also gaining an added advantage of using less rosin bag material than bottle tech. This can mean higher yields because rosin has less of a chance of getting stuck on rosin bag material.

How to Press Chottle Tech Style

Chottle tech style is best utilized when pressing flower rosin. It is not suggested to use chottle tech style to press hash rosin. When choosing a rosin bag, the micron size of the bag will play a major role in the quality of your end product. Higher macarons may yield more, but quality may be sacrificed. We suggest using 37µ, 50µ, 75µ, 90µ, 120µ, 160µ, or 220µ.

To press flower rosin using Chottle Tech Style, first, cut the bottom of your rosin bag off so it now resembles a tube with an open top and bottom. Place one end down onto a table or other flat surface so that the bag is “standing up”. Now, take your buds and begin to fill the rosin bag all the way to the top. Be careful to avoid any air pockets. Your buds should be medium sized, be free of stems, and have a proper level of relative humidity (about 62%). 

Before placing your packed rosin bag onto the rosin press plates, line the plates with parchment paper to “catch” the rosin. Now, with your rosin bag tightly filled to the top, place it onto your rosin press plates so it is standing up vertically. There is no need to “close” either end of the bag as the point of pressing Chottle Tech is to use less rosin bag material. 

Now you can heat up your plates and begin the press. The temperature you use is entirely up to what works best for your personal pressing experience. Higher temperatures might mean higher yields, but you may sacrifice some flavor by losing volatile terpenes. The average temperature used is about 185℉. 

How much pressure you apply and for how long is, again, a personal choice. More starting material usually requires longer times on the press to achieve maximum yield. It is not unusual for a 7 gram press to take about 2-3 minutes. Pressure should be applied in a continuously increasing fashion. You do not want to add pressure then let it sit then add more pressure as this can cause blockages in the rosin bag, burnt terpenes, or a blowout. 

Once the press is complete, use a dab tool to collect the rosin from the parchment paper. Store it in a sealable glass jar to retain flavor and potency. Some choose to “cure” their rosin. The process of curing can change both the terpene and cannabinoid profile of your rosin. This step is entirely optional.

Advantages of Chottle Tech Style

Pressing flower rosin using Chottle Tech Style has three main advantages. For one, placing the rosin bag vertically on the press as opposed to the traditional horizontal position (pillow tech) means there is less surface area of the heated press plates touching the starting material. This can benefit your end product’s quality. Secondly, the vertical positioning of the rosin bag also allows the presser to maintain better control over applied pressure.

This can lead to increased yields and reproducible results. Finally, Chottle Tech Style uses less rosin bag material than other methods (because you cut the bottom of the bag off). This can mean higher yields as there is less of a chance that rosin gets stuck in the rosin bag when pressed.