What is WPFF and Live Rosin?

Terminology

There are a lot of acronyms and new terminology in the cannabis industry and it is constantly updating. This can be a bit confusing for both new customers and established customers who just know what product they like. In the rosin industry, a relatively new product, live rosin, has gained popularity. Sometimes you will also see the acronym, WPFF, on live rosin packaging. But what do these really mean?

What is WPFF? WPFF stands for “whole plant fresh frozen”. This is referring to the process of immediately freezing the entirety of the plant without any trimming away sugar leaves. This can retain valuable terpenes that are usually lost when the plant is trimmed, cured, and dried. WPFF can make the best starting material for producing rosin.

Live Rosin is the rosin that is made from WPFF. When immediately frozen, WPFF retains the terpenes of the live plant, hence the term “live” in “live rosin”. To be clear, live rosin is different from live resin. Live resin is a BHO product because it is produced using butane as a solvent. Live rosin is a solventless product.

Benefits

Terpene Preservation

WPFF is immediately frozen to retain the terpene profile (flavor and scent) of the live cannabis plant. The terpenes are contained in trichomes around the plant. Along with being frozen, WPFF is also the full plant as opposed to the trimmed and cured flower you might be used to seeing. This means the trichome-covered sugar leaves remain on the plant and end up in bubble hash when the WPFF is washed. Sugar leaves are usually trimmed from the plant because they contain higher levels of chlorophyll than the flower and therefore produce a more plant-like and harsh taste. This will all be filtered out when producing bubble hash so sugar leaves are left on WPFF for the extra terpenes.

Full Spectrum & The Entourage Effect

Much of the draw to WPFF and Live Rosin is based around the Entourage Effect produced when using Full-Spectrum cannabis products. As we mentioned above, WPFF is immediately frozen without trimming sugar leaves so the original terpene and cannabinoid profile of the flower is retained. Another way to say this is to say that the full spectrum of terpenes and cannabinoids found in the plant end up in the rosin. The Entourage Effect states tat using multiple cannabinoids together, like with full-spectrum products, is more beneficial than just using a single cannabinoid. This means that live rosin could be more beneficial to your well-being than single cannabinoid extracts.

How to Make Live Rosin (How to Use WPFF)

WPFF

Defoliate

Immediately after cropping, before freezing, the grower can trim away fan leaves. Just be sure to leave the sugar leaves as they contain valuable terpenes that we want to end up in the hash and live rosin.

Freeze

When the fan leaves have been trimmed, immediately freeze the plant. Now you have satisfied both requirements of WPFF, “whole plant” and “fresh frozen”. It is very important to not agitate the plant at all while frozen. This could knock off the terpenes you just worked so hard to retain. Be very careful with it until the wash.

Wash Hash (Bubble Hash How-to Guide)

To turn your WPFF into bubble hash, you will need just a few simple tools. Your WPFF for one. Ice and water. A bucket to hold the WPFF, ice and water. Filter bags (known as bubble bags or wash bags). A stirring utensil. A drying sheet. And a freeze dryer or freezer. 

The WPFF is mixed with ice and water in a bucket then gently stirred to knock the trichomes off the plant and into the water mixture. The water mixture is then filtered through the bubble bags to remove unwanted plant matter. What is left is delicious and potent bubble hash. Just dry is and you are ready to press that hash into live rosin. Follow the link in the subsection title to find our step-by-step guide.

Live Rosin

Press (Hash Rosin How-to Guide)

To turn your WPFF hash into live rosin, you will need a rosin press, rosin bags, some parchment paper, a collection tool, and a glass storage jar. Place your rosin into the rosin bag so, when pressed, the rosin bag will hold in the unwanted plant material while allowing the live rosin to flow through the mesh. 

Cover your rosin press plates with parchment paper then heat them up to your desired temperature. Place the rosin bag onto the center of the rosin press plates then apply just enough pressure to hold it in place. The minimal pressure and the heat from the plates will prepare the hash to be pressed to full yield. After about 30 seconds, begin to steadily apply more and more pressure until the rosin stops flowing out. Collect the rosin from the parchment paper and store in an airtight glass container. Follow the link in the subsection title to find our step-by-step guide.

Pro Tip: It can be useful to use a Directional Fold to control the flow of rosin when pressing larger quantities

Cure (Curing Rosin How-to Guide)

You can process your live rosin even more through a curing process. Curing rosin can change the consistency and both the terpene and cannabinoid profiles. Mechanical agitation, heat and cold, air, and light can have major impacts on your rosin. Curing is most often done by leaving your rosin at room temperature or on a hot plate, away from heat, for anywhere from half a day to several weeks. Room temperature cures can result in badder-like consistencies and heat cures usually result in sauce-like consistencies. Many also choose to mechanically agitate their rosin by “whipping” it with a dab utensil. Follow the link in the subsection title to find our step-by-step guide.

Yield

From WPFF to hash, you most commonly see about 4% yield. It can be less or it can be more depending on several factors including the plant genetics and your wash process. From hash to live rosin, you see yields range from about 65% up to 90%. Again, this is dependent on many factors including your pressing process. This all means that a pound of WPFF (454 grams) will create around 18 grams of hash and around 14 grams (half ounce) of live rosin.

Selling Point

As we just covered, the process of creating live rosin is a low-yielding one. The upside is the flavor, potency, and effects. Low yields and high quality mean that live rosin usually has a relatively high price point. You can see grams of the best live rosin go for $120.