Rosin 101: Material, Bags, Temperature, and Pressure

You’ve been smoking flower for years or decades. Your senses are so keen, you can name a strain just by its smell alone but now as your tolerance is at an all-time high you’re looking towards the ever-so potent world of rosin! You came to the right place, below we’ve assembled the ultimate How-To Rosin Guide, based on our most frequently asked questions.

We advocate for the truly pure and chemical free extract, ROSIN. Smoking flower has proven to be a monumental experience in countless lives. We at NugSmasher® wouldn’t be here today without it, but as time has advanced, so has new discoveries and after experiencing the benefits of rosin, there’s simply no turning back! We want as many people as possible to have the knowledge and access to extracting their own rosin in the comfort of their own home or business!

To start extracting rosin, you will need the following:

1. Starting material – flower, kief, sift, hash

2. NugSmasher® Rosin Press

3. NugSmasher® Micron Bags

4. Parchment Paper

What is the best starting material?

One of the most common questions when considering a rosin press is, “Which rosin press produces the best return/yield?” A quality rosin press will maximize your yield but producing a high return starts with the quality, freshness, and humidity of your starting material. We always say, “Fire in, fire out!” If you want a high-quality result, you MUST begin with a high-quality product. After speaking with extractors who are producing low yields, the verdict is almost always that they are pressing low-quality flower. So just exactly what are we referring to when we say quality material?

Many times beginner extractors may rebuttal, “I bought the most expensive strain at the dispensary, I AM pressing high quality!” – but even the priciest strain may be missing the essential elements for ensuring big returns. When choosing the perfect strain to press, some important questions to keep in mind are – How recent was the cultivation date? How recent was the packaging date? What is the humidity of the flower?

The best results will come from material that has very recently been dried and cured – a humidity content between 65-70% is ideal. The humidity plays a significant role in your return as a drier product will soak up the rosin like a sponge. Returns can be as low as 5.5% with poor quality material but 31% and higher with grade “A” material.

Still not sure where to begin? We’ve created a rosin database at TERPFILE where anyone can view detailed extractions from users worldwide. Here you can reference specific strains to get a better idea of what to expect from your own extraction. Each entry is detailed with the material type, strain name, rating, weight, bag size, micron size, the press used, temperature, time, yield, and more. Terpfile serves as an incredibly valuable reference for experienced and beginner extractors alike.

NugSmasher® Micron Bags

NugSmasher® extraction bags are recommended for optimal yield and clean, quality rosin. Extraction bags play a significant role in rosin extraction as they act as the filter that separates unwanted plant material from the desired cannabinoid oils. Most importantly the NugSmasher® extraction bags produce a specific surface area that will ensure a consistent extraction every time.  Our NugSmasher® micron bags are available in the following:

3.5-gram bags: 37-micron, 90-micron, 120-micron, and 160-micron

7-gram bags: 37-micron, 90-micron, 120-micron, and 160-micron

14-gram bags: 37-mircon, 90-micron, 120-micron, and 160-micron

What micron is best?

You want to choose your micron size bag according to the quality of your material. The higher in micron, the larger the holes are for the rosin to escape through. One micron is measurable to 1 millionth of a meter. To give an idea of just how small this unit of measurement is, anything under 40-micron is undetectable to the human eye!

For fresh, quality material 160-micron bags are ideal. As flower dries and quality decreases, you will also want to decrease in micron size. The reason for this is that as the plant dries, the material is susceptible to flake and crumble. You don’t want this material to be pushed out into your rosin as it will negatively affect the color, taste, and overall quality.  

160-Micron = 70-73% Humidity of Material  

120-Micron = 66%-69% Humidity of Material

90-Micron = < 66% Humidity of Material

What size bag do I use?

Choosing the correct size of the bag to use depends on the weight of the material you are going to extract. You want to be careful when loading more material than designed in any given bag due to the risk of blowouts. If you do experience blowouts with the correct size bag, this is a sign that you may be extracting under too much pressure. Below you will find the ideal size bag according to your material weight – for nugs 1.5g and smaller, no bag is necessary.

3.5-gram bag for 1.5g-3.5g of material
– 1.5″-1.6” Diameter with Bottle-Tech style method

7-gram bag for 3.6g-7g of material
– 2″-2.2” Diameter with Bottle-Tech style method

14-gram bag for 7.1g-14g of material
– 2.4″-2.7″ Diameter with Bottle-Tech style method

How do I load the material in the bags?  

Here at NugSmasher® we highly recommend loading material using the Bottle-Tech style method. We have provided a How-To video below:

Before loading in the flower, invert the bottom corners of the bag and create an overlap. This ensures a cylinder shape and accordion effect during the extraction and prevents any outward pressure on the bag – giving a consistent diameter measurement every time.

What pressure?

The reason why a consistent and accurate diameter measurement is so important is that it eliminates the guesswork of finding the ideal pressure. The MPSI (Material Square Pounds per Square Inch) depends on the bag size and machine you are using. We strongly recommend using NugSmasher® brand bags as all of our surface area calculations for each machine are designed around them.   

We designed our calculator tool to help convert MPSI to gauge pressure to give all NugSmasher® extractors an accurate reading. It is important that the surface area is calculated by the square inch footprint of your bag. You can use the calculations we have listed below as a starting point for one or two of the 3.5-gram, 7-gram, or 14-gram bags.

3.5-gram bag = 1.5″-1.6″ Diameter / 1.77” in surface area

7-gram bag = 2″-2.2″ Diameter / 3.14” in surface area

14-gram = 2.4″-2.7″ Diameter / 4.91” in surface area

Material under 1.5-grams does not require an extraction bag, so how is the pressure calculated? The surface area must be taken into consideration to find the ideal pressure for material under 1.5-grams. The surface area of material that weighs approximately .7-grams to 1-gram is equal to the surface area of a 3.5-gram bottle-tech style bag. For material that weigh approximately 1.25 grams to 1.5 grams, the surface area would be the same as a 7-gram bottle-tech style bag. Therefore, in order to achieve the same maximum yield, the same pressure must be applied – see below:

.7-gram to 1-gram = Same MPSI as 3.5-gram bottle-tech style

1.25-gram to 1.5-gram = Same MPSI as 7-gram bottle-tech style

What temperature?

Temperature and pressure are the two main elements of any rosin extraction. This can affect color, texture, taste, and overall quality. When beginning an extraction with a new strain, it is recommended to start at around 215 degrees with 1-2 grams. After measuring the yield take notes and continue dropping down 5-7 degrees until you see a drop in yield and then return to the last previous temperature setting. This is how you will find the ideal temperature for the maximum yield.

From our experience, the yield is maximized for many strains at around 1000-1500 PSI per inch of material being pressed in the lower temperature range of 190-215 degrees.

Ensuring a quality result is the goal of every extraction. Even the most experienced extractors are constantly changing and improving their methods. Here at NugSmasher®, we are here to help beginner extractors, experienced extractors, or anyone curious to start! We are always available to answer your questions. When we say “Rosin made simple,” we mean it! Don’t hesitate to give us a call!