At The Chrono, we offer both herbs and concentrates, and you may be wondering which of them is for you. Here are five important differences between herbs and concentrates.
Herb refers to flower, but concentrates refer to… a lot of things
Marijuana herb refers to the flower of the plant that you smoke to get high while concentrates can be any one of a number of things. Shatter, hash, oil, and wax are all different types of concentrates that we offer. Concentrate is really an umbrella term that covers many different kinds of extracts.
Concentrates are more potent
Herb potency usually ranges from around 10%-25% THC. Concentrate potency, on the other hand, typically falls in the 50%-80% THC range. That means that dosing can be trickier. If you’re inexperienced with concentrates, definitely start slow.
Herbs have more flavour
While herbs don’t win the potency derby, they do typically have more flavour. Terpenes, the scented oils emitted by the marijuana plant, are what give marijuana its famous aroma. However, since they are sensitive to heat, it is difficult to preserve terpenes in many extraction processes, and many concentrates thus lose their fragrance.
Plant matter is removed from concentrates
You know how when you smoke herb in a pipe or bong your glass eventually becomes lined with tar? That’s the plant material in the cannabis leaf. Concentrates have been stripped of plant material and thus don’t produce tar like smoking marijuana does.
If want to avoid that lung hit while still smoking herb, all is not lost. Vaporizers heat marijuana herb below the temperature at which the plant matter combusts, but above the temperature at which you extract the beneficial properties. Check out our portable vaporizer pen if that sounds up your alley.
Concentrates can be administered in more ways
Smoking herb is pretty straightforward: put it in a piece or roll it up. However, concentrates are consumed in a plethora of ways. You can dab, you can ingest, you can heat, or you can even use tinctures (placing extracts under the tongue). But remember, not all concentrates can be consumed in all ways. Make sure you’re administering yours in a manner appropriate for the particular concentrate.
Do you prefer herbs or concentrates? Let us know in the comments below!