The Fine Art of Making THC-A Diamonds from Rosin

Making THCA diamonds is taking rosin a step further. This solventless product focuses on the isolated cannabinoid, turning it into a crystallized extract

Chris Dorcey

Inheal Editor

Post date

February 23, 2024

Time to read

11 mins 51 secs

Table of Contents

Key Takeaways

THCA diamonds are highly sought after by experienced users with a higher tolerance.
Making THCA diamonds at home is possible but requires costly and advanced equipment, as well as following complex steps.
Rosin is the best starting material to make diamonds using the solventless method.
Some of the processes of making THC-A diamonds are pressing the rosin, curating it, and isolating it to create high-purity diamonds.

What Are THC-A Diamonds and Why Are They Desirable?

When dealing with THCA, diamonds are one of the purest forms, and thus they are well-known for their potency and unmatched effects. A THCA diamond looks like a crystal, hence its name, and it has a purity of 99%. They should not be mistaken for a THC diamond, as these contain decarboxylated THC.

When heated, these THCA crystals convert into THC but, since they are purer and more potent than other products, they can provide the best high you’ll feel. A tiny diamond can contain more of the substance than a gram of THC-A buds.

This is why these cannabis concentrates are highly sought after by experienced consumers and connoisseurs, as they are looking for powerful sensations. Also, these diamonds with pure THCA are highly versatile, as users can smoke them and even sprinkle them on a blunt for an enhanced experience.

Since this product is a hot item, many users want to know how to make them at home. It’s important to know that it involves following complex processes that have to be carefully monitored to obtain a good result. Also, you cannot use household items. You need advanced technology to ensure high-quality crystals.

Equipment Needed

To separate the THCA molecule from other cannabinoids in the plant, it’s necessary to use specialized equipment:

Rosin press
Low micron rosin bags (25-37 micron)
Parchment paper
Collection tools like dabbers
Optional: terpene separation equipment

A rosin press is advanced equipment used for THCA extraction from raw plant material. It’s worth noting that since it’s a cannabis extraction machine with innovative technology, they’re costly.

In addition, you need to look for a rosin press that has temperature control and the delicacy to handle low pressure. As you can see, it’s not that simple to begin preparing crystalline THCA.

Starting Material

To obtain a great result using your equipment, you need the following high-quality materials:

High-quality solventless rosin, to make solventless diamonds.
Rosin that has a wax, budder, or crumble texture, as these are known for their high-purity extraction.
Fresh frozen material makes the best starting rosin, as it preserves the cannabinoids and terpenes at peak freshness.

It’s worth noting that to obtain high-quality diamonds, it’s best to use rosin instead of resin. This is because rosin doesn’t contain solvents.

Once you have gathered the proper materials that meet the right conditions, it’s necessary to prepare it for mechanical separation.

How to Make THC-A Diamonds From Rosin: A Step-By-Step Guide

There are various methods used to make THCA diamonds. One of them consists of extracting THCA from the plant by a method known as closed-loop extraction and then following the diamond mining process. During this process, a separation occurs where diamonds and sauce form.

Another method involves using BHO to make the diamonds, as it’s less complicated than using live resin but still specialized, requires advanced knowledge, and is risky, as it follows the Jar Tech procedure.

Nonetheless, it’s relatively easy to prepare diamonds using rosin, as it’s a technique that allows one to obtain the isolated cannabinoid. Even though it’s an innovative method, it is still not easy to follow and you need top equipment and high-quality material such as rosin obtained from fresh-frozen bubble hash.

Pressing the Rosin

The first step to making diamonds is to turn on the rosin press at a low temperature, between 130 and 140ºF. Next, place the rosin on parchment paper.

Then, to make a proper separation, it’s necessary to put the rosin into micron filter bags. This is because there is a mesh screen that encloses it which allows you to carry out the correct process. Ideally, you should use a 25 micron rosin bag, as it produces a high-quality result. Nonetheless, you can use a rosin bag up to 37 micron, but no more than that.

Put the bag between the plates with the opening facing outward, as this allows the content to exit easily. Close the plates but make sure to not apply too much pressure on the extractor.

Wait for 30 seconds until you see it starts to melt. After that, you can start applying pressure gradually but with care, as, if you exceed that, the bag may burst.

Once you have reached the maximum pressure, hold it for 60 seconds and watch how the consistency of the rosin starts to turn into a liquid and drip out.

After that, open it and remove everything from the plates. Put the paper to the side and get ready for a second pressing.

Put a fresh paper or dabber on to collect the sauce, even though this time you’ll extract less of it, and repeat the process, raising the temperature gradually to 250ºF. During this time, you’ll see how it’s less runny.

Next, get everything out of the plates and open the bag after it cools down. The result will be a substance with a chalky texture and a very pale yellow or white color. This is known as THCA powder. In this stage, the terpenes and oils are already separated from the powder.

You could use this powder to make edibles or tinctures but, since the goal is to make diamonds so you can smoke them or add them to THC-A blunts, you still have more steps to go.

As you can see, the process of pressing rosin to obtain cannabis extracts is highly complicated, as you need to supervise temperature and pressure carefully, otherwise the end product will not be good.

The next step will be to cure it in jars. However, it’s worth mentioning that some people heat the powder once again in the lower plate until it forms a pool. After that, they let it crystallize, but it’s more difficult to do.

Curing in Jars

In the next step to make rosin diamonds, as you’ll see, the THCA powder will have a different consistency. It will no longer be a stiff budder texture.

After collecting the rosin, immediately put it in jars and seal them. You have to let the substance cold cure for a week at room temperature. After that, you’ll see a change in viscosity. There must be no heat and agitation, as this can activate THCA.

Optionally, you could heat cure sealed jars at 220ªF for 40 minutes. This is to further alter the effects. To accomplish this, heat and allow to cool.

The Solventless THC-A Isolation

Remove the rosin bag and collect the THCA powder. An optional step is to use terpene separation equipment to further refine terpenes.

As you may know, a cannabis plant contains cannabinoids, terpenes, and other compounds. However, to obtain THCA isolate, it’s necessary to remove terpenes from rosin, to achieve only the desired cannabinoid. This is why the solventless method is used, which consists of a mechanical separation where terpenes are removed, leaving behind THCA.

Once you have only THCA, the next step will be to create the diamonds. If you desire, during this step, you can decarb the THCA to activate THC, but this is if you want to make THC diamonds.

Either THC or THCA diamonds can be added to your blunt. So, if you like preparing joints and enhancing them, make sure to purchase a bulk THCA flower to save costs when smoking.

Creating the THC-A Diamonds

The last step to create the diamonds is the most difficult one, as you need a vacuum oven, which is specialized equipment that produces one of the purest crystals. The vacuum prevents the THCA from overheating.

Place the jars with the powder inside the vacuum oven at a temperature of 212ºF (100ºC). With vacuum, it’s possible to remove residual solvents to obtain a product with a high purity. After 48 hours, the crystals will begin to form.

Once the crystals have formed, you’ll be left with them along with terpene sauce. Although you can pack them together, it’s best to separate them and use the sauce in other preparations.

Enjoying the Final Product

After this long process, the end product will be small clear crystals that look like diamonds. The more transparent they are, the purer they are, being around 99% THC when smoked. Therefore, they’re highly potent and more suitable for people with a higher tolerance.

You can start smoking the diamonds and enjoy their psychoactive effects. Make sure to store them in airtight jars in a dark and cool place to avoid degradation. Also, keep them away from kids and pets.

Keep in mind that THC-A legality allows you to enjoy these products. So, instead of making diamonds, following a lengthy and difficult procedure, you could just buy them from an online shop and avoid the hassle.

Disclaimer

The statements on this blog are not intended to diagnose, cure, treat or prevent any disease. FDA has not evaluated statements contained within the blog. Information on this website or in any materials or communications from Inheal is for educational/informational purposes only and is not a substitute for medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Please consult your healthcare provider before making any healthcare decisions, correct dosage or for guidance about a specific medical condition.

by Chris Dorcey

A connoisseur of cannabis creativity and true contemplation with more than 20 years of experience, Chris extracts deep thoughts from getting lightly baked and shares his wandering mind. He blends cuisine and cannabis culture into nutritious, delicious recipes and insights for other hemp lovers.