How To Make Rosin

Once you make your own rosin, you will never look back.

Rob Hoffman

Be warned: once you start making your own homemade rosin, it’s hard to go back to store-bought concentrates. Homemade rosin is extremely fresh, flavourful, and clean in its effects. If you’re looking to take in the full flavor of your cannabis’ terpene profile, this is the best way to do it.

It’s also a safer way of making and consuming concentrates. It’s always better to know where your cannabis products come from. This is especially true with cannabis concentrates, which are often made in laboratories you don’t know, with cannabis flower you’ve never seen, using substances you might not trust.

If you’re a regular concentrate consumer, it’s worth investing in a machine that can make professional grade, solvent-free rosin easily, quickly, and an unlimited amount of times. Not to mention the added bonus of watching golden rosin being squished out of fresh cannabis flower with nothing but pressure and heat.

Pressing your own rosin is extremely easy. Follow these simple steps to learn how.

What You’ll Need:

Parchment paper.
Cannabis flower, kief, or hash.
Helix rosin press.

How To Make Rosin Using The Helix Rosin Press

How To Make Super Soil And Grow Better Cannabis Plants — Photography by Connor Fyfe

Step 1 | Preparing Your Micron Screen:

Begin by choosing a rosin filter bag with a micron screen size that’s right for you. Choosing the right micron screen size will help determine the quality and yield of your rosin. The lower the micron screen size, the finer the filter is. Therefore, the lower the micron filter size, the lower your yield will be, but the higher its quality.

Generally, it’s not recommended to use a micron screen size of less than 90 or more than 150 if you’re pressing cannabis flower. If you’re looking to get the highest possible quality of rosin, try pressing your flower in a bag with a micron screen size of 90. If the yield is also important to you, go for a micron screen size of 115 using fresh flower, which will not only give you great quality but also quantity.

Step 2 | Preparing The Quick Flip Tool:

Insert the tube component of you quick flip tool into your rosin filter bag, then push the thinner, solid component of the quick flip tool into the bag where it covers the tube’s hole. After a quick, firm push, the bag should flip inside out and slide through the tube component of your quick flip tool. When it comes out the other end, the rosin filter bag will be the right side around. The importance of this is to get the bag’s seam on the inside so that it will hold less oil, which could be released and consumed.

Step 3 | Preparing Your Cannabis:

Start by putting on the protective gloves. Insert the funnel into the rosin filter bag, then put your cannabis flower or keif into the mouth of the funnel so that it falls into the bag. Use the thin stick component of the quick flip tool to pack down the cannabis flower, kief, or hash in the filter bag. Then, remove the funnel from the filter bag, and fold over any extra material at the top of the bag.

The amount of cannabis, kief, or hash you put into this bag depends on how much rosin you want to make. Using the Helix Pro, you can press up to 15 grams of flower, and 50+ grams of kief and bubble hash.

Step 4 | Preparing The Rosin Press:

Insert your filter bag full of cannabis flower, kief, or hash into the PurePressure pre-press mold. Close the lid, then push down on the top with all your weight. Take off the lid, and remove the filter bag. The cannabis flower, kief, or hash in the filter bag should now be flattened down and compact.

Step 5 | Preparing The Parchment Paper:

Take out a sheet of parchment paper, fold it in half, and stick the folded end in-between the press so that the open side is facing you. Flip the top piece of parchment paper up then use one of the provided magnets to fasten it to the machine, just above where the upper press is. Flip the bottom piece of parchment paper down and use the clip below the bottom press to secure it.

Step 6 | Adjusting Settings:

Turn on your Helix rosin press. Turn the crank on the top counterclockwise to remove any force on the press. Hit “Ok.” Click on “Recipes.” Click on one of the five bars. In the menu that comes up, you will be able to select your material (flower, kief, or hash), the weight of your cannabis material, the filter bag size, micron screen size, and humidity level. Enter this information if you have it all available. If you don’t, no sweat. Click on the heater buttons on the right side of the screen, and set their temperatures.

If you’re cold-pressing, which results in more rich terpenes, but usually results in a smaller yield, set the temperature between 160°F – 190°F. Press for one to five minutes. Cold-pressed rosin is normally more of a battery consistency.

If you’re hot pressing, you will get a larger yield, and while the terpenes will be less rich, you’ll still have a high terpene preservation rate. For a hot press, set the temperature between 190°F – 220°F and press for 45 seconds to three minutes. Hot-pressed rosin is normally more of an oily consistency.

Our recommended range is between 210°F – 220°F for an optimal balance of quality and yield.

Once you’ve set your temperatures, set the amount of time you want to press for using the button on the left side of the screen, then click the “save and run” button at the bottom of the screen. Click on the “heater 1” and “heater 2” buttons on the top left side of the screen to turn them on. Wait until the large numbers on these buttons reach the heat you set.

Step 7 | Pressing Your Cannabis:

Place your filter bag in the press. Then, slowly turn the crank clockwise until the bag of cannabis flower, kief, or hash is secure in between the top and bottom press. Now you’re ready to click “start press.” You can continue slowly turning the crank clockwise while keeping a close eye on the amount of force you’re using.

It’s recommended to use a force of 550 to 1,000 PSI at the bag. Higher quality yields will be more likely at lower forces. Wait until the timer goes off, then turn the crank counterclockwise to release the press. Now you can remove the parchment paper and take out the filter bag. The golden material on the parchment paper is your rosin.