If you’re in the cannabis industry, you’ve probably heard of cannabis concentrates. They’re creating a buzz among producers as a way of potentially expanding their product lines with additional consumption options and higher potencies.
However, as with many new products, educating your customers is one of the critical keys to success. We thought a comparison between flower and concentrates might help them better understand each product’s nuances and how they affect their experience.
We’ll also explain how the Entour team helps preserve the purity of the original terpene profile no matter how it’s processed, often resulting in essences more than comparable to the source.
What Are Concentrates?
“Concentrate” is a term that refers to a large variety of cannabis extracts. Most concentrates are extracted using CO2, hydrocarbons, alcohol, water, and/or heat.
One of the prime features of concentrates is the variety of ways they can be consumed. With flower, the user is more or less restricted to smoking it, vaping it, or rolling it. Concentrated products’ extraction and production methods result in a wide variety of consistencies, allowing for more consumption options, including dabs, tinctures, oil capsules, and more.
Read More: The Complete Guide To Terpenes And Their Effects
Flower vs. Concentrates: Which Is More Potent?
Concentrates offer a much higher level of potency than flower. Whereas flower offers a potency that typically ranges from 10 to 30 percent THC, concentrate potency usually falls between 50 and 85 percent. Some concentrate-based oils have been known to edge over 90 percent potency, which can seem like uncharted waters between heavy dosing and inhalable purity.
However, concentrates also offer CBD-rich options that are mildly or non-intoxicating, covering customers who have a low tolerance for heavy doses or who are new to concentrates.
The Difference In Flavor Quality
Flavor is a huge part of what your customers seek when deciding on a cannabis product. So here’s the bad news about terpene concentrates: the flavor just isn’t as clean and pure as with the flower. But we’re not telling you anything you don’t already know here.
This is because terpenes are sensitive to heat. And since most extraction methods used for producing concentrates utilize elevated heat – whether during processing or post-processing – the natural aromas and flavors are often lost or degraded. That doesn’t necessarily mean concentrates taste bad; they just have a harder time satisfying users who prefer rich and Native flavor.
Conversely, flower provides a wide range of natural sweet, floral, and fruity flavors, as well as taste experiences that are earthy, nutty, and piney. Flower is generally perceived as the winner over concentrates in the flavor race for those that like flower. However, for those that consume concentrates because they don’t want to smell (like) or taste cannabis, then concentrates offer an option that flower cannot.
Balancing The Need For Great Flavor And Fantastic Effects
The immutable truth about terpene extraction is that the process unavoidably changes and degrades the delicate properties that make each terpene and chemovar so unique. It is physically impossible to lift out only what you want (or don’t want) via any extraction method to produce the perfect or ideal terpene replica.
Most cannabis manufacturers want to make products using concentrates that preserve the smell, taste, and feel like the original plant source. The challenge is creating the flower experience in derivative products and doing so with consistency that crosses borders and operating locations.
Fortunately, the Entour team has the answer.
The Entour True To Plant® Solution
Our scientists understand that any extraction process changes the terpene’s chemical profile. To replicate, capture, and rebuild the terpene’s exact effects and essences, we use our tech-based True To Plant® solution that gets you closer to what the plant naturally produces.
Our process eliminates the need to reintroduce terpenes, bringing you impressive flavor profiles that often taste better, cleaner and more consistent than the original flower it came from and with the superior effects that your customers are seeking.
Call us if you have any questions about how our True To Plant® technology will help you create cannabis products that will build customer loyalty, smooth your operations, and boost your bottom line.
Your Premier Choice For High-Quality Cannabis Formulations
Since 2010, Entour botanical specialists have been a leading supplier of fresh and exciting cannabis product ideas that will help evolve your business. Our proprietary True To Plant® technology captures your favorite cultivars’ flavors, aromas, and effects with unprecedented accuracy and precision, resulting in experiences your customers will love.
You won’t find our unique formulation process at any other supplier – no matter how hard they try! Get in touch with the Entour team with your flavor requirements today!
