Last updated on August 8, 2026 · Originally published October 2, 2021
You may have heard someone describe tasty rosin as “terpy”. Terpenes are the flavor center of cannabis and many other plants. There are tens of thousands of terpenes identified across the natural world and around 150 identified in cannabis. Many of the terpenes found in cannabis are found in fruits like mangos, herbs like oregano, and plants like hops.
Each terpene has different properties including flavor, smell, volatility, and a research literature of varying quality. Linalool has a reputation for calm and pinene for clarity, though both reputations rest on thinner evidence than the marketing suggests. Cannabis testing labs now catalog the terpene profiles of products, which at least lets consumers compare what they are actually buying.
Some of the most common terpenes and terpenoids found in cannabis include myrcene, pinene, caryophyllene, limonene, terpinolene, linalool, humulene, ocimene, eucalyptol, geraniol, and farnesene. These are found in varying levels across cannabis varieties, each contributing to flavor and aroma.
Terpenes evaporate continuously, and the lighter ones leave faster than the heavier ones. That is why your technique when pressing changes the flavor: what survives the press is not what went into it. Our guide to terpene boiling points explains why the charts in circulation get this backwards, and why boiling points are the wrong number to be looking at.
In this article, we will cover some tips and tricks that can help you produce the tastiest rosin possible.
Preserving terpenes when producing rosin can elevate the flavor and effects of your end product. The trick, when pressing and post-processing flavorful rosin, is to avoid anything that may degrade labile terpenes. Several factors lead to terpene loss: heat, light, oxygen and time.
Producing rosin does not require expensive lab equipment or dangerous, flammable solvents. This means you can do it at home. To make rosin, all you need is some starting material, a rosin filter bag, a rosin press, parchment paper, a glass jar, and a dab tool. Whether you are pressing hash rosin or flower rosin, terpene retention can make good rosin into great rosin. Below is a step-by-step guide.
Fire in = fire out
Fire in, fire out. It is a simple saying, but it’s true. High-quality rosin comes from high-quality starting material.
Flower should be properly humidified when pressing flower rosin. This is about 57 to 64% relative humidity, and you can measure it with a simple hygrometer. If you are using dispensary-bought flower, the terpene content may be listed on the label. Taking note of this can help you work out which terpenes most appeal to you.
If you are pressing hash rosin, the hash should be brought to room temperature before pressing.
Pack the rosin bag
Once you have your starting material, it’s time to pick a rosin bag. You want a durable bag that can withstand the heat and pressure applied during a press without blowing out. Double-stitched nylon is the usual construction.
The micron size depends on your starting material. Flower rosin is best pressed in 90- to 220-micron bags. Hash rosin is best pressed in 15- to 75-micron bags. Generally, smaller pore sizes yield cleaner rosin, but you may sacrifice some yield.
The dimensions are based on how much material you are pressing. A 2×4-inch bag fits about 7 grams of flower or 24 grams of hash.
With your bag chosen, pack it. For flower, remove the stems and break the buds into medium-sized chunks. Do not grind the flower.
Line the bottom of the inside of the bag, avoiding air pockets. Fill until there is about half an inch of space left at the top. If there is more than that, cut the remainder off and discard it. Fold the last half inch over to seal the material inside.
Pro tip: start with a small amount of material for your first press. This is the test press, and it lets you find problems without risking much.
Parchment paper
Line your press plates with parchment paper to catch the rosin. Use thicker parchment that can withstand the heat and pressure.
Use two sheets, one for the top plate and one for the bottom. The top sheet should be wide enough to cover the entire plate and long enough to extend a few inches past it — insurance against rosin expanding further than expected. The bottom sheet should be long enough to catch everything; pieces over a foot long are not unusual at larger volumes. Many people fold the sides of the bottom sheet to act as walls and stop rosin running over the edge.
Place the bag in the center of the plates. Too far to either side and it may expand over the edge when pressed, which can cause a blowout.
Set a temperature
The temperature you press at has dramatic effects on the end product.
Most people press between 160°F (71°C) and 220°F (104°C). Generally the higher the temperature, the more a press yields, but you sacrifice terpenes and therefore flavor. Lower temperatures yield less, but the rosin may taste better.
Consistency also shifts. Higher temperatures tend toward a more sauce-like product, and a little extra time on the press can push it toward shatter. Lower temperature presses tend toward a budder-like consistency. Keep in mind that consistency changes again during curing.
Apply pressure
Bag packed, parchment in place, temperature set. Now press.
Begin with just enough pressure to hold the bag in place. Let it sit for about 30 seconds to warm the material. You may see it begin to sweat or look wet. That is what you want.
Apply pressure with a steady, even increase for the duration of the press. Avoid moments where the pressure is not increasing — extending the time under heat costs you volatiles.
How much pressure and how long depends on temperature, material and quantity. Less time is generally needed at higher temperatures. Larger presses require higher pressure for maximum yield. Most flower presses do not exceed three minutes and most hash presses do not exceed two. It takes experimentation to dial in what works for you. Each cultivar, and even each bud, presses differently.
Key points:
- Let the bag sit on the heated press with minimal pressure for about 30 seconds to warm up
- Apply pressure with a steady, even increase
- Avoid moments when you are not increasing pressure
- Less time is generally required at higher temperatures
- Larger quantities may require higher pressures for maximum yield
- Flower rosin generally requires longer on the press than hash rosin
Cure it
This step is optional. Some people prefer rosin freshly pressed.
Curing means introducing temperature differences, oxygen, time and agitation. The consistency of your rosin can change dramatically, and so can the terpene profile.
Collect the rosin from the parchment immediately after pressing and get it into a glass, airtight container. If the container is not airtight, oxygen gets in and breaks down terpenes.
Then place it in either a cool or warm environment depending on the consistency you want. Cold cures (about 45 to 70°F) tend toward a badder-like consistency. You may see puddles form during the cure — these are largely terpenes and they carry a lot of the flavor. Some people use a dab tool to whip the rosin and homogenize it, giving a lighter, fluffier consistency.
Heat cures (about 90 to 220°F, 32 to 104°C) usually give a more sauce-like consistency. Which develops better flavor is genuinely debated, and each cultivar cures differently.
How long is up to you — anywhere from 12 hours to a month. Colder cures generally take longer. For cold cures, check periodically and look for the terpene puddles; when you see significant separation, try whipping it. For heat cures, you may see the rosin bubble, and the longer it bubbles the saucier it usually becomes.
Pro tip: let the rosin come to room temperature after a cure before opening the jar. Opening a cold jar into warm air invites condensation, and warming it first loses less of the volatile fraction to the sudden exposure.
Store it
Store rosin in an airtight glass jar. Silicone may absorb cannabinoids and terpenes over time.
Keep the jar cool, dark and away from direct sunlight — light degrades the terpenes you just worked to retain. Avoid the freezer, which can introduce moisture.
Dab it
To taste the full flavor of your rosin, avoid dabbing too hot.
The lighter aromatic compounds leave first and fastest as temperature rises, so the hotter you dab, the more of the aroma is gone before it reaches you — and above a certain point you move from vaporizing the material to degrading it. Dab as low as you can while still fully vaporizing. Larger dabs need to start hotter to vaporize completely.
Some say you need to waste it to taste it — dabbing so low that part of the material never vaporizes. That seems excessive to us, but to each their own.
For the wider picture on all of this, see our guide to cannabis rosin and what “solventless” actually means.
Updated August 8, 2026. This article has been edited and updated. The description of how terpenes respond to heat has been corrected — terpenes evaporate continuously rather than burning off at a threshold temperature.
Originally published October 2, 2021
