Best Strains for Rosin Production
"Fire in, fire out" rings true when choosing the best strains for rosin. You want cannabis strains that are thickly frosted with trichomes to maximize your rosin yields. You also want trichomes with clear abscission points so that they wash well if you make bubble hash before pressing.
The best strains for bubble hash are the same strains that will give you the highest yield and quality of rosin. You can identify high-yielding strains by performing a test wash and examining the trichomes under a microscope or jeweler's loupe. These are some of our favorite strains and strain families for rosin pressing.
Cake Strains
Cake strains are known for their sweet, dessert-like flavors and mood-boosting qualities. They are also known for being rich in trichomes, which is typical of indica-leaning strains and ideal for pressing rosin. Try the following strains in your rosin press (preferably perform ice water extraction first) for top-quality rosin:
Cake Crasher
- Wedding Cake X Wedding Crasher
- 70% indica/30% sativa
- 22-26% THC
This is a powerful indica-dominant hybrid strain with an average of 22-26% THC. It is known for its berry vanilla cake flavor and happy, unfocused effects that settle into couchlock and a case of the munchies.
Grape Cream Cake
- Grape Pie X Wedding Crasher
- 70% indica/30% sativa
- 20-25% THC
This delicious strain has a creamy, sweet, cherry taste with nutty and vanilla overtones. The initial effects feel like an expansive tingle in your mind that spreads throughout your body and relaxes you from head to toe.
Wedding Cake
- Triangle Kush X Animal Mints
- 60% indica/40% sativa
- 25-27% THC
Wedding Cake is famous for its cherry and vanilla flavors as well as its relaxing, uplifting effects. This strain has a high concentration of trichomes, making it ideal for pressing.
GMO Variants
GMO and its crossed strains are popular with rosin pressers thanks to their potency, yield, and aesthetics. GMO itself is a cross between Chemdog and Girl Scout Cookies and tastes like garlic, mushrooms, and onion with spice. This strain is 90% indica, so expect heavy relaxation and sleep.
Papaya Strains
Papaya is ideal if you're looking for a potent strain with good disease resistance and early maturation. This fruity, mango-flavored strain is perfect for cross-breeding and the resulting crossbred strains (including Papaya Juice) are great for water-processed hash. Papaya's effects are known to be joyful, focused, and long-lasting.
Pie Strains
Pie strains are known for their bakery-like aromas and mouthwatering flavors. The original pie strain was Cherry Pie—an indica-dominant cross between Granddaddy Purple (sweet taste) and Durban Poison (earthy taste).
Other notable pie strains include:
-
Apple Pie - Cherry Cream Pie
- Key Lime Pie
- Pie Face OG
- Poon Tang Pie
- Strawberry Pie
Zkittlez Strains
Zkittlez is an indica-dominant cross between Grape Ape and Grapefruit with low-moderate THC levels (13-15%). It tastes of sweet berries and citrus and offers a euphoric and creative high. Strains in the Zkittlez family are brightly colored and coated in cloudy white trichomes.
They are perfect for rosin pressing because this method preserves the intricate flavor profile that Zkittles enthusiasts cherish. Unlike solvent-based extraction methods, rosin pressing maintains the delicate balance of fruity terpenes that make Zkittles so sought after by consumers.
Try making bubble hash and subsequently rosin with:
- Banana Zkittlez
- Bubblegum Zkittlez
- Gorilla Zkittlez
- Orange Zkittlez
- Sweet Zkittlez
- Watermelon Zkittlez
- Zkittlez Cake
- Zkittlez OG
Additional Cannabis Strains for Pressing Rosin
The following strains don't fit into any of the families described above but are high-yielding and produce flavorful rosin:
- Banana GOD
- Banana OG
- Banana Shack
- Black Maple
- Blueberry Muffins
- Candy Fumez
- Chem De La '91
- Dulce De Uva
- Garlic Cocktail
- Garlic Juice
- Gary Payton
- Grape Strudel
- Honey Banana
- JOMO
- Lemon Heads
- Mandarin Cookies
- Melted Strawberries
- Panda Puffs
- Peach Maraschino
- Peach Oblivion
- Poon Diesel
- Purple Ice Water
- Sour Diesel
- Spritzer
- Starburst OG
- Strawberries and Cream
- Strawguava
- Superboof
- Tally Mon
- Trop cookies
- Wilson
Top Genetics Providers for Solventless Extraction
High-quality genetics providers make the search for the best strains for rosin easier. We recommend the following seed companies:
- Farmhouse Studio Genetics - Farmhouse Studio Genetics is based in Portland, Oregon, and is the creator of JOMO (one of our recommended strains for rosin).
- Bloom Seed Co - Harry Palms is the pioneer at the head of Bloom Seed Co. He is famous for his Tropicana Cookies strain, which is a cross between Girl Scout Cookies and Tangie.
- Archive Seed Bank - Archive Seed Bank was founded in 2006 with ties in Seattle, Washington, and Portland, Oregon. This provider has become a leader in cannabis genetics. Archive Seed Back—led by "the Docta" Fletcher—is especially well-known for its Face Off, Dosi-Do, and Moonbow strains.
Maximize Your Rosin's Flavor with Live Hash
All the strains mentioned above are ideal for rosin and will produce healthy yields on a rosin press. However, you'll get the best flavor if you press rosin from live bubble hash—bubble hash that is washed from fresh frozen cannabis material—rather than non-live bubble hash, kief, or flower rosin.
Live hash rosin is typically more flavorful than its non-live counterparts because the terpenes haven't had time to degrade and the starting material is already quite pure with very little plant material. Live solventless extracts also fetch higher prices in dispensaries thanks to their perceived quality and complex flavors.
Experiment Until You Find Gold
Rosin pressed from hash washed from aromatic, trichome-rich strains is a treat for anyone who loves to dab. The aromas and flavors are complex and the effects are true to each strain.
The strains that we've mentioned here are an excellent starting point for anyone who's new to pressing rosin. Experiment and taste-test a variety of these strains and you’ll soon come up with your own shortlist of favorites!