Full-melt hash is the caviar of cannabis extracts. Maybe you’ve seen the words “full melt” plastered across hash containers at your local dispensary, or maybe you have customers of your own who have been demanding this type of product. So what exactly is full-melt hash, and what makes it so special? 

An Overview of Full-Melt Hash 

Full-melt hash, as the name suggests, is any hash product capable of melting fully without leaving any plant residue behind. There’s no solid plant matter that can burn as the hash is vaporized; it’s just pure resin. Full-melt extracts are extremely difficult to achieve, but they’re incredibly high-quality. 

Full-melt hash is a relatively recent innovation. When Skunkman Sam began exploring ice water hash extraction methods in the early eighties, the process opened the door for more precise hash collection with better filtration. As ice water extraction methods have been refined over the years, the precision has only gotten better. Now it’s possible for producers to create full-melt hash at scale. 

Why Full-Melt Hash Is So Popular 

The popularity of full-melt hash boils down to quality. Hash products are graded on a six-point scale: 

• 1 to 2-star hash is cooking-grade or food-grade. Edibles, topicals, and tinctures are all good SKUs for low-quality ice water hash., but it’s not suitable for dabbing. 
• 3 to 4-star hash is half-melt. It can be dabbed, but it’s not super high-quality. We recommend using this type of hash as a starting material for hash rosin. This allows you to transform your hash into a good economy to mid-shelf hash rosin, which is often desirable as it’s much better than live resin and a lot cheaper than the ultra primo hash rosin.
• 5 to 6-star hash is full-melt. Full-melt hash is pure enough to be dabbed on its own—no additional processing needed. Technically only 6-star hash qualifies as a truly full-melt product, but most “6-star” is actually 5-star. Very little “full melt” that is labeled and sold as such actually makes the grade for being truly full melt. The most discerning customers will know the difference between 5 and 6, but your average hash consumer will not. 

Full-melt hash delivers a superior taste, a cleaner presentation, more mileage, smoother hits (little to no throat burn), less cleanup for the dab rig, and a bolder and more enjoyable experience overall. You’re retaining more of the plant’s original profile, which is evident in the flavor, aroma, and experience. 

If you’re a consumer, full-melt hash is an excellent product. If you’re in the business, full-melt hash is an excellent SKU—and this is especially true for live SKUs (e.g. live bubble hash). Most consumers aren’t going to give their hash the rosin-press treatment, so you want to give them the best-quality product you can. When it comes to hash, full-melt is that product. Buyers will pay a premium for it, and you can deliver a stellar-quality concentrate at a fraction of the cost of a hydrocarbon extract (and with far less effort and equipment). 

If you’ve been looking to add bubble hash, live rosin, solventless cartridges, or any other number of high dollar value solventless SKUs to your product lineup, contact one of our experts today so they can help you determine what the best solutions for your operation would be.

How Full-Melt Hash Is Made 

There are two popular ways to achieve full-melt hash: the bubble hash method and (less commonly) the dry sift method. Either way, you’re achieving an excellent full-spectrum product with an abundance of concentrated cannabinoids and terpenes. 

The Bubble Hash Method

Full-melt hash is most commonly achieved using an ice water extraction method (i.e. bubble hash, or ice water hash). Cannabis is submerged in an ice water bath, which is then agitated using a hand paddle or machine. The trichomes freeze, break off of the plant, and float to the bottom where they’re filtered through a series of micron screens. Finally, the hash is collected and dried, either naturally or (more commonly) with a freeze dryer. 

Though the ice water extraction method lends itself to premium-grade hash, not all bubble hash is full-melt. If you want to achieve the real deal, you need an excellent-quality starting material. Quality in has a direct relationship to quality out. 

From there, it takes practice, refinement, and the right amount of filtration. You want to isolate only the best trichome heads and stalks, preferably between 90 and 120μm (though sometimes as low as 45μm). Your yield will be lower at these levels, but your quality will be sky-high. 

Traditionally, full-melt bubble hash requires a lot of equipment, including multiple hash-washing vessels, layers of bubble bags, freeze dryers, and other supplementary tools. However, more extractors are turning to The Original Resinator for their bubble hash needs, as they can achieve the same product at a lower cost, in less time, and with less space. With the Resinator OG or Resinator XL, all you have to do is load up the drum with your ice, water, and biomass, and turn it on. The Resinator is equipped with a drain plug that routes the water through the collection bags, allowing for easy filtration. Then you just need to freeze-dry your product and call it a day—no manual agitation required. 

The Dry Sift Method

You don’t often hear about dry sift in relation to full-melt hash. That’s because it’s much harder to achieve full-melt quality using dry sifting techniques. They just don’t offer the same level of precision. It’s not impossible to achieve full-melt kief; it’s just more difficult and requires additional steps. 

First, you have to consider the method. Dry sift can be achieved by hand (e.g. with an herb grinder) or with the help of large-scale equipment (e.g. a trichome sifter). The Original Resinator allows you to achieve high-quality sift with minimal effort. Just load the appropriate drum screen onto the Resinator (go as low as 75µm if your goal is full-melt), insert your starting material into the drum, and start your cycle. 

Whether you use the hand method or machine method, it’s unlikely that you’ll achieve full-melt sift right away. For that, you’ll typically have to refine your sift using static tech. And even then, there are no guarantees. You need an excellent starting material and a mastery of the static tech process. Refer to our guide to how to make full-melt dry sift for more information. 

Full-Melt Hash Is the Real Deal 

If you’re a consumer who loves dabbable cannabis concentrates, don’t settle for less than full-melt hash. 

If you’re a business owner who wants to appeal to discerning connoisseurs, don’t settle for less than full-melt hash. 

Making hash of this quality is difficult, and there’s a steep learning curve, but it’s absolutely worth the effort. With the right equipment and techniques, you can turn everyday hashish into concentrated gold.