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The NugSmasher XP is a rosin press with two 4 x 6” quad heated plates, a digital temperature readout, and a manual pump arm to provide the pressure. It is a good size and not light. It’s made from solid steel and weighs around 70lbs. You will need a bit of space for this thing, but it is powered by a standard plug so it’ll work in a lot of places.
What Is Rosin?
Rosin is essentially a form of concentrate made without using solvents. There is no butane, no propane, no CO2, or anything like that. You’re simply applying heat and pressure to your flower to squeeze all of that active material out of the plant in the most natural way possible. If you’re one of those “soil to oil” people who want to know what exactly goes into their product you will appreciate this method. Many people seem to be shifting over to rosin as you’re not going to have the concerns of leftover solvent in your material. It is easy and safe to do at home, but never mind that, it is so much fun you will be squishing just to squish!
How To Load Bags
We’re going to do a quick demo so you can see how the system works, see the rosin itself, get a sense of the overall process, and of course, I’m going to vape a little, for demonstration purposes 😉
You can press straight flower in here, but most people don’t as you are more likely to end up with plant material in your rosin which will gunk up your setup. I’ve done it though and it worked totally fine, but I think the bags are a better option. The bags come in different sizes and it’s recommended to use the amount the bag is designed for, or to trim off the end so that any extra bag doesn’t steal your rosin. NugSmasher recommends folding them up like this… fold over the bottom edges, place your herb in there and try to keep it even so the press is clean and it doesn’t fall over. If you have quite a bit of material left over, you can trim so that it’s about 1/2” above where your herb is, then you fold the top like the bottom.
How To Use
For the demo, we did three quick presses. 3.5g of Tangerine Dream and 3.5g of Pacific Star, and then a 7g bag of some homegrown so we can compare some results. First, I’m going to heat it up. It takes a few minutes, but it’s surprisingly fast considering how much metal is heating up. For the Tangerine Dream we’ll use 190F, for the Pacific Star we’ll use 200F, and for the homegrown, we’ll bump it up to 210F.
Next, I’m going to place my parchment paper folded over inside of the plates. You must use parchment paper to get the proper results – DO NOT USE WAX PAPER! Once it’s heated up I’m going to ensure the release is tight so the pressure will build up, then I’m going to raise the plate until it’s about the size of my packed bag. Then I place that in carefully so it holds it all together and we’re ready to press!
I like to slowly build the pressure for about a minute so the material can warm up, and then we’ll put this up to 1000psi for these 3.5g bags. There is a gauge that tells you the safety zone for each bag as you apply pressure. Don’t go over the safety zone or the bag could burst and get plant material in your concentrate, something you want to avoid. After it’s up to pressure I start my timer. I typically press for about two minutes. You’ll see the pressure drop slightly as time goes, so I just pump a little more as need be. If you put your puck close to the edge like I placed mine, then after 30 seconds or so you’ll see rosin start gushing out of the puck, which is a glorious sight to behold.
The better your material, the better your pressing skills, the better your return will be. Some people are getting yields of 10% and below, while the gold standard you’re looking to achieve is usually in the 25% range.
As you can see, rosins can look very different. The strain, temperature, and pressure all play a part, as well as other factors including humidity, bag packing, and then there's the flower itself, which is a primary factor in your final taste, look, and yield. The flavour of the Tangerine Dream was amazing and the effects were crazy strong. Maybe it’s because it’s new but it almost combines the primarily cerebral effects of concentrate like I’m used to with that full-body experience I get from vaping flower.
I am super excited to try some more pressing! Please leave me your best rosin pressing tips in the comments because I’m itching to squish more and I really want to achieve those crazy yields!
~KIG, KIS~
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