The Best Strains for Rosin Pressing

Because Live Rosin doesn’t require any chemicals to process, and is relatively cheap and easy to make, many dab fans have started making it at home. There are plenty of online guides for pressing rosin, and a decent beginner's home press can be bought for around $200 or less if you don’t want to go the curling iron route. There are even affordable options on the more professional side of at-home presses as well.  However, it can be hard to know which strains to start your rosin journey with. 

That’s why PotGuide is here with a list of the ten best strains for rosin pressing.

When it comes to pressing rosin, what you get out depends on what you put in. That’s why the best strains for rosin will be gooey with potent trichomes and bursting with aromatic, tasty terpenes.

Gorilla Glue

Gorilla Glue (or GG4 as it’s now known thanks to an epoxy company with no chill) is one of the classic strains for making rosin. This strain yields a hefty amount of resin that’s left countless gummed up trim scissors in its wake. With nugs dressed to the 9’s in glittering trichomes and a high THC content, GG4 is one of the best flower for rosin. However, reports on a similarly outstanding terpene profile are mixed, so you may be underwhelmed if flavor’s what you savor. 

Chem Dawg

Chem Dawg earned its place on the best strains for rosin due to its mix of distinctive terpenes, high THC, and strong, clear-headed sativa lift. Fresh pressed rosin will bring out Chem Dawg’s distinctive terpene profile: a combination of chemical pine (think Pine-Sol), soil, sour, and a little floral. If Chem Dawg isn’t your favorite, you have plenty of options. All the Chem offshoots make great yielding strains for rosin.

Papaya

If you’re naming a strain after a fruit, you can be relatively certain that terpenes are going to be the main course.Papaya OG terpenes tend towards a light, tropical, fruity sweetness that finishes with a peppery, spicy funk that betrays its Afghani roots. Expect long-lasting waves of relaxation putting your body on “Island Time” while your mind takes a sunny vacation. Papaya yields a fair amount of trichomes that can be pressed into rosin, but the flavor is what earns this Papaya its place on the best strains for rosin list.

GMO

GMO (aka Garlic Cookies) finds itself on our list of best rosin strains for its combination of strong terpene profile and heavyweight THC percentage. GMO’s effects can knock you to the mat, but given how good the limb-melting effects feel, you’ll probably want to stay down there. Terpene-wise, expect a confusing combination due to its Girl Scout Cookies and Chem Dawg parentage: a mix of earth, grass, spicy pine, rubber, citrus, gas, herbal and chemical. Or, as some have put it “Tastes kind of like…Garlic Cookies?” 

The White

With a name like “The White” you can assume one of two things: Either the strain was resurrected after battling a Balrog at the Bridge of Khazad-Dum, or it’s covered with an absolute blizzard of trichomes (it’s the second one.) This strain’s overly-enthusiastic resin production makes it one of the best strains for rosin when it comes to high yields and gravity-strengthening indica effects. Much like GG4, The White’s strong suit isn’t its flavor, which is pine-heavy with a hint of Kush spiciness. If you’re looking for more terpenes, we recommend pressing one of the The White’s many crosses with other, more flavorful strains.

MAC

MAC (or Miracle Alien Cookies) is another high yielding strain that hits all the buttons when it comes to pressing rosin. This strain’s nugs sparkle with a galaxy’s worth of trichomes that produce a terpene-heavy rosin with a complex flavor. Expect a fresh and bold combination of sour citrus, gassy diesel, and peppery spice flavors. Effects-wise, MAC gives an uplifting, social boost that can spark waves of creativity. Share this rosin with some friends and expect to be chatting long into the night.

Sour Diesel

The Chem family is one of the best strains for making rosin, and Sour Diesel does its family proud. This resinous Chem Dawg offshoot produces effects so potent that over 30 years later it’s still the pride of New York. Heady, cerebral, euphoric and bursting with creative inspiration, this daytime strain presses into potent rosin rich in terpenes. With a flavor like if a bucket of Lemonheads candy was dissolved into gasoline, Sour Diesel is some of the best flower for rosin production.

Tropicana Cookies

When it comes to the best strains for rosin, Tropicana Cookies’ flavor alone earns its place on the list: a tropical mix of fresh orange citrus, earthy pine, and sour spice. This is a strain made for pressing fresh into rosin, to experience all those fruity, floral, and sweet terps. Tropicana Cookies’ fat, resinous trichomes produce a potent, high-test THC rosin with sativa-dominant effects. Expect a giggly, chatty, mind-elevating high that will pretty get you off the couch and into the world. 

Sour Willie

An offshoot of the Sour Diesel lineage (which is itself an offshoot of the Chem Dawg lineage), this daytime sativa’s nugs are covered in fat-headed trichomes perfect for pressing into rosin. Flavor-wise, Sour Willie will take you on a ride through citrus-town, with a couple stops in diesel-village and skunk-berg. You might find yourself stuck in your head for a bit when this buzzy sativa arrives in your dome.

OG Kush

One of the best flowers for rosin, OG Kush is potent, flavorful, and its nugs are heavy with trichomes. Terp-wise, expect a tasty, pungent blend of citrus, gassy spice, and earthy, skunky funk. Effects-wise, you’re looking at a calming, focused sense of ease that’s all-encompassing, given the strong THC usually added to the mix.  

If you’re curious about home-pressing, these are some of the best strains for rosin for anyone just starting out. However, these aren’t the only ones. There are plenty of strains within these families that’ll produce a potent, fresh-tasting hash oil, and plenty more out there. If you have a favorite strain that stinks up the bag and is covered with icy nugs, why not give it a try? 

Do you have a favorite strain for pressing rosin? Any strains we should include on our list? Let us know in the comments. 

Photo Credit: Keith Manfredi (license)