By Adam Tschorn
Explorers, from 15th-century seafarers and discoverers of lost cities to spelunkers and astronauts, all have something in common: curiosity and the desire to discover what’s just over the horizon or around the next corner. That drive to discover is in short supply these days; computer maps, shopping apps and information overload has turned us into a nation of compliant homebodies, if-it-ain’t-broke-don’t-fix-it settlers for the status quo so busy keepin’ on keepin’ on that discovery goes from the thing that drives us to just another streaming service we don’t have time to watch.
Don’t believe me? Think about the last vape cart you bought and why you bought it. Do you even remember if it was filled with rosin, resin or distillate? Or what it tasted like? Or who made it?
If you’re like most folks, you’re probably just buying the exact same thing over and over again simply because it’s familiar and it does the trick. You know, on some level, that you might be missing out on something but hey, who has the time to take a short course in concentrates, right? Especially when there’s a line at the dispensary and only 10 minutes left on your parking meter.
The good news is, with a simple couple of steps and maybe 10 minutes of your time (what’s one more coin in the parking meter of life?), you can re-awaken your inner explorer, slake your concentrate curiosity and discover a whole new world of bold, plant-forward taste just over the horizon at the same time. Get ready to become a Jetty Extracts Explorer of Taste.
Flavor Starts with Fresh-Frozen Cannabis
Any successful exploration requires the right equipment and the first step on the path to earning your Explorer of Taste badge is no different. That’s why you should make live resin your starting point. Chances are, if your vape ritual has been locked on autopilot for a while, you’re opting for distillate (which claims the largest share of the market).
But the number two category is actually number one when it comes to flavor. As Jetty Extracts co-founder and head of production Nate Ferguson explained in our recent deep dive on the differences of each category of concentrate, that’s because of how it’s made.
“Because we’re cutting it down and freezing it right away, the plant keeps a lot of the same characteristics it did while it was still on the stalk,” he told us. “[Then] we do a cryo-extraction at negative 60 degrees [Fahrenheit], and it’s kept cold throughout the whole process, which helps preserve not only a huge array of terpenes but all the aromatics, ketones, aldehydes and esters too. All of those compounds are preserved.”
The benefit of preserving all of those compounds as close to fresh-out-of-the-field as possible? Not just more flavor but more depth of flavor too. There are no shortcuts to great discoveries, so if you’re ready for a flavor-forward upgrade, Jetty’s live resin line-up is the most logical basecamp from which to start.
What Does Live Resin Taste Like?
What does live resin taste like? The short answer: closer to the way Mother Nature intended it to. The better answer: cannabis with its volume turned up — maybe not quite Spinal Tap’s “it goes to 11” knob-twist, but close to a 10.
As a result of all those preserved terpenes and other compounds, rather than delivering a single dominant flavor note, live resin serves it up with nuance. In short, it tastes the way cannabis tastes. Some cultivars will lean bright and citrusy. Others spring forth with notes of pine, berries, tropical fruit, earth, spice or gas.
Some terpenes hit first, others will linger mid-draw and still others will act as a closer as you exhale. Instead of single notes, you’re inhaling complex symphonies. Instead of one-off flavors, it’s a smorgasbord of tropical citrus, confetti-colored cake, gassy garlic and juicy mangoes.
Exploring Jetty Live Resin Flavor Profiles
The final step in earning your Explorer of Taste badge might be the most time-consuming, but also the most fun: getting out there and actually tasting! Just as no true explorer reached a distant shore without leaving home port and no flag was planted on the moon without leaving Earth’s gravitational pull, truly discovering this new world of flavor means escaping the gravitational pull of same-old same-old dispensary buys.
While you could begin that journey by chance (throw a dart at a wall map, spin the globe, that sort of thing), if you’re yearning to visit a particular far-off flavor destination, consider these we’ve plucked from Jetty’s atlas of taste:
Tangie Cookie Burger
Looking for a lost city at the intersection of bright citrus and savory funk? This mini tank gives fresh-squeezed orange peel and tangerine zest right out of the gate, followed by complex layers of skunky, earthy herbs and pepper.
Garlic Mac
Ready to summit a mountain of flavor? A cart of Garlic Mac will find you roping in savory garlic-and-gas punch on the initial ascent, earthy herbs and cracked pepper where the air starts to thin and notes of creamy vanilla and a suggestion of citrus as you hit the peak.
Vanilla Frosting
Aiming for a spot among the stars? Track down a cart of Vanilla Frosting to put on the launchpad. You’ll find notes of vanilla bean, sweet-cream frosting and cookie dough at launch, Diesel fuel as your capsule separates and a lingering, Gelato-like richness by the time you land on the lunar surface.
Papaya Burger
Ready to discover an uncharted island of taste? This vape cart will have you setting sail for the tropics. Out of the harbor, you’ll be tacking into the warm winds of ripe papaya and juicy melon. Later on, you’ll be buffeted by gusts of herby, garlicky. Finally, as you near the shore, you’ll catch the lightest breezes of earthiness.
Whether you follow our lead or plot your own course to points unknown, one thing’s for sure: If you’re curious enough to truly explore; to wonder what’s just over that horizon or around the next bend, that curiosity will be richly rewarded not just by earning your Explorer of Taste credentials but also by unlocking flavors and aromas in depths and nuances that were previously invisible to you.
Maybe you’re drawn to bright citrus and tropical fruit notes. Maybe you prefer earthy, pine-forward strains with a little funk. Maybe you just don’t know yet.
And that’s OK.
Some of the best explorers rarely knew what they would find — or in some cases even what they were looking for — when they embarked upon their most fruitful adventures.
In some ways, it makes the fruit of discovery taste all the sweeter.
