Extracts & Concentrates

This category contains concentrates. These are products where the plant material is reduced to a much smaller volume, so there is more of the original plant substances per gram. What remains is no longer dried leaf or ground powder, but a paste, a slab, a granule or a powder. The form you receive says something about the way it was made.

How a concentrate is created

In extraction, plant material is brought into contact with a solvent. That solvent takes along the substances that dissolve in it and leaves the fibres behind. The solvent is then removed again, usually with heat under reduced pressure so that work can be done at a lower temperature. What remains is the concentrate. Common solvents are alcohol, carbon dioxide under pressure and plant oil. That choice determines the colour, purity and taste of the end result.

The forms

• Paste. Thick and syrupy, clings to a spatula. Usually supplied in a syringe or jar because it's too thick to pour.
• Brittle slab. Hard and glassy, breaks with a sharp edge. Created when the concentrate is poured out thinly and hardens calmly.
• Buttery. Soft and opaque. Created when it is stirred during hardening, creating small crystals.
• Crystalline powder. A separated substance in solid form, white to off-white and almost odourless.
• Distillate. Liquid to thick-liquid and clear in colour, because an extra separation step has been applied.

Winterisation and purity

A raw extract contains, besides the desired substances, plant waxes and fats. These make the whole dark and cloudy. In winterisation the extract is dissolved in alcohol and strongly cooled for several hours to days. The waxes become solid at that temperature and can be filtered out. The result is lighter in colour and thinner in structure. An isolate goes a step further: a single substance is separated from all others, which yields a powder instead of an oily whole. A broader extract, by contrast, retains the plant's full substance profile.

Storage

Concentrates are sensitive to light, heat and oxygen. Store them cool, dark and in the closed packaging, upright and not on the windowsill or next to a heat source. A paste becomes softer at room temperature and hard in the fridge. Let a product that comes out of the fridge come to temperature before opening the packaging, otherwise condensation forms on it.

We have a laboratory analysis made of every batch. It states the batch number, the measured substance profile and the results of the checks for heavy metals, pesticides, microbiology and solvent residues. There is a batch number on the packaging. Give us that number and we'll send the report that belongs to your product.