Sauce is a liquid to syrupy concentrate high in terpenes and other volatile compounds. It most often forms when THCA crystallises out of an extract: the crystals (diamonds) separate from a liquid fraction that holds most of the aroma and a share of the cannabinoids. That fraction, known in the industry as a high-terpene full-spectrum extract (HTFSE), is sold alone or with the crystals.
In practice
Sauce is usually made from fresh frozen material (live resin sauce), though cured sauce exists. Because it holds most of the volatile chemistry, it's chosen for flavour. Its cannabinoid percentage is lower than diamonds, while its terpene percentage on a terpene test can be far higher than flower's. Rosin can produce a sauce-like texture as well. GenetixBay defines the product only and gives no processing information.
Don't confuse with
- Diamonds: the crystalline THCA fraction.
- Terpene isolates: single terpenes, often not cannabis-derived, sold for flavouring.
- Badder: whipped and opaque, not runny.
Terpenes are volatile hydrocarbon compounds built from five-carbon isoprene units; in cannabis they are made in the trichome heads and are a major part of aroma and flavour.THCA (tetrahydrocannabinolic acid) is the acid cannabinoid that drug-type cannabis makes in its trichomes; heat or time decarboxylates it into THC, losing about 12% of its mass.A hair-like outgrowth of the plant's skin; in cannabis the glandular types make and store the resin holding cannabinoids and terpenes.A cannabinoid is any compound that binds the body's cannabinoid receptors or shares the typical cannabis terpenophenolic structure; the plant-made ones are phytocannabinoids such as THCA and CBDA.Fresh frozen is cannabis frozen immediately after harvest without drying or curing, used as starting material for live resin and live rosin to keep more volatile aroma.Live resin is a solvent-based cannabis extract made from fresh frozen plant material instead of dried and cured flower, to retain more volatile aroma compounds.Holding dried cannabis in sealed containers so its moisture declines slowly and evenly over weeks, improving smoothness and aroma.A terpene test measures the individual terpenes and total terpene content of a sample, usually by GC-FID or GC-MS, reported in % w/w or mg/g.Diamonds are large crystals of THCA, typically grown out of a solvent extract and sold alone or in terpene-rich sauce; they are nearly pure THCA.Badder is a soft, cake-batter-textured concentrate formed by whipping an extract so its cannabinoids crystallise finely; it can be solvent-based or, as rosin badder, solventless.
