Terp Sauce
Category: Extraction & Processing · Level: Expert
Terp sauce is a cannabis concentrate with high terpene content and a liquid or semi-liquid consistency, often containing THCA crystals suspended in aromatic oils.
Terp sauce, or simply sauce, is a runny, very aromatic cannabis concentrate made of the terpene rich fraction of an extract, usually sold together with the THCA crystals, called diamonds, that grow out of it. The industry term is HTFSE, high terpene full spectrum extract, as opposed to HCFSE, the high cannabinoid fraction that the diamonds represent.
How it is made: most sauce starts as a live resin extraction, where fresh frozen plants are extracted with butane or propane to keep the volatile terpenes that drying would lose. The extract is left in a sealed jar or pressure vessel for days to weeks, sometimes with gentle warmth. During that time THCA slowly crystallizes and settles while the terpenes and minor cannabinoids gather in the liquid around the crystals. The two fractions are then separated and purged, sold apart or mixed back together as sauce and diamonds.
What to expect: the sauce part often carries 10 to 30 percent terpenes or more, so it tastes strongly of the original plant, while the diamonds can test above 95 percent THCA. Together they are among the most potent and expensive products on the concentrate shelf and are usually dabbed or added to a bowl. Because terpenes evaporate, sauce should be kept sealed, cold and dark. As with any hydrocarbon extract, it should come from licensed, tested producers, since home extraction with butane is dangerous and illegal in many places.
Also known as
Sauce, HTFSE, High Terpene Full Spectrum Extract, Sauce and diamonds
Used in
- Recreational
Related terms
- Dab: A dab refers to a small amount of cannabis concentrate used for vaporization, or the act of consuming concentrate via a dab rig.
- Terpene: Terpenes are aromatic organic compounds produced by cannabis and many other plants, responsible for distinct flavors and scents, and potentially contributing to therapeutic effects.
- Live Resin: Live resin is a cannabis concentrate made from freshly harvested, flash-frozen plant material to preserve the full terpene and cannabinoid profile.
- THCA: Tetrahydrocannabinolic acid (THCA) is the non-psychoactive acidic precursor to THC found in raw, unheated cannabis.