What Colors Cannabis
Why do different cannabis oils have different hues? While we all pine for that perfectly light, translucent amber glow that we have come to characterize with a nice oil, the truth is that not all cannabis oils will be the same color.
Outside of Kurvana oil, a difference in oil color could indicate anything from the type of base or solvents used, to the quality of raw material used, to the extraction method used. If there is a darkening of oil over an extended period of time, it could be a sign of oxidation or of an oil that has lived past its shelf life. However, there are also natural reasons that certain oil strains differ in color.
Our ASCND strain, Lunar OG, will almost always exhibit a different oil color when compared to its sativa counterpart, Tangie Dream. This is not because of a variance in quality, but rather a number of natural factors that contribute to the extract’s pigment.
Of course, the simple answer is that the plants we extract our oil from vary in color, which is even more visible when concentrated. But why is it that cannabis plants themselves vary in color? Contrary to popular belief, cannabis color is not an indicator of potency. So, what really colors cannabis?
Like fruits and vegetables, cannabis plants are different colors because of their phytochemicals. Phytochemicals are said to dictate the color, smell, and even taste of fruits and vegetables. For instance, the presence of the phytochemical, Anthocyanin, is the reason blueberries exhibit their indigo color. While there has been no concrete evidence that the phytochemical make up of, the phytochemical makeup of a cannabis plant affects its ultimate hue.
Because our mission is to preserve the phytochemical structure of each plant, the color of the oil will reflect the phytochemical makeup of the plant we extracted from. It is common for indica plants (and their subsequent oil) to be darker than sativa plants because of their phytochemical structure.
Key Words:
Phytochemical- a chemical compound occurring naturally in plants.
Phytochemical fingerprint- the unique collection of phytochemicals that give the plant its identity.
