Guides
Concentrate Textures Explained
Sauce, badder, shatter, wax, crumble and diamonds: what they are and why they differ.
Educational overview only. This guide is not operating instructions and gives no solvent quantities, pressures or procedures. Solvent-based extraction belongs only in licensed, engineered, code-compliant facilities with trained staff.
Most hydrocarbon concentrates start from similar extracts. Texture comes mainly from the terpene content, how much the extract nucleates, and how it is handled during post-processing.
- Sauce: a terpene-rich liquid (HTFSE) with THCa crystals, from small sugar to large diamonds. It is aromatic and pourable.
- Badder / budder: soft, creamy and opaque, made by agitating or whipping the extract so it nucleates into fine crystals.
- Shatter: clear, glass-like and stable. It is purged without agitation so it doesn't nucleate, and it tends to be lower in terpenes.
- Wax: soft, opaque and pliable, somewhere between badder and crumble.
- Crumble: dry and crumbly, usually from a longer or warmer purge with lower moisture and terpene content.
- Diamonds: large THCa crystals separated from the sauce (see evaluating diamond quality).
- Distillate: a refined, clear oil made by distillation, with little natural terpene content.
Texture alone doesn't tell you quality. Input material, cleanliness, aroma and lab results matter more.
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