Q&A with Nate Ferguson, Jetty Co-Founder & Chief of Production
Judging by the level of excitement emanating from the lab since launching Jetty UNREFINED Live Resin, it seems we’re all in for a treat. We caught up with Jetty Co-Founder & Chief of Production Nate Ferguson to get the story behind the newest line of Jetty vape and concentrates.
Q. Why UNREFINED Live Resin?
Nate: We’ve made all types: 100% live resin, live resin/distillate blends…We’re always experimenting. And there’s great things about all those types. But at the end of the day, our mission is to make extracts that are as close to the living plant as we possibly can. Unrefined and not distilled is the best way to do that and what gets us the most excited.
Q. How is Jetty UNREFINED Live Resin different from other live resin products?
Nate: Because it’s not distilled and doesn’t go through extra processing, we preserve more of the compounds that are in the plant at the time it’s harvested. I’m talking about terpenes, cannabinoids and acidic compounds like THCa. When we compare Jetty UNREFINED to other 100% live resin products, we typically see a bigger profile of plant compounds in our extract. We use proprietary cryoextraction and curing techniques to make sure nothing is degraded in the process. It’s honestly as close to the living plant as we’ve ever gotten. So for us, that means a ton of flavor.
Q. Distillate blends tend to have higher potency than 100% live resin…will people get as high?
Nate: You know, the cannabis market has been judging the “quality” of vape by the percentage of THC for a while now. We’ve got high potency products, like our Gold line, that tests in the 80-90%+ THC range. We totally get and appreciate that. But there’s more to it than just THC. With a full spectrum product like UNREFINED, you get a real entourage effect…the full matrix of compounds working together. THC + THCa, plus everything else we’re able to preserve. UNREFINED is a different high, and for me and lots of people who’ve tried it, a more intense, full body high.
Maybe there was a time when people bought wine based on the percent of alcohol, and that’s all that mattered (I dunno, I’m not really a wine guy). But you have reds, whites, blends, regions…all that stuff and ABV is pretty far down the list for most people picking out a bottle today.
Q. How does Jetty UNREFINED Live Resin compare to Jetty Gold.
Nate: I guess keeping the alcohol analogy going…sometimes you want a glass of full-bodied red wine, sometimes you want a shot of tequila. Both have flavor, both get you high…it’s just different experiences. UNREFINED is big on flavor and has that close-to-the-plant kind of vibe. Definitely a potent high, but you get the aromatics, the teps, the acidic compounds…the stuff that’s expressed in the live plant. Jetty Gold and other distillate oils give you that strong THC high and maybe a more consistent effect, but maybe not as big on the plant flavor. I dunno, does that sound snobby? I’m just saying that people who smoke a lot of weed and are looking for big time flavor tell me UNREFINED does it for them.
Q. Is the Entourage Effect or Entourage High real?
Nate: A hundred percent it is. There are some studies, one out of Israel, that get into the science. We may not totally understand it yet, but there is a difference in the type of high that you get when THC is the dominant cannabinoid versus a full matrix of compounds. I’m talking about THC, THCa and other acidic compounds. Plus a full assortment of terps. The COAs [Certificate of Analysis] for our UNREFINED Chocolate Malawi show we’re testing at over 30% THCa, with almost 20 different terps detected. It’s believed that all these compounds working together actually affect your endocannabinoid system differently. I think it’s a fuller, more intense high. If you think about it, people have been experiencing this for thousands of years with different types of hash. These were the original full spectrum extracts. It’s only recently, like in the past half decade, that we’ve all moved towards isolating THC.
Q. What excites you the most about the cannabis industry?
Nate: There’s so much new info and science coming out. If regulations keep getting looser, we’ll see more funding for clinical trials and research to really understand what this plant does for us. Physically, mentally. Our work around minor or rare cannabinoids keeps getting better too. THCV, Delta 8, CBN, CBG…I feel like we’re just getting started.
We used to have to do all this under the radar when we got started back in 2013. Now we can keep improving and discovering with the help of researchers and support from the whole community. We have a PhD chemist and engineers on staff. We couldn’t get anyone with real experience to even return our calls in the early days! Now it feels like there’s no limit to what we’ll discover.
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