Bubble Hash Explained
Resin glands washed off the plant with ice water and caught in fine mesh bags. Sandy to doughy, and made without any solvent.
Overview
What is Bubble Hash?
Bubble hash, also called ice water hash, is a solventless cannabis concentrate made with only ice, water and fine mesh bags. Plant material is stirred in ice water so the frozen resin glands snap off and sink, and they are filtered out through bags of different screen sizes and dried. Bubble hash ranges from sandy to doughy, light tan to brown, and is smoked, dabbed or pressed into rosin.
Bubble hash is named for how the best grades bubble when heated. It is one of the oldest solventless methods and the starting point for live rosin. The top grades, often called full melt, are pure enough to melt almost completely on a hot surface, while lower grades are better sprinkled on a bowl or pressed.
Texture and color
What does Bubble Hash look like?
Where Bubble Hash sits on the texture scale
Bubble hash sits at the firm end: a dry, sandy powder or a soft dough, never runny.
Full melt
Top grade
Light, sandy and very clean. It melts almost completely when dabbed.
Sandy
Loose, dry
A loose, sand-like hash that is easy to sprinkle or press.
Pressed
Doughy, dark
Hash pressed into a soft, darker dough or puck.
Process
How is Bubble Hash made?
Bubble hash is made with cold water and screens. Plant material, dried or fresh frozen, is gently stirred in ice water, which makes the resin glands brittle enough to break off and sink.
The water is then poured through a series of mesh bags with different screen sizes. Each bag catches a different grade of resin, which is collected and carefully dried. Nothing but ice and water touches it.
Safety note: this page explains the idea, not the steps. Angies Boutique does not sell hash-making equipment.
Side by side
How does Bubble Hash compare?
Bubble Hash vs Kief
SameBoth are collected resin glands, with no solvent.
DifferentKief is sifted dry through a screen. Bubble hash is washed out with ice water, which usually makes it cleaner.
Bubble Hash vs Live rosin
SameLive rosin is made from bubble hash.
DifferentBubble hash is the dried resin. Live rosin is the oil pressed out of hash made from fresh frozen plants.
Bubble Hash vs Rosin
SameBoth are solventless.
DifferentRosin is the oil pressed out with heat. Bubble hash is the resin itself, before pressing.
Shop the gear
What gear works best with Bubble Hash?
Bubble hash is versatile. Top grades can be dabbed in a glass rig with a quartz banger, lower grades sprinkle onto a bowl in a hand pipe or bong, and a grinder with a kief catcher keeps your setup tidy. A pick or scoop tool and an airtight jar handle the rest.
Our picks for Bubble Hash
Questions
Bubble Hash FAQ
Why is it called bubble hash?
Good bubble hash bubbles when it is heated, and the name also comes from the bubble bags, the mesh bags used to filter it out of ice water.
Is bubble hash the same as ice water hash?
Yes. Bubble hash and ice water hash are two names for the same solventless concentrate, made with ice, water and mesh bags.
What is full melt?
Full melt is the top grade of bubble hash, clean enough to melt almost completely on a hot surface, which is why it can be dabbed.
How is bubble hash used?
Top grades are dabbed, other grades are sprinkled on a bowl or pressed into rosin. Live rosin is pressed from bubble hash made from fresh frozen plants.
What gear works best with bubble hash?
A glass dab rig and quartz banger for melty grades, a hand pipe or bong for sprinkling, a grinder with a kief catcher and an airtight jar.
Does Angies Boutique sell bubble hash?
No. Angies Boutique sells the gear for it, including glass dab rigs, quartz bangers, hand pipes, Santa Cruz Shredder grinders and storage, from our Los Angeles shop open since 1990.
Keep exploring
More concentrates
Kief
Loose, powdery resin glands that collect in a grinder's bottom chamber. The simplest concentrate there is.
Live Rosin
Pressed from ice water hash made from fresh frozen plants. Solventless, aromatic and soft.
Rosin
Pressed out with only heat and pressure, no solvents. Golden and sappy when fresh, soft and creamy once it cools.
Every concentrate
All types side by side, with photos and the gear for each.
For adults 21 and over. This guide is general education about concentrate textures and the accessories used with them. It is not medical advice and makes no health claims. Angies Boutique does not sell cannabis or concentrates; we sell glass, vaporizers, tools and accessories from our Los Angeles shop, open since 1990. Laws differ by state, so follow the laws where you live. Last updated November 6, 2026. Photo credits.