CO2 Extraction

Above roughly 1,071 psi and 88°F, carbon dioxide becomes supercritical: it flows through plant material like a gas but dissolves compounds like a liquid. Run through ground hemp at controlled temperature and pressure, it strips out cannabinoids, terpenes, and flavonoids. Release the pressure and the CO2 returns to gas and leaves the extract on its own, which is why it is the one common method that cannot leave a residual solvent behind.

The main alternative is ethanol extraction — cheaper, faster at scale, and higher-yielding, but it pulls chlorophyll and waxes along with the good material, needs extra refining, and leaves residual ethanol that has to be tested for. Hydrocarbon methods using butane or propane are cheaper still and carry the most residue risk. CO2 equipment is expensive and slower, and it cannot be done outside a real facility. That is the honest trade-off: it is the premium method, not automatically the better one for every product.

We use gentle CO2 extraction on our Kentucky and Ohio hemp, which is part of why the natural terpene profile survives into the bottle. Whichever method a brand uses, the check is the same — read the residual solvents panel on the batch COA rather than taking the marketing claim.