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Steeping...

84Harley

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Ok, this may seem like a dumb ass question but I'm serious. I've been making my own juices for a few months now and haven't been happy with the flavor strengths at all. And this is with just single flavor mixes. I'm guessing it's my impatience. I don't steep, but I'm only trying to get some basic flavors going, Orange, Strawberry, Pineapple, Sugar Cookie, Cake Batter, by many prominent companies....but all stand alone. But to me they all seem kinda bland, I've tried adjusting the % up and down without much difference. I've also recently purchased a US Cleaner, the iSonic P4810 to try as a fast steep miracle machine, lol, with not much luck so far :-(.....So, back to the steeping issue, if I were to leave my PG/VG 50/50 base AND the concentrate I want to use open, let the air "age" it for say a month, will that in effect "pre steep" my liquids? I keep reading everyone saying nothing beats time as a method for steeping, would this help? Any suggestions greatly appreciated!
 

AmandaD

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It's mainly the nic odixizing that changes the flavor I believe. Other than that, if the UC is doing nothing then your best bet is to wait a week, sample, wait another week, etc. The only reason people leave caps off a bottle overnight is to dissipate the alcohol in alcohol based flavors.
 

84Harley

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sheesh, that doesn't sound like a lot of fun, lol. It could take months and months to realize the right amount of steep time, % of flavor, etc......GRRR, thought it'd be a lot simpler than this :-( Any idea why the UC doesn't seem to work? Lots seem to swear by it, do I need to only do one bottle at a time? I've tried w/heat, without heat...both seem to decrease flavor....caps are left on, really at a loss here, HATE to go back buying juices, but I'm just not getting full flavor like the few times I did buy from B&M in the beginning b4 I started making my own.
 

AmandaD

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sheesh, that doesn't sound like a lot of fun, lol. It could take months and months to realize the right amount of steep time, % of flavor, etc......GRRR, thought it'd be a lot simpler than this :-( Any idea why the UC doesn't seem to work? Lots seem to swear by it, do I need to only do one bottle at a time? I've tried w/heat, without heat...both seem to decrease flavor....caps are left on, really at a loss here, HATE to go back buying juices, but I'm just not getting full flavor like the few times I did buy from B&M in the beginning b4 I started making my own.
As I said, I think it's because you're using zero nic!

I don't think you'll find the flavors change much in that case, but i could be wrong. Truly, all the mixes I make (mostly headinclouds recipes) are good right away or at most a couple of days. But these use mainly Flavor Art, and the percentages are extremely low.
 

84Harley

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ok, thanks Amanda for your time and replies. Are you using nic? Maybe I should consider adding some to increase flavor? And believe me, I'm not trying to be rude or ungrateful, but I'm not even up to trying a recipe, lol, I can't even get a SINGLE flavor to taste as good as from a B&M, right away or waiting a couple days. And yup, I've used FA, all the major vendors, pretty much same results. Although I think I'll stop trying using VZ, highly concentrated and pretty good flavor but ruined a couple syringes and o-rings
 

AmandaD

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ok, thanks Amanda for your time and replies. Are you using nic? Maybe I should consider adding some to increase flavor? And believe me, I'm not trying to be rude or ungrateful, but I'm not even up to trying a recipe, lol, I can't even get a SINGLE flavor to taste as good as from a B&M, right away or waiting a couple days. And yup, I've used FA, all the major vendors, pretty much same results. Although I think I'll stop trying using VZ, highly concentrated and pretty good flavor but ruined a couple syringes and o-rings
But most juice from B&Ms isn't made up of a single flavor - that might be your problem. And, quite frankly, some of the recipes here run rings around anything I ever tasted that was 'commercial!'

How long did you smoke before you started vaping?
 

84Harley

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since I was 17....over 40 freaking yrs!! UGH....BUT!!! it was easy as hell once my daughter and I walked into that vape shop! I stopped smoking that day and haven't looked back! But their juices were WAY better than what I can make.....so far anyway.
OK, I'm open to suggestions, do you have any simple recipes for just a plain flavor? Like I said b4, I want a nice/plain strawberry, cherry, cake batter, sugar cookie, lol, not asking 4 2 much right? But what really helped me quit and blew me away the day I quit was the Orange flavor they (Quantum) gave me, tasted EXACTLY like Tropicana OJ!!! Been chasing that flavor ever since, to no avail so far :-(
 

AmandaD

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LOL I smoked for 40 years as well :)

In my experience I love almost all of HIC's recipes - there are loads in the recipe forum. Some just use a few ingredients, but I've never tried them without nic. However, I've never had one that needed more than a couple of days rest, and most are good right away or the next day. Make small samples so you don't waste flavoring though! I guarantee you that you'll eventually find you can make better juice that you've bought in the past:D
 

PuffPuffPass

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The flavors you're using, are my hardest to get right. While others seem to be okay with them as a shake and vape.

Strawberry generally needs a few weeks to steep for me. I can taste the Orange as a stand alone from day one. But it is so strong it almost gags me at 3%. However it levels out after a few days. And Strawberry needs 2 to 3 weeks of steeping, otherwise it doesn't even resemble strawberry to me.

I mix mine at 0mg and 3mg Nic. The end results are close enough I can't tell if there is any difference in the taste.

I'm truly envious of those that can shake and vape a recipe. I've only been able to do that with a few recipes. :/
 

84Harley

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I'm starting to think that nic might be the key here. TBH, my juices did taste stronger b4 I cut the nic to zero. Granted, it wasn't that high before, only 6mg, but they were stronger/easier to taste, am I crazy? If that would solve my flavor chasing problem what's the harm in adding nic back into my juice? Nic isn't/wasn't the bad guy when smoking, just helped us all stay hooked right?, lol....and now I WANT to be hooked on vaping.....just want more flavor!! Makes it VERY enjoyable, like cheating on a diet, lol
 

AmandaD

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I'm starting to think that nic might be the key here. TBH, my juices did taste stronger b4 I cut the nic to zero. Granted, it wasn't that high before, only 6mg, but they were stronger/easier to taste, am I crazy? If that would solve my flavor chasing problem what's the harm in adding nic back into my juice? Nic isn't/wasn't the bad guy when smoking, just helped us all stay hooked right?, lol....and now I WANT to be hooked on vaping.....just want more flavor!! Makes it VERY enjoyable, like cheating on a diet, lol
All I can say is that it's better to vape than to smoke! I vape 3mg in subohm tanks, and it does the job for me :)
 

84Harley

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The flavors you're using, are my hardest to get right. While others seem to be okay with them as a shake and vape.

Strawberry generally needs a few weeks to steep for me. I can taste the Orange as a stand alone from day one. But it is so strong it almost gags me at 3%. However it levels out after a few days. And Strawberry needs 2 to 3 weeks of steeping, otherwise it doesn't even resemble strawberry to me.

I mix mine at 0mg and 3mg Nic. The end results are close enough I can't tell if there is any difference in the taste.

I'm truly envious of those that can shake and vape a recipe. I've only been able to do that with a few recipes. :/


Wow, I really didn't think it'd be that hard for a single flavor vape! I've heard that about Strawberry, the long steep....I just don't have the patience. Guess I need to adjust. What brand/% and how long a steep for the Strawberry? I need a starting point at least, lol. Also, what Orange r u using Puff?
Like you, would love to find some shake/vapes
 

84Harley

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All I can say is that it's better to vape than to smoke! I vape 3mg in subohm tanks, and it does the job for me :)


No doubt!! After quitting I felt the difference in my lungs in 2 days!! 0 nic here, subohm, mostly in the Crown, just need some heat to simulate TH....LOVE that tank!
 

AmandaD

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No doubt!! After quitting I felt the difference in my lungs in 2 days!! 0 nic here, subohm, mostly in the Crown, just need some heat to simulate TH....LOVE that tank!
My absolute favorite tank, and the only tank I've ever continued to buy coils for :) Before this I generally only used RTAs, but this one is fabulous!
 

84Harley

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Agreed!! I still have quite a few Kanger mini's and a few Kanger plus's, but only use the RBA's on those, not the stock coils. But with the Crown....strictly stock, I like the .5's The RBA for the crown looks like a real PIA,.....why bother when the stock coils work so great AND last SOOOO long!! :)
 

PuffPuffPass

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I'm using TFA Strawberry at 4% and CAP Juicy Orange at 3%

The Strawberry really doesn't come through for me until about week 3, it peaks at week 4.

My Orange needs just a few days.

As for a same day vape. You might try Cheese Cake Graham Crust with a few other flavors mixed if you want. I can vape it as a stand alone for a bit (at 3%). But it's not an ADV.
 

84Harley

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K, thanks for the tip Puff, what would you compare the Orange taste to? My quest is Tropicana :)....wow, Strawberry takes some time huh, that stinks, especially when trying to get the correct % for flavor, could take a while
 

PuffPuffPass

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K, thanks for the tip Puff, what would you compare the Orange taste to? My quest is Tropicana :)....wow, Strawberry takes some time huh, that stinks, especially when trying to get the correct % for flavor, could take a while
A juicy orange lol
Although you might play with the % and some other flavors to tweak it. At 10%, it will blow your mind :rolleyes: literally. I'm not sure what you would need to mimic Tropicana.
 

84Harley

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lol, thanks, I'll give it a go :) goin shoppin in the mornin, lol
 

Lost

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But to me they all seem kinda bland

I can speak about flavorings as a private bartender... I used them for over 15 years making flavored vodkas and liqueurs. I'm removing vaping from the equation for most of this:

Most of the retail flavors available to you are garbage. I know, because that's what I used. I hid the disgusting taste with sugar and/or (coincidentally) vegetable glycerine. Some brands are better than others. Imitation flavors are generally worse, but sometimes that's all you can get because "pure" ones require oil as a base.

People are mentioning strawberry here. It's the worst. I spent hundreds of dollars trying to mimic Tequila Rose, but eventually gave up. Granted, it was more than the issue with the nasty strawberry flavorings, but for Tequila Rose, it all came down to the same sad fact: corporations can get better flavors than you. Ha.

[In case you're wondering, none of the test boozes I made went to waste, except for the Mat Shot. No one liked that for some reason.]

Some flavors are made solely in a lab. Companies use highly intelligent people who know what chemicals to put together to make them taste like something. If you buy a weak flavoring and try to amp it up by doubling the amount, the chemical taste can start coming through. Trying to come up with the correct ratio can be frustrating.

I vape unflavored, so I don't know about steeping for e-juice. From what you guys are saying, it seems like it works. For booze, It does absolutely nothing. As for just the flavoring, I'm not sure if opening one and letting it sit out would make it turn, but it would definitely allow some/all of the alcohol to burn off. One guy I know from NYC put his science degree to good use and uses a bunsen burner to cook off all the alcohol from his real vanilla flavoring so his e-juice tastes better. (It's fantastic.)

Harley, I'm not surprised that single-flavor juices are causing you problems. For some reason, flavor combos are much easier. Probably because one decent flavor masks the awful one. Oh, and fruit flavors as a larger category are not as accurate as, say, nut-based flavors.

My wife got her/our vape shop to make real clove e-juice. It has to sit for a while; just got pics of it chilling in their clean room. If it's good, I'll add a little to my unflavored.
 

AmandaD

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I can speak about flavorings as a private bartender... I used them for over 15 years making flavored vodkas and liqueurs. I'm removing vaping from the equation for most of this:

Most of the retail flavors available to you are garbage. I know, because that's what I used. I hid the disgusting taste with sugar and/or (coincidentally) vegetable glycerine. Some brands are better than others. Imitation flavors are generally worse, but sometimes that's all you can get because "pure" ones require oil as a base.

People are mentioning strawberry here. It's the worst. I spent hundreds of dollars trying to mimic Tequila Rose, but eventually gave up. Granted, it was more than the issue with the nasty strawberry flavorings, but for Tequila Rose, it all came down to the same sad fact: corporations can get better flavors than you. Ha.

[In case you're wondering, none of the test boozes I made went to waste, except for the Mat Shot. No one liked that for some reason.]

Some flavors are made solely in a lab. Companies use highly intelligent people who know what chemicals to put together to make them taste like something. If you buy a weak flavoring and try to amp it up by doubling the amount, the chemical taste can start coming through. Trying to come up with the correct ratio can be frustrating.

I vape unflavored, so I don't know about steeping for e-juice. From what you guys are saying, it seems like it works. For booze, It does absolutely nothing. As for just the flavoring, I'm not sure if opening one and letting it sit out would make it turn, but it would definitely allow some/all of the alcohol to burn off. One guy I know from NYC put his science degree to good use and uses a bunsen burner to cook off all the alcohol from his real vanilla flavoring so his e-juice tastes better. (It's fantastic.)

Harley, I'm not surprised that single-flavor juices are causing you problems. For some reason, flavor combos are much easier. Probably because one decent flavor masks the awful one. Oh, and fruit flavors as a larger category are not as accurate as, say, nut-based flavors.

My wife got her/our vape shop to make real clove e-juice. It has to sit for a while; just got pics of it chilling in their clean room. If it's good, I'll add a little to my unflavored.

Most of the flavorings made for vaping are in a PG base. There are exceptions, but they're usually noted!

I think the FA strawberry is extremely realistic, but it can be weak (unusual for FA flavors) so I think some people mix it with the Capella sweet strawberry (which is more candylike to me).
 

84Harley

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[QUOTE="LostHasher

Harley, I'm not surprised that single-flavor juices are causing you problems. For some reason, flavor combos are much easier. Probably because one decent flavor masks the awful one. Oh, and fruit flavors as a larger category are not as accurate as, say, nut-based flavors.

My wife got her/our vape shop to make real clove e-juice. It has to sit for a while; just got pics of it chilling in their clean room. If it's good, I'll add a little to my unflavored.[/QUOTE]

So basically I'm screwed tryin for a single Strawberry or Orange flavor? Lot of info there Hasher, but that's what I'm gettin outta that, there's gotta be a way....no offense
 

84Harley

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I think the FA strawberry is extremely realistic, but it can be weak (unusual for FA flavors) so I think some people mix it with the Capella sweet strawberry (which is more candylike to me).[/QUOTE]


I'll have to try that, actually prefer candylike....like Starburst or LifeSavers :)
 

PuffPuffPass

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[QUOTE="LostHasher

Harley, I'm not surprised that single-flavor juices are causing you problems. For some reason, flavor combos are much easier. Probably because one decent flavor masks the awful one. Oh, and fruit flavors as a larger category are not as accurate as, say, nut-based flavors.

My wife got her/our vape shop to make real clove e-juice. It has to sit for a while; just got pics of it chilling in their clean room. If it's good, I'll add a little to my unflavored.

So basically I'm screwed tryin for a single Strawberry or Orange flavor? Lot of info there Hasher, but that's what I'm gettin outta that, there's gotta be a way....no offense[/QUOTE]

He's correct. Single flavor fruits are the most difficult, or so it seems to me.

However, FW Forest Fruit works well as a stand alone. It taste like Peach to me. :) I've seen a few others that claim to be good stand alones. But I've never been able to make them work. :/

FA Orange Mandarin works for me as a stand alone also at 3% < But I can't vape it for long.
 
I haven't started diying just yet but have been watching and reviewing everything I possible can about it. I think one of your problems is you really can't just use a single flavoring and expect it to turn out like it sounds. Even the most simple recipes I have seen for "single flavor" taste use 2,3 or even more flavors to achieve that one flavor taste.
 

Heabob

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I've used TFA Orange Cream, CAP Orange Creamsicle, and FW Orange Dream Bar as stand alones at 10%.
They were fine for me as shake and vape but usually let them sit overnight.
I just added 3% TFA Vanilla Swirl + 1% Sweet Cream to tone down the Orange a bit.
More Creamy and less Orangey...
Using 70/30VG at 2mg nic.
 

Lost

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So basically I'm screwed tryin for a single Strawberry or Orange flavor? Lot of info there Hasher, but that's what I'm gettin outta that, there's gotta be a way....no offense

Sure, there's a way... just maybe not for YOU. You have a specific palate, and vape with your specific hardware, and you're having problems getting the flavor you want. Keep trying different brands of flavoring, at different ratios, until you find a winner. Or cut your losses, confident that your bland juices weren't necessarily your fault. Maybe chemists simply haven't hit a home run yet.

If you are absolutely, positively dead set on nailing a certain fruit flavor, let me know and I'll type more words.

I think one of your problems is you really can't just use a single flavoring and expect it to turn out like it sounds. Even the most simple recipes I have seen for "single flavor" taste use 2,3 or even more flavors to achieve that one flavor taste.

I very occasionally would get requests for "anything with strawberry in it." I'd end up making strawberry-vanilla or strawberries and cream because stand-alone strawberry led to zero happiness.
 

PuffPuffPass

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I've used TFA Orange Cream, CAP Orange Creamsicle, and FW Orange Dream Bar as stand alones at 10%.
They were fine for me as shake and vape but usually let them sit overnight.
I just added 3% TFA Vanilla Swirl + 1% Sweet Cream to tone down the Orange a bit.
More Creamy and less Orangey...
Using 70/30VG at 2mg nic.

You are one brave soul :eek: Orange at 10%
 

PuffPuffPass

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All those Orange flavors I mentioned are pre-mixed with Cream and/or whatever so...
I'd never use a regular orange like INW Orange or FA Orange that high:eek:.

I've never been happy with a pre-mixed cream anything.

But then again, I'm the odd man out in this forum. I can't vape GOC at any %. :oops:
 

84Harley

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I just tried FA Orange stand alone @ 5%, the recommended amount, if I was given that to try without knowing what was in it I would've sworn to you it was straight up pg/vg.......absolutely no taste, a slight hint on exhale. I've been looking at a bunch of recipes here, using .5, 1%, 2%. I figured ok, this stuff (FA) must really be strong! Well certainly not the Orange, either that or my taste buds are completely shot! Most other vendors concentrates I need to start at like 15/20% and work from there. Except VZ SC, but I won't use them anymore, cracked one tank and melted a couple o-rings, now THAT'S concentrated ;-)
 

PuffPuffPass

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I just tried FA Orange stand alone @ 5%, the recommended amount, if I was given that to try without knowing what was in it I would've sworn to you it was straight up pg/vg.......absolutely no taste, a slight hint on exhale. I've been looking at a bunch of recipes here, using .5, 1%, 2%. I figured ok, this stuff (FA) must really be strong! Well certainly not the Orange, either that or my taste buds are completely shot! Most other vendors concentrates I need to start at like 15/20% and work from there. Except VZ SC, but I won't use them anymore, cracked one tank and melted a couple o-rings, now THAT'S concentrated ;-)


Here's the thing Harley, many flavors will taste bland or non-existant when first mixed. Additionally, if you get the % too high it overwhelms your taste buds.

From my experience (just mine), many of these recipes you see and read here. Are anything but shake and vape!

Strawberry = zero taste for me (other than a chemical one) for the first week or two. It starts to take on a sweet taste (from the other flavors) at week three, then it begins to taste like I'm eating the leaves of the plant on week 4. By the end of week 5, I finally have a blend I can vape. This is at 4% in a mix with 5 other flavors.

I've walked this back to 1% just recently in some of my mixes.

You're going to be hard pressed to find a single blend strawberry, in my opinion. I like all things strawberry, except real strawberries. A real strawberry always has a tart under ripe taste to me. Whereas foods and drinks have a sweet (added) taste I've become used to.

Just my thoughts, your mileage may vary.
 

kimber

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I just tried FA Orange stand alone @ 5%, the recommended amount, if I was given that to try without knowing what was in it I would've sworn to you it was straight up pg/vg.......absolutely no taste, a slight hint on exhale. I've been looking at a bunch of recipes here, using .5, 1%, 2%. I figured ok, this stuff (FA) must really be strong! Well certainly not the Orange, either that or my taste buds are completely shot! Most other vendors concentrates I need to start at like 15/20% and work from there. Except VZ SC, but I won't use them anymore, cracked one tank and melted a couple o-rings, now THAT'S concentrated ;-)
I'm the same 84Harley.... I have FA orange too and at 4 or 5% I get nothing. To be fair I didn't let it sit around long and have since learned the importance of plain ol time when mixing juices. I have, however, mixed up many of the recipes I've found here that use those tiny percentages and am in the process of the wait. And more waiting. And then some more. TBH I thought all this steeping business was just nonsense but I was wrong about that. I've got a few mixes that have been sitting for almost two weeks and they're just now starting to taste like something. My biggest problem is that I don't want a wimpy little *hint* of flavor... I want it to smack me in the face! I just don't see that happening with 0.5%,of anything, even if it steeps for a month. But I'm giving it a shot,,, it's what everyone does so there must be something to it. I must say though, that it's awfully hard to look at those bottles,,, just sitting there,, week after week,,, wondering if they're getting any better. Patience is not a virtue I possess... But I'm trying to develop it!


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84Harley

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I couldn't agree more Kimber!! I've been mixing for a few months and have yet to put a bottle to the side and let it do its thing. That is an incredibly hard thing for me to do in this age of instant gratification. I even laid out 80 bucks for a ultrasonic cleaner to try and speed up the process, so far all its good for is sorta cleaning up some old used coils, lol. Besides all that time letting those tiny percent mixtures steep, who knows what it'll turn out like, and if its crap, well, I won't get that lost time of vaping back, lol.
Puff, I do have a strawberry thats pretty good to my taste buds, granted, its mixed @ 35% and doesn't need steeping, not a well known brand either, Central Vapors, but the price...and time work for me. The one thats really buggin me is orange, I want that elusive Tropicana flavor that my B&M store has....for $22.50/30ml!! Guess I'll just start mixing up the dozen or so stand alone orange flavors I have lying around and TRY to forget about them for a month. And I thought this would be so easy :-(.....it is cheap tho!
 

PuffPuffPass

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I couldn't agree more Kimber!! I've been mixing for a few months and have yet to put a bottle to the side and let it do its thing. That is an incredibly hard thing for me to do in this age of instant gratification. I even laid out 80 bucks for a ultrasonic cleaner to try and speed up the process, so far all its good for is sorta cleaning up some old used coils, lol. Besides all that time letting those tiny percent mixtures steep, who knows what it'll turn out like, and if its crap, well, I won't get that lost time of vaping back, lol.
Puff, I do have a strawberry thats pretty good to my taste buds, granted, its mixed @ 35% and doesn't need steeping, not a well known brand either, Central Vapors, but the price...and time work for me. The one thats really buggin me is orange, I want that elusive Tropicana flavor that my B&M store has....for $22.50/30ml!! Guess I'll just start mixing up the dozen or so stand alone orange flavors I have lying around and TRY to forget about them for a month. And I thought this would be so easy :-(.....it is cheap tho!

I would tell you I'm working on one that's close, and it is. But dumbass me wrote down an ingredient that I don't have in the mix. I have no damn clue what I used. :( I need to start going to bed at a decent hour.

I only have 10 flavors that use the words Vanilla and Cream. So this is going to take awhile lol

I'll give you a starting point though. It will need additional work. :p

FA Orange Mandarin 2%
CAP Juicy Orange 1%
TFA Sweet Cream 1%
Mystery Ingredient 3%

With 4 flavors, I don't think you're going to be doing 35% of each ;) I actually think this is going to finish out with 6 or more flavors.
 

kimber

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I was just gonna say,,,, you might try mixing a couple different brands of orange. Seems to me I've read that's what vendors do, use different ones together. And Puff, I'm gonna try yours too,, thanks!


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Lost

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I believe the vast majority of DIYers here would find this statement to be inaccurate.

That's fair. I tried to qualify it as much as possible. I hope the general idea came across; why some single-flavor juices might not work.

I'm sure this clove juice our vape shop is making us will turn out well. Real cloves soaking in PG. I'll have to ask them whether PG brings out as much flavor as ethanol. Or maybe some of you guys know. If it does, I'd be more inclined to start experimenting.
 

84Harley

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I think for now I'm gonna do the stand alone orange flavors I have, let them sit a few weeks and start testing in a dripper now and then. I figured I'd eventually have to mix some together, or hopefully add a magic ingredient that brings it together :) But I don't want a creamsickle, so no cream, some tart if anything. The closest I've gotten is Highbrow Orange. They don't sell concentrate unless you ask for it, good people. But even that concentrate was $30 for 30ml, kinda pricey if ya ask me
 

84Harley

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yup, think I'm gonna retry a bunch, let em sit a few weeks, see how that goes, don't see it making that much of a difference, but I don't know what else to do
 

Lost

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but I don't know what else to do
I'm guessing it's my impatience. I don't steep

I don't see you getting a noticeable bump in results until you're willing to play around a bit more, or find the holy grail of extract/concentrate manufacturers. I tried scores of retail juices, at home and at stores, and made enough DIY flavors to get the idea. I just wasn't happy for a multitude of reasons, and decided not to fall down the rabbit hole to get the quality I was looking for. That's why I vape unflavored (very unpopular decision).

In theory, you could buy oranges and start making your own extracts. But that would require a lot of reading, mostly due to the fact you'll be working with oils. I started looking into it from the vaping side, and yeah, there's a learning curve. Process, additional ingredients, health considerations, etc. Keep us updated. I'd be interested to find out what you end up doing.
 

Citizen

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It is really hard to just look at those bottles, especially when you do an initial taste test with multiple flavors in it and it tastes good, just not what you were after. You think to yourself, "Well all I taste is this but not this. I'll give it a few days and if its not what I wanted I can vape it anyways..." Trust me, let it sit. Give it time. I'm at the point where I'm wondering how many mixes I vaped through that I discarded the recipes for because they were just ok . If I had been more patient I would have a few more in my stash I think. A shining example is an orange drink type mix I had done. Made it, tasted it here and there over the course of about a week and a half maybe. Tookbnotes. Absolutely not what I was aiming for. Certain ingredients just didn't show up. I wrote my notes saying less orange, more cream, etc next time and tossed the bottle into a drawer and forgot about it. Well, I rediscovered it this weekend and though, "why the hell not". Needless to say, I'm so glad I didn't ditch this one. It is in my top three juices. So many changes happened from week 1.5 to approximately week 5 (im at work right now and don't have my mixing notes so I'm guessing). my advice is Just don't give up. My initial mixing would go like this: mix, shake, vape. Let sit a couple days, vape add flavor. Overflavor. Swear, cough, dump out, repeat. I gave up. I stopped mixing and started buying vendor juice again. I was so fed up. I started doing my homework and worked on my patience. I scrapped 95% of the recipes I had from before and started from scratch. I started mixing really low %'s, simplified and gave it time. I'm really happy I gave it another shot. VU is a collective of great people all in one place. Helpful and awesome people, plain and simple.
 

kimber

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Well said citizen... I've done the very same thing. I've got about 12 experiments in a drawer right now, just waiting for time to pass. DAMN it's hard to leave them alone! But yes, it makes a huge difference and I've learned to NOT throw anything out til at least a couple months have passed by. I figure after that much time if it's still just so-so it can go down the drain. Big learning curve with this stuff, fer sure.


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justin_a_lyesse

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Agreed!! I still have quite a few Kanger mini's and a few Kanger plus's, but only use the RBA's on those, not the stock coils. But with the Crown....strictly stock, I like the .5's The RBA for the crown looks like a real PIA,.....why bother when the stock coils work so great AND last SOOOO long!! :)
When was the last time you swapped out the coils / cotton for fresh ones? The reason i'm asking is that I noticed that after a while my flavors would get "dull". Once I put a new Kanger vertical OCC in, my juice started tasting great again.
 

84Harley

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We seem to be doing the same thing at the same time Kimber, I too just mixed a dozen bottles and put them in a drawer, outta site outta mind, lol. I'll give them at least a week or two, see how they "mature". As we were talking about before about the tiny percents for some recipes on here, I did mix a "shake & vape" I saw on here. Actually came out pretty good! I feel bad I don't remember the creator of the recipe, it might be HIC, not sure, if not I'm sorry for the brain fart, not intentional, anyway, here it is in case anyone might be interested....
All Capella flavoring...
7.5% Sugar Cookie
5% Vanilla Custard
2.5% Cinnamon Danish Swirl
Made a 30ml sample. I nuked it for 8 sec, shook the crap out of it, then put it in the US for a half hour just to see, shook again and loaded it into my dripper to taste. Was pretty impressed with the amount of flavor right off the bat! So I figured I'd put a tankful in the Crown. To me, it tastes an awfully lot like a Drakes Coffee Cake, which is just fine with me! It just surprised me because the Cinnamon Danish Swirl, which I would associate with the coffee cake the most, was the smaller of the three ingredients, maybe it's just really strong, or as usual, I have no clue what I'm doing, lol. I'm new to all this, so take all this with a grain of salt. But this one certainly seems to work, who knows what time/steeping will do to it, but I would think it would improve, get stronger, if anything
 

kimber

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We seem to be doing the same thing at the same time Kimber, I too just mixed a dozen bottles and put them in a drawer, outta site outta mind, lol. I'll give them at least a week or two, see how they "mature". As we were talking about before about the tiny percents for some recipes on here, I did mix a "shake & vape" I saw on here. Actually came out pretty good! I feel bad I don't remember the creator of the recipe, it might be HIC, not sure, if not I'm sorry for the brain fart, not intentional, anyway, here it is in case anyone might be interested....
All Capella flavoring...
7.5% Sugar Cookie
5% Vanilla Custard
2.5% Cinnamon Danish Swirl
Made a 30ml sample. I nuked it for 8 sec, shook the crap out of it, then put it in the US for a half hour just to see, shook again and loaded it into my dripper to taste. Was pretty impressed with the amount of flavor right off the bat! So I figured I'd put a tankful in the Crown. To me, it tastes an awfully lot like a Drakes Coffee Cake, which is just fine with me! It just surprised me because the Cinnamon Danish Swirl, which I would associate with the coffee cake the most, was the smaller of the three ingredients, maybe it's just really strong, or as usual, I have no clue what I'm doing, lol. I'm new to all this, so take all this with a grain of salt. But this one certainly seems to work, who knows what time/steeping will do to it, but I would think it would improve, get stronger, if anything
That looks yummy, and I'll try it as soon as my next order comes in. I've been in contact with a nice guy on here, we're both trying to figure this whole business out and there are a couple things I've discovered are true for me... Any recipe that's less than about 10 or 12% flavor just isn't going to do it for me no matter how long I let it steep. HICs Samoa cookie is a good example... He recommends mixing at 8%, I've had that steeping for about two weeks now,, very slight flavor. At the same time I did one at 16% and that one is really nice. I'm going to let that one go another week but from now on I'll double %s when I do HICs recipes. I like to mix just the flavorings, no base. Makes it really easy to increase the % in your mix without having to deal with drops and tiny amounts of stuff.

Microwave huh? I did that once. It blew up and made a huge mess in there. And I've done the crockpot thing. I've never found it to make a big difference. Time and a daily shake-the-hell out of it works best for me. I also think whatever delivery system you're using makes a difference. RDA, big tank, little tank... Whatever. I use little bridgeless dripping atomizers to test my mixes and they give me a good idea of the flavor but they're always just a touch different when I load them in a tank. Not in a bad way, I just notice different notes in my tanks that I don't get in those little attys.

I think you do have a clue 84Harley!!! You're on the right track, it's just that we all taste differently and what works for me may not work for you. And vicey-versey. Lots of great advice here though and a great place to learn!


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SailCat

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We seem to be doing the same thing at the same time Kimber, I too just mixed a dozen bottles and put them in a drawer, outta site outta mind, lol. I'll give them at least a week or two, see how they "mature". As we were talking about before about the tiny percents for some recipes on here, I did mix a "shake & vape" I saw on here. Actually came out pretty good! I feel bad I don't remember the creator of the recipe, it might be HIC, not sure, if not I'm sorry for the brain fart, not intentional, anyway, here it is in case anyone might be interested....
All Capella flavoring...
7.5% Sugar Cookie
5% Vanilla Custard
2.5% Cinnamon Danish Swirl
Made a 30ml sample. I nuked it for 8 sec, shook the crap out of it, then put it in the US for a half hour just to see, shook again and loaded it into my dripper to taste. Was pretty impressed with the amount of flavor right off the bat! So I figured I'd put a tankful in the Crown. To me, it tastes an awfully lot like a Drakes Coffee Cake, which is just fine with me! It just surprised me because the Cinnamon Danish Swirl, which I would associate with the coffee cake the most, was the smaller of the three ingredients, maybe it's just really strong, or as usual, I have no clue what I'm doing, lol. I'm new to all this, so take all this with a grain of salt. But this one certainly seems to work, who knows what time/steeping will do to it, but I would think it would improve, get stronger, if anything

I don't know the author of that recipe, either, but all CAP means someone other than HIC. Congrats on a tasty combo and thanks for the share, 84Harley.
 

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