Thanks out to James from https://LiquidDIY.com.au for sending these out free of charge. Although not specifically for the purposes of this review, I always provide 100% transparency. These appear to be HELLA strong, so I'm working out the percentages now. I think at LEAST a 2 week steep will be required, and testing on the tried and true SteamCrave RDTA v.1, running dual 24 ga. kanthal vertical coils, @ 65 watts.
**Banana (Duomei) 0.4%/0.8% (1-3-23)** -- FIRST of these new flavors on deck, and IN the tester !!!!!!! I wanted to make sure to give them a solid 2 week steep as many of them smelled HELLA strong. I tested the Banana at both 0.4% and 0.8%, as it imparted no fear in me at the lower weight. At BOTH weights, this one presented as a very natural yellow, and almost "mushy" banana. I typically prefer a "Lean to the Green", at least when eating them, and this one stayed fairly OUT of the "green" realm. It was ripe/ripened, BUT, just short of being OVER ripe. I had almost thought it has aspects of a Flambe, BUT that wasn't entirely accurate, as there weren't any butter, sugar, or flaming liquor notes present. It was almost like a perfectly ripened banana was heated up in a pan, smoothing it, and almost caramelizing it JUST a bit to give you a sense. It tasted super delicious at both testing weights, and it did NOT double in strength when going from 0.4% to 0.8%. It's strength increased somewhat, but not linearly, so probably a 0.65%-0.8% weight would be fine. Natural, yellow, and mushy were the three things that stuck with me throughout the entire test. No off notes, and VERY impressed for this, the first in this series. Sweetness was just below mid level, and there was an almost "creamy" aspect to it, BUT, it was NOT a nana cream to be clear. All in, a great first showing from Duomei with this one, and as long as you didn't need a "green-ish" nana, this one will push your ripened yellow banana boundaries. **9.8/10**.
**Blackberry (Duomei) 0.2%/0.4% (1-4-23)** -- STRONG, STRONG, STRONG is the word of the day with this one. My initial tests at 0.4% had a very clear soapy, almost perfumey aftertaste. Fine, BACK to the drawing board, fully reduced to 0.2%, and re-tested. The flavor strength overall did reduce, and SOME of the soap and perfume reduced as well, but it was still somewhat present. This was fairly odd, as I have rolled with some of the strongest MF flavors with little to no issues, so this MAY be a flavor issue, and not a "strength" issue per se. There did seem to be a oddly different blackberry hiding behind the soapy overtones, and it's possible, if you were to go even LOWER, you might be able to resolve it, but at that point, it would be so far reduced, it may just be unusable. I did not reduce any further below 0.2%, which in a 10ml tester, is 1d. I've come across AND overflavored plenty, so I'm very well versed in reducing my way back to sanity. This one, may not be ready for prime time. Fully reduced it smelled ok, but tasting it re-yielded the soapy-ness. Going to plant this one @ **2.0/10**.
**Black Currant (Duomei) 0.4%/0.8%/1.0% (1-4-23)** -- This one, like many of these Duomei's smelled very strong, and I started testing @ 0.4%, which was good, but it felt like it needed more, so I re-tested and increased first to 0.8%, and then 1.0%. This one presented at EVERY testing weight, as a really good, dark-ish, barely sweetened, black currant. I FOUGHT the urge to try it with some sweetener, to see if it would open up even MORE, but altering test samples, goes down a long, and treacherous road, that I won't go down. Sweetness was a FEW clicks below mid level sweet, and the dark berry-ish, notes to really swirl around, AND with some almost dark grape wine notes to boot !!!! Because of the below average sweetness, there was a slight dryness to the finish, but wasn't off-putting at all. There was a certain, delicious tarty, almost sharp overtone, that rode throughout that really made it interesting, and a stand out. In the absence of any overt artificial notes, it leaned smartly to the authentic and natural. The only minor takeoff would be the slightly dry finish, which I'm SURE could be eliminated with a smidge of sweetener. Nicely done, and easily a **9.7/10**.
**Blueberry (Duomei) 0.5%/1.0% (1-5-23)** -- Wow, this one was good, and different that most, if not all of my current BB rotation. I tested it at both 0.5%, and increased to 1.0% and both worked perfectly, with about a 25% increase in flavor when doubling, so 1.0% may be near the top of the usable range on this one. Very natural tasting, and even after three testers, I couldn't think of a close match, so that's great, breaking new ground. The word of the day with this one was "smooth". It wasn't recessed, but not overtly forward during the testing. No candy here, but more of an almost baked blueberry. It wasn't a bright, super juicy BB, but seemed to excel in more of the mid, to mid-lower notes of a great blueberry. Duomei saw fit to add just enough of the tart-ish high end notes, to keep it interesting. No musky-ness, and nothing out of place with this one, at either testing weight. It was very usable at both weights, and just below mid-level sweet. Despite looking, I was unable to find any faults with this, with only minor takeoffs for the relaxed nature. If I had to change it, I would have made it a SMIDGE more forward. As it stood, a damned fine, natural blueberry the was incredibly smooth, excelling in the low and mid notes, with just enough tarty high end notes. Easily a **9.2/10**.
**Caramel (Duomei) 0.4%/0.8%/1.0% (1-5-23)** -- In a few words, "Get this one" !!!!! Wow. This Caramel, wowwed RIGHT out of the gate, and didn't stop. This one was SO good @ 0.4%, I had to see, if it improved by doubling to 0.8%, and then, up to 1.0%, and it DID. Rich, creamy, buttery, and just hands down, delicious. Having quite a few caramels in use, and to compare to, it's safe to say this one, has NO equal(s) or direct comparisons on my racks, and that's saying something. What made this super unique, was the almost equal pairing of milky/creamy notes, and smooth buttery notes. Just perfectly paired, where neither took the lead, and each fully supported the overall Caramel-ly effect. For an "artificial" flavor, this might be one of, if not the best "natural" tasting Caramel's I've tried. Across all three testing weights, it was rich, present, and was hard to put down, hehe. It increased when doubling, and when finalizing at 1.0%, and had literally NO off-putting notes, or any signs of topping out. It was just above mid-level sweet which worked perfectly, and I'm fighting the urge to order a jumbo bottle, before it's OOS @ diyliquid.com.au. Without belaboring the point, if you are looking to order a few (or more), this one SHOULD be on your list. The buttery/milky/creamy-ness of this one, could simply NOT be overstated. Rich, delicious, and can be solo'd all day long (trust me, I did). With it's unique status, lack of any off notes, and velvety smooth creamy, buttery-ness, I could think of ZERO issues with this one. Handily a **10/10**.
**Chocolate (Duomei) 0.4%/0.8% (1-5-23)** -- Here are the MOST common questions I get about testing chocolates, as there are some BAD choco's out there. Is it: Dry, Bandaids, Tootsie Roll, Dark/Coil Gunking ?? Most of the BAD ones, have one or more of the aforementioned. Luckily for you AND me, this one had NONE of them. Wait, Bandaids ?? Yes, think of the Inawera Milk Chocolate (New Version). As with others, I tested this at 0.4%, then doubled to 0.8%. At both weights it tasted good, with no off notes, or anything offensive. It increased in strength when doubling, but wasn't linear (i.e. stronger, but not twice as strong). It presented as a fairly natural tasting chocolate, without any artificial-ness screaming through. The chocolate itself, was almost a mid, to mid dark chocolate blend, which was good, because it left it RIGHT in the middle of the light (milk chocolate), and dark (dark chocolate) spectrum. It was very full and present at both weights, but not what I would call creamy or rich. No overt creamery notes, but still a nice full on chocolate. Sweetness was a few ticks below mid-level, which would allow you to sweeten if needed. Continued testing honestly didn't really reveal any shortcomings, or artificial notes, so it was an impressive showing, simply because it tasted like a true, accurate chocolate. As an admitted S'mores junkie I WILL inject this into a few of my mixes to see, but solo'd it was pretty good. I tested it at 65 watts, and did try cranking the watts up, and I got NO scorching, so it didn't appear to be temp sensitive, and being fairly clear, I didn't get any excess coil gunking. If you are a choco lover, and placing a Duomei order, throw this one in your cart as well. Impressive as an artificial choco that didn't taste artificial. **9.4/10**.