about Lotus Strawberry
I noticed Strawberry faded after a heat-steep (as compared to time), so I won't do that again.
I noticed Strawberry faded after a heat-steep (as compared to time), so I won't do that again.
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What do you think of Lotus Flavorings so far?
- Thread starter Donovan (ECX Flavor Lab)
- Start date
@HeadInClouds I'm getting flavor fade just from vaping it. It's a bummer that I can't add more without irritating my throat and lungs. I find this flavoring rather bizarre. I still have the White Peach to try. Also I have Blackberry and Vanilla coming.
If you make a 10% dilution first, it's more like working with TFA or Capella. Instead of twiddling with 1.25% or 1.5%, you'd use 12%-15%, which is much easier to measure and fine-tune. I use 10% dilutions of a couple FlavourArt and TFA flavors for the same reason (FA Honey and TFA Holiday Spice, for example, are every bit as strong as the Lotus flavors I've posted about so far).
Lotus Vanilla
I'm mixing max-VG with Vapers Tek nic, ProTank-alike on an iStick. This one is a pastel yellowish color.
standalone flavor:
Smooth, lightly sweet vanilla-butter with an undertone I’ll call coconut oil. This is not a vanilla extract type flavor. I taste more sweet butter and coconut oil than cream or milk, and there’s nothing eggy here -- it’s not custardy. BUT if you like Capella “v1” Vanilla Custard, and it tastes vanilla to you, you will likely enjoy Lotus Vanilla. They’re quite different flavors, but I think they’ll appeal to the same group of vapers, and you’ll need only 1/5 to 1/10 as much Lotus Vanilla to get similar flavor strength. The coconut-oil undertone I taste here is much like I described tasting in Lotus Almond, really reminds me of unrefined coconut oil.
finding standalone percentage:
At 0.5% I tasted more buttery-coconut-oil than I did vanilla, and I would not have identified this flavoring as "vanilla" without reading the label. At 0.75% vanilla was more apparent, and I tasted the full spectrum of flavors. I went from 0.75% to 1.5% sensing no change in flavor other than overall strength. I think Capella v1 Vanilla Custard fans who use 10%+ of that flavoring will like Lotus Vanilla as high as 2%. (10% Capella and more than 1.5% Lotus are both just too harsh for me.) I didn’t taste any drastic flavor changes over a few days of steeping.
mixing with it:
Because this has as much buttery-coconutty flavor as it does vanilla, especially in the amounts you’d use in a recipe, I think it’s best-suited to bakery type recipes. In my opinion, Lotus Vanilla is a little too “heavy”/buttery to taste great with fresh fruit flavors. 0.5% Lotus Vanilla with 2.5% FA Cookie tastes like traditional butter cookies made with coconut oil in place of half the butter. If you like buttery vapes, that simple recipe is a good one to try first. Capella fans will surely want to try a little Lotus Vanilla in their custard creations.
disclaimers:
I can't find any test results or manufacturer's claims regarding diacetyl, other diketones, or any other ingredients in Lotus flavorings.
If you must or choose to avoid diketones, I suggest waiting on Lotus Vanilla until/unless test results become available.
I didn't pay for these Lotus flavorings (thanks to @Donovan (ECX Flavor Lab) ).
One more to go. Spoiler alert: it’s Blueberry, and it’s most definitely a super-concentrated flavoring.
I'm mixing max-VG with Vapers Tek nic, ProTank-alike on an iStick. This one is a pastel yellowish color.
standalone flavor:
Smooth, lightly sweet vanilla-butter with an undertone I’ll call coconut oil. This is not a vanilla extract type flavor. I taste more sweet butter and coconut oil than cream or milk, and there’s nothing eggy here -- it’s not custardy. BUT if you like Capella “v1” Vanilla Custard, and it tastes vanilla to you, you will likely enjoy Lotus Vanilla. They’re quite different flavors, but I think they’ll appeal to the same group of vapers, and you’ll need only 1/5 to 1/10 as much Lotus Vanilla to get similar flavor strength. The coconut-oil undertone I taste here is much like I described tasting in Lotus Almond, really reminds me of unrefined coconut oil.
finding standalone percentage:
At 0.5% I tasted more buttery-coconut-oil than I did vanilla, and I would not have identified this flavoring as "vanilla" without reading the label. At 0.75% vanilla was more apparent, and I tasted the full spectrum of flavors. I went from 0.75% to 1.5% sensing no change in flavor other than overall strength. I think Capella v1 Vanilla Custard fans who use 10%+ of that flavoring will like Lotus Vanilla as high as 2%. (10% Capella and more than 1.5% Lotus are both just too harsh for me.) I didn’t taste any drastic flavor changes over a few days of steeping.
mixing with it:
Because this has as much buttery-coconutty flavor as it does vanilla, especially in the amounts you’d use in a recipe, I think it’s best-suited to bakery type recipes. In my opinion, Lotus Vanilla is a little too “heavy”/buttery to taste great with fresh fruit flavors. 0.5% Lotus Vanilla with 2.5% FA Cookie tastes like traditional butter cookies made with coconut oil in place of half the butter. If you like buttery vapes, that simple recipe is a good one to try first. Capella fans will surely want to try a little Lotus Vanilla in their custard creations.
disclaimers:
I can't find any test results or manufacturer's claims regarding diacetyl, other diketones, or any other ingredients in Lotus flavorings.
If you must or choose to avoid diketones, I suggest waiting on Lotus Vanilla until/unless test results become available.
I didn't pay for these Lotus flavorings (thanks to @Donovan (ECX Flavor Lab) ).
One more to go. Spoiler alert: it’s Blueberry, and it’s most definitely a super-concentrated flavoring.
@HeadInClouds If the Blueberry is as potent as the Blackberry. You might want to start at 1 drop. The Blackberry is a keeper for sure. Tastes exactly like a fresh blackberry. The tartness is splendid. Mixing it with the Vanilla should make a nice vape.
I always start with 1 drop, just a question of how much base. I'm still messing with Blueberry, usually around 0.25%, but I don't have Blackberry to compare. I think yours has the tart and mine has the sweet - I'll bet all their berry flavors go fine together, too.
I always make my bases at 10mls. That does sound like a winner. I was sent a free small sample of Passion Fruit. Going to try that one tomorrow. I ordered these flavorings directly from Medicine Flower. The Strawberry and White Peach was a gift from a friend. Damn I wish the Strawberry was a winner for me. I don't understand the harshness I'm getting.
Have you noticed whether shaking/not shaking these before use makes any difference? Since they're not diluted maybe it's not vital, but the habit is so ingrained I haven't tried skipping that step.
gopher_byrd
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I find myself always shaking food sauces now as well. Heck, I catch myself shaking aftershave.
Man, I'll try anything at this point. Thanks for the tip.
Lotus Blueberry (I posted a review at ecx days ago, but it still hasn't shown up, so I'll just post with extra detail here.)
I'm mixing max-VG with Vapers Tek nic, ProTank-alike on an iStick. This is basically a colorless flavoring.
finding standalone percentage:
Warning: a whiff of this flavor bottle will curl your eyebrows. It's not a pleasant scent from the bottle, so just skip smelling the raw flavoring.
I first mixed this at 0.5%, and I liked it enough to vape it a couple of hours like that. But then it took a while to recover my sense of taste, which told me 0.5% was tooo much for me. I vaped 0.25% the next day, which gave me a little milder but still full flavor - and I could still taste other stuff afterwards, always a good thing. I tried 0.125% out of curiosity, but that was definitely washed-out, not enough. All sat about a week, and all gained a little strength over that time. The 0.5% is now obnoxiously strong; 0.25% is perfect for me. This one's easier to work with if you make a 10% dilution. Be sure to shake the heck out of your mix. Time didn't change the flavor itself enough for me to notice - just the strength.
standalone flavor:
Blueberry tastes a little more jammy than fresh, like a compote made with American blueberries. It's not quite sweet enough for jam, but it just takes a little nudge to push it that direction. Actual fresh berries often have skin that's a little bitter or tart - this flavoring focuses more on the sweet part. I taste no weird flavor notes that don't belong.
mixing with it:
If you have a favorite cheesecake flavor, add 0.25% of this Blueberry, let it sit a few days, and you'll understand what I mean by "compote" and "jammy" flavor. I think it's perfect for cheesecake topping. The sweeter your cheesecake flavoring, the better.
The only other Lotus berry flavor I have is Strawberry. I needed several times more Strawberry to taste it with Blueberry, confirming to me that Blueberry is a super-strong flavoring. But the two go very well together. I'm tempted to get more Lotus berry flavors, since I really like the two I have. @Jimi D - how did Blackberry age for you?
disclaimers:
I can't find any test results or manufacturer's claims regarding diacetyl, other diketones, or any other ingredients in Lotus flavorings.
If you must or choose to avoid diketones, I suggest waiting on Lotus Vanilla until/unless test results become available.
I didn't pay for these Lotus flavorings (thanks to @Donovan (ECX Flavor Lab) ).
I'm going to let these all sit a while longer and compare the results to the notes I made so far. I'm expecting changes with Vanilla and White Chocolate, maybe Almond, but I think the fruits I have will remain about the same. I tried to be objective so far and make these unbiased descriptions, but I'll post my personal opinions then, too. My initial impression is that Lotus does fruit flavors best.
(This is the last Lotus flavoring I have.)
I'm mixing max-VG with Vapers Tek nic, ProTank-alike on an iStick. This is basically a colorless flavoring.
finding standalone percentage:
Warning: a whiff of this flavor bottle will curl your eyebrows. It's not a pleasant scent from the bottle, so just skip smelling the raw flavoring.
I first mixed this at 0.5%, and I liked it enough to vape it a couple of hours like that. But then it took a while to recover my sense of taste, which told me 0.5% was tooo much for me. I vaped 0.25% the next day, which gave me a little milder but still full flavor - and I could still taste other stuff afterwards, always a good thing. I tried 0.125% out of curiosity, but that was definitely washed-out, not enough. All sat about a week, and all gained a little strength over that time. The 0.5% is now obnoxiously strong; 0.25% is perfect for me. This one's easier to work with if you make a 10% dilution. Be sure to shake the heck out of your mix. Time didn't change the flavor itself enough for me to notice - just the strength.
standalone flavor:
Blueberry tastes a little more jammy than fresh, like a compote made with American blueberries. It's not quite sweet enough for jam, but it just takes a little nudge to push it that direction. Actual fresh berries often have skin that's a little bitter or tart - this flavoring focuses more on the sweet part.
I taste no weird flavor notes that don't belong. mixing with it:
If you have a favorite cheesecake flavor, add 0.25% of this Blueberry, let it sit a few days, and you'll understand what I mean by "compote" and "jammy" flavor. I think it's perfect for cheesecake topping. The sweeter your cheesecake flavoring, the better.
The only other Lotus berry flavor I have is Strawberry. I needed several times more Strawberry to taste it with Blueberry, confirming to me that Blueberry is a super-strong flavoring. But the two go very well together. I'm tempted to get more Lotus berry flavors, since I really like the two I have. @Jimi D - how did Blackberry age for you?
disclaimers:
I can't find any test results or manufacturer's claims regarding diacetyl, other diketones, or any other ingredients in Lotus flavorings.
If you must or choose to avoid diketones, I suggest waiting on Lotus Vanilla until/unless test results become available.
I didn't pay for these Lotus flavorings (thanks to @Donovan (ECX Flavor Lab) ).
I'm going to let these all sit a while longer and compare the results to the notes I made so far. I'm expecting changes with Vanilla and White Chocolate, maybe Almond, but I think the fruits I have will remain about the same. I tried to be objective so far and make these unbiased descriptions, but I'll post my personal opinions then, too. My initial impression is that Lotus does fruit flavors best.
(This is the last Lotus flavoring I have.)
@HeadInClouds After playing with the flavor fade. I've stopped at 3 drops from the MF dropper. They're pretty big drops. My guess would be .75% to 1%. It tastes sweeter with a hint of tartness. Reminds me of Dannon yogurt boysenberries. I'm liking this one. I have yet to try a yogurt flavoring. This Blackberry could work though.
mega melons aka monster melons is an easy recipe to clone. Cutwood uses mainly tfa flavors in most of there juice line. Try this and you will thank me laterMango to go in a mega mellons clone. So far I'm still trying to figure out a % for a single flavor mix lol.
Guessing I'm going to be at 0.2% or less and then add in the papaya & cantaloupe to complete mega mellons.
That shit is no F'n joke strong!
Tfa- papaya 5% (the key taste in mm)
Tfa- cantaloupe 8%
Tfa- mango 2%
Tfa- marshmallow 5%
Just mixed up 1% samples of banana, blueberry, green apple, pineapple, white cherry and white chocolate. 70% vg - 29% pg. Gonna let them steep for a little while then report back. So far these flavors seem very promising. The ones I'm sampling have been dud's with the other 10 or so companies I've tried.
what companies would that be?
Tfa, cap, fw,fa,inw,hang,vzsc,baker,diyfs,osdiy
I do a mix of tfa wild blueberry, fw blueberry and fa bilberry. It's okay.
Lor banana cream with some fa banana is okay. Every green apple I've ever tried was to candy like or to weak. Inw pineapple is the only one that ever tasted legit but it's still a weak flavor. Every white chocolate I ever tried was absolutely terrible. Same with cherry, although baker has the only cherry I've ever liked but it's a cherry pie filling taste. Still not what I'm looking for.
Lor banana cream with some fa banana is okay. Every green apple I've ever tried was to candy like or to weak. Inw pineapple is the only one that ever tasted legit but it's still a weak flavor. Every white chocolate I ever tried was absolutely terrible. Same with cherry, although baker has the only cherry I've ever liked but it's a cherry pie filling taste. Still not what I'm looking for.
I've tried tfa, fw, and nf white chocolate. They were not what I was looking for at all.
My girls adv is similar to this.
Here are my thoughts on the flavors I sampled at 1% exactly one week later.
Banana- most realistic tasting banana flavoring ive tried, but I still find it a little weak at 1%. Gonna bump it to 2%. Definitely see this replacing my lor- banana cream clear and fa banana mixture in the near future.
Blueberry- it's very natural tasting but I don't see this flavor being a standalone blueberry for me. At 1% I still find the flavor to be a little weak. Gonna bump the flavor up to 2% and see how it comes out. I've found that mixing fw blueberry, tfa blueberry wild and a smidge of fa bilberry usually does the trick for me. Although i could easily see this replacing the bilberry in my mixture because the only reason I used it at all was for the outside skin affect it brought to my mixture. This blueberry has that quality and so much more so there definitely will be some more tinkering before I make my final judgement.
Green apple- I think my holy grail Greenapple search has finally come to an end. Every green apple flavoring I've ever tried (besides this one)tasted like candy and I had to use way over 10%. Therefore I never used any of them. This flavor is freakishly spot on green apple. I'm still going to bump it to 2% because I like my flavors to pop. Also, I will be mixing this flavor with fw candy caramel this weekend to see how they gel together.
Pineapple- most authentic pineapple I've used by far. Inw pineapple has always been my go to but it's one of the lowest concentrated flavourings they produce and i dislike using high percentages of flavoring. I think a combination of the two could make something really special. Gonna add another 1% and try again a week later.
White chocolate- well this is not a bad flavor but I still don't think it's what I'm looking for. Gonna try adding some vanilla and creams to it before I give up on it. Chocolate is a very hard flavor to work with and I've always been looking for something that can mimic Belgium chocolate or good old milk chocolate. The rabbit hole continues.
White cherry- this is by far the best flavor out of the 6 I've sampled. This blows away baker flav sweet cherry, fa- black cherry and the dozens of other putrid cherries I've tried in the past. Still gonna bump this to 2% although I don't think you need anymore then 1% unless you mix with other flavors. Gonna substitute this flavor over Baker sweet cherry in my cherry pie recipe this weekend. Fingers crossed because it's a hassle getting flavors from them.
Banana- most realistic tasting banana flavoring ive tried, but I still find it a little weak at 1%. Gonna bump it to 2%. Definitely see this replacing my lor- banana cream clear and fa banana mixture in the near future.
Blueberry- it's very natural tasting but I don't see this flavor being a standalone blueberry for me. At 1% I still find the flavor to be a little weak. Gonna bump the flavor up to 2% and see how it comes out. I've found that mixing fw blueberry, tfa blueberry wild and a smidge of fa bilberry usually does the trick for me. Although i could easily see this replacing the bilberry in my mixture because the only reason I used it at all was for the outside skin affect it brought to my mixture. This blueberry has that quality and so much more so there definitely will be some more tinkering before I make my final judgement.
Green apple- I think my holy grail Greenapple search has finally come to an end. Every green apple flavoring I've ever tried (besides this one)tasted like candy and I had to use way over 10%. Therefore I never used any of them. This flavor is freakishly spot on green apple. I'm still going to bump it to 2% because I like my flavors to pop. Also, I will be mixing this flavor with fw candy caramel this weekend to see how they gel together.
Pineapple- most authentic pineapple I've used by far. Inw pineapple has always been my go to but it's one of the lowest concentrated flavourings they produce and i dislike using high percentages of flavoring. I think a combination of the two could make something really special. Gonna add another 1% and try again a week later.
White chocolate- well this is not a bad flavor but I still don't think it's what I'm looking for. Gonna try adding some vanilla and creams to it before I give up on it. Chocolate is a very hard flavor to work with and I've always been looking for something that can mimic Belgium chocolate or good old milk chocolate. The rabbit hole continues.
White cherry- this is by far the best flavor out of the 6 I've sampled. This blows away baker flav sweet cherry, fa- black cherry and the dozens of other putrid cherries I've tried in the past. Still gonna bump this to 2% although I don't think you need anymore then 1% unless you mix with other flavors. Gonna substitute this flavor over Baker sweet cherry in my cherry pie recipe this weekend. Fingers crossed because it's a hassle getting flavors from them.
Well, the samples I made have all been sitting for 6-8 weeks now, so I guess that's well and fully steeped, huh?
I'll load them up and see how they are in the next few days.
LOL yeah, digging up an old thread, but I'm definitely curious about that blueberry.
-Kingboomer
-Kingboomer
I have ecigexpress.com opened in another tab while doing a Google search which brought me here. I freaked over the price until I read every post here. Now I'm at the maybe stage. Any dollar amount is too much if the flavor doesn't agree with you, in my opinion.
I am glad HIC sampled the strawberry as I'm currently looking for a new brand to buy. My 30ml of FW Strawberry is just about gone. Last year I thought the flavor was great. Maybe it changed over time, or I did, as it's not so great anymore.
I like a bit of candy flavor with my strawberry mixes, so maybe Cap's Sweet Strawberry mixed with Lotus' will be the flavor I'm seeking.
I will check back to this thread often for more reviews.
I am glad HIC sampled the strawberry as I'm currently looking for a new brand to buy. My 30ml of FW Strawberry is just about gone. Last year I thought the flavor was great. Maybe it changed over time, or I did, as it's not so great anymore.
I like a bit of candy flavor with my strawberry mixes, so maybe Cap's Sweet Strawberry mixed with Lotus' will be the flavor I'm seeking.
I will check back to this thread often for more reviews.
You might want to try flavorcontrates blueberry. Good stuff.
yeah...probablly not. twitboy. I don't give a fuck about other vendors...besides the only thing I pimp is your ass at truck stops.
As for ECX there is probablly no vendor who I would more gladly support than they...they are amazingly efficent, and responsive, and whenever they have something I want they are always the first to get my bussiness.I am more than happy to see they have a long and prosperous bussiness..unfortunately I was looking for the plum and wasn't able to find it there....
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@SailCat and @pulsevape - please know that I am very thankful for that info. I use tiny wee amounts of flavorings and am glad to know I can get smaller amounts and at less cost. I also like ECX they were 1 of the first flavoring sites I used.
Oh my bad
That's a nice thought, Dixie, and I'm sure he appreciates you support regardless. I received my most recent order from ECX only last week, quickly and perfectly. I know we Oregonians appreciate good service from ethical businesses. The reviews in this thread are an excellent reference in making a good buying decision for this premium product in any event
Donovan (ECX Flavor Lab)
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Thanks for all the love!
I'm in the same camp. I don't use a lot of flavoring to flavor a liquid. I only make sweets for two people. I would be happy to buy half the quantity- 2.5mL if it was offered. Otherwise, this is a brand I will have to pass on.Oh my bad
Donovan (ECX Flavor Lab)
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I know the main MF website has sample sizes and such. For us, the best we are able to currently do is sell 5ml instead of the MF default size of 15. Hope you end up getting a few! There are definitely a few all-stars
I'm ready to pass final judgement on these as steeped single flavors. All sat for 6-8 weeks. I have 3 clear winners:
Blueberry 0.5%. My previous description of the flavor still matches what I've got here, but I do detect the tiniest extra bit of tart berry (skin?) now, and the 0.25% and 0.5% both taste just a little lighter than they did freshly-mixed. I give this one my highest rating both for realistic flavor and the fact that it's so very concentrated.
Strawberry 1.5%. Just like Blueberry, I detect a tiny bit of tartness to it that I don't taste with a fresh mix. It's a very subtle change, though. Again my previous description still matches this one steeped. Yes, it faded some - but it's still aaaallllmost full flavor at 1.5, so that's still impressive.
White Cherry 1.5%. No changes I can detect with this one at all. I have one comment to add to my previous decription - this is a fresher cherry flavor than any of the Inawera cherries I've used. I have a Queen Anne white cherry tree and can't wait to see how this flavoring matches a ripe cherry plucked from the tree and/or the juice I'll make if there's a good crop this year. This one is probably my personal favorite of the 6 Lotus I've tried.
Almond, Vanilla, White Chocolate... um. I swear I taste coconut in all of these. I will need to mix fresh batches again to compare for sure, but I think that note has grown over time. I'm sure they share a certain "cream" flavor molecule that will be a love/hate thing for people who taste them. My advice: try just 1 of Lotus' creamy flavors to see if you like it. If it's rich, buttery, and delicious to you, you'll probably like them all. If it's a little rancid to you, don't get more.
So my initial impression that Lotus does fruit flavors best held up (for my taste buds) after steeping. No huge changes in those fruits during steeping, but the creamy ones have definitely changed. None of the creamy flavors taste to me much like their names. These 3 fruits are all very well done. As someone who shouldn't vape as much PG as I do, I appreciate they have none. As someone who can make FlavourArt do whatever I want it to, the most valuable flavor in this set is White Cherry. (I can make FA Bilberry and Strawberry taste similar to the Lotus flavors, with some effort...and more PG...but no diketones, so there are some trade-offs there.)
mmm....I mixed strawberry, white cherry, and blueberry in a tank, and this is danged tasty...
Many thanks man. Definitely gonna get the blueberry, maybe the strawberry, then some FA Vienna cream and a custard of some sorts...
-Kingboomer
Donovan (ECX Flavor Lab)
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10% is the general consensus for turning your LF/MF into a "typical" concentrate.
I'm no expert however (hopefully on my way)
Thanks Donavan, ....so does that mean I'd need to mix 10% of theses flavorings on your site with say 90%PG....and then use them as I would say flavor art.
Not to speak for Donovan but HIC gave the following advice earlier ...