getting flavoring right

[redgirl]

Just wondering how hard it is when you first start out at DIY to figure out how much flavoring you like and how it affects your juice. I used the mixing calculator and found that the percentage that I put in was way too low, so I added more flavoring, which brought down my nic level - to what, I don't know! Is it just trial and error, or is there a way to figure out the mg of nic if you add more flavoring than you originally intended?

Also, I was trying to use mls instead of drops, but I found it to be tougher than I thought. I have a syringe and measuring cups with ml measurements, but I had to use, like, 3.4 mls. I put the syringe in the bottle and found it really difficult to draw the correct amount. My measuring cup is in 1 ml increments. Is there a better tool for getting precise mls?

I have menthol drops and crystals. I want to add more throat hit to my mixes, but I'm not sure if you can add these to non-menthol juices to get better throat hit. I also add Everclear, but at 5%. What are some good tips for getting the best throat hit?

[MaxUT]

Precise measuring: try a 1ml syringe that's marked in 0.1ml increments. I got some from my veterinarian, you could try the local pharmacy. If you use a needle on it (to reach the bottom of the bottle) try to get the thickest one you can.

[john doe]

the vg especially is pretty much impossible to suck up with a narrow needle. if you want to make slightly larger batches there are plastic pipettes with 1/2 ml markings.

[Guineahill]

There are two basic steps to making e-liquid if you want to be able to reproduce it. First you need to play around with the flavorings and determine what percentage it is going to take. You also mess around with the relative amounts of different flavorings at this stage. When I do this I normally work with very small quantities and plain PG or PG/VG mix - no nicotine. You can tweak your mixtures at this stage all you want without wasting precious nicotine liquid.

Once I determine how much flavoring it is going to take I plug in those percentages and make up a small batch with nicotine. I test it once again. The reason I do this is that sometimes the nicotine changes the flavor somewhat and the recipe might need a bit of fine tuning and I don't want feel guilty if I end up tossing it all out. I make notes of any changes that are needed as I perfect the recipe.

After I think I have the recipe perfected, I mix up a 3 ml or 6 ml batch with nicotine and I vape it for a while. If it meets my approval I save the recipe. At this point I can reproduce the recipe without any problems.

It seems like a lot of work and it is. If you are just mixing for yourself then you really don't need to go through it all. You can literally guess about it. Smell the flavoring and guess how much you will need - 5%, 10%, 15%, or whatever.

When I make it for myself I normally 'guess' 1 to 5% for FlavourArt, 10 - 15% for Capella, 15% for Perfumers Apprentice (so far), and 20% for LorAnn. (Be careful though - LorAnn in particular has a tremendous amount of variation in the strength of their flavorings.) Needless to say my guesses are NOT always right! LOL If I have too much flavoring then I add more nicotine base with my desired nicotine level. If I have too little I simply add more flavoring and I don't stress about having the exact right nicotine level.

I have a lot of syringes in different sizes to measure my liquids with. I use 16 gauge blunt needles most of the time.

Good luck!

[redgirl]

Thanks, Guinea! I made another batch of of Desert Ship tobacco and added 14% of Flavourart. Surprisingly, the flavor wasn't very much stronger than my original. I'm going to have to get one of those 1 ml syringes, also. About to go off and try another Flavourart, maybe using the Fresh Fig, but who knows, I might change my mind!

And what about those menthol crystals/drops?

[sjohnson]

14%! Wow. Just to show you how much people's taste differs, Desert Ship at 1/4 to 1/2 percent is as strong as I can stand it.

One way to build a flavor is to mix 1 ml of your liquid to a consistency that vapes well for you, no flavor. Then, add flavoring a drop at a time. Mix well and taste-test. If the liquid gets too thin from flavoring, add a bit of glycerine to thicken it. But measure all the liquids that you add and keep records. That way, you can repeat the flavor and scale it up to 15 or 30 ml for regular vaping.

[Guineahill]

I use around 1 to 2 percent of FlavourArt tobacco flavorings. I can't handle any higher either! LOL - well, all of our tastes are different!

Menthol Crystals are used to make menthol drops... basically you fill a dropper bottle with crystals and add Everclear or the highest proof vodka that you can find and let them dissolve. Some people crush the crystals first. You can put the bottle in hot water to help speed up the process.

To use the drops you simply add like any other flavoring but menthol is strong! Start with one drop and test. I like to add menthol to Virginia.

You can add menthol to anything!!! It can be a giant help when trying to deal with an unsuccessful mix.

Some people feel the addition of menthol adds to the throat hit. Others feel menthol makes the mix more soothing. My advice is to try a small batch and see how it works for you.

[redgirl]

14%! Wow. Just to show you how much people's taste differs, Desert Ship at 1/4 to 1/2 percent is as strong as I can stand it.

One way to build a flavor is to mix 1 ml of your liquid to a consistency that vapes well for you, no flavor. Then, add flavoring a drop at a time. Mix well and taste-test. If the liquid gets too thin from flavoring, add a bit of glycerine to thicken it. But measure all the liquids that you add and keep records. That way, you can repeat the flavor and scale it up to 15 or 30 ml for regular vaping.

Thanks, that really helped! I'm definitely gonna have to keep a journal!

I use around 1 to 2 percent of FlavourArt tobacco flavorings. I can't handle any higher either! LOL - well, all of our tastes are different!

Menthol Crystals are used to make menthol drops... basically you fill a dropper bottle with crystals and add Everclear or the highest proof vodka that you can find and let them dissolve. Some people crush the crystals first. You can put the bottle in hot water to help speed up the process.

To use the drops you simply add like any other flavoring but menthol is strong! Start with one drop and test. I like to add menthol to Virginia.

You can add menthol to anything!!! It can be a giant help when trying to deal with an unsuccessful mix.

Some people feel the addition of menthol adds to the throat hit. Others feel menthol makes the mix more soothing. My advice is to try a small batch and see how it works for you.

I was scared to add the menthol drops for fear that it would make my tobacco taste minty, but I added 2 drops to a 6ml Virginia 10mg for night time vaping and it did add throat hit and worked surprisingly well. Thanks!

[Guineahill]

I'm glad it worked! I'm of the belief that if you work on liquids by drops AND you keep good notes you can't go too far wrong.