Yea we get off topic sometimes, but this is Str8's thread back in the dark recesses of ECF, so I don't think we'll get any complaints.True. Heh, this small gathering is building a resemblance to a group of ye olde pipe smokers all the time! Almost any gathering, virtual or in person, would foment lengthy discussions - and laments - about how the current offerings of Escudo or Balkan Sobranie were nowhere near that of yore, or how Dunhill blends were a ghost of their former selves, or how all the good wood was gone, or etc. (All that mostly true as well ;-)
I hope they don't kick us out
I know tasting pure extract is not a good representation of the taste, but still, it's far from what I expected.
Since Friday all tobaccos are in a big cooker. Every day I heated water in the cooker. Turned off after some time and then again turned on. 5-6 hours per day. I didn't use any thermometer but water was never boiling and I was always able to dip my hand in the water for more than 10s. Captain Black Royal smell nice, other two smell like wet hay. Cigarillos also have some cigarillo smell.
Today when I turned off the fire I took a sample and tried it in my Avocado. I didn't add any VG, pure extract. It was still warm. It tasted very similar to what it smelled. Vaping on wet hay.
Am I missing something or is this just the way naturally extracted tobacco tastes? I expected it would be something similar to RY4 (TPA) or at last in the same ballpark.
I have no idea what NET should taste. Do you like it even when not mixed with other flavors? Strangely, if I taste a drop of extract it is nice. Sweet and little peppery.
The extracts that I've done taste very close if not spot on with the description of the tobacco purchased. If tobacco is bought in b/m store there are great review sites out there. Search engines are your friends. I actually taste more tobacco flavor(s) now compared to smoking the same tobacco. Not combusting allows more flavor(s) to come though or is it I can taste now that I don't smoke.....hmmmm either way more flavor.EDIT: I think my extract are potent enough, I'm worried about the taste.
Since Friday all tobaccos are in a big cooker. Every day I heated water in the cooker. Turned off after some time and then again turned on. 5-6 hours per day. I didn't use any thermometer but water was never boiling and I was always able to dip my hand in the water for more than 10s. Captain Black Royal smell nice, other two smell like wet hay. Cigarillos also have some cigarillo smell.
Today when I turned off the fire I took a sample and tried it in my Avocado. I didn't add any VG, pure extract. It was still warm. It tasted very similar to what it smelled. Vaping on wet hay.
Am I missing something or is this just the way naturally extracted tobacco tastes? I expected it would be something similar to RY4 (TPA) or at last in the same ballpark.
I know because -once- I accidentally loaded my dripper with extract instead of mixed NET and it tasted like murky, bitter plant mixed with dirty gym socks. To sample an extract you first need to mix it with suitable amounts of PG/VG just like when mixing concentrated flavorings for DIY. Assuming you used PG as the extraction solvent, 20% extract is a good starting point for pipe or cigarette tobacco, 30% for extract of cigars. For an in-process sample of your extracts, try drawing out and mixing 10 drops of extract with 40 drops of PG/VG. For testing the mixed samples I use a dripper (RDA). Try mixing up a sample and vape it, this will give you a much more accurate taste of the extract you've produced. Remember too that after an extract is mixed it will improve with age and won't reach its full flavor potential for a month or more. Several of my favorite tobaccos don't reach their full flavor potential until 2 - 3 months after they were mixed. 
Finding a tobacco that suits your individual taste can almost be as important as the method of extraction itself.
Vaping straight extract will taste... bad.
Hay or straw flavor is a characteristic of many Virginia tobaccos and some Burleys depending on how they've been cured. Normally the straw taste will diminish (somewhat) as the mixed NET ages. I personally don't mind a slight hay/straw note but don't like it if it's too pronounced/prominent. The hay/straw note present in Dunhill's "Elizabethan" is the most I can tolerate/enjoy. For this reason I avoid extracting straight Virginia tobaccos but don't mind them when mixed with other types of tobacco such as in a Virginia/Perique blend, one of my favorites.
I'm not familiar with the specific method of extraction you're using so can't really comment on it. What I can say (from experience) is when it comes to hot processed extractions, the processing temperature and length of time that heat is applied is vitally important to flavor. Too little heat or processing time and the flavor will be anemic, Too high a heat for too long a period of time and the flavor will be damaged.
Some tobaccos simply won't produce great flavor no matter what you do to them which is why this thread (Best tobacco for flavor extraction) was started. I've personally extracted several hundred different tobaccos, tobacco blends and cigars and only perhaps twenty five of them produced flavor I consider -outstanding-, many others were good but didn't suit my personal taste and some were just plain bland/boring.
