A little help with my mix please.

[Xcighippy]

Hi all, Just getting my feet wet diy'ing. I am looking to create something a little sweet with some complexity to it. I was shooting for something along the lines of five pawns Grand Master, not an exact copy, just something more than a one flavor mix.
Anyway I combined some flavors that get me close to what I like but it seems dull. Just missing something or maybe the wrong percentages of flavors. Here is what I got. Any advise?

50-50 pg-vg
6mg nic.
Capella Banana concentrate 5%
Flavor Apprentice Pie Crust flavor 7%
TFA Caramel 4%
Capella Peanut Butter Flavor Concentrate 3%
Flavor Apprentice French Vanilla 5%
Flavor App. Cotton Candy 2%

Is this too many flavors to use at once. What would you suggest changing . Can't really taste any one flavor. Tastes good but just bland if you know what I mean.
Oh, I let it steep for only a week I have no patients. I want to taste all the time!

 

[dannyv45]

I would suggest mixing the flavors individually and tasting each one seperatly so you have an idea of what your working with. Think of it as cooking a meal and ask yourself, How do I know how my sauce is going to taste after each spice I add if I don't know what the spice itself taste like or how much of it to add.

After you know what each individual flavor taste like on it's own you will better be able to judge how much is needed to accomplish your end result or if that flavor is even needed.

 

[Xcighippy]

Thanks for that Danny. I was hoping that some "masters" such as yourself would chime in here. I will do just that. I guess what I was wanting is someone who has used some of these flavors to tell me how much of this and how much of that to use. But I know it it's not that simple.
Oh btw, I'm not much of cook either. ( microwave on button#3 usually does it for me)

 

[dannyv45]

Thanks for that Danny. I was hoping that some "masters" such as yourself would chime in here. I will do just that. I guess what I was wanting is someone who has used some of these flavors to tell me how much of this and how much of that to use. But I know it it's not that simple.
Oh btw, I'm not much of cook either. ( microwave on button#3 usually does it for me)

As every ones taste is different, by someone telling you how to make it, you would wind up with a mix that is perfect for them, but as far as your taste is concerned maybe not so much. The best advice is to look up the recommended amount of each flavor and start at the minimum recommendation. Adjust it to your taste keeping careful notes until it's good for you then move on to the next flavor. When your done with all the flavors you now have a good idea on the taste of these flavors and the amounts you need to get you there. At this point your ready to try combining them.

 

[cramptholomew]

Also, think of what your more pronounced flavors would be, and what the supporting flavors should do. It sounds to me like you're trying to make a peanut butter banana cream pie. So, you want more banana, more peanut, and caramel on top, but the crust, vanilla, and cotton candy support those flavors. No one wants a pie made of 1/2 crust. Well, maybe someone does. I agree with Danny, though, in that you need to know what each flavor is going to bring to the table. Peanut Butter might be too strong at 3%, while the caramel at 3% might be too weak. There is a WIDE variance of strengths to these flavors. I've had some that .5% is just TOO STRONG. So, I'd make small samples of each flavor to get an idea of how potent they are, and what they actually taste like. This is different than cooking in that peanut butter may not taste like the peanut butter that you have in your mind. In cooking, peanut butter always tastes like peanut butter..

 

[DetraMental]

Great advice as always....I have nothing to add .

 

[Xcighippy]

Thanks. Can you tell me about acronyms used for flavors? Is TFA aka Flavor Apprentice? The bottles I got from RTS say Flavor Apprentice, The bottles from Myfreedom smoke just say TFA. What is TFA? Thanks.

 

[DetraMental]

TFA=The Flavor Apprentice, FA=Flavor Art, FW=Flavor West

 

[Heabob]

TPA The Perfumers Apprentice
TFA The Flavor Apprentice

Same company but TFA , is for vaping...

Your recipe is over 20% total flavorings, not a good thing.

Add 3% Banana
Add 4% Peanut Butter
Add some Base (Unflavored PG/VG) maybe 2-5 ml. (If you have extra space in your bottle)
You might be able to save it...

 

[dannyv45]

Also, think of what your more pronounced flavors would be, and what the supporting flavors should do. It sounds to me like you're trying to make a peanut butter banana cream pie. So, you want more banana, more peanut, and caramel on top, but the crust, vanilla, and cotton candy support those flavors. No one wants a pie made of 1/2 crust. Well, maybe someone does. I agree with Danny, though, in that you need to know what each flavor is going to bring to the table. Peanut Butter might be too strong at 3%, while the caramel at 3% might be too weak. There is a WIDE variance of strengths to these flavors. I've had some that .5% is just TOO STRONG. So, I'd make small samples of each flavor to get an idea of how potent they are, and what they actually taste like. This is different than cooking in that peanut butter may not taste like the peanut butter that you have in your mind. In cooking, peanut butter always tastes like peanut butter..

Excellent advice given right here and may I add that peanut butter banana cream pie sounds really good. I'll have to think about that a while and see what I can come up with.

Maybe a Reeces chocolate peanut butter cup with a banana cream filling.

 

[Xcighippy]

Also, think of what your more pronounced flavors would be, and what the supporting flavors should do. It sounds to me like you're trying to make a peanut butter banana cream pie. So, you want more banana, more peanut, and caramel on top, but the crust, vanilla, and cotton candy support those flavors. No one wants a pie made of 1/2 crust. Well, maybe someone does. I agree with Danny, though, in that you need to know what each flavor is going to bring to the table. Peanut Butter might be too strong at 3%, while the caramel at 3% might be too weak. There is a WIDE variance of strengths to these flavors. I've had some that .5% is just TOO STRONG. So, I'd make small samples of each flavor to get an idea of how potent they are, and what they actually taste like. This is different than cooking in that peanut butter may not taste like the peanut butter that you have in your mind. In cooking, peanut butter always tastes like peanut butter..

Excellent food for thought! Thanks. I think I am getting on the right track now. Will try sampling and you got me thinking more on how flavors support each other.

 

[MissAmerican]

I don't think your using too many flavors, I usually mix anywhere from 3-6 flavors too. The banana flavor can be overpowering, your mix looks good maybe just lower the % of the banana? The cotton candy seems to mute flavors IMO so try using sweetener instead it could make a difference, I love the sweetener from Flavor West. Good luck to you!

 

[Xcighippy]

I don't think your using too many flavors, I usually mix anywhere from 3-6 flavors too. The banana flavor can be overpowering, your mix looks good maybe just lower the % of the banana? The cotton candy seems to mute flavors IMO so try using sweetener instead it could make a difference, I love the sweetener from Flavor West. Good luck to you!

Thank you MA. I guess there is no real wrong way to do this. My first attempt I did use sweetener but couldn't really tell the difference. I tried cotton candy because someone else on here said that sweetener mute's flavor and they use cotton candy. I see lots of conflicting info all the time. I guess the old ymmv is very true!

 

[dannyv45]

Sweetener or EM needs to be used very sparingly. A little goes a long way. The usual amount is less then 1% and more like a half a percent.