Ahlusion E-Juice Part 3

[Mazinny]

My Ahlusion Experience :

About four months ago, i started trying new juices after a year of vaping the same 7 or 8 juices. I think i went a little too far, but that's a different story. I ordered dozens of juices from Ahlusion, Nicoticket, The Steam Company, The Plume Room, GoodeJuice, Baker White, and couple of others i can't think of, off the top of my head. By far the most number of flavors i tried were from Ahlusion ( nineteen ). overall i learned that with the exception of my morning coffee vape, dessert vapes are just an occasional treat for me, and that fruit vapes ( one or two exceptions ) just aren't for me.


Here's how i rate Ahlusion in the three criteria i use, in order of importance to me :

Quality of juice overall - good to very good. if it didn't take oh so long for some of the flavors to come to life, i would've rated it as very good to excellent.
Price - quite reasonable
Customer Relations/Service - poor
Speed of Shipping - excellent


Outstanding :

Caramel Pear Black Tea - completely new flavor to me, and brilliant execution by Wlad in putting these three flavors together in perfect harmony.
Light French Roast - my favorite coffee vape. don't have too many adjectives to describe it, but brilliant coffee imo.
Caramel Wildwood - instant top ten juice for me. perfect, absolutely perfect. never thought i would say this about a caramel vape. i'm sure the excellent tobacco base had a lot to do with it.
Sahara Blend - excellent Turkish blend. smoother than most NET's. dry, a little sweetness with a touch of spice.

Very Good :

Mocha - A lot richer than most ahlusion juices, a little too rich for an adv. a little more cocoa than coffee. excellent after dinner vape.
Cherry Midnight - Dark chocolate and cherries, well crafted. needs aging.
Raspberry Cream - went from poor on arrival to excellent in three months. my favorite of their fruits and dessert probably, after a long aging process.
TT Pear - another long steeper, but the flavors are excellent. a little too mild for clearo's
Banana Fosters - see above.

Good :

Lime Cream - liked it a lot after a couple of weeks aging, but it's a flavor i enjoy only in small doses. was surprised when i read some think it's an adv.
Kona Kick - stronger than lfr, but didn't really stand out for me. pleasant coffee vape though. i suppose.
Fijian Nights - another one that is much better in drippers, which i hate to use and find annoying. If i had to state my biggest pet peeve with Ahl, this would be it.

Interesting :

Blue Grass Burley and Devil Dog - unlike any NET's i had tried before. used to think MOV net's were a little too strong for me, but these take it up a notch. I remember not really liking the flavor the first time, but just kept on vaping and vaping for some reason. couldn't really taste any other juice for an hour after vaping these.

Disappointing :

Smooth Criminal - probably the Ahlusion juice i most looked forward to trying. expected it to bring down my favorite hhv juices off their perch, but i tasted almost nothing on arrival, just a vague sweetness. After six weeks, i still get maybe a hint of tobacco. gonna try again in six weeks and report back if i change my mind on this. i'm sure all the people raving about it can't be wrong, but does nothing for my taste buds currently.
Cocoberry Cream - expected the most out of this fruit cream, but delivered the least. even after it three months aging, i find it just ok. mixing it with a straight strawberry from another vendor.
Blueberry Vanilla Cake - meh, average cake base imo which overpowers the vanilla and blueberry

No rating :

Tiramisu and Jump'n'jive - unvapeable to me. enough said.

 

[LisaR]

It's quiet in here today...

 

[rabernet]

It's quiet in here today...

Very.....

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy Note II using Tapatalk.

 

[DJLEC]

It's quiet in here today...

Mazinny provided excellent entertainment today, and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it not once but twice.

However, I did disagree with the Ahlusion Customer Relations/Service part and this was due to my previous experiences.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[PennyLynn]

Nice review! I DO like fruits - the tarter the better - and I have Jump'N'Jive coming this week.

Coming out of the market, I pulled out my vape and took a drag. Heard a man call "excuse me, Ma'am," and turned around. He said "Oh, it's a fake cigarette." He was looking for a light. I gave him the soft sell but doubt I convinced him.

 

[EleanorR]

Vaping the last of my next-to-last bottle of Light French Roast now.

'Tis a good day for a coffee vape.


This one is just . . . soooooo . . . tasty, true and satisfying.


And while it's still listed on the Ahlusion menu, it is currently "Not Available."

 

[rabernet]

All the weekend talk about Boba's and I finally tried my very well steeped 30 ml bottle of Boba Tea Coffee (best by date May 2014). Yummy!

 

[Mr.Mann]

Nice review! I DO like fruits - the tarter the better - and I have Jump'N'Jive coming this week.

Coming out of the market, I pulled out my vape and took a drag. Heard a man call "excuse me, Ma'am," and turned around. He said "Oh, it's a fake cigarette." He was looking for a light. I gave him the soft sell but doubt I convinced him.

I had this idea I gave to a vendor but he didn't use it -- I thought it would be great, great advertising and quite apropos to, instead of business cards (only), to send out match books with the company name/website and logo + discount code. Next time someone asks you for a light, you could give them a book of matches and a key to the wonderful world of vaping. So every time they light a match/cig, they'd be reminded that there is another way -- well, I thought it was a good idea. Maybe? Hell, I'd prefer a book of matches over all those dern business cards!!!!! LOL

 

[BooBoo888]

Just placed my second order today:

Strawberry Vanilla Cake
Lime Cream
Bananas Foster
Mango Lassi (again)

and I asked for a sample of Rick's Request.

YAY!

 

[nanusic]

All the weekend talk about Boba's and I finally tried my very well steeped 30 ml bottle of Boba Tea Coffee (best by date May 2014). Yummy!

And......after all the disappointment of the possibility of loss of said "Boba's", I must see what I've been missing by ordering it!!

 

[nanusic]

Just placed my second order today:

Strawberry Vanilla Cake
Lime Cream
Bananas Foster
Mango Lassi (again)

and I asked for a sample of Rick's Request.

YAY!

I suspect a large order of Rick's will be in your future!

 

[Mazinny]

Mazinny provided excellent entertainment today, and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it not once but twice.

However, I did disagree with the Ahlusion Customer Relations/Service part and this was due to my previous experiences.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

i touched on this issue a few pages back. my perception was based on limited interaction with Wlad. Maybe July was a particularly bad month for him in this regard, i don't know. perhaps he has some other issues going on with the business. i remember someone jumping in these threads a couple months back and complaining about Wlad and some proposed business interaction they had going wrong etc ... and then apologizing for bringing a personal issue to a public forum. All the restructuring and sales etc,,. looks like they want some immediate cash flow, so perhaps these are trying times for them and it reflects on their responses to my inquiries.

"Poor" might have been a harsh word to describe their customer service.

Remember that really pretty girl from high school, who was also really sweet, and kind and considerate and helpful ? Well not that one ! Ahlusion sort of reminds me of the other girl who was really beautiful, who also knew full well how pretty she is and carried herself accordingly. You know that girl who has been told since she was four years old how pretty she is, and now takes all compliments for granted, and while not rude exactly, is not too humble either ? Kinda acts like it's your privilege to be in her company ? That's the vibe, i got.

And i know some of you have had a different experience, and i also realize that some of you may have an emotional attachment to the company which makes it difficult to comprehend my experience ... but there it is, that's how i felt. Like i said before though, it won't stop me from ordering from them. Probably three or four of their juices are in my current top ten !

 

[Mr.Mann]

i touched on this issue a few pages back. my perception was based on limited interaction with Wlad. Maybe July was a particularly bad month for him in this regard, i don't know. perhaps he has some other issues going on with the business. i remember someone jumping in these threads a couple months back and complaining about Wlad and some proposed business interaction they had going wrong etc ... and then apologizing for bringing a personal issue to a public forum. All the restructuring and sales etc,,. looks like they want some immediate cash flow, so perhaps these are trying times for them and it reflects on their responses to my inquiries.

"Poor" might have been a harsh word to describe their customer service.

Remember that really pretty girl from high school, who was also really sweet, and kind and considerate and helpful ? Well not that one ! Ahlusion sort of reminds me of the other girl who was really beautiful, who also knew full well how pretty she is and carried herself accordingly. You know that girl who has been told since she was four years old how pretty she is, and now takes all compliments for granted, and while not rude exactly, is not too humble either ? Kinda acts like it's your privilege to be in her company ? That's the vibe, i got.

And i know some of you have had a different experience, and i also realize that some of you may have an emotional attachment to the company which makes it difficult to comprehend my experience ... but there it is, that's how i felt. Like i said before though, it won't stop me from ordering from them. Probably three or four of their juices are in my current top ten !

Know that other pretty girl thinks so much of herself that she also tells everyone whom she thinks is pretty. Not too many rude girls do that. My point is that Ahlsuion frequently recommends other liquid vendors -- and has those recommendations on their site -- yet I've seen people get offended that they would have the nerve to say "you should try Halo -- they're really good!"

I don't know, I get what you are saying about your experiences being different from others, but I can't tell whether your reaction to your negative experience is rooted in unmet expectations or that you were actually disrespected. I mean, I have been disrespected by vendors and I sure as hell would never buy from them again. Rude? OMG. I can tell you some stories -- but I won't. As a matter of fact, I won't even mention their names, business or liquid -- no liquid is good enough for me to support belittlement, disrespect, or at the very least, dismissive-ness.

When relationships are good, sure, it brings about an "emotional attachment," and conversely, when relationships don't work out for whatever reason it can sometimes bring about emotional baggage.

Paralipsis coming: I won't bring up the "humble" bit.

 

[Mazinny]

Know that other pretty girl thinks so much of herself that she also tells everyone who she thinks is pretty. Not too many rude girls do that. My point is that Ahlsuion frequently recommends other liquid vendors -- and has those recommendations on their site -- yet I've seen people get offended that they would have the nerve to say "you should try Halo -- they're really good!"

I don't know, I get what you are saying about your experiences being different from others, but I can't tell whether your reaction to your negative experience is rooted in unmet expectations or that you were actually disrespected. I mean, I have been disrespected by vendors and I sure as hell would never buy from them again. Rude? OMG. I can tell you some stories -- but I won't. As a matter of fact, I won't even mention their names, business or liquid -- no liquid is good enough for me to support belittlement, disrespect, or at the very least, dismissive-ness.

When relationships are good, sure, it brings about an "emotional attachment," and conversely, when relationships don't work out for whatever reason it can sometimes bring about emotional baggage.

Paralipsis coming: I won't bring up the "humble" bit.

yeah, definitely remember that other pretty girl too ! the really confident one, who is also at ease with other aspects of herself besides looks. that thing about confidence and arrogance and a thin line, i suppose.

wouldn't say i felt disrespected so much as brushed off.

i had contacted them before about not getting a feedback coupon, and was told that it was because two orders were placed within seven days and you only get one feedback coupon in these cases. well fair enough, had i known this i would have placed a larger order with the first feedback coupon, but so be it. nevermind that i later read that others have been getting two feedback coupons for separate orders place in the same day.

when i didn't get a feedback for another order which was definitely not placed in close proximity to any other order, i called to inquire. Wlad looked it up, confirmed that i should have received the coupon by now, so i asked if i might still get it later. he said he doesn't know and then asked if there was anything else he could help me with, with an impatient tone. i'm thinking to myself anything else ? how about helping me with my main issue. but i bit my tongue and said no thank you, are you saying that you can't issue me a coupon for that particular order ? he said no, and we ended the call.

had he said something along the lines of we will look into, i might have been appeased a bit, but like i said before, his response and especially his tone rubbed me the wrong way.

maybe i am overreacting, and who knows, there might even be some deep rooted "emotional baggage " there ! and i really shouldn't be beating a dead horse any longer.

 

[LisaR]

And......after all the disappointment of the possibility of loss of said "Boba's", I must see what I've been missing by ordering it!!

Definitely try it. Let me say though, don't let your expectations overwhelm the juice itself. It is a subtle flavor, and many people love it (like me!), but not everyone does. My stepdaughter, who otherwise has good taste , thinks it's awful! I like it when I first get it--I get sort-of a buttery green tea with honey flavor. It does that for a couple of weeks. Then it gets kind of flat for a couple of weeks. After 4 or more weeks, it comes around and really starts to develop its magic (for me, anyway). Suddenly you get the lightly sweetened black milk tea flavor and it's impossible to describe what else, and it's exquisite! But, still subtle. Many people think it has coconut flavors--it doesn't really, but I can see how they get that. And what else? Well, this afternoon I was eating some Tom Kha soup, and I bit into a piece of that root like stuff. I think it's galangal. And I thought, "Oh, I think that's part of what I get in Boba Tea!" Anyway, it's a complicated flavor. I hope you like it. If you don't, put it away for a good long, long steep and try it again.

 

[swaycleveland]

I do have to ask.... Am I/are we, supposed to be appeased by seeing boba back on the menu? Even though it's"not available". My next question is why all the games? This is so NOT pandering to your base. Obviously there is something going on at Ahlusions. Something so secret that he hasn't told his employees, the reason I say this is because something would have leaked by now, at one of the stores by someone. Everyone loves to be"in the know" you can't tell me one of his hourly people hasn't heard something. So logic would have it that he is keeping them out of the loop.
Back to the matter at hand. Just cause it it's on the menu I should be happy? How does that work?

 

[Thundernoggin]

I do have to ask.... Am I/are we, supposed to be appeased by seeing boba back on the menu? Even though it's"not available". My next question is why all the games? This is so NOT pandering to your base. Obviously there is something going on at Ahlusions. Something so secret that he hasn't told his employees, the reason I say this is because something would have leaked by now, at one of the stores by someone. Everyone loves to be"in the know" you can't tell me one of his hourly people hasn't heard something. So logic would have it that he is keeping them out of the loop.
Back to the matter at hand. Just cause it it's on the menu I should be happy? How does that work?

Something is going on for sure. I found this little tidbit on their Facebook and it brings up even more questions.

Ahlusion - I totally agree Jimmy - this is something we're moving forward with in our current site redesign. "Feedback" e-mails are rarely used anymore for its intended purpose. We'll be reverting back to our original feedback and profiling system with it's own rewards for those who participate.

This seems like an odd idea given the eventual slide to FDA regulation and his repeated statements of moving away from custom e-juice because of this in the first place.

 

[Jingles]

Boba Tea Coconut is not back on the menu yet...just sayin...I still miss it...

As far as feedback, I give feedback by reordering the same juices over and over and by not complaining about my orders. Part of the allure of ordering online is the anonymity and lack of pressure from the seller. What if I don't feel like taking my time to send feedback? I'm going to be punished for that now? I would think most business owners would be happy that I keep reordering and giving them my money!

 

[LisaR]

I do have to ask.... Am I/are we, supposed to be appeased by seeing boba back on the menu? Even though it's"not available". My next question is why all the games? This is so NOT pandering to your base. Obviously there is something going on at Ahlusions. Something so secret that he hasn't told his employees, the reason I say this is because something would have leaked by now, at one of the stores by someone. Everyone loves to be"in the know" you can't tell me one of his hourly people hasn't heard something. So logic would have it that he is keeping them out of the loop.
Back to the matter at hand. Just cause it it's on the menu I should be happy? How does that work?

I can't tell you how we are "supposed" to feel, or if we "should" be happy. Here's how I feel about it, though. I'm glad Boba Tea is back. I'll be more glad when it's available. I think the outcry over it is what made them put it back, and I'm happy about that. I'm still bothered by the fact that people were apparently lied to about the whole thing, though. It's all kind-of weird how people get different messages from the company. As I said a few days ago, I will still order from them, with or without Boba Tea (although I hope WITH!). Overall, I think I've gotten fair-to-good customer service from them, and outstanding juices. I think you were spot-on right about not putting all of our eggs in one basket. It might be a little unhealthy (for me, anyway) to feel so personally involved in a business that I am not, in fact, personally involved with. I can't imagine being that upset if Safeway stopped carrying the type of bread I usually buy, or even if Discount Vapers stopped carrying my coils. I don't know...

 

[BooBoo888]

Definitely try it. Let me say though, don't let your expectations overwhelm the juice itself. It is a subtle flavor, and many people love it (like me!), but not everyone does. My stepdaughter, who otherwise has good taste , thinks it's awful! I like it when I first get it--I get sort-of a buttery green tea with honey flavor. It does that for a couple of weeks. Then it gets kind of flat for a couple of weeks. After 4 or more weeks, it comes around and really starts to develop its magic (for me, anyway). Suddenly you get the lightly sweetened black milk tea flavor and it's impossible to describe what else, and it's exquisite! But, still subtle. Many people think it has coconut flavors--it doesn't really, but I can see how they get that. And what else? Well, this afternoon I was eating some Tom Kha soup, and I bit into a piece of that root like stuff. I think it's galangal. And I thought, "Oh, I think that's part of what I get in Boba Tea!" Anyway, it's a complicated flavor. I hope you like it. If you don't, put it away for a good long, long steep and try it again.

I'm so glad I wasn't crazy thinking I tasted galangal in Boba Tea, LisaR! That put me off to it initially since I'm not a galangal fan, but last I checked, it was mellowing out with steeping. I'm hoping it will be even better next time I taste it.