Anyone got any suggestions for a dark, bitter, chocolate flavouring? I've tried a couple (TFA Double chocolate clear and CAP Chocolate Fudge Brownie v2) but both are to me anyway, more like milk than plain chocolate.
Dark chocolate recommendations
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VT Dark Chocolate is a good dark chocolate, that is fairly new on the scene, but getting lots of love.
FA Cocoa mimics cocoa powder. Though not ideal as a stand-alone/single flavor. It is good as an additive to "darken" other chocolate concentrates.
TFA Bittersweet Chocolate is a good bitter chocolate, though a bit thin. Can be used w/VT Dark Chocolate to add depth.
FA Chocolate is a good middle-note chocolate, though some perceive a liquor note in it, that can interfere with candy profiles. Addition of FA Cocoa turns this into a darker chocolate. Additions of milk/dairy moves it toward a milk chocolate flavor.
Acetyl Pyrazine (1-2% max) is useful for filling/rounding out chocolate profiles. It also removes the liquor note of FA Chocolate.
FA Cocoa mimics cocoa powder. Though not ideal as a stand-alone/single flavor. It is good as an additive to "darken" other chocolate concentrates.
TFA Bittersweet Chocolate is a good bitter chocolate, though a bit thin. Can be used w/VT Dark Chocolate to add depth.
FA Chocolate is a good middle-note chocolate, though some perceive a liquor note in it, that can interfere with candy profiles. Addition of FA Cocoa turns this into a darker chocolate. Additions of milk/dairy moves it toward a milk chocolate flavor.
Acetyl Pyrazine (1-2% max) is useful for filling/rounding out chocolate profiles. It also removes the liquor note of FA Chocolate.
I have never had any luck with any chocolates. They can seem vaguely reminiscing of chocolate to me but that’s about it. YMMV of course. If the flavor didn’t work for at least some people it wouldn’t exist.
Historically chocolate was one of those very hard flavors to replicate which is why the price of coco beans has remained high compared to other substances who’s flavors have been successfully copied.
Wow, thanks @IDJoel. I wasn't expecting to have much choice there, but that sounds really positive. My AP is on standby - I'd drink the stuff out the bottle if I could
. I never thought of it that way @bombastinator, just goes to show how much artificial flavours are used. I know I'm taking a bit of a risk here, but hey ho, nothing ventured, nothing gained. The CAP offering is actually not too bad IMO, I can see it working in certain scenarios - it just hasn't got the dark depths plain chocolate has. The TFA sample I have is a complete mystery to me. How it passes for chocolate I've yet to work out. It smells OK in the bottle, but once you throw it on a hot coil, it just tastes artificial
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Part of the problem I understand is the coco butter. Chocolate is coco powder and coco butter (and frequently milk) mixed together in a fairly temperature sensitive process. The flavor of the coco butter has proved nearly impossible to replicate. I had a coco puffs flavor that did remind me of coco puffs. It’s probably because coco puffs don’t use real chocolate either though.Wow, thanks @IDJoel. I wasn't expecting to have much choice there, but that sounds really positive. My AP is on standby - I'd drink the stuff out the bottle if I could
I never thought of it that way @bombastinator, just goes to show how much artificial flavours are used. I know I'm taking a bit of a risk here, but hey ho, nothing ventured, nothing gained. The CAP offering is actually not too bad IMO, I can see it working in certain scenarios - it just hasn't got the dark depths plain chocolate has. The TFA sample I have is a complete mystery to me. How it passes for chocolate I've yet to work out. It smells OK in the bottle, but once you throw it on a hot coil, it just tastes artificial
I use a combination of TFA Bittersweet Chocolate and TFA Milk Chocolate when I want a Dark Semi-Sweet Chocolate taste in a Mint Chocolate Chip recipe I make. IMO, they compliment each other when used together.
You might want to give the Inawera 'Czekolada' a try, i never used it standalone though, but combined with tobacco flavours.
I just copied this whole post from Joel into my notes into the candy/chocolate section! 
Thanks for always giving us more than we ask for, Joel.
I would have NEVER thought to use AP to help out chocolate... Mind blown.
Thanks for always giving us more than we ask for, Joel. I would have NEVER thought to use AP to help out chocolate... Mind blown.
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I agree with @bombastinator, that chocolate vapes are a difficult flavor to replicate, and not for everyone.The TFA sample I have is a complete mystery to me. How it passes for chocolate I've yet to work out. It smells OK in the bottle, but once you throw it on a hot coil, it just tastes artificial
Chocolate concentrates seem to be one of those flavor groups that is very temperamental. It is more sensitive to heat (lower is usually better), and can be easily influenced by inferior quality nicotine. For me; chocolate performs better on +1.0 ohm MTL coil builds, compared to sub-ohm DTL builds (airflow has a significant influence too).
If you question your nicotine quality: try vaping two identical mixes in identical hardware. One mix with your usual nicotine profile. And, the other exactly the same (same flavor percentages, same PG/VG ratio), but omit the nicotine. If there is a significant difference... it is the nicotine.
Also, chocolate concentrates can easily be over-used. Chocolates, for me, need to be started at, or below, minimum recommended percentages. When using chocolate in combination (with other chocolates); keep the combined total low.
I would have NEVER thought to use AP to help out chocolate... Mind blown.
Like 95% of my "wisdom," it is not a "Joel original." I learned most of my chocolate understanding from other mixers. I think it was HIC who exposed me to the idea of using AP with chocolate.
Chocolate mixes, for me, have almost always become closer to a more realistic chocolate, when using more than one chocolate concentrate, in the recipe. It seems like flavor manufacturers always manage to get one part right, while missing others. Combinations of chocolate seem to fill these voids out (HIC's Swiss Bliss is a good simple example of this).
The only exception to this, that I have personally found, is a Reddit Recipe called Rumpelstiltskin (by InsigmaTheory). It is a German chocolate cake recipe, that uses FLV Chocolate Deutsch, as the only chocolate component. It tastes exactly like I remember Mom's German chocolate cake; rich, chocolatey, with a distinct toasted coconut note (from the FLV Chocolate Deutsch; so not ideal for a plain chocolate). InsigmaTheory's flavor notes for the recipe are worthy of a read.
Finally, a DISCLAIMER:
Before anyone starts thinking I am some sort of a chocolate guru, I want to state emphatically, that I have never been satisfied with my chocolate efforts. I have attained "adequate," to even approaching "decent." But, I have never arrived at anything that I would classify as "great." I have burned out, for the most part, on chasing chocolate. (Every once in a while I still dabble.
)My experience tells me; chocolate vapes take: reasonable expectations, a LOT of patience, and a willingness to try lots of subtle variations (both with recipe formulation; as well as hardware set-up). Without all of these, one is set up for heartbreak, and frustration.
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