DIY Going Pretty Well! (Sweeter Question)

[Liskrig]

--Did a quick search and didn't find anything related to this (in fact, found quite the opposite)

So after about a month of 100% DIY usage, I have some recipes that I like... A lot. My only issue is, I tend to (apparently) like much, much sweeter juices than I thought.

I have Sweetener (TFA), EM 10% (TFA) Cotton Candy (FW) and Sweet Cream... None of which seem to do a damn thing except pad my percentages!

I have been using DIY juice since I started making it full-time (about a month)... I then (just for comparison), went back to my last Zamplebox, and instantly got discouraged The juice was so sweet, and flavorful, and nothing about it was weak. I steep for weeks, and use my UC for speed steeping.

So I had to ask... What am I doing wrong?

I've used EM at 5-Drops / 10ml

Used Sweetener at .5%-1% (I've heard too much can absolutely ruin a juice)

Should I just crank these numbers up? I really DO NOT CARE if I have to re-wick my RTA every day. Gunk is not an issue for me.

As always, any assistance would be appreciated

 

[dannyv45]

Flavoring has as much to do with sweetness as sweetener itself. If the flavoring lacks sweetness then the vape will lack sweetness regardless of how much sweetener you add. EM is not a good sweetener its better for adding wetness and body to a vape at .05%. It also gives the appearance of adding sweetness to an already sweet flavor but is in itself not a sweetener. You can try increasing the amount of sweetener to 2 - 3% but as you mentioned this will be at the expense of your coils and wicks but should help. Lower temperatures and wattage will also bring out sweetness. I find higher temperatures mask sweetness and bring out more of a harshness then a sweetness. Could also be that more steeping time may be the answer or try raising the VG content of the base or try adding .05% marshmallow or EM along with the sweetener to add body which will enhance sweetness as well. Overly thick liquids will also hide flavor and sweetness so if your mixing on the higher VG side you may need to thin the mix a bit more with distilled water

 

[Liskrig]

Flavoring has as much to do with sweetness as sweetener itself. If the flavoring lacks sweetness then the vape will lack sweetness regardless of how much sweetener you add. EM is not a good sweetener its better for adding wetness and body to a vape at .05%. It also gives the appearance of adding sweetness to an already sweet flavor. You can try increasing the amount of sweetener to 2 - 3% but as you mentioned this will be at the expense of your coils and wicks but should help. Lower temperatures and wattage will also bring out sweetness. I find higher temperatures mask sweetness and bring out more of a harshness then a sweetness. Could also be that more steeping time may be the answer. Or raising the VG content of the base.

My base is normally a 70VG mix. Unless I am making it for my Nautilus tanks, then it will be a 50VG (DIY is great)

How high could I go with the sweetener? Like I said, I heard somewhere that too much sweetener can ruin a juice, and would rather have a minimum, and maximum percentage before I play around (could be utter horse shhhhh- but I remembered that... I think Grimmgreen said it)

Here is an example of a recipe that could definitely use it...

Cheesecake (Graham Crust) (TPA) 6%
Strawberry (Ripe) (TPA) 10%

I also have CAP Sweet Strawberry, but have not even mixed my 5% test bact with it yet

 

[dannyv45]

Try the sweet strawberry I've herd it's sweeter then the reg strawberry. I myself don't use TFA as I find the flavors to tempermental and hard to get the percentages right. bullcity sells the SC line as well as the hangsen and inawera lines and I would start there. Adding to much EM will ruin a mix by muting flavor and sweetness if used in excess of .05%. Sweetener will not but you will burn through coils.

 

[Johntodd]

Interesting. I'm DIY too, now, and beginning to explore EM and AP.

Masters of the Vape, please tell us more!

 

[USACelt]

This stuff works for Me seems to bring out the sweetness in fruits, It is a very strong flavor!
One drop to 20ml does the trick for Me
The most sweetner I use is 3%

 

[dannyv45]

Interesting. I'm DIY too, now, and beginning to explore EM and AP.

Masters of the Vape, please tell us more!

Read my blog on sweetness and additives it will tell you everything you want to know.

Sweetening and additives | E-Cigarette Forum

 

[AndriaD]

--Did a quick search and didn't find anything related to this (in fact, found quite the opposite)

So after about a month of 100% DIY usage, I have some recipes that I like... A lot. My only issue is, I tend to (apparently) like much, much sweeter juices than I thought.

I have Sweetener (TFA), EM 10% (TFA) Cotton Candy (FW) and Sweet Cream... None of which seem to do a damn thing except pad my percentages!

I have been using DIY juice since I started making it full-time (about a month)... I then (just for comparison), went back to my last Zamplebox, and instantly got discouraged The juice was so sweet, and flavorful, and nothing about it was weak. I steep for weeks, and use my UC for speed steeping.

So I had to ask... What am I doing wrong?

I've used EM at 5-Drops / 10ml

Used Sweetener at .5%-1% (I've heard too much can absolutely ruin a juice)

Should I just crank these numbers up? I really DO NOT CARE if I have to re-wick my RTA every day. Gunk is not an issue for me.

As always, any assistance would be appreciated

Dunno if you've seen my recipe for strawberry & cream, but it's at least 30% flavoring, and usually a bit more, because I always use more sweetener than what I post in the recipe -- I usually post 2%-3% sweetener, but I actually use 3.2%-3.3%. I have to be careful and only use over 3.1% if it's a small amount that's gonna be used up quickly, because mine gets sweeter and stronger, the longer it sits -- if the sweetener is too high, after a week it's no longer vapable.

This is the recipe I'm currently using:

Inawera Shisha Strawberry 15.6%
TFA DX Bavarian Cream 5.7%
TFA Vanilla Swirl 4.3%
CAP Sweet Cream 1.9%
TFA Sweetener 3.3%

I'd suggest making no more than about 3-5 days' worth, or go lighter on the sweetener.

Andria

 

[dannyv45]

View attachment 523998

This stuff works for Me seems to bring out the sweetness in fruits, It is a very strong flavor!
One drop to 20ml does the trick for Me
The most sweetner I use is 3%

Many here swear by this stuff. I have never tried it but it's worth a shot.

 

[USACelt]

I used 1% the first time and It was so strong it tasted like candy dust lol

 

[Liskrig]

Dunno if you've seen my recipe for strawberry & cream, but it's at least 30% flavoring, and usually a bit more, because I always use more sweetener than what I post in the recipe -- I usually post 2%-3% sweetener, but I actually use 3.2%-3.3%. I have to be careful and only use over 3.1% if it's a small amount that's gonna be used up quickly, because mine gets sweeter and stronger, the longer it sits -- if the sweetener is too high, after a week it's no longer vapable.

This is the recipe I'm currently using:

Inawera Shisha Strawberry 15.6%
TFA DX Bavarian Cream 5.7%
TFA Vanilla Swirl 4.3%
CAP Sweet Cream 1.9%
TFA Sweetener 3.3%

I'd suggest making no more than about 3-5 days' worth, or go lighter on the sweetener.

Andria

I actually have your recipe saved on my e-liquid-recipe site of choice (second to ECF of course ) I've been meaning to give this a shot as I actually love strawberry flavors having never tried a "premium" one before! Thanks for sharing again

 

[AndriaD]

I actually have your recipe saved on my e-liquid-recipe site of choice (second to ECF of course ) I've been meaning to give this a shot as I actually love strawberry flavors having never tried a "premium" one before! Thanks for sharing again

I think this one worked so well for me because I'd never tried any strawberry flavored vape before, so I had nothing to compare it to. Later, I was waiting on the shisha strawberry to arrive at one point and had to go buy some ejuice at the B&M; I tried the Cuttwood Unicorn Milk, and I'll be honest, I couldn't even taste any strawberry in it, compared to mine. I passed on the Unicorn Milk and ended up buying one called Strawberry Fields, by Hard Rock Vapor, which isn't bad, but it's 50/50, too much VG for me.

My recipe actually produces something more like strawberry custard, with that combo of DX Bavarian and Vanilla Swirl, but I don't call it that, because it's diketone free, and when people hear "custard" they immediately think it must be chockful of diketones, but mine isn't.

Andria

 

[Johntodd]

Read my blog on sweetness and additives it will tell you everything you want to know.

Sweetening and additives | E-Cigarette Forum

Read all that, good stuff! Also read every other thing on the intarwebs about the topic at hand. What I'm looking for now is more of peoples' experiences. And "tips along the way."

Cool thread, bro!

 

[herb]

I just tried "Forty Niner" by Fugali Vapor and it's outstanding , i believe they say it's a key lime lemonade type flavor .

I got to figure this out but of course no key lime or lemonade flavors to be seen anywhere , they probably overheard me talking and jumped ship and are currently on the run , dang flavorings lol.

 

[SailCat]

Huge congratulations @Liskrig on successfully transitioning from cigs to vaping and getting into DIY. The first transition will surely improve your health, the second will add immeasurably to your overall enjoyment of vaping.

So after about a month of 100% DIY usage, I have some recipes that I like... A lot. My only issue is, I tend to (apparently) like much, much sweeter juices than I thought.

I have Sweetener (TFA), EM 10% (TFA) Cotton Candy (FW) and Sweet Cream... None of which seem to do a damn thing except pad my percentages!

Surprising that no one else mentioned that EM 10% and TFA Cotton Candy are one and the same. While EM is often used as a sweetener, it is, in and of itself, not very sweet. It will only increase the sweetness of e-liquid ingredients only if they are not as sweet as the EM. That said, it's quite good at adding moistness and will often do so without making your juice perceptibly sweeter.

As Danny and Andria sagely contributed, choosing ingredients with sweetness in mind or combining them to increase the effectiveness is the preferable approach. Some ingredients will enhance the flavor and sweetness of others. For instance, Raspberry sweeten and 'pop' Strawberry effectively and in such small quantity that the former flavoring isn't itself detectable. They tell me it's science but I'm pretty sure there's some magic at work here.

Regarding sweetener itself, if you feel you must, consensus of those who have, as they say, 'tried 'em all' is that Stevia will sweeten more effectively without adding undesirable bitter or 'off' flavors. If you choose to try it,be certain to choose one without fillers and nothing other than water, alcohol, PG or glycerin (which is VG). In other words, nothing you wouldn't put in juice yourself. Personally, I prefer powders and buy all additives (EM, malic & citric acid, vanillin, etc) in that form. Doing so allows you to choose for for yourself the percentage and diluent.

Cool, huh? Godfrey Daniels, this stuff is fun!

 

[Marc411]

When I look for sweetness I tend to use super sweet at .5% and it works fairly consistently. I tried it once a 2% and it was ultra sweet

A little goes a long way but the nice thing is you can always add more if needed and then shake and vape.

 

[Yiana]

I can't stand sucralose, but am starting to get very curious about stevia.

 

[Liskrig]

So I have a cart full of the "sweet" fruits by CAP (lychee, orange, guava, mango). I also picked up a bottle of the Sweet and Tart, as well as Super Sweet by CAP. I'm hoping I can get something I like, as I tried a juice from my last Zamplebox, and it is super sweet (like I'm looking for). These are all in sample sizes for now.

Thanks for all the feedback!!!

 

[AndriaD]

So I have a cart full of the "sweet" fruits by CAP (lychee, orange, guava, mango). I also picked up a bottle of the Sweet and Tart, as well as Super Sweet by CAP. I'm hoping I can get something I like, as I tried a juice from my last Zamplebox, and it is super sweet (like I'm looking for). These are all in sample sizes for now.

Thanks for all the feedback!!!

Good luck with the CAP super sweet. I haven't tried that one, but I tried the super sweet in ECX's brand, and it was awful, really artificial. The TFA sweetener is the best.

Andria

 

[Liskrig]

Good luck with the CAP super sweet. I haven't tried that one, but I tried the super sweet in ECX's brand, and it was awful, really artificial. The TFA sweetener is the best.

Andria

Thanks! Yeah, I usually tend to overbuy for sampling, so I decided to keep it at the smallest 13ml this time and just increase the order as needed. I will let you know about the CAP Super Sweet, I may even just make an unflavored 5ml batch to see what it can do.