Flavor differences between manufacturers

[Squidward]

I'm getting started in DIY and found a mix I really like. I decided I wanted to make up 120ml and needed some larger bottles of flavoring, and found that Bull City Vapor only seems to carry 10ml bottles of FW Green Apple.

This led me to wonder about the differences between same-labelled flavors between different vendors, specifically the taste of the flavors and the degree of concentration between, say, the FA Green Apple I started with and Capella Green Apple and TFA Green Apple, both of which are available in 4oz bottles.

Should I expect these three green apple flavorings to be similar enough to be (roughly) interchangable, taste-wise, and are popular flavorings (TFA/FW/FA/LorAnn) generally mixed at roughly the same levels of concentration?

 

[Sugar_and_Spice]

No....lol... all are different and cannot rely that they all taste the same.
Go to flavorwest.com. They sell in larger quantities there.
All flavors are not created equal. So if you found one you really like stick with it.

 

[BrotherBob]

Most blenders flavors do not taste the same. Some closer in taste to each other but no hard and fast rule.

 

[Jdurand]

I found out fast not all flavorings are equal. With that said there are those who like flavors from certain companies, while others prefer the same flavor from yet another company. Flavor is so subjective that it becomes one of the most heated debates here....after nicotine! lol

 

[Steamix]

buy flavour x from 10 different vendors and you get 10 different interpretations of flavour 'x'.

Sure apple may be apple and vanilla may be vanilla, but each flavourist has his/her own idea of the 'real thing'.

That's why recipes found online almost always specify the manufacturer AND the flavour.
And when blending your own, it helps to avoid disappointment to always make note of that maker too, not just the flavour.

Blend on, vape on

 

[Squidward]

Thanks, folks. I was hoping to avoid having to buy another set of small bottles to sample before picking up larger quantities, but it looks like flavorwest.com is pretty consistent in offering their flavorings in bigger bottles, so I guess I'll order some test flavorings from them and put off buying big bottles for now.

Thanks for your input!

 

[bubbalou32]

I've been using DIY E-Liquid, Electronic Cigarettes and Wholesale Nicotine & E-Cig Juice | EcigExpress for test batches and larger quantities. They stock more than a dozen flavor manufacturers and can be had in as little as 7ml and up to 500ml bottles.

edit: FW green apple 30ml for under $4

 

[Jdurand]

Bull City vapor also seems to have anything you could want in the DIY category.

 

[Sugar_and_Spice]

and are popular flavorings (TFA/FW/FA/LorAnn) generally mixed at roughly the same levels of concentration?

Also worth a mention Not all are same levels of concentration either.
FW for many has a low concentration requiring a higher use per finished product.(you use more) according to their website suggests using @15-20%.(I personally think this is too high--but taste is subjective.)
Whereas FlavourArt is very concentrated and you use much less when mixing your ejuice. Their website suggests starting @3% and go from there.

Hope this helps.

 

[Jdurand]

Also worth a mention Not all are same levels of concentration either.
FW for many has a low concentration requiring a higher use per finished product.(you use more) according to their website suggests using @15-20%.(I personally think this is too high--but taste is subjective.)
Whereas FlavourArt is very concentrated and you use much less when mixing your ejuice. Their website suggests starting @3% and go from there.

Hope this helps.

Excellent point, some of the inawera flavors can turn your juice to cough syrup at anything over 5%.

 

[scotdc]

The gist of what everyone is saying here is never buy big bottles of anything until you know that flavor and manufacturer. If something like Green Apple is your favorite flavor, do yourself a favor and sample at least the Big 3 or 5 flavor makers - TFA, Capella, Flavor West, Flavourart and Inawera. Then, when you find the one that's right for you - buy a big bottle. For example, I love Waffle flavors and tried 6 different iterations of the flavor - but only two of them turned out to be any good for my tastes.

Also, a note of caution. I've had the same flavor from the same manufacturer taste different from different vendors. As almost everybody rebottles the concentrates, be careful with who you buy it from. I've had really good luck with Bull City, Inawerawinkel and E-aromashop (both in Poland for Inawera), Ecigexpress, and Gremlin DIY. Others... not so much.

Let the adventure begin!

 

[Squidward]

I've been using DIY E-Liquid, Electronic Cigarettes and Wholesale Nicotine & E-Cig Juice | EcigExpress for test batches and larger quantities. They stock more than a dozen flavor manufacturers and can be had in as little as 7ml and up to 500ml bottles.

edit: FW green apple 30ml for under $4

Great tip, thank you! Good pricing for both product and shipping - I'll try them for sure.

Bull City vapor also seems to have anything you could want in the DIY category.

I've been buying from BCV and really like trading with them, but the fact that the only offer 10ml bottles of some flavorings is what led me to start this thread. Even when they do offer larger bottles, they seem to max out at 4oz and I'm more interested at this point in finding a mix I can vape full time (and thus will want to mix larger batches) than I am in trying/tweaking/maintaining multiple recipes.

Also worth a mention Not all are same levels of concentration either.
FW for many has a low concentration requiring a higher use per finished product.(you use more) according to their website suggests using @15-20%.(I personally think this is too high--but taste is subjective.)
Whereas FlavourArt is very concentrated and you use much less when mixing your ejuice. Their website suggests starting @3% and go from there.

Hope this helps.

That does help quite a bit, thank you. I'll use that info when shopping for my next batch of flavorings!

The gist of what everyone is saying here is never buy big bottles of anything until you know that flavor and manufacturer. If something like Green Apple is your favorite flavor, do yourself a favor and sample at least the Big 3 or 5 flavor makers - TFA, Capella, Flavor West, Flavourart and Inawera. Then, when you find the one that's right for you - buy a big bottle. For example, I love Waffle flavors and tried 6 different iterations of the flavor - but only two of them turned out to be any good for my tastes.

Also, a note of caution. I've had the same flavor from the same manufacturer taste different from different vendors. As almost everybody rebottles the concentrates, be careful with who you buy it from. I've had really good luck with Bull City, Inawerawinkel and E-aromashop (both in Poland for Inawera), Ecigexpress, and Gremlin DIY. Others... not so much.

Let the adventure begin!

That's great advice, thank you. Sounds like I need to do a bit more experimenting before investing in larger quantities! I'm vaping a grape/apple/sweet-tart recipe this week that's close to being very good, but the FW Green Apple seems a bit too bitter for what I'm going for. I'm planning to try it with a red (not green) apple to see if I can take some of the bite out of it, and I'll do as you suggest and try apple flavorings from the different flavor houses as I tweak this recipe.

 

[Sugar_and_Spice]

That's great advice, thank you. Sounds like I need to do a bit more experimenting before investing in larger quantities! I'm vaping a grape/apple/sweet-tart recipe this week that's close to being very good, but the FW Green Apple seems a bit too bitter for what I'm going for. I'm planning to try it with a red (not green) apple to see if I can take some of the bite out of it, and I'll do as you suggest and try apple flavorings from the different flavor houses as I tweak this recipe.

You may also find 2 or so that you really like but there's that something still missing....element. I would suggest to try them both mixed together. This often lends another depth to the eliquid and may get closer to what you are looking for. It doesn't have to be an even amt for each flavor. Just play with it.
When I mix my peanut fluff juice, I use tpa dw-peanut butter and fw peanut butter. tpa isn't a strong flavor but I like the taste. FW peanut butter is very strong in the beginning and tends to mellow out a bit after a few days. Together they compliment each other and the ejuice is pretty good.