Flavors

[Angelz]

Hi

Can anyone tell me the best (safety considerations included) flavors to use for DIY, with the most variety? I see so much about Lorann oils, but not all of them are safe to use for flavoring liquid because of the sugar content, right? What I need is a large variety of *safe* flavors

 

[DinosaurVapor]

Lorann should be safe to use.....it's what I use

 

[Angelz]

I saw a chart somewhere that says there are many or Lorann's oils that should not be used. Do you just go ahead and use any of them? I copied down the "safe" flavors to use (those without added oils/sugars), which are as follows:

Apple
Bavarian Creme
Black Walnut
Blackberry
Brandy
Butter
Butter Rum
Caramel
Champagne
Cheesecake
Chocolate Hazelnut
Cinnamon Roll
Coconut
Cotton Candy
Cranberry
English Toffee
Marshmallow
Mint Chocolate Chip
Pecan
Pineapple
Pistachio
Praline
Pralines And Cream
Vanilla Butternut

Can you use the other flavors, though, for real? Does anyone use the other flavors? And where would one purchase the flavors for tobacco?

 

[Scottes]

You probably want the information in this thread:
http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/fo...rs-color-coded-complete-ingredients-list.html

If you search thread titles for all of the other popular flavorings you will find similar threads for each. Other companies commonly used include:

Bickford Flavors
Capella Flavor Drops
faerie's finest - extracts and liquid flavors
Flavourart Express shop
Juicy Liquid
LorAnn Super Strength Flavors
Tasty Puff Tobacco Flavoring


Most of this info is also listed in Scubabatdan's ejuice calculator.

 

[Angelz]

Nice list. This is scary: "You might also make mention of any flavors that contain Diacetyl, which is highly toxic when inhaled."
Yet another thing to look out for...

 

[Scottes]

Of those companies I listed above, I think only that FlavourArt is known to use Diacetyl. The FlavourArt site, one of the FA threads, and the EJuice Calculator list the percentages for each FA flavor that contains diacetyl.

I'm pretty sure that LorAnn and Capella have said they don't use it at all. But I'm not positive and keep forgetting to track those threads down, so you might want to do some research.

 

[Angelz]

Ah, it does say that LorAnn doesn't use that, I just found it. Here's some more info:

http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/fo...johnson-creek-may-not-reply-some-e-mails.html

Check post #6. It looks like some Bickford Flavors contain Diacetyl.

 

[Kurt]

Capella says in their website that they do not use diacetyl. Just got some of theirs...excellent flavors! I find them to be very strong, so generally keep the flavor to about 10%.

 

[Angelz]

Capella says in their website that they do not use diacetyl. Just got some of theirs...excellent flavors! I find them to be very strong, so generally keep the flavor to about 10%.

10%, gotcha, thanks. Can the coffee/tea Capella flavors be used as well? And I heard that the LorAnn oils are quite weak these days (watered down) - can someone who has recently used these tell me what percentage is recommended for these flavors?

 

[wrecktangle]

Flavors all come down to personal preference. And some flavors, even from the same manufacturer, are stronger than others. I just mixed a 3ml batch of Capella's "Grandma's Apple Pie", I used 14 drops of flavor before I got it to where I like it. I think there's something like 20 drops to a ml (depending on the size of your dropper).

On other recipes, using Lorann's I've only used 3 or 4 drops to 3ml. and found the flavor quite satisfying. Lorann's Raspberry, I've found, is particularly strong at least to me.

 

[Scottes]

Can the coffee/tea Capella flavors be used as well?

I think that Capella's list the Coffee/Tea flavors on two different pages so that people can easily find them.

I went to their site, clicked on
Home > Flavor Drops > Coffee/Tea Flavors > Irish Cream
and opened another window and went to
Home > Flavor Drops > Irish Cream
And both pages are identical as far as content - ingredients, description, etc.

And I heard that the LorAnn oils are quite weak these days (watered down) - can someone who has recently used these tell me what percentage is recommended for these flavors?

Every flavor, regardless of company, is different.
This isn't all recent, but have you seen this thread:
http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/diy-e-liquid/12259-loranns-strength-o-meter.html

 

[fatalis]

I almost poisoned myself to death the other night experimenting with diy juice... I am very confused! I tried mixing some juice for the first time a few days ago but it ended up tasting so horrendously HORRIBLE that I couldn't even boil the taste and smell out of the atty I was using and ended up having to throw it out!
I took 36mg unflavored PG, cut it with VG and added some Loranns chocolate hazelnut and coconut and it just tasted like chemicals! What went wrong???8-o

 

[Angelz]

Every flavor, regardless of company, is different.
This isn't all recent, but have you seen this thread:
http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/diy-e-liquid/12259-loranns-strength-o-meter.html

Excellent, thank you. Does anyone have a rough idea as to how much 1 bottle of Capella's flavors will flavor?

 

[Scottes]

I took 36mg unflavored PG, cut it with VG and added some Loranns chocolate hazelnut and coconut and it just tasted like chemicals! What went wrong???

My first guess is: Too much coconut. I tried LorAnn's a couple months ago and it tasted more like paint thinner than coconut. I probably used too much myself.

You're best off starting slow and small. I take a 3ml bottle and add 1ml of VG and 1ml of PG. I then squeeze out 4 drops, and add 4 drops of flavoring to get it back to 2ml.

I drip 2 drops of this. If I can't taste the flavor, I add two more drops of flavoring to the bottle. If I can taste the flavoring, but its not string enough, I add 1 drop of flavoring and one drop of PG. Always keeping the bottle at 2ml.

When I do this test vaping I always vape the atomizer dry. This makes sure that my next 2 drops - at the new strength - is all that's on the atomizer.

I either get to a point where the flavor is strong enough, and note the number of drops needed for every 2ml of finished e-juice. Sometimes adding more flavoring starts to make it bitter, and sometimes adding 2 drops of flavoring doesn't do anything at all. So I know I've gone a little too far.

When I do this test vaping of a new flavor it takes a couple/few hours, and I make sure that I have another PV handy with a decently strong nic. I don't rush it, and I don't let it be a chore. It is a pain in the ...., really. But well worth the knowledge.

 

[Scottes]

Excellent, thank you. Does anyone have a rough idea as to how much 1 bottle of Capella's flavors will flavor?

It depends on the flavor's strength. If you use 10% flavoring in your mix, a bottle will make 130ml of finished ejuice. 20% is a little more reasonable for most people, so that makes 65ml of e-juice from one bottle.

 

[fatalis]

My first guess is: Too much coconut. I tried LorAnn's a couple months ago and it tasted more like paint thinner than coconut. I probably used too much myself.

You're best off starting slow and small. I take a 3ml bottle and add 1ml of VG and 1ml of PG. I then squeeze out 4 drops, and add 4 drops of flavoring to get it back to 2ml.

I drip 2 drops of this. If I can't taste the flavor, I add two more drops of flavoring to the bottle. If I can taste the flavoring, but its not string enough, I add 1 drop of flavoring and one drop of PG. Always keeping the bottle at 2ml.

Thanks so much, that was really helpful! However, I'm still in the complete dark over why food and candy flavorings can taste like paint thinner? Maybe only some flavors taste like that? Does anybody know anything about LorAnn's banana creme, orange creme, amaretto and mango? These are the only ones I have right now and I'm scared to ruin another atty because I couldn't get the smell or taste out of it the last time! Are there any all-natural flavorings out there?

 

[Kurt]

Thanks so much, that was really helpful! However, I'm still in the complete dark over why food and candy flavorings can taste like paint thinner? Maybe only some flavors taste like that? Does anybody know anything about LorAnn's banana creme, orange creme, amaretto and mango? These are the only ones I have right now and I'm scared to ruin another atty because I couldn't get the smell or taste out of it the last time! Are there any all-natural flavorings out there?

The orange creme is not bad. Sort of orange creamsicle. It tends to linger in the atty though. Don't know about the others. BTW, that atty you threw out...I'm sure there were more than a few gasps from readers of that! 8-o Vodka will take it out, or one of the other cleaning methods. If you can get everclear, that is the best. Soak it for 15 minutes, then lots of HOT water, blow out and let dry for a day. Foul flavor should be gone. Hopefully garbage has not been picked up. I don't even throw out dead attys, as one day I will know how to fix them. In a post-ban world, attys will be gold.

Lorann flavors I like are pecan, bavarian creme (but its always out of stock), caramel, Eng toffee, pralines and creme. The coffee is not bad, and good with a drop or two of black walnut. I love fruit, but I've not found a fruit flavor I really enjoy. The blackberry is way strong. Banana is going to be like banana taffy. Loranns licorice, if you like that, is really nice.

For the money, I think capellas is a much better deal than lorann's. They are having a 30% off sale until the end of the month. Their flavors are really good, very strong, and 13 mL/bottle, so a great value. The double chocolate and vanilla custard are my two faves now. Loranns chocolate is not great, although one day I will try the vanilla butternut.

The next time you think you've ruined an atty from some flavor, please send it to me!!

I generally make a 10% juice at first. The is usually on the somewhat weak side, then add drops as I see fit.

 

[Kurt]

Oh, and I was also disappointed with the coconut. Sort of a tired flavor kind of related to coconut, but not like shredded coconut. But I think this one is hard because much of what we like in coconut comes out with sugar, which is of course a problem with vaping.

I think it is safe to say that if you are new to DIY juices, you are going to waste some to bad recipes...sort of like beginner cooks trying something really hard and gourmet. Getting a vapable juice is easy. Getting a good juice takes practice. Scubabatdan's spreadsheet is always where I start...save for mints, which require one or two drops for many mL.

Oh, and another lorann I like is Choc mint chip...really nails it well. Nutty, choc, coffee flavors are easier. Tropical/fruit flavors I think can easily be too sharp.

 

[RenaissancePuffer]

Loranns are pretty strong, and the big problem is the strength of the flavor is not equal across the board on their flavoring. I tried mixing up a batch with the standard 20% flavoring with Cherry and it was so intensely flavored, it was not vapable, not even close.

What Scottes suggested with starting out small is really the best advice. There is a learning curve to it, just like cooking. Too much of any ingredient and it will turn out bad.

Scubabatdan has suggested to put the flavoring into regular water, and taste it that way, with your tongue. You can tell if you have the right ratio of flavor to liquid.

I also suggest to start out with some more milder flavors in the beginning. Marshmellow, Cheesecake, Peanut Butter, Cotton Candy, these are all fairly mild on the palate and taste pretty good. Once you start getting the hang of it, you can move onto some of the more intense flavors like Coffee.

If you don't have any of the milder flavors to work with, take Scottes advice and start out small, and find your recipe...Oh, and write it down!