Fruit flavors, Flavor Apprentice v.s. Lorann

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tiyantiyan

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I just got another batch of Lorann hard candy fruit flavor and can't enjoy it more:thumb:.


Apple, Mango, Strawberry, Kiwi, Peach etc, all smell and taste excellent. The Mango smells heavenly good, makes me want to make a drink out of it:toast:. It is like some of the top fruit candy you find in grocery store, those that make you drool when you think of it.


Lorann hard candy flavor is super concentrated. I use 2% fruit flavor and 2% menthol, tasty. Can increase the flavor a bit, but 2% is always good enough for me.
There is no need to add other flavor normally. Sometimes, if I feel the need, another 2% cheese or cream could make the juice a little more delicate.





Now comes to Flavor Apprentice.

My very first flavor order long ago was from FA's website, which was tobacco, coffee, chocolate etc. The tobacco served the need well at the very beginning, to mimic some menthol cig. But the coffee & chocolate were never good for me, smell funky, not like coffee or chocolate at all.

Then I found Lorann fruit flavor was good and more tasty, so I switched to Lorann fruit juice. I ordered about 15 different Lorann fruit flavors for sampling, and none disappointed me. That made me think fruit flavors are easy to make and all fruit flavor should be good (big mistake:facepalm:).

So, after I finished all the 15 Lorran samples, I looked around for big batch fruit flavor. Opted for cheap (another mistake:facepalm:), ordered total 160ml FA fruit flavors from RXX (the well known store that you know...).

When the order arrives, each single one smells bad! Very strong chemical smell, except one (watermelon). Oh, maybe the smell doesn't matter... So I made some juice, and puff..., oh my mouse is on fire:evil:... It irritates like putting perfume on your tongue. I tried all of the flavors and all of them irritate my mouse badly. Like inhaling chemical.

In the end I threw all of them, didn't want to deal with RXX as you know their customer service.


I am not sure if it's this particular batch, or if RXX contaminated it while they did the bottling though. All I can say is, all the flavors I ordered from RXX, totally 160ml, are big failure...




Overall, I did find Lorann flavors don't have any trace of chemical smell at all, while FA flavors often have some.
Lorann flavors smell/taste like the exact fruit it mimics, while FA flavors far far away from that.


I would still laugh when thinking of the FA apple, as the FA apple flavor which I got, doesn't smell like apple at all. There isn't a single trace of apple smell there :lol: and the label says APPLE flavor. haha!



Thanks if you read so far:) just want to share my experience. To put it simple, if you like fruit flavor, go for the Lorann. It's good stuff!
 

Lord_Fubar

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I buy all of my TFA flavors at Wizard Labs and I have yet to have a "bad batch". Some flavors need more tweaking like the 2x clear chocolate. On the other hand, vanilla bean ice cream I love using so much it became my first flavor I had to reorder so far.

I like Lorann's watermelon other then the extra red coloring used.
 

Hoosier

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If you find flavorings that work for you, stick with them. You can thank yourself later right after you order some more just before you run out.

I usually get my Lorann's from a mom&pop shop near me where they have a nice selection and are always friendly. I always get my TFA from TPA because I've been doing business there before there was a TFA.

All flavorings are chemicals. Natural raspberry flavoring may come from the liquid of a beaver's .... gland (also used in other natural berry flavorings) or natural coconut flavoring may come from the bark of a tree that dies during the bark removal, but it is the chemicals in that natural source that produce the flavor.

If you'd like to see the chemicals that produce the flavor of a natural blueberry you can click this link. http://jameskennedymonash.files.wordpress.com/2014/01/ingredients-of-all-natural-blueberries-poster1.pdf I don't even know how to pronounce Hydroxylinalool, but the blueberry bush puts it in the berry for me to enjoy regardless of my enunciation. (It's that "linalool" part that twists my tongue when I try to pronounce it.)

I don't know much about flavoring, but the more I learn, the more I find out that I don't know and the more fascinating it is.
 

merddyn2002

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good thread and appreciate you sharing your experience. I've been comparing LorAnn and TFA too. There have been a couple from each that i don't care for. I started keeping a spreadsheet to track my recipes and which flavors from what vendors go in each of my blends. In particular I didn't care at all for peach, mango or watermelon from LorAnn but i'm finding that's an issue of letting it steep. Once it oxidizes a bit the flavor i much improved.
 

tiyantiyan

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That's good to know, more choice for us the better.

It's possible that my TFA fruit was contaminated during bottling by the vendor. All the TFA fruit flavors irritate my mouse in the almost the same way, I mean very similar smell/taste. That could be from the same chemical substance.

Did I mention my TFA apple, peach, kiwi all smell, taste similar? that's another evidence to me.

Now I only buy the flavors sealed in factory bottles. Like these:
Lorann 1 ounce





I buy all of my TFA flavors at Wizard Labs and I have yet to have a "bad batch". Some flavors need more tweaking like the 2x clear chocolate. On the other hand, vanilla bean ice cream I love using so much it became my first flavor I had to reorder so far.

I like Lorann's watermelon other then the extra red coloring used.
 

tiyantiyan

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True, would be nice if Lorann could reduce the dye a bit. We don't need it.
I guess Lorann put the dye to make good hard candy, which is what they are originally used for.

I have the impression that Lorann is sold in major stores too for baking/hard candy for long long time, so it's proven product with good quality assurance.

Just can't get past the food coloring in LorAnn, man is it strong, like dye. Only tried a few of their flavors because of it.
 

Ohms Lawbreaker

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True, would be nice if Lorann could reduce the dye a bit. We don't need it.
I guess Lorann put the dye to make good hard candy, which is what they are originally used for.

I have the impression that Lorann is sold in major stores too for baking/hard candy for long long time, so it's proven product with good quality assurance.

I hear ya. But I think if you are making your own candy with flavoring, you can surely add your own coloring. That they are now being used for e-liquid as well as candy is something I'm sure they're nothing but happy about and don't want to rock the boat by drawing attention to themselves if suddenly asked why they removed all food coloring.
 

Crunktanium

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All the TFA fruit flavors irritate my mouse in the almost the same way, I mean very similar smell/taste. That could be from the same chemical substance.

I get the same thing from certain flavors from all vendors including Capella Strawberry/Apple. At one point I dropped to 6mg of nic because I thought it was TH making me gag. It had nothing to do with nic and is plain and simply a reaction from (likely Acetate) certain flavors. Just like some people can't tolerate PG some can't handle certain other chemicals at heavy dose. I bet you would not get this reaction when the flavors that bother you are mixed with certain other flavors. Also a good two to three week steeping can take the edge away and those same flavors may no longer bother you. And I can't stand TFA Peach but the TFA Juicy Peach I could practically drink by the gallon.

You can learn about the things used in flavorings here Aroma compound - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 
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