Guide to DIY Flavoring

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Zapp and Roger

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Minor update, I cleaned up some bad looking links and fixed a couple broken ones.

Also, now that I'm a supplier I won't be editing it much anymore unless people post feedback in this thread for me to add. Thanks everyone!

Grats on becoming a supplier. I would still like to see you updating this thread, it is yours, you have up-kept and maintained it since well before you were a supplier, and it's not like we can't see that under your name now :D Seriously though, great info I've used many times I'd hate to see things fall to the wayside because of perceived conflicts. I think we are reasonable adults that can separate personal preference from facts well enough so I see no issue. I welcome anyone to disagree :)
 

reverendg

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Apr 10, 2010
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TG for this thread and the flavoring guide. I've never mixed before....read this and studied it....ordered, experimented and everything I made is totally vapable!!! I CANT BELIEVE IT!!! I don't think I'm ever buying pre-made again. Knowing the purity of it makes me sooooo happy. ALSO, I'm using all VG in my base and nic juice and the stuff is still KILLER!!!!.....and I consider myself very picky in the flavor category of nic-juice.

I'm "yumming" up a storm, and my hubby thinks its a riot!!

So far I have tried Decadent Vapour @10-15% and PA at 12-14% for the few flavors I have mixed. It seems the more juice, the more TH. I wouldn't use any flavoring not on this list above (Brand wise) because I tried a couple in the past randomly and their flavoring really turned me off for months before I tried DIY again....with research under my belt this time.

DV
Black Cherry 12% 5/5 (used splenda in mixture)
Passionfruit 14% 6/5 if possible (used splenda in mixture)

PA
Black Cherry 14% 5/5 (used splenda in mixture)
Coconut Extra 10% 5/5
Pear 14% 5/5 (used splenda in mixture)
Sweet Cream 14% 3/5 (used splenda in mixture)

I like TH and sweetness as long as the sweet doesn't cover the taste.

I'm very psyched about making my own pure juice that is all VG. I never vaped VG cause its gross when I ordered it from everywhere ....BUT V4L VG was excellent!!! I've only ever been focused on enjoying the flavors enough to keep me away from analogs...didn't care about the base...but since I'm making it... WY NOT!!!!

I AM PSYCHED!!!!

Mix & Vape On!!

I love this thread, I'm surprised it took me so long to read this one. So a big thanks pure vapes. I have been reading all day though and have learned and jotted down much info.

So far I've made it to the reply up there, and I have a question about the splenda. It may very well be covered in the next few pages but is this just the powdered splenda in the market (or my cupboard)?

Are you using this instead of a sucralose solution? and if so, how do you mix it, and in what sort of ratio ?

Thanks in advance for any help. please feel free to pm me with any answers as I may have a hard time finding this thread again. yes I'm going to subscribe to it:)
 
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Nikhil

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Most Splenda that you will find in stores is mixed down with other stuff to make it similar in sweetness to table sugar spoon for spoon to make it easy to use for their target customer base (coffee drinkers etc). You will need to get it in a relatively pure form, which can be powdered or dissolved in alcohol and/or glycerin. This one was brought up before (and has some interesting information about Stevia) but you can find others on Amazon: https://nunaturals.com/product/46

Stevia is 250x as sweet as sugar by weight.
Sucralose is 600x as sweet as sugar by weight.
So usually, you will need to use about twice as much Stevia compared to your normal Sucralose usage (depends on how diluted each is though).

I am curious to know, what do the commercial manufacturers of e-juice do? Do they use the same suppliers that the DIY community uses?

Most of them use the same flavorings we do. Not Chinese liquids of course, and some USA manufacturers contract with flavoring companies that do bulk production only (I think).
 

reverendg

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wow interesting find on the nustevia thanks Nikhil.

so will that stuff gunk up atty's? We had a bunch of splenda around the house (my wife is diabetic) but we found out that splenda is bad on her kidneys and not all that good for the diabetes. so coincidently she switched to stevia, but not in that concentration, and certainly not that cheap. she gets it in small boxes of packets. So even if it's not vapable (or rough on atty's) it's still a good find.

thanks again
 

Poeia

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I wandered over here to find out if Stevia can be used instead of sucralose before I ordered it. Obviously the answer is "yes." But why boil/dissolve it when you can get it in liquid form now. I've been browsing for it and found...

Unflavored:
Water only - Planetary Herbals, SweetLeaf Stevia Concentrate, SweetLeaf SteviaClear
Water and Alcohol - Now Stevia Extract (and Extract Organic)
Water and VG - Kal, Now Stevia Glycerite, Swanson
Water, Alcohol and VG - NuNaturals
Unknown - Stevita (they don't have an e-mail address. I'm planning to call.)

There are other brands but I decided to concentrate on Now, SweetLeaf and Stevita because they have flavored liquids as well.
Now - French Vanilla uses VG and natural flavors. I only found their other flavors at one site (which didn't list the ingredients) but I assume they are the same. (Natural Vanilla flavoring might not be safe to vape.)

SweetLeaf - has the most flavors. I sent them an e-mail for the ingredients. All I've found so far is "natural flavors & grapefruit seed extract" but not the liquid used.

Stevita - will call

Sources:
steviasmart.com carries Stevita and SweetLeaf
discoverstevia.com only carries Stevita but boy are they cheap (and out of almost everything right now)
4allvitamins.com carries Now and SweetLeaf for the lowest prices I've found so far

vitaminbuddy.com includes ingredient lists (which the manufacturers' websites don't) but they're pretty pricey
 
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Poeia

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GoodDog, that's a spectacular price for the unflavored.

For the flavored stevia liquids, I got some good information from Wisdom Natural Brands -- the makers of SweetLeaf

I asked what the ingredients are in the SweetLeaf liquids (e.g. stevia, natural flavors, artifical flavors, water, glycerin). I said that, initially, I'm most interested in English Toffee but, if I like that, I'd be interested in other flavors as well.
Due to keeping our Liquid Flavor formulas proprietary, only basic information is available. We talk more about what Isn't in our formula, than what Is in them. We guarantee our ingredients are 100% health promoting for the body. They are safe for Diabetics, Weight Watchers, Children, People with dietary restrictions and People just wanting to be healthy and limit their sugar intake.

Our 13 Liquid Flavors are derived from: Stevia Extract, Purified Water, Essential Oils of plants and/or fruits and Herbs.
All of our products are listed at Buy SweetLeaf Stevia, Wisdom of the Ancients, Sweet & Slender .

Our products have zero artificial flavors, zero glycerin, zero alcohol sugar, zero gluten, zero msg, zero carbs, zero glycemic index and zero calories.

As to why the Liquids aren't on SweetLeaf Sweetener® That website is primarily focusing on the SweetLeaf Sweetener, but if you click on "buy SweetLeaf", it will bring you to the website, where the Liquids are listed. (Buy SweetLeaf Stevia, Wisdom of the Ancients, Sweet & Slender) .

I hope this information is helpful.
Make it a great day!

"Essential Oils" was a potiential red flag so I wrote back:
Thank you for your prompt reply. Of course it answered some questions and raised another.
<snip>
Nine months ago I finally quit smoking thanks to the personal vaporizer (electronic cigarette.) If the liquid which gets vaporized needs sweetener, the most common ones are liquid sucralose or malitol. When I saw your line of flavored liquids online, it seemed like an excellent alternative.

1) You mention that they contain "Essential Oils..." Are you using the word "oil" the way the flavoring industry does, to mean a liquid from the plant, or are you literally referring to non-water-soluble oil? (Oil is not good for the atomizers.)

2) I assume your Vanilla Creme contains vanillin (which should not be inhaled at high temperatures), but I thought I'd check.

3) After I wrote the other day I saw one website (vitaminbuddy.com) which carries SweetLeaf liquid stevia in "Milk Chocolate" and "Dark Chocolate." All of the other places I had seen it, there was only "Chocolate." As a good milk chocolate flavor is a holy grail for me, I was wondering whether "chocolate" is milk or dark and whether there will be other places to find the milk chocolate in the future? (buywisdom.com only carries the "chocolate.")

Again, thanks in advance for your help.

I apologize for the delay in getting back with you. I wanted to make sure of my response, before replying.

The Essential Oils that I'm speaking of, are actually liquids from the plant, not an oil base. Using our products in an atomizer is something that I can not advise you on, as I have never heard of this. It is not the method in which our products are designed, nor has it ever been tested in this manner.

Regarding our Chocolate flavor; Originally we offered both Milk Chocolate and Dark Chocolate flavors. The Dark Chocolate has been discontinued and the Milk Chocolate flavor is just called "Chocolate" at this time. So, should you now come across the "Chocolate", the taste will resemble Milk Chocolate. I'm hoping, (and it sounds like) this will be good news to you :)

I hope this information is helpful.
Make it a great day!

There was no delay. She's been very responsive. And the bottom line seems to be that their flavored liquids don't contain oils or any other known vaping problems. (Regardless, I don't think I'd use the peppermint in a PV because that plant liquid is usually an oil.)
 

Poeia

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I started looking into it because I've developed an allergy to sucralose -- which I primarily use for beverages. I rarely add sweetener to e-liquid except, occasionally, peppermint, but I'm very fond of my hair and I don't want to give it any excuse to fall out. But there are some liquids that I'd love to have a hint of something (e.g. waffles with a touch of toffee.) And, if I don't like that, I can always use it in my coffee. :D
 

mikecup

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Great information here. I have been mixing my own juices now for 2 months, so I feel I'm no longer a rookie. I have used loranne, capellas, PA, HC. Now I wanted to try flavourart, so I purchased 9 small bottles from liberty flights. Now I feel the concentration was very weak and also gave me a very bad chemical after taste. I mixed at 30 to 40% just to get any taste at all. Very disappointing. I emailed Flavourart in Italy and they could not understand why, stating that their flavors are the strongest out there. So I don't know if liberty flights are diluting the flavors or not. The bottles from liberty flights had their labels on them. Flavourart did say they sell to there distributors in bulk. Could mixing to high % cause the flavor to diminish? I know to high % of flavor can cause an chemical type aftertast at least from my experience.
 
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silkakc

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I started looking into it because I've developed an allergy to sucralose -- which I primarily use for beverages. I rarely add sweetener to e-liquid except, occasionally, peppermint, but I'm very fond of my hair and I don't want to give it any excuse to fall out. But there are some liquids that I'd love to have a hint of something (e.g. waffles with a touch of toffee.) And, if I don't like that, I can always use it in my coffee. :D

What makes your hair fall out?
 

kushka

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Great information here. I have been mixing my own juices now for 2 months, so I feel I'm no longer a rookie. I have used loranne, capellas, PA, HC. Now I wanted to try flavourart, so I purchased 9 small bottles from liberty flights. Now I feel the concentration was very weak and also gave me a very bad chemical after taste. I mixed at 30 to 40% just to get any taste at all. Very disappointing. I emailed Flavourart in Italy and they could not understand why, stating that their flavors are the strongest out there. So I don't know if liberty flights are diluting the flavors or not. The bottles from liberty flights had their labels on them. Flavourart did say they sell to there distributors in bulk. Could mixing to high % cause the flavor to diminish? I know to high % of flavor can cause an chemical type aftertast at least from my experience.

My experience with flavorart was the same with yours. People kept saying my perceptions were wrong; that flavorart was stronger then others; so I finally ordered from Italy at flavourartexpress.biz.

I still had the same problems - the flavor was very weak with a chemically aftertaste. It could be just the flavors I chose: watermelon - pandoro- pomegranate - blackberry - catalan cream - croissant; but all of those were very week.

I know as an older person my perception of flavors are lessen and thus I need a lot more added flavorings then others; but still I can judge relative flavors. And flavorarts watermelon is only about half as strong as Perfumers Apprentice watermelon and PA watermelon is a lot less strong then Loranns watermelon (which is good but they add food color)

That is the only Flavorart flavoring that I was sure was not diluted by a US vendor that I have tried the same flavor other places.

I know I will not be ordering from them again
 
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