How to Steep Your Juice: What's your method?

[Nate M.]

Pretty new to DIY.. But here is what I do.

- Mix (I use 100% VG and PG Flavor/Nic Base/D. Water)

- Shake the **** out of it

- Rubberband my mixes for the day and drop them in a rice cooker filled halfway with water, set it to 'keep warm', and leave it overnight.

When I wake up, I shake em up again and taste. If it's not quite there, I'll leave it in the rice cooker until I get home from work.

I've tried a centrifuge(I manage a physician's office, lol), microwave, boiling water, leaving them in the car, the dryer, and a cheap ultrasonic cleaner.

I dunno if the UC I borrowed sucked or what, but I like the rice cooker method much better xD

Happy vaping,
Nate

Edit: If the liquid I'm steeping has a really perfumy/chemical smell then I will also leave the tops off overnight after the heating cycle of course.

 

[Butch]

I keep so much on hand that any I buy today won't be tasted for at least 3 or 4 months. I've never had a juice go bad & some that I have is almost 2 years old. Nearly all just seem to get more mellow with age.

 

[Vaptor]

I wait a month for my DIY. Flavors need to blend to lose the harshness and mellow out.

 

[Lombaowski]

I know this might get bashed, but am I the only one not buying into the steep stuff? Ok, I know if its FRESH mixed it wouldnt hurt to let it air out and shake and all of that. But a bottle that is sent from online thats been sitting already for god knows how long, does it really need to sit more? Especially if you are keeping the cap on anyways... I dont see the point?

The point is that more complex flavors with two or more flavors need time to meld and mix, it's fairly simple chemistry. RY4s fresh out of the bottle are good, you can vape them right away. Let them sit for a few weeks and shake them when you can, and most of them will change and become more robust and enjoyable. Hangsen RY4 isn't one of these as I've found no real difference from day one to day 20, but most of the others I've tried benefit nicely from steeping.

Whisky/whiskey is aged for a reason, wine also. All the elements within will slowly come together over time and complex e-juice is no different IMO. Now will a 100% PG Peach flavor benefit from steeping? Probably not, but taste is so subjective that letting the nicotine juice and flavorings blend might help there at times also.

 

[seebo]

are the liquids you guys buy that fresh that you need to do this? i mean, would it still be needed if you bought liquids that could of been mixed several weeks before being sold? surely a lot of liquids are blended in advanced and in bulk and just sit on a shelf for a bit..

 

[Chas_L]

are the liquids you guys buy that fresh that you need to do this? i mean, would it still be needed if you bought liquids that could of been mixed several weeks before being sold? surely a lot of liquids are blended in advanced and in bulk and just sit on a shelf for a bit..

Check the vendor's site / their sources.

Many listed that ejuices are made fresh to order , some purchase from other sources and only resale but is their current stock old(aged) or fresh?

Tase is subjective , hee is not a single vendor's ejuice which all love or all hate , same with outof he mailbox ejuice. Some say it is great, some say it taste like perfume or baby powder ,some say it needs a feew days to age and some say weeks or months.

 

[bryaninaustin]

My steeping process is involved and controversial. After I get a juice, I take the tops off and let them sit for 5 days, 11 hours and 35 minutes. Reseal the jars and put them on the cross town bus. The bumpy ride and starts and stops really mixes things up well. Then they get buried in the backyard for 6 weeks during which time I rotate their burial places, much like rotating crops. After that, I take them back inside and put them in a wine cellar style vapor fluid closet where they await in the darkness until they are ready to be turned into a velvet fog.

Hmmmm.... Exactly how many miles is "cross town" and how deep is the cellar?

 

[tmzydowicz]

After 11 pages I gave up. Since vaping is so subjective I am going to try a few different ways. Right now a few days with the caps on seems to work fine. I've only been vaping for 2 months and I recently acquired my first vv/vw mod. It seem that you also have to find "your" wattage or voltage for each atty and juice. I'm stocked up to the point where I can steep a 'lil longer. Thanks everyone. I guess I'm an old school forum guy ... I can't just jump in and ask before reading the ENTIRE thread.

 

[kalmakazee]

I keep my E-Liquids in the fridge for at least a week prior to using them. The longer they sit the better the taste of the E-liquids. Plus, nothing tastes better than a nice ice cool puff. Of course, after a few puffs it's as if my E-Liquids never even sat in the fridge but those first few cold puffs are AWESOME!

 

[Sigmus9]

I was watching the pbusardo vapecon vid where he was interviewing a guy with 5pawns and the 5pawns guy said cap off in the dark for a few hours then cap on in the dark for a week and youre good. Being that 5pawn is the premier topshelf ejuice I would take their word over anyone else. So Im sticking with what they recommend and am not looking back

 

[Tesseract]

Case in point for steeping (aka 'aging') It was said earlier ITT that complex flavors take more time. This is SO TRUE with TVC.

Rather than retype it, here is my RXN to a properly steeped, TVC's Deep Thought.

 

[Mspat]

As a newbie, e-liquids can be very confusing. You get your package in the mail, and immediately want to take the new flavors for a spin, going from to with the first toot. You're expecting to taste Blueberry Cheesecake, but what you get taste more like a well-used race car tire that caught fire, and was extinguished with a massive bottle of perfume.

There's not much information out there on steeping your juices (believe me . . . I've searched like crazy). The only videos I've found seem to be two different methods, and lack severely in the explanations department.

I have not seen one vendor's site that recommends steeping for maximum flavor or how to do so. Hey vendors out there . . . I'd highly recommend placing or linking a tutorial on steeping in your juices categories. I'm certain that many newbs out there may be contributing to negative reviews, simple because of their lack of this knowledge.

So, my question are:

How do your steep your juices? What's your method?

Painstakingly vivid details welcome:

Lids on/Lids Off?
In the light or in the dark?
A day, week, month?
Is it the same for all juices?
What's the theory behind steeping?
Is it to better marry the flavors with the bases?
Does shaking or heating help this process?

Please contribute to the vaping novices among us. A nasty juice is a terrible thing to vape.

I'm new to vaping as well but I thought I'd make you aware of Backwoods Brew. They create excellent juices and they give the recommended steeping time for each and every flavor they produce. Check them out: https://www.backwoodsbrew.net/mobile/#home

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[Mspat]

As a newbie, e-liquids can be very confusing. You get your package in the mail, and immediately want to take the new flavors for a spin, going from to with the first toot. You're expecting to taste Blueberry Cheesecake, but what you get taste more like a well-used race car tire that caught fire, and was extinguished with a massive bottle of perfume.

There's not much information out there on steeping your juices (believe me . . . I've searched like crazy). The only videos I've found seem to be two different methods, and lack severely in the explanations department.

I have not seen one vendor's site that recommends steeping for maximum flavor or how to do so. Hey vendors out there . . . I'd highly recommend placing or linking a tutorial on steeping in your juices categories. I'm certain that many newbs out there may be contributing to negative reviews, simple because of their lack of this knowledge.

So, my question are:

How do your steep your juices? What's your method?

Painstakingly vivid details welcome:

Lids on/Lids Off?
In the light or in the dark?
A day, week, month?
Is it the same for all juices?
What's the theory behind steeping?
Is it to better marry the flavors with the bases?
Does shaking or heating help this process?

Please contribute to the vaping novices among us. A nasty juice is a terrible thing to vape.

Thank you for your post. I am wondering the same exact thing.

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[mikecup]

I personally have stopped buying e liquid from any vendors, been about 2 years now. I just got tired of being disappointed.

I have been mixing my own, very very simple and not time consuming. There are a lot of e juice calculators out there.
I get everything I need from wizard labs. I enjoy making my own, I can experiment with different flavor combinations. The cost of making my own is very cheap. Personally home made is much better than any e juice I have purchased from a vendor. I'm not trying to offend any vendors, believe me I have spent my share on hardware and juices in the past. Now with my discovery of wizard labs and fasttech, I see how much I can save on vaping supplies.

Oh I steep my homemade juices for 24hrs, lid on, my 30ml bottles are dark amber, so I guess you could say they are in the dark.

 

[Mspat]

I personally have stopped buying e liquid from any vendors, been about 2 years now. I just got tired of being disappointed.

I have been mixing my own, very very simple and not time consuming. There are a lot of e juice calculators out there.
I get everything I need from wizard labs. I enjoy making my own, I can experiment with different flavor combinations. The cost of making my own is very cheap. Personally home made is much better than any e juice I have purchased from a vendor. I'm not trying to offend any vendors, believe me I have spent my share on hardware and juices in the past. Now with my discovery of wizard labs and fasttech, I see how much I can save on vaping supplies.

Oh I steep my homemade juices for 24hrs, lid on, my 30ml bottles are dark amber, so I guess you could say they are in the dark.

Very interesting... That sounds like something I would thoroughly enjoy. How would you categorize the level of difficulty easy, medium, or hard?

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[mikecup]

Very interesting... That sounds like something I would thoroughly enjoy. How would you categorize the level of difficulty easy, medium, or hard?

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I would say easy. But I have been doing it for a few years. I can prepare four 30ml bottles different flavors in less than a half an hour. I'm not bragging or anything, but once you have everything its a walk in the park, so to speak

Looks like you are new to the forum and maybe vaping also, welcome!

All you really need is the nicotine (i prefer the vg mix), pg, vg, flavor, some syringes for measurement, and bottles with droppers.
This vaping turns into a hobby for sure, I luv it!

 

[Mspat]

I would say easy. But I have been doing it for a few years. I can prepare four 30ml bottles different flavors in less than a half an hour. I'm not bragging or anything, but once you have everything its a walk in the park, so to speak

Looks like you are new to the forum and maybe vaping also, welcome!

All you really need is the nicotine (i prefer the vg mix), pg, vg, flavor, some syringes for measurement, and bottles with droppers.
This vaping turns into a hobby for sure, I luv it!

I'm totally new to this, vaping and forum alike. But you're right, I already feel as if vaping is becoming a hobby for me. Kind of like being a wine conneseur (sp?). Great fun and very enjoyable.

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[catlady60]

I found out that my aging/steeping time is cut in half if I add juice from my old bottle to my new one. I tried this with MBV's Orange Dream Bar and Amaretto and the juice is vapable within a week. It reaches full flavor within a week and a half.

If I don't add a few drops of "old" juice, aging/steeping times to reach full flavor range from 2 weeks to a month.

 

[Mspat]

I found out that my aging/steeping time is cut in half if I add juice from my old bottle to my new one. I tried this with MBV's Orange Dream Bar and Amaretto and the juice is vapable within a week. It reaches full flavor within a week and a half.

If I don't add a few drops of "old" juice, aging/steeping times to reach full flavor range from 2 weeks to a month.

How much old juice do you add to the new stuff?

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[bryanman]

I think there is a lot of great info here. I will add that you should pay attention to your expiration dates, I had a old bottle of vanilla Omg juice that i forgot about. It was sitting for about 2 years in a cool dry place with the cap on. I opened it up thinking wow a 2 year "steep" this is gonna be amazing. Completely opposite of that; it tasted like how propane smells mixed with cat piss. It was a year an a half over the expiration date and it showed. It was absolutely terrible.

On a side note my best success with steeping has been to alternate uncapped vs capped every 24 hours for one week in a fridge with no light, I think the cold makes a huge difference. I'm not sure of the science behind it but for those of you who are impatient this is probably the quickest way to make a difference.