Is it me? Hibernation steeping.

[knotin1]

I read on a lot of the boards where people believe the darker a juice gets, the better it is. I notice that juice isn't better when it gets a lot of shades darker do to a super long steep. It becomes harsher and flavors become something other then what they were set out to be. Is it my taste buds? Am I missing something?

For the most part, I find most juices that start off a slight brown color to pretty much be in the sweet spot when they get a rich golden color. 4-6 weeks. After a few months or more...not so much.

 

[glasseye]

I've read of quite a few cases where someone tossed a crappy liquid in a drawer and came back months later and it was good. So it could be, or it could be changing taste buds, or something else. I haven't had it happen. The good ones don't stick around long enough for me to find out if they're good a few months later.

 

[AmandaD]

People have said the darker Boba's Bounty gets the better it is - mine didn't last long enough to find out! But I had a bottle of Mother's Milk that lost it's flavor when it got very dark. So it probably depends on both the juice and your taste buds!

 

[RocketPuppy]

The dark color is the result of the nicotine oxidizing. Time, heat, light (among other things) are all variants that will account for this. In terms of preference, it's individual.

There's nothing wrong with your taste buds (though I'm not a doctor). We all perceive taste differently, so go with whatever you like the best.

 

[RocketPuppy]

Extracts do lose potency after time. However, I cannot attest to whether it occurs in juice as well.

 

[Hoosier]

Could be? It's so highly dependent on the components used and what levels they were used at.

I've encountered a few that are better when they darken a bunch. I've encountered more than a few that are just plain bad if they are real dark. I'm of the opinion that there is no absolute answer.

 

[RocketPuppy]

I'm of the opinion that there is no absolute answer.

...and that's a fact jack!

 

[Lurch]

I have two different flavors that I really like, both Mount Baker flavors; BluBacco and Razzleberry. My wife tried them both when I first got time, about a month ago. She didn't like either one. She tried both tonight, after they have been sitting for a month and now she is trying to steal them both!!!

 

[Exchaner]

Hi everyone, could someone explain why a juice gets darker over time? It can NOT be Nic oxidation by itself because my Nic base is still clear in its own separate bottle. Is there a chemical reaction occurring between the Nic and the flavorings? If that is the case, it is potentially bad news. I recall from chemistry days that when two molecules react, new chemicals are produced that are completely different from the original molecules.... Thus we may not be vaping the original blueberry and vanilla; rather we are vaping chemicals that result from their interaction. Of course to be clear, the original blueberry and vanilla are not natural either; they are manufactured using chemicals to begin with - hundreds of chemicals I hear .... So much to learn, and so much to worry about.

 

[Hoosier]

It's most likely oxygen doing its oxidizing thing.

Give any iron enough time and it will be iron oxide.

 

[Exchaner]

It's most likely oxygen doing its oxidizing thing.

Give any iron enough time and it will be iron oxide.

If it is oxidation alone, then how come my Nic solution has not oxidized in its own separate bottle? And besides, even oxidation produces new chemicals - like you said, iron is converted to iron oxide.

 

[Hoosier]

There are more chemicals in a flavoring than there is in a bottle of nicotine. Flavoring is aromatic so that means the combine with water pretty well. Oxygen is one component of water.

Just a non-chemist spit-balling here.

 

[Exchaner]

There are more chemicals in a flavoring than there is in a bottle of nicotine. Flavoring is aromatic so that means the combine with water pretty well. Oxygen is one component of water.

Just a non-chemist spit-balling here.

You may be right, but I don't think we are splitting hairs here. For the sake of argument, let's say Iron is safe to vape, how do we know Iron Oxide is safe to vape as well?

 

[Not A One]

There are more chemicals in a flavoring than there is in a bottle of nicotine. Flavoring is aromatic so that means the combine with water pretty well.

No, aromatic it just means it smells (in this context; in chemistry it means something quite different). Actually a lot of flavoring chemicals will not combine with water on their own. They need the help of ethanol or propylene glycol, or some other solvent to help them along. They won't be abstracting oxygen from water; this would be extremely difficult. They'll react with oxygen from the atmosphere.

Yes, some flavoring chemicals will oxidize on exposure to oxygen. Oxidation is how acetoin turns into diacetyl. But most of the results should be fairly benign.