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Can you explain this further? Sometimes I'll read a company's description of a juice and it says 'recommended steep time X days/weeks'.
I usually will break the seal, open it up, suck some air into the drip tip, push the air back into the bottle, close it and shake it. I'll put it in my juice shoe box and repeat the process once every few days. Usually I leave things to steep for at least a week - but I find desserts need longer so I just leave those for a month. But I've had three desert bottles sitting completely factory sealed for two months which is why I was asking.
Apart from delaying gratification, I was under the impression this was a form of 'steeping'. Is the terminology not accurate?
Steeping is mostly about time and chemical interaction, Smokin...some people swear by letting air into their juice. Some (like me) don't taste much of a difference between e-juice that got air and e-juice that didn't. I shake my steeping bottles too, to distribute the flavorings throughout the juice.
But either way, the flavorings in e-juice break down over time. That's a good thing, up to a point. Some juices, if you let them steep too long, the flavor goes south. Pop the top on 'em and find out!
But either way, the flavorings in e-juice break down over time. That's a good thing, up to a point. Some juices, if you let them steep too long, the flavor goes south. Pop the top on 'em and find out!
Yes, it's steeping from the moment it's mixed and bottled. Time allows the various elements of the juice to interact and oxidize, giving you the best flavor, ranging from days to a couple of months depending on the recipe. Heating or ultrasonic methods can speed up the process, but risk ruining the juice if done improperly.
The new buzzword is 'ageing'. I'm like you though, I believe this 'process' doesn't start until the cap is removed to get some air. All my juice here in Australia takes at least 2 weeks to be delivered and I still find all the juices are still 'fresh' and need to be aged for best flavor etc.
No offense, Vapntime, but do an experiment. Order some juice. Vape some of it the moment arrives. Then, put the cap on it and leave it there for a few weeks. Don't take the cap off at all for that 2-3 weeks.
I think you'll discover that the e-juice, even without airing, will change in both color and flavor. Steeping starts, with all e-juice, the moment it's bottled.
and it's spelled "aging..."
Okay. I'm tired and cranky and I'm going to bed!
Oh well, we can all believe what we want, can't we? I'm from Australia love... ageing and vapour. Can't you read?
steep
/stēp/ verb
gerund or present participle: steeping
- soak (food or tea) in water or other liquid so as to extract its flavor or to soften it.
"the chilies are steeped in olive oil"
The term steeping is widely used in the e-cig industry to describe the melding of flavors in e-liquid. In reality, the interactions that are actually occurring are scientifically complex, but can be explained with solutions chemistry. Whenever a solution is made that contains materials that are dissimilar, mixing the solution together is a real challenge due to intermolecular forces between the molecules.
Read more:
E-Liquid Steeping: Fact or Fiction? – V4P3R
The air that is already present in the bottle is sufficient for aging/steeping, opening the bottle may help to bleed off some chemicals that contribute an undesirable "perfumey" character. But normally just shaking the bottles once in a while is fine!
Thanks for that - I see what you mean. I completely agree that over a long period of time the flavourings break down. I had some small bottles left over from my Halo days of early 2014 that I came across when doing a clean out. Let's just say they're out the door now. The colour had gone really really deep and the flavour was very odd to say the least. They were only a third full and I hadn't touched them for over a year. Although I wonder now that my tastes in terms of PG/VG ratios, builds and vaping style have changed, how much that is also a factor. The flavour was definitely different to how I remembered it.
I've never really let a juice steep for more than a month and I have definitely noticed that one juice in particular NEVER changed from the moment I got it and that was, coincidentally, a Halo Belgium Chocolate that was quite perfumey and didn't change its character over time at all and most recently Nick's Fro Yo. I thought Nicks might develop in some way but it been almost two months of dipping in and out of it and it's exactly the same. It's not that I don't like the Fro Yo - just an observation.
Well it's funny you should say that - I'm in Sydney atm. I just got package I had in storage in the U.S. which also has three bottles that have been sitting there for two months. I haven't cracked the seal yet so I'll be able to actually do a test as per Hurricanegirl - vape right now - put away for a couple of weeks and vape in three weeks. I'll have time do do this before I head back home in October and report back. In fact I might to do weekly report.
On another note (perhaps worthy of a seperate thread Vapntime?) - I'm VERY impressed with some of the Australian juices I've tasted. I didn't realise there were so many good vendors around (well I've only found three so far) - but I mean REALLY good. I'm stocking up on a few Outerworld's flavours and Van Vapes Custardy for the trip back home. I'm looking at Vagabond Vapor now. I'm planning to hunt down some more vendors and try their offerings. I'll be taking back two of the largest bottle I can get of each flavour. I don't know how to explain it - but the juices taste very different to the U.S. makers I normally buy. I thought adding the nic was a pain (for those who don't know you can't buy juice with Nic in it in Aus but you can import your own Nic and add it) - because you definitely have to steep to allow the Nic to do its magic - but geeze it's worth the wait.
first off.... steeping is the wrong word to be used for the action. its called aging. Steeping is the process of soaking a "solid" in a liquid to extract the flavor from the item being soaked. Such as one steeps tea...
What is done to our beloved liquid is that we age it... as comparable to wine, one ages wine. Have you ever heard someone steep their wine? I know I never have....
Im betting that the word steeping came into play when in the begining when people were DIY tobacco liquids steeping did occur because tobacco was being soaked in VG/PG/PGA and it took weeks/months to get the better flavors from the tobacco... and eventually the term stuck even after the tobacco was removed from the fluid ( which begins the aging process)....
age you juice
What is done to our beloved liquid is that we age it... as comparable to wine, one ages wine. Have you ever heard someone steep their wine? I know I never have....
Im betting that the word steeping came into play when in the begining when people were DIY tobacco liquids steeping did occur because tobacco was being soaked in VG/PG/PGA and it took weeks/months to get the better flavors from the tobacco... and eventually the term stuck even after the tobacco was removed from the fluid ( which begins the aging process)....
age you juice
This x1000! Aging is no "buzzword", it's the correct term!first off.... steeping is the wrong word to be used for the action. its called aging. Steeping is the process of soaking a "solid" in a liquid to extract the flavor from the item being soaked. Such as one steeps tea...
What is done to our beloved liquid is that we age it... as comparable to wine, one ages wine. Have you ever heard someone steep their wine? I know I never have....
Im betting that the word steeping came into play when in the begining when people were DIY tobacco liquids steeping did occur because tobacco was being soaked in VG/PG/PGA and it took weeks/months to get the better flavors from the tobacco... and eventually the term stuck even after the tobacco was removed from the fluid ( which begins the aging process)....
age you juice
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Ok, lets get this right. I am saying that the 'steeping' as vapors know it (i.e. changing tastes and colouring [AUS SPELLING]
) does not happen until the seal is broken on a new bottle of juice. I don't mean airing the e-liquid everyday etc. Just pop it open and close and your ready to go. My 'experience' comes from ordering liquid from the US and waiting at least 2 weeks for delivery. When I receive this juice it has not 'steeped' (ie. changed colours, tastes etc) it is still 'fresh'. Even juices from giant vapes which have been sitting on shelves are still 'fresh' when I receive them no matter what the born on date. The steeping or ageing process as vapors know it does not start until the juice is opened if bottled.
Im more willing to believe that its the exchange of air in the bottle that allows oxidation to occur to the juice ( actually juice is the wrong word too... juice comes from a "solid" like orange juice, lemon juice, grape juice... wonders what get squeezed to get E juice from )
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