Longevity of TFA and various flavor Co.

[schatz]

I now have purchased 31 flavors, like B&R. I have transferred them all into glass, and have had some for a year now. The question is how long have you guys kept flavors around and were they still useable.I have been buying in bulk bottles from TFA because cost wise it just makes more sense. But I am sure it will take years to use some of them, like cotton candy and sweeteners and some fruit flavors. So just curious if anybody has info or opinions on this, have not heard anything regarding this topic,I usually just search and read.

 

[MiamiMom63]

I'm not an expert but I have flavors that are a couple years old and are just as good as when I first bought them. I do keep them inside a cabinet and run my a.c. Steadily year round though in my humid neck of the world. Lol. Highly sweet flavors like cotton candy might not last as long but even that seems to still be okay. I would definitely keep them until you see a noticeable change or taste.

 

[schatz]

I'm not an expert but I have flavors that are a couple years old and are just as good as when I first bought them. I do keep them inside a cabinet and run my a.c. Steadily year round though in my humid neck of the world. Lol. Highly sweet flavors like cotton candy might not last as long but even that seems to still be okay. I would definitely keep them until you see a noticeable change or taste.

Thanks for the info, I also forgot to mention that I keep them in the refrigerator out in my lab (garage). Do you have yours in the plastic bottles or in glass?

 

[MiamiMom63]

Some are in plastic and some are in glass, whatever I received them in. Just used some caramel original yesterday in a plastic bottle that's over a year old and it was fine. Can't swear every flavor is at its finest but so far I haven't come across a flavor gone bad and I've been diy'ing a few years. when I was using organic alcohol based flavors, I kept them in the fridge, but I have too many flavorings to keep them all in the fridge.

 

[schatz]

Maybe my glass bottles are overkill. Thats not much info out there that I have seen, I even asked this question on the Flavor Apprentice Flavoring thread, and didnt recieve any answers. So I figured maybe start a thread on it and see what interest or info there is. There is tons of info on nicotine and PG,VG storage and ho
w long it viable, but nothing on the flavors.Thanks for replying. I guess not many people care or know.

 

[pbxbelmar]

I'd be interested to know, too.

 

[MiamiMom63]

I'm sure the glass bottles and fridge won't hurt, but I don't think it's a must. Truthfully, once you have Vaped awhile, if you are like me, you get to where you only like a few good recipes all the time and you end up giving away the rest of the flavors you know you will probably never use. Lol.

 

[schatz]

I'm sure the glass bottles and fridge won't hurt, but I don't think it's a must. Truthfully, once you have Vaped awhile, if you are like me, you get to where you only like a few good recipes all the time and you end up giving away the rest of the flavors you know you will probably never use. Lol.

Yeah for a while there I was only useing a few flavors, but I started reading the Flavor Apprentice Flavoring thread,and I started getting more flavors and trying different recipes that require multiple flavors to make one juice.And since I started diy all my friends decided not to. Ha Ha.

 

[WonderDude32]

Considering most flavors are PG based, it should be good for only a year. That's what the "experts" say. Now then, I've had some flavors for 18 months and have had no probs. I've had 1 bottle of Vanilla (not extract) in a cabinet for 5 years before I used it and it was good. The bottle had never been opened and my wife bakes so I had it.

 

[pbxbelmar]

What medium works best for 'extracting' - ie will last as a flavoring the longest?

 

[WonderDude32]

I have actually looked into extracting quite a bit. Turns out, it's tough. I'm talking really tough. You can't just put strawberries or herbs in a jar of VG and have something vapable. Not in the sense where it would be good or worth the time. I heard a story from a friend that said that his co-worker vapes a clear THC that keeps him high all day and doesn't smell like weed. I actually said he was full of it. He might get some taste but not enough to really enjoy and nowhere near enough to really feel it. Fresh fruits will go bad before you really got much and spices could be dangerous. Can it be done? Yes. Can you do it at home? Not without roughly $8,000 worth of equipment. For a cake batter you can boil down something but we're talking about breathing it in. Aspirating is a different vehicle.

 

[MiamiMom63]

I checked into it also. Maybe if I liked to Vape coffee flavors, I would try the whole coffee beans in a jar of PG sitting around for a long time, but I don't like vaping coffee. And I do love vanillas but it seemed like another long time of waiting and another project in itself. It just didn't seem worth the work and hassle.

 

[schatz]

What medium works best for 'extracting' - ie will last as a flavoring the longest?

PGA works well, I have soaked ******* for amonth and then filtered and mixed with a VG and skittles flavoring,then let the PGA evaporate with bottle open for a coupledays. You could probably do this with various substances,but I have read that natural is not always good for inhalation.Like natural vanilla I read could be problematic, as nature does some interesting chemical warfare with itself.There are threads in this forum where people do extractions and discuss. But I am still curious about longevity of flavors.
I put my flavors in glass, because I smelled the flavors walking out to the mailbox.I figured that cant be good,they must be leaching through the plastic. and over time this will lead to flavor loss? I keep them out in my garage fridge because were rather warm here.
Somebody has to have been diying for a few years with some old flavors, wish they would let us know, maybe if this thread keeps going for a while someone will see it and reply. Thanks for your replys everyone.

 

[grandmato5]

There are some old threads around here somewhere on the subject of how long flavorings will last but I'm not sure where they are. I keep all my flavorings in glass bottles in my cool basement. I have a handful of flavorings that I only occasionally use that are 4 years old that are still just fine. Those old flavorings are either FlavorArt or Flavor Apprentice flavorings. I don't choose to purchase more then what I think I will reasonably use in 3 years even though I know some will still be around and I'll likely still be using it for a few more years after that.

 

[schatz]

Thank you, Grandmato5, thats the kind of encourageing real world info I was looking for.

 

[GrandSam]

Longest time kept: 2.5 years.

I just mixed a batch using my oldest flavor...tastes like it did 2.5 years ago. Keep them in their glass vials, away from sunlight and heat.

 

[schatz]

Longest time kept: 2.5 years.

I just mixed a batch using my oldest flavor...tastes like it did 2.5 years ago. Keep them in their glass vials, away from sunlight and heat.

Thanks, thats encourageing. I wonder if theres somebody out there thats had flavors 4 or 5 years, probably. Just curious.

 

[KattMamma]

I'm not so worried about the little glass bottles, but I have quite a few 4oz plastic bottles - been thinking I should put them in glass. Right now they're in the box they came in, with cardboard between the bottles, which I hope keeps the flavors from contaminating each other until I get some bigger glass bottles.

I also wondered about refrigeration. I saw a vid where a guy talked about a few creamy flavors going bad quickly. I gathered up all my milky/creamy flavors and put them in the frig. Not sure whether that's really necessary, but better safe than sorry?

 

[schatz]

I'm not so worried about the little glass bottles, but I have quite a few 4oz plastic bottles - been thinking I should put them in glass. Right now they're in the box they came in, with cardboard between the bottles, which I hope keeps the flavors from contaminating each other until I get some bigger glass bottles.

I also wondered about refrigeration. I saw a vid where a guy talked about a few creamy flavors going bad quickly. I gathered up all my milky/creamy flavors and put them in the frig. Not sure whether that's really necessary, but better safe than sorry?

Do your bottles give off flavor odor, mine did, thats why i figured the glass would be good. It definitely keeps the smell down. I have an extra fridge out inthe garage with room, and my labs out ther anyway.It works for me. I have been reading the nicotine storage thread for a couple years and got some ideas from there,but nothing onflavor storage. I did read somewhere that you shouldnt freeze them I think, so Ijust keep them in the fridge. thanks for the reply.

 

[KattMamma]

Do your bottles give off flavor odor

Some do, but not all. Not sure if it's a difference in flavors or age or what...???