Looking for Suggestions

[Brokil]

Greetings!

I am experimenting and playing the trial and error game with my DIY fun. However, I seem to be continually getting stuck with the same problem. The flavors all seem to come up weak or funny tasting.

I use FlavorsExpress/TobaccoExpress, FlavourArt, and LorAnn for my flavorings. I use a 30PG/70VG ratio and have tested all my flavors at 2%, 5%, 10%, and 15%.

I am currently playing around with Apple and Cherry from all 3 of those vendors and get the above mentioned problem regardless of steeping (tried from 3 Days to 1 Week) or % of flavoring.

I have some Ethyl Maltol and Malic Acid on the way to see if that helps. But just curious if anyone has some suggestions that I haven't thought of.

I have thought about adjusting my PG/VG ratio but I do have some sensitivity to PG so I try to keep it low but don't care for 100% VG. But I am open to suggestions on the ratio as well.

 

[FACE MEAT]

I add sweetener (sucralose) and malic acid to just about every fruit flavor I make. The malic acid can really make a fruit flavor pop.

 

[Brokil]

I add sweetener (sucralose) and malic acid to just about every fruit flavor I make. The malic acid can really make a fruit flavor pop.

About how much sweetener and malic acid do you add? Mind you I am using Ethyl Maltol for my sweetener because sucralose just doesn't do it for me. But anyway, if you could provide drops per mL or % in your mixtures to give me an idea of where to start at. I appreciate your input.

 

[Cookster]

Using such a high VG percentage, you may need to bump up the flavorings to 18 or 20 percent.
VG is pretty sweet on its own, you might want to go lower on the sweetener.

 

[Brokil]

Using such a high VG percentage, you may need to bump up the flavorings to 18 or 20 percent.
VG is pretty sweet on its own, you might want to go lower on the sweetener.

I will keep that in mind when I get my new batch and see how things go. I was only getting frustrated because even at 15% they weren't tasting good and one tasted like medicine at that strength. But thanks for the advice.

 

[dannyv45]

You may not be letting them steep long enough. Usually minimum steeping is 2 weeks. Express steeping my help but even then they will usually still need additional steep time.

To express steep drop the mixture in an air tight bottle then fill a thurmos cup with tap water as hot as you can get it or microwave it like you were making tea. Drop the mix in the turmos cup cover it and let it sit until it reaches room temperture shaking the the mixture occosionally while you wait.

 

[Kemosabe]

nice thermos steep approach! ive been putting my new batches in a stoppered sink with hot water, using a bowl to try and weigh the bottle down so its submerged. i like your method better.

OP, dont give up on it just yet, but your mediciney flavor might just be a mediciney flavor. ive ran into that before. disappointing.

 

[dannyv45]

For most mixes it works rather well the key is to get a good thermos cup and not one of the cheap ones that cool down to fast.

 

[Red_Bird]

I prefer FA or Cappella for fruit flavorings.....I find LorAnns weak and TFA hit and miss, some chemical/ perfumy tones.

 

[trouble1000]

I have the same problem, slight intolerance to PG, but I only ever vape fruit flavours.
I've got five different flavours steeping at the moment blackcurrant, strawberry, cherry, banana and raspberry.
The only flavour that I can vape straight after mixing seems to be blackcurrant, the others get better over time.
I've used a 15% mix for blackcurrant 20% for the rest.
All flavours from TW.

 

[FACE MEAT]

About how much sweetener and malic acid do you add? Mind you I am using Ethyl Maltol for my sweetener because sucralose just doesn't do it for me. But anyway, if you could provide drops per mL or % in your mixtures to give me an idea of where to start at. I appreciate your input.

One drop for every two mL of liquid. My malic acid solution is 10% in 50/50 PG/VG.

 

[Shilo]

Flavor Express and Flavour Art are pretty darn concentrated---I can't see going above 5-10% max even with all that VG. The others could need 25% as they are weaker.

 

[red_m1ke]

Greetings!
I am experimenting and playing the trial and error game with my DIY fun. However, I seem to be continually getting stuck with the same problem. The flavors all seem to come up weak or funny tasting.

I too did have the same problem. I tried and tried and tried some more and everytime it was like getting worse. I really tought that FA flavours are not for me taste, well some of them really arent. I forgot about some of my mixes wich totally sucked even after 1 week and a 3 - 4 hour trip to the ultrasonic clear. But then... I remembered to try them out after a 3 week steep and VOILA: vapable not wanting to throw up juice.

All I`m saying is that steeping does change the juice but NOT dramatically. If a juice is not good fresh that at most it will me mediocre after steeping.

Nevertheless I recommend to try and forget about some of your mixes and try them out after 3 - 4 weeks. It is proven that some of the tobacco flavours take up one month to mature.

Best of luck.

 

[red_m1ke]

Using such a high VG percentage, you may need to bump up the flavorings to 18 or 20 percent.
VG is pretty sweet on its own, you might want to go lower on the sweetener.

Damn, most of the Flavour Art tobacco flavour are unvapable for me above 3%. 20% is just.. unreal, but I guess it depends the most on the manufacturer.

 

[Brokil]

Thanks for all the suggestions folks. I will let the ones I have steep some more I guess. I did try my malic acid mixture (concentrated with 1/3 of a dropped bottle malic acid and 2/3 pg) and for the fresh batch I made, things tasted a little better. Well the fruits stood out a little more. So I am going to mix up a few with both EM and Malic acid at different levels and see what happens. I would tend to agree that the concentrated flavorings should not need to be redonkulously high. As for LorAnn, they just aren't working for me so I feel after I make those flavorings gone or tolerable, that is it for them.

I will post my results once they have steeped and are at a tolerable point or even tasty.

 

[red_m1ke]

So I am going to mix up a few with both EM and Malic acid at different levels

Keep note that EM is already diluted to 10% and it wont dilute at higher percentages

 

[michaelsil1]

What flavor % do you recommend for capella for a fairly recent non smoker?

 

[Shilo]

What flavor % do you recommend for capella for a fairly recent non smoker?

Start at 10% for a single flavor mix and go up from there. If you vape all or high VG you will probably end up needing more than that but its a good starting point. For a mix of multiple flavors anywhere from 15-25% seems to be the norm for Capella's.