My DIY Diary

[flowerpots]

So, I'm starting my single flavors this weekend, taking notes, etc. and thought it might be a good idea to chronical my progress here. Maybe it will help others and it will definitely keep me more organized.

Feel free to ask questions, leave comments (even snarky ones ), or better yet, add suggestions or helpful tips


I started with 10 single flavors. I taste-tested each flavor full strength on my tongue:

Royal Raspberry - LA: slight alcohol and sweet fragrance, mild but slightly sweet and tart fruit flavor

Watermelon - TFA: smells very sweet, candy-like (jolly rancher), and strong; slight alcohol taste

Pear - TFA: crisp, clean, authentic fruit

Juicy Peach - TFA: sweet and strong, mouth-watering

Nectarine - LA: very sweet and strong, slight bite

Double Apple - FW: scent is red delicious, tart and slightly sweet

Lemon - TFA: bright, authentic, clean

Mango - TFA: ripe authentic, sweet

Papaya - TFA: ripe authentic, sweet

Cantaloupe - TFA: juicy ripe authentic, flesh only - no rind taste



I then mixed a 5% solution of each flavor in a 50PG/50VG base, shook vigorously and tested in a 510 atty:

Royal Raspberry:

Just mixed – a bit tart, kind of a rubbery taste to it, oily

Fragrance: 2/5
Sweetness: 0/5
Tartness: 1/5
Strength of taste: 1/5

Watermelon:

Just mixed - candy-like fruit, would make a good sweetener or addition to other fruits

Fragrance: 2/5
Sweetness: 2/5
Strength of taste: 2/5

Pear:

Just mixed: authentic fruit, crisp, clean

Fragrance: 2/5
Sweetness: 0/5
Strength of taste: 1/5

Juicy Peach:

Just mixed – almost undecipherable

Fragrance: 2/5
Sweetness: 1/5
Strength of taste: 0.5/5

Nectarine:

Just mixed – crisp with a slight bite, flight floral fragrance

Fragrance: 1/5
Sweetness: 2/5
Strength of taste: 1/5

Double Apple:

Just mixed – almost undecipherable, clean

Fragrance: 2/5
Sweetness: 1/5
Tartness: 1/5
Strength of taste: 0.5/5

Lemon:

Just mixed – fresh, bright

Fragrance: 1/5
Sweetness: 0/5
Sourness:
Strength of taste: 0.5/5

Mango:

Just mixed – authentic, it may turn out candy-like

Fragrance: 1/5
Sweetness: 2/5
Strength of taste: 1/5

Papaya:

Just mixed –

Fragrance: 2/5
Sweetness: 0/5
Strength of taste: 1/5

Cantaloupe:

Just mixed – juicy and ripe fruit authentic

Fragrance: 1/5
Sweetness: 2/5
Strength of taste: 1/5

 

[flowerpots]

Made 5 more test flavors tonight....

Mixed a 5% solution of each flavor in a 50PG/50VG base, shook vigorously and tested in a 510 atty:

Dragon Fruit: TFA - very sweet, slightly creamy

Fragrance: 2/5
Sweetness: 3/5
Strength of taste: 2/5

Black Currant: FW - slightly sweet

Fragrance: 0/5
Sweetness: 1/5
Strength of taste: 1/5

Black Cherry: FW - authentic

Fragrance: 0/5
Sweetness: 1/5
Strength of taste: 1/5

Bubble Gum: TFA - Bazooka, even has the powder feel too it!

Fragrance: 0/5
Sweetness: 2/5
Strength of taste: 2/5

Vanilla Swirl: TFA - just like plastic can vanilla frosting, even has a full mouth feel to it

Fragrance: 1/5
Sweetness: 3/5
Strength of taste: 2/5

 

[Rat2chat2]

Good job. It really does help to keep lists and notes. I have every thing stored on Evernote. Helps me alot.

 

[Wingsfan0310]

I've noticed on strength of taste, most of your scores are pretty low. I've found for a lot of my TFA fruit mixes about 10% is the sweet spot. Of course taste varies from person to person. I like the notebook idea, I do the same thing. Good luck Flower!

Cheers,
Steve

 

[Wingsfan0310]

Edit Double post - Bad Gateway Grrrrr

 

[LunchusBoxious]

If at first you dont like one of your juices, try steeping it for a while. alot of the harsher tones disappear as alcohol and such evaporate...

 

[flowerpots]

Trying my first recipe tonight that I pulled off the net:

Apricadabra: steep 10 days

Apricot 9%
Nectarine 4%
Peach 3%
Lemon 1%
Sweetener 3.5% - I am omitting the sweetener because the nectarine and peach are sweet alone

Combined the flavors without adding any base and will let steep a few days first. Then I will add the PG/VG.

 

[flowerpots]

I tongue tasted the following flavors to see what recipes they would go in. The concentration was approximately 20% mixed with PG.

Sweet Cream TFA – just like the name says, comparable to half-n-half, would be good with coffee and coffee mixes, with fruit for the fruit and cream effect, has an actual dollop of cream mouth feel to it, natural tasting

Marshmallow TFA – artificially sweet like the product; lighter feel to it

Bavarian Cream TFA – rich with vanilla, somewhat artificial tasting; donuts, some desserts

Caramel Candy TFA – very candyish tasting, just like the caramel candy squares, not like true caramel; very sweet – could be used to sweeten recipes

Butter Cream NF - Just like butter cream icing, artifically sweet, slight vanilla component

 

[Wingsfan0310]

Trying my first recipe tonight that I pulled off the net:

Apricadabra: steep 10 days

Apricot 9%
Nectarine 4%
Peach 3%
Lemon 1%
Sweetener 3.5% - I am omitting the sweetener because the nectarine and peach are sweet alone

Combined the flavors without adding any base and will let steep a few days first. Then I will add the PG/VG.

Sounds interesting. I think omitting the sweetener is a very good idea. I've made some recipes I've found and in the beginning added the sweetener that was in the recipe. I've since made them again omitting the sweetener and have thought they were better without it. Beside that 3.5% seems like overkill, if I was to add it I would only do so after first tasting the mix, then I'd start with no more than 1%(maybe even .5%).

As for the steeping, first off I'd always try my mixes first so I know if steeping, helped, hurt or did nothing at all. Second my understanding of steeping is giving the flavor molecules a chance to combine with the PG, VG, and Nic. Not sure if just mixing the flavors together without the base will help.

Not criticizing or telling you what to do, just thinking out loud. Good Luck Flower!

Cheers,
Steve

 

[flowerpots]

Hey Steve, thanks for the insight. My experience is many people (DIY and vendors) overdo the sweetness factor. I'm looking to make recipes that are more true-to-life tasting than artificial.

I got the idea of steeping the flavors together prior to mixing them in the base from here somewhere (not sure who to credit the idea with since I've read so much and taken so many notes at this point, I can't recall). Doing this makes sense to me because the original flavors need to meld to best evenly distribute in the final mixture, but it could end up being an unnecessary step. It is a good idea to taste the flavor mix prior to steeping though - I did not originally because from what I can tell so far, fruits need a few days to start melding - I already know this. I know steeping is necessary. But, I do need to see what happens during the steeping process and won't be able to tell without a base to start. Thanks for reminding me of that.

 

[flowerpots]

In this post I am going to list the flavorings I purchase that have food coloring in them:

Cherry Flavor Concentrate - LA
Apricot Flavor Concentrate - LA
Honey Flavor Concentrate - TFA
Brandy Flavor Concentrate - LA
Caramel Candy - TFA

 

[flowerpots]

Trying my first recipe tonight that I pulled off the net:

Apricadabra: steep 10 days

Apricot 9%
Nectarine 4%
Peach 3%
Lemon 1%
Sweetener 3.5% - I am omitting the sweetener because the nectarine and peach are sweet alone

Combined the flavors without adding any base and will let steep a few days first. Then I will add the PG/VG.

At day 6 of steeping, the flavors are too light at the above %s. Going to have to increase.

 

[flowerpots]

I started with these single flavors. I taste-tested each flavor full strength on my tongue, then mixed at a 5% concentration in 50VG/50PG base without nicotine, and tasted immediately after mixing. Today, I have retested each flavor after 1 week of steeping at the 5% on a 510 atty:

Royal Raspberry: LA

Fragrance: 1/5
Sweetness: 1/5
Tartness: 1/5
Strength of taste: 1/5

Watermelon: - TFA - the 5% is good for mixing with other fruits, but not strong enough for standalone

Fragrance: 2/5
Sweetness: 3/5
Strength of taste: 3/5

Pear: TFA - I think 6% will be good for mixing with other fruits - 5% is a little on the light side

Fragrance: 2/5
Sweetness: 1/5
Strength of taste: 2/5

Juicy Peach: TFA

Fragrance: 1/5
Sweetness: 2/5
Strength of taste: 1/5

Nectarine: LA

Fragrance: 1/5
Sweetness: 2/5
Strength of taste: 2/5

Double Apple: FW

Fragrance: 2/5
Sweetness: 1/5
Tartness: 1/5
Strength of taste: 1/5

Lemon: TFA

Fragrance: 1/5
Sweetness: 1/5
Sourness: 2/5
Strength of taste: 1/5

Mango: TFA

Fragrance: 1/5
Sweetness: 3/5
Strength of taste: 2/5

Cantaloupe: TFA

Fragrance: 1/5
Sweetness: 2/5
Strength of taste: 2/5

Dragon Fruit: TFA

Fragrance: 1/5
Sweetness: 3/5
Strength of taste: 1/5

Black Cherry: FW

Fragrance: 1/5
Sweetness: 1/5
Strength of taste: 1/5

Black Currant: FW

Fragrance: 1/5
Sweetness: 1/5
Strength of taste: 1/5

Papaya: TFA - at 5%, this is good for mixing with or highlighting other fruits, but not strong enough for standalone

Fragrance: 1/5
Sweetness: 2/5
Strength of taste: 3/5

Bubble Gum: TFA

Fragrance: 1/5
Sweetness: 2/5
Strength of taste: 2/5

Vanilla Swirl: TFA

Fragrance: 1/5
Sweetness: 2/5
Strength of taste: 2/5

 

[Lurch]

Fantastic! Please keep sharing with us!

 

[flowerpots]

I made a recipe on HIC's (HeadInClouds) blog, but adjusted the concentrations to my tastes and brand of flavors - I substituted FA for TFA and LA. It needs about 4-5 days of steeping with the flavorings combined alone (before adding base and nicotine) to air off the alcohol flavor from the brandy. This is a great recipe:


Brandied Apricots:


LA Apricot 9%

TFA Sweet Cream 9%

TFA Brandy 2%

LA Honey 3%

 

[flowerpots]

In this post I am going to list the flavorings I purchase that have food coloring in them:

Cherry Flavor Concentrate - LA
Apricot Flavor Concentrate - LA
Honey Flavor Concentrate - TFA
Brandy Flavor Concentrate - LA
Caramel Candy - TFA

These may or may not have food coloring:

Cherry Liqueur - INA*
Caramel - E-Aromat (INA)*
Grape - INA*
Dark Fire - E-Aromat (INA)*
DNB - E-Aromat (INA)*
Cuban Cigar - E-Aromat (INA)*

*I cannot find anything to tell me whether or not these flavors have food coloring, but they are not clear like most flavorings.

 

[flowerpots]

I started by testing these single flavors. I taste-tested each flavor full strength on my tongue, then mixed at a 5% concentration in 50VG/50PG base without nicotine, and tasted immediately after mixing. Then, I retested each flavor after 1 week of steeping at the 5% on a 510 atty. Now, I have increased the % to 9% for each flavor and retested again:

Royal Raspberry: LA - 9% is still too weak

Fragrance: 1/5
Sweetness: 1/5
Tartness: 2/5
Strength of taste: 2/5

Watermelon: - TFA - the 5% is good for mixing with other fruits, but not strong enough for standalone; 7% is good for mild standalone

Fragrance: 2/5
Sweetness: 3/5
Strength of taste: 3/5

Pear: TFA - I think 6% will be good for mixing with other fruits - 5% is a little on the light side, 7-9% is perfect, depending on how bold you like the flavor for standalone.

Fragrance: 2/5
Sweetness: 1/5
Strength of taste: 3/5

Juicy Peach: TFA

Fragrance: 2/5
Sweetness: 2/5
Strength of taste: 2/5

Nectarine: LA - 9% is a decent mild mixing flavor, needs higher % for standalone

Fragrance: 1/5
Sweetness: 2/5
Strength of taste: 3/5

Double Apple: FW - 9% is still too weak

Fragrance: 2/5
Sweetness: 1/5
Tartness: 1/5
Strength of taste: 1/5

Lemon: TFA

Fragrance: 2/5
Sweetness: 0/5
Sourness: 3/5
Strength of taste: 2/5

Mango: TFA - even at 9%, the flavor is weak

Fragrance: 1/5
Sweetness: 3/5
Strength of taste: 2/5

Cantaloupe: TFA - I can tell 9% is about right for this flavor. If I go any higher, it will taste perfumey. This is a light flavor, not strong, even at a higher %.

Fragrance: 2/5
Sweetness: 2/5
Strength of taste: 3/5

Dragon Fruit: TFA - 9% is still too weak

Fragrance: 1/5
Sweetness: 3/5
Strength of taste: 2/5

Black Cherry: FW - 9% is still too weak

Fragrance: 1/5
Sweetness: 1/5
Strength of taste: 1/5

Black Currant: FW - 9% is still too weak

Fragrance: 1/5
Sweetness: 1/5
Strength of taste: 1/5

Papaya: TFA - at 5%, this is good for mixing with or highlighting other fruits, but not strong enough for standalone

Fragrance: 1/5
Sweetness: 2/5
Strength of taste: 3/5

Bubble Gum: TFA

Fragrance: 1/5
Sweetness: 2/5
Strength of taste: 2.5/5

Vanilla Swirl: TFA - 9% is good for mixing, standalone would need higher %

Fragrance: 1/5
Sweetness: 2/5
Strength of taste: 3/5

 

[flowerpots]

Trying my first recipe tonight that I pulled off the net:

Apricadabra: steep 10 days

Apricot 9%
Nectarine 4%
Peach 3%
Lemon 1%
Sweetener 3.5% - I am omitting the sweetener because the nectarine and peach are sweet alone

Combined the flavors without adding any base and will let steep a few days first. Then I will add the PG/VG.

At day 6 of steeping, the flavors are too light at the above %s. Going to have to increase.

I increased each flavor by 2% to see if I can get more flavor:

Apricot - LA 11%
Nectarine - LA 6%
Juicy Peach - TFA 5%
Lemon - TFA 3%

No sweetener added yet

 

[flowerpots]

These may or may not have food coloring:

Cherry Liqueur - INA*
Caramel - E-Aromat (INA)*
Grape - INA*
Dark Fire - E-Aromat (INA)*
DNB - E-Aromat (INA)*
Cuban Cigar - E-Aromat (INA)*

*I cannot find anything to tell me whether or not these flavors have food coloring, but they are not clear like most flavorings.

In this post I am going to list the flavorings I purchase that have food coloring in them:

Cherry Flavor Concentrate - LA
Apricot Flavor Concentrate - LA
Honey Flavor Concentrate - TFA
Brandy Flavor Concentrate - LA
Caramel Candy - TFA

More flavorings stating they contain food coloring:

From ecig express:

Cream - FE
Huckabee and Heinz (tobacco) - FE
Mint - HS Essence
Vanilla Classic - FA
Oakwood - FA
Custard - FA

 

[flowerpots]

I tongue tasted the following flavors to see what recipes they would go in. The concentration was approximately 20% mixed with PG

Sweet Cream TFA – just like the name says, comparable to half-n-half, would be good with coffee and coffee mixes, with fruit for the fruit and cream effect, has an actual dollop of cream mouth feel to it, natural tasting

Marshmallow TFA – artificially sweet like the product; lighter feel to it

Bavarian Cream TFA – rich with vanilla, somewhat artificial tasting; donuts, some desserts

Caramel Candy TFA – very candyish tasting, just like the caramel candy squares, not like true caramel; very sweet – could be used to sweeten recipes

Butter Cream NF - Just like butter cream icing, artifically sweet, slight vanilla component

Vanilla Bean Ice Cream TFA - I have no idea how they do it, but this tastes pretty close to the ice cream, but with a fake-ish vanilla note. It even has a taste of being ice cream as opposed to an icing or cream, but not a koolada type of cool - there's no cool sensation like you get with koolada

Vienna Cream FA- This is the 2nd most authentic tasting cream, with Sweet Cream being the 1st. It is light, more authentic vanilla than the other creams I've sampled, and would pair well with recipes that mimic cookies or baked desserts. It would also pair well with tobaccos and bourbons

Cream - FE This cream is sweeter than the sweet cream from TFA, but provides more mouthfeel and would be good with richer recipes. This is a layered flavor even as a standalone

Custard - FA I have not had any custard vapes, so I cannot rate this in comparison to anything. It has a strong alcohol tasting component, not because it contains ethyl alcohol, but because it seems to have that flavor component. It tastes kind of fake, so I would imagine not the best custard available

Cream Cheese Icing - TFA This tastes like authentic cream cheese icing, vanilla that is natural - I would rank it 3rd place for natural, uncloying taste