Need to verify some info I received.....

[Illini_Coastie]

Ok, we had a complete network failure last night.

One of the techs that came in noticed that I was vaping away.

He asked me about my setup and then he pulled out his lavatube and showed it to me and I really liked it.
Maybe it will be my next purchase....

However, I was telling him how I am having trouble finding that right e-juice that I really like.

He asked me if I was steeping it correctly.
He stated, that most, if not all, e-juices are made to order. They are generally strong and require steeping.
He stated, that I needed to get a nice glass beaker with a lip for pouring and a glass stir rod.
I needed glass because plastic beakers/ cups will absorb some of the "essence" of the e-liquid and might contaminate
future contents. He said; some people will simply just take the cap off of their bottle, but steeping that way will take forever. He said, treat your e-juice as a fine wine. It needs to breathe to be able to enjoy it's properties. The more it breathes, the better vaping experience you will have. He then explained, "Do wine connoisseurs simply take the cork out and let it breathe that way? or do they pour the wine into a decanter so it can fully breathe?". He then said that a nice glass beaker will do exactly that. He also told me that he has never had to steep for longer than 24 hours using this method as long as you stir it occasional throughout the day. He said after 24 hours, just simply pour it back into the bottle it came in and you are good to go. That is why I should find a glass beaker with a pouring lip on it.

How much of this sounds right? I had read and read on this forum and never once saw anyone mention using a glass beaker to steep. It sounds logical, but before I go and start buying glass beakers, I thought I would ask here first.

 

[jtpjc]

I'm sure he meant well, but his advice is just silly.

 

[Elendil]

There is some truth to the need for steeping, but all you need to do is let the juice sit for a few days. Nothing more complicated than that.

 

[dchest02]

I've never had to let any of the juices I buy steep. They all taste fine to me right out of the mailbox. Some of them sat on my counter for a couple of days before I got to them, but I doubt it changed the taste.

 

[wv2win]

Actually there is a greater majority of eliquids that do not need to be steeped. Those that do should have something on the web site about it.

 

[Elendil]

I find that when I make my own juice, it is best if it sits for 3-5 days after it is mixed.............For those that you buy online even if they are made to order the time it takes to get to you in the mail should be sufficient and they will be ready to use.

 

[AzPlumber]

A tiny bit. Steeping is allowing the flavors in a just mixed e-liquid to integrate with one another, kinda like flavors in a stew or soup does. This will take place on its own in an opened or closed container. Letting your liquid sit unopened will oxidized the nicotine and flavoring and yes it will effect the flavor. Sometimes in a good way and sometimes in a bad way. Neither way is required but both ways will effect flavor. Some swear by one, the other or both.

 

[DonG]

There seem to be two parts to "steeping". One is the flavor completely permeating the base liquid. This is just a mater of letting fresh juice sit long enough and will happen even if the bottle is sealed. The second is most flavorings have some type of dillutant (most often an alcohol) which can taste bad or mute flavor. Open air steeping allows this to evaporate and gives merit to his method as more liquid is exposed to air at one time allowing faster evaporation. Guess you could call it "speed steeping".

 

[hulsey76]

I've never had to let any of the juices I buy steep. They all taste fine to me right out of the mailbox. Some of them sat on my counter for a couple of days before I got to them, but I doubt it changed the taste.

This had been my limited experience also. I've never tried steeping, and maybe I'm missing something, but I happy out of the box so I see no need to change how I do it.

 

[bigtiime]

If you buy a juice that does not taste good to you let it sit for a while and come back to it at a later date. If after a resonable amount of time it still is not to your liking either try trading or selling it in the classifieds or PIF.

 

[zoiDman]

I think everyone will agree that Many e-Liquids Flavor changes over time. Me, I don't see much change after 4 or 5 days with my DIY mixes. But that could just be the Types of Flavors I mix. All I mix are Non-Tobacco Flavors.

As to Glass. This is something I am Strong Believer in. Not so much that the Flavor will seep into the Plastic. Although that can happen. No for me, it is more of a Concern that Chemicals from the Plastic will Leach into the e-Liquid.

There arn't any standards for what types of Plastic Containers are Chemically Stable to store e-Liquids and Nicotine Base. Retailers can put e-Liquids into Any type of Plastic they chose. So not being an Expert in Monomers, I transfer all e-Liquids to Glass Bottles.

 

[Bozzlite]

Or, it could be that you just haven't found the right juice for you. I have had some juices that no method of steeping could improve. And those were some highly touted juices.

I personally wouldn't go to that much trouble to steep all my juices. Just let 'em sit in the bottle for a couple of weeks with the lid on.

YMMV, but for me, if they taste bad right of the box, they are not gonna taste any better after steeping. If they taste fair right out of the box, the flavor might improve with some steeping.

 

[ITPython]

The whole concept of steeping seems very dubious to me, I think its mostly a placebo effect because peoples tastes change on a daily basis. I might hate a juice one day, then a few days later after vaping other juices, I realize that I like its taste now. But not because it steeped and magically got better because they still taste the same to me, its because my taste preferences have shifted for whatever reason (perhaps because of my mood, how I felt, previous juices I was vaping, what I had eaten that day, etc etc).

I'm sure there is some validity to that fact that as juice ages it's flavor changes ever-so-slightly, but the change is likely extremely minimal and 95% of the difference is your own taste preferences. Ever have one of those juices that you hated as you started puffing on it, but after vaping a while longer you start to like it more? (or vice verse). I believe this is the same deal with 'steeping'.

E-juice has strange taste pallet properties, and I can go from hating to liking to hating a juice all within the same day. Steeping is simply a way of saying "Put it aside and maybe you will like it better later". But I don't believe that it's flavor profile can change drastically from a 'strong and nasty' to a 'smooth and pleasant' just by letting it sit a few days.

 

[AzPlumber]

The whole concept of steeping seems very dubious to me, I think its mostly a placebo effect because peoples tastes change on a daily basis. I might hate a juice one day, then a few days later after vaping other juices, I realize that I like its taste now. But not because it steeped and magically got better because they still taste the same to me, its because my taste preferences have shifted for whatever reason (perhaps because of my mood, how I felt, previous juices I was vaping, what I had eaten that day, etc etc).

I'm sure there is some validity to that fact that as juice ages it's flavor changes ever-so-slightly, but the change is likely extremely minimal and 95% of the difference is your own taste preferences. Ever have one of those juices that you hated as you started puffing on it, but after vaping a while longer you start to like it more? (or vice verse). I believe this is the same deal with 'steeping'.

E-juice has strange taste pallet properties, and I can go from hating to liking to hating a juice all within the same day. Steeping is simply a way of saying "Put it aside and maybe you will like it better later". But I don't believe that it's flavor profile can change drastically from a 'strong and nasty' to a 'smooth and pleasant' just by letting it sit a few days.

How many different e-liquids have you mixed up and what flavoring manufacture are you using?

 

[ITPython]

How many different e-liquids have you mixed up and what flavoring manufacture are you using?

No DIY mixing for me, I buy already mixed. I have juices from Liberty Flights, BlueMist, Backwoods Brew, Vermillion River, ECBlend, and PureSmoker.

 

[bjannr]

Steeping to me is like letting a pot of left over stew set in the refrigerator a few days. It always tastes better as the flavors blend together.

 

[AzPlumber]

No DIY mixing for me, I buy already mixed. I have juices from Liberty Flights, BlueMist, Backwoods Brew, Vermillion River, ECBlend, and PureSmoker.

Steeping is a real critter however most liquids will steep in just a few days. By the time you recieve a liquid in the mail the steeping process is done. There are a few types of liquids like tobaccos and coffees that take longer and will continue to change their flavor for a week or two.