lol i dont know about brave maybe a bit stupid. but my black honey mix is pretty good. i havnt tried the vanilla one yet but as soon as this is gone im going to try it out.
newbie diy fail#1
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Many of my TPA flavors have perfumey/chemical/alcohol smells and tastes. Some need several weeks steep time to get better. There's a few where the smell/taste never did go away after over a month of steeping. A lot of tobacco flavors are vapable right away such as French Pipe, Black & Mild, Honey Flu Cured to name a few, by vapingzone. They get even better with aging though.
Don't feel bad. I don't have much luck with DIY carmels (or chocolates)...it's like I'm immune to "tasting" the flavors of what I've mixed up. I have to add LOTS of EM sweetener to my bakery flavors and to some of the drier tobacco flavors. Yet I have to delicious liquids from a few vendors that I don't add anything to (so in my spare time am trying to duplicate some popular vendor juices LOL...but it'll take a long time!)
Haven't tried the nic base you refer to but have found that I like the odorless and basically tasteless nic base from wizard labs that I tried (one was called Ultra Pure and the other was called ICE which I'll be ordering more of when I need to re-stock.) The nic bases that have a bit of odor/color/taste without any flavoring added, seem to muck up my DIY attempts LOL
Like everyone has already mentioned, I found too, that it's best to test flavors with just one at a time and start at low %. If you "over flavor" it can dull the flavor too. Not sure why, but it can suddenly become muted when there's too much. After you know the % of each flavor you like then you can try putting 2 or more together.
TPA coffee flavors, kona, cappacino etc are horrible smelling LOL
I had to throw out the capp because it was so bad, and I assumed it was tainted somehow (I had bought mine from a place that I originally bought my first nic bases from and every single thing was nauseating and stank up the place....I just had to get rid of all of it. I quit DIY for a short time. It was a few months before I ordered from other places and now I'm on the road to making some great DIY vapes 
)
Good luck and keep us posted!
Don't feel bad. I don't have much luck with DIY carmels (or chocolates)...it's like I'm immune to "tasting" the flavors of what I've mixed up. I have to add LOTS of EM sweetener to my bakery flavors and to some of the drier tobacco flavors. Yet I have to delicious liquids from a few vendors that I don't add anything to (so in my spare time am trying to duplicate some popular vendor juices LOL...but it'll take a long time!)
Haven't tried the nic base you refer to but have found that I like the odorless and basically tasteless nic base from wizard labs that I tried (one was called Ultra Pure and the other was called ICE which I'll be ordering more of when I need to re-stock.) The nic bases that have a bit of odor/color/taste without any flavoring added, seem to muck up my DIY attempts LOL
Like everyone has already mentioned, I found too, that it's best to test flavors with just one at a time and start at low %. If you "over flavor" it can dull the flavor too. Not sure why, but it can suddenly become muted when there's too much. After you know the % of each flavor you like then you can try putting 2 or more together.
TPA coffee flavors, kona, cappacino etc are horrible smelling LOL
I had to throw out the capp because it was so bad, and I assumed it was tainted somehow (I had bought mine from a place that I originally bought my first nic bases from and every single thing was nauseating and stank up the place....I just had to get rid of all of it. I quit DIY for a short time. It was a few months before I ordered from other places and now I'm on the road to making some great DIY vapes )Good luck and keep us posted!
Levitas is 100% spot on, particularly about the M-type tobacco. I mix it at 0.5% and find that it has to steep for at least 5 weeks to be vapable. Before that, it is absolutely horrible, to me. Stick to one flavor mixs, without nicotine until you find a tast you like. Then you can start blending. Just be patient!
You sound like you're going through the same trials I started with. I had a flavor in mind that just sounded great, but once I mixed it, I just couldn't stand it. Fortunately, I've only trashed down the sink one or two of my attempts.
I bounced back and forth with the idea I wanted a good caramel based juice, then went to fruit juices, then back to tobacco based flavors. There are good ones of each, but in the end, I think I like tobacco, and M-Type is trending to be my favorite, although I haven't found a good percentage yet. Which leads me to the one thing I'm discovering is vital to testing with tobacco flavors - Start with a 10 ml test batch. Most anything smaller will make it hard to add small percentages. Based on a 5 ml test batch, which is 100 standardized drops, it only takes one drop of any tobacco flavor to be adding 1%. It's been recommended that most "real" tobacco flavors should be started with 1% as a base starting point.
I'm also finding that any of these tobacco flavors vary greatly in strength, so it's going to be a long process discovering how much of each one is needed to start with. There's tons of advice on here about a good starting point for everything, but I'm finding out how different each palate of each user really is. Levitas has recommend the double RY4 to me and almost everyone else at around 5%(I seem to recall), but I'm upping the flavor to 8% on my current batch and maybe higher later, just as an example. He may feel 5% is strong or just fine, so you see where I'm going with this.
My main reason to DIY is cost and availability. There are tons of flavorings out there from all over that are just fine as a single flavor mix. If you search hard enough, you can probably find a close "mixed" single flavor to what you're envisioning. Not having to wait for the mailman is very attractive to me. Strengthening a flavor is a plus when I find that store bought juices just are not strong enough to me.
The one thing that bothers me about mixing my own is that I don't know how the best way to sample a new juice might be. I don't drip because I haven't learned how, and filling my tank, even partially, seems to give false taste results.
Find that one juice you like from that single flavor and all of a sudden, most of your frustrations will go away and you won't be pressured to discover other nice mixes.
I bounced back and forth with the idea I wanted a good caramel based juice, then went to fruit juices, then back to tobacco based flavors. There are good ones of each, but in the end, I think I like tobacco, and M-Type is trending to be my favorite, although I haven't found a good percentage yet. Which leads me to the one thing I'm discovering is vital to testing with tobacco flavors - Start with a 10 ml test batch. Most anything smaller will make it hard to add small percentages. Based on a 5 ml test batch, which is 100 standardized drops, it only takes one drop of any tobacco flavor to be adding 1%. It's been recommended that most "real" tobacco flavors should be started with 1% as a base starting point.
I'm also finding that any of these tobacco flavors vary greatly in strength, so it's going to be a long process discovering how much of each one is needed to start with. There's tons of advice on here about a good starting point for everything, but I'm finding out how different each palate of each user really is. Levitas has recommend the double RY4 to me and almost everyone else at around 5%(I seem to recall), but I'm upping the flavor to 8% on my current batch and maybe higher later, just as an example. He may feel 5% is strong or just fine, so you see where I'm going with this.
My main reason to DIY is cost and availability. There are tons of flavorings out there from all over that are just fine as a single flavor mix. If you search hard enough, you can probably find a close "mixed" single flavor to what you're envisioning. Not having to wait for the mailman is very attractive to me. Strengthening a flavor is a plus when I find that store bought juices just are not strong enough to me.
The one thing that bothers me about mixing my own is that I don't know how the best way to sample a new juice might be. I don't drip because I haven't learned how, and filling my tank, even partially, seems to give false taste results.
Find that one juice you like from that single flavor and all of a sudden, most of your frustrations will go away and you won't be pressured to discover other nice mixes.
Here is something I learned the Hard Way.
Always mix a small Unflavored batch using your PG / VG and vape test it BEFORE you add flavorings whenever you get new Nicotine Base.
I have bought Nicotine Base before that Tastes like Turpentine. There was not Combination of Flavors or amount of Sweetener that would make it vapable.
Always mix a small Unflavored batch using your PG / VG and vape test it BEFORE you add flavorings whenever you get new Nicotine Base.
I have bought Nicotine Base before that Tastes like Turpentine. There was not Combination of Flavors or amount of Sweetener that would make it vapable.
Blackbeard, have you tested your dropper to see how many drops there are in 1 ml? My dropper has 40 drops per ml, a big difference when working with 1% or 2%.
I couldn't make Anything vapable when I first started. Everything had a Chemical aftertaste to it.
Then I tried using Pure Sucralose as a sweetener and it all seemed to come together.
BTW - Besure to read what glassmanoak posted. It is Very Important.
special thx to everyone for helping me out i appreciate it.. levitas i missed where you asked what fruits i like, but i like almost all fruits. patients is not one of my best virtues lol i wont give up tho . i will perfect a few flavors if i have to try, and buy everything out there lol. i have now bought 3 30 ml bottles of pink spots swagger in the last 2 weeks. the first 2 bottles were awsome, but this third bottle isnt so good. im new is that common with a lot of flavors maybe it will change in a few days.
I am still really new to DIY myself, but the one thing I didn't see anyone mention is a warm/hot bath for the sample bottle. If you let your sample sit in warm/hot water for about 1/2 an hour it can sometimes simulate as much as a weeks worth of steeping. I had an english toffee I couldn't stand fresh mixed, but after about an hour in warm/hot water it tasted wonderful.
When it comes to sweeteners there are two main choices: ethyl maltol, and sucralose. The sucralose is basically like splenda and the ethyl maltol is a food additive that smells very much like cotton candy. I like them both, but I have found that I really love the ethyl maltol, because it can take the sharp/peppery edges off of some flavors without being a sickly sweet flavor. You have to be careful with the sweeteners though...what initially doesn't seem to have done anything can be nauseatingly sweet after two weeks.
I have been pretty lucky, except when it comes to the caramel flavors, so far they all seem to taste like burnt sugar to me (which would be the flavor of a failed batch of caramel IMHO). I'm looking for a caramel that is rich, smooth and creamy...I"m hoping I just got bad batches, and I still plan to try again. I have liked both of the english toffees I've tried so far though (and toffee is kind of similar to a caramel); I've tried the one from the flavor apprentice (TFA, TPA) and the one from Lorann (LA). The toasted almond flavor I got from TFA was really good, it tasted just like almonds (instead of amaretto), but it was definitely strong...I'm hoping to make a good chocolate almond with it soon.
When it comes to fruits here is what I've found out so far: Pineapple and cherry flavors tend to be very strong/overwhelming. If cherry is vaped fresh it usually tastes like a nasty cough syrup. Even strong strawberry and blueberry flavors seem to need to steep, and most fruits do have a perfumey taste at first if you add too much or if you don't wait for them to steep.
I've heard that you can make DIY bubble gum, cotton candy, or tropical fruit that's good immediately, and I made a red licorice one that tasted exactly like the red licorice whips I used to get as a kid right after I mixed it...it made me very happy.
I hope I was able to help a little, and good luck with your DIY juice!
When it comes to sweeteners there are two main choices: ethyl maltol, and sucralose. The sucralose is basically like splenda and the ethyl maltol is a food additive that smells very much like cotton candy. I like them both, but I have found that I really love the ethyl maltol, because it can take the sharp/peppery edges off of some flavors without being a sickly sweet flavor. You have to be careful with the sweeteners though...what initially doesn't seem to have done anything can be nauseatingly sweet after two weeks.
I have been pretty lucky, except when it comes to the caramel flavors, so far they all seem to taste like burnt sugar to me (which would be the flavor of a failed batch of caramel IMHO). I'm looking for a caramel that is rich, smooth and creamy...I"m hoping I just got bad batches, and I still plan to try again. I have liked both of the english toffees I've tried so far though (and toffee is kind of similar to a caramel); I've tried the one from the flavor apprentice (TFA, TPA) and the one from Lorann (LA). The toasted almond flavor I got from TFA was really good, it tasted just like almonds (instead of amaretto), but it was definitely strong...I'm hoping to make a good chocolate almond with it soon.
When it comes to fruits here is what I've found out so far: Pineapple and cherry flavors tend to be very strong/overwhelming. If cherry is vaped fresh it usually tastes like a nasty cough syrup. Even strong strawberry and blueberry flavors seem to need to steep, and most fruits do have a perfumey taste at first if you add too much or if you don't wait for them to steep.
I've heard that you can make DIY bubble gum, cotton candy, or tropical fruit that's good immediately, and I made a red licorice one that tasted exactly like the red licorice whips I used to get as a kid right after I mixed it...it made me very happy.
I hope I was able to help a little, and good luck with your DIY juice!
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so far i dont like the chocolate i got its tpa/ tfa. i will try both sugars. i do give em a hot bath after mixing. the caramel isnt very good either lol or not in my attempts so far. i wil try and find another good caramel and chocolate.
Yeah, I haven't found a chocolate I really like yet...that's the hold up on the chocolate almond. If I could find one that tasted like the nestles chocolate in chunky bars I would be really happy.
I did try the banana super concentrated one from Vaping Zone, and it tasted just like banana laffy taffy after a couple of days, which I love so, happy dance...
I vaped laffy taffy all day that day.
I have read that TFA Pineapple is an excellent fruit. I have already mentioned the TFA Blueberry extra, one of my favorites, no doubt.
Apple is a tough nut to crack, but I have found FA Apple to be my favorite straight apple thus far, it's juicy like apple juice.
It would appear that nailing straight authentic fruits is tough. I have some Capella Strawberries and cream, and while it's the best strawberry I've tried so far, it's still not authentic enough for my tastes. The search goes on.
I am enjoying mixing VZ Coconut in many of my blends (though I am sure that it doesn't need to be VZ), especially tobacco blends. But use lightly, else it will turn into a tropical blend rather quickly.
Even if you don't like real apple pie (I don't) I still recommend TFA Apple pie. It's just delicious, and doesn't require additional sweetener, or steeping. In fact, really, anything I've recommended in this thread doesn't really require any additional sweetener. I have been trying to avoid the use of such, if possible.
One last thing, use your resources well. Your best one is right here, all of us, your experiences included. If you're in the mood to try a flavor, but have since been timid due to recent blends not working, simply come on here, ask about specific flavors, and people will gladly share their personal experiences with you. This will allow you to find out more information on a flavor before making the purchase, and, you'll soon come to find out who, amongst us all in the DIY forums, you share similar tastes with. This is an extremely beneficial tool, as sharing and helping one another with taste profiles of flavorings will not only save us money (well, some of us, lol), it will move you closer to finding an all day vape, or three to have for the rest of your vaping days
Apple is a tough nut to crack, but I have found FA Apple to be my favorite straight apple thus far, it's juicy like apple juice.
It would appear that nailing straight authentic fruits is tough. I have some Capella Strawberries and cream, and while it's the best strawberry I've tried so far, it's still not authentic enough for my tastes. The search goes on.
I am enjoying mixing VZ Coconut in many of my blends (though I am sure that it doesn't need to be VZ), especially tobacco blends. But use lightly, else it will turn into a tropical blend rather quickly.
Even if you don't like real apple pie (I don't) I still recommend TFA Apple pie. It's just delicious, and doesn't require additional sweetener, or steeping. In fact, really, anything I've recommended in this thread doesn't really require any additional sweetener. I have been trying to avoid the use of such, if possible.
One last thing, use your resources well. Your best one is right here, all of us, your experiences included. If you're in the mood to try a flavor, but have since been timid due to recent blends not working, simply come on here, ask about specific flavors, and people will gladly share their personal experiences with you. This will allow you to find out more information on a flavor before making the purchase, and, you'll soon come to find out who, amongst us all in the DIY forums, you share similar tastes with. This is an extremely beneficial tool, as sharing and helping one another with taste profiles of flavorings will not only save us money (well, some of us, lol), it will move you closer to finding an all day vape, or three to have for the rest of your vaping days
I've tested a few flavors. So far, the pipette I use averages about 20 drops per milliliter. I'm sure it's going to show differences for other flavors, temperatures, etc.
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