Newbie Question on Steeping - is sampling without steeping missing something?

[Freefall_Doug]

So I went hog wild and bought a whole bunch of samplers and a few fullsize bottles to get me going.

I ended up with samplers from vape rite, heather heavenly vapes, and 5 pawns.

I got some full size bottles from Aromajuice, & MBV. MBV even threw in a freebie bottle of Razzleberry Pie (which I sorta thought taste like those razzberry soap bars would taste).

What came to mind is what is the point of getting samples and blazing through them quickly, if they are all samples of gourmet juice that really need a good steep to shine.

MBV and Aromajuice don't mention steeping, but vape rite and the 5 pawns juice specifically mention a steep.

So how long should I let these things steep in order to get a true sample of the product? Will I really notice a difference, what happens usually?

Thanks for the input!

 

[Bigdaddynigel]

I've read multiple threads where a 1 - 2 week steep is recommended. Depending on the juice, I will start to notice a slight change in taste after as little as 3 or 4 days.

 

[szot]

Steeping is not always necessary...butin most cases it is and makes the juices taste much better....the longer it steeps the better usually....steeping is another name for "aging"....like spaghetti sauces get better when they sit overnite and the ingredients blend together better....to speed up the steeping, shakes the bottles daily and open the tip and let them sit all day and overnight..and U can also put the bottles in some hot tap water'...steeping can greatly change the flavor...there is no set time on how long to steep..it varies by each vendor and flavor juice

Some juices like 555 from MBV I use right away from the mailbox...others from China, are nasty like all chemicals in the mailbox, but are great 1 month later after steeping..

 

[Stosh]

Taste 'em all, if they taste good, vape 'em. The one that taste a bit off, put aside for a week and retest. There's no hard and fast rules, with pre-mixed juices from a vendor, they could be sitting on a shelf in the warehouse from a month or mixed the day before being shipped. No way to tell for sure.

Your own taste and preference is the final arbitrator...

 

[Baditude]

You can always sample a new flavor when it arrives. I can't say this for a fact, but my guess is that most samplers contain already steeped juices that were made in a batch long before shipment.

Many flavors are pre-mixed prior to you making an order. Others are only created after you place an order. It just depends upon the vendor and the particular flavor you might order.

Simple flavors (ie Apple or Ice Menthol) probably won't need steeping. More complex flavors such as a coffee or tobacco flavor will likely will require some steeping.

Steeping merely means "aging". It gives the different components of flavorings time to meld together. I usually use the anology of pot roast. The meat, vegetables, and spices will taste good the day its cooked. But it almost always tastes more flavorful on day two or three after all the flavorings have had a chance to meld together more, yet still retain their individual flavors.

Typically a week, maybe two weeks is plenty time for most flavors to steep. Rarely you'll come across a flavor that just didn't cut it within the first two weeks, you put it away and rediscover it a month later, and it has improved so much you don't even recognize it as the same flavor. If the the juice has an alcohol or purfumey aroma to it, keep the cap off for a couple of days to allow the alcohol base time to evaporate. Then recap it, shake it well, and then let it rest in a cool dark place to steep. If you get impatient, there's nothing that says you can't sample it again.

Most experienced vapors use either a drip atomizer or a Nano clearomizer to sample new flavors, or to test how well a flavor tastes while steeping.

 

[wtfmates]

I've sampled a bunch of juices without steeping, and they tasted great for the most part. If you manage to hold on to them long enough, they'll happen to taste even better. Steeping just gives you more of an already good thing. You're not really missing out on anything, so try not to view it that way.

At first, my juices didn't get any steep time, but I've got 9 juices right now, and six more on the way. As I get more and more juices, in the time it takes me to go through a couple bottles of juice, the other juices have been sitting around for a week. I'm steeping them without even realizing it! The same thing will probably happen with you too as you start stockpiling liquid.

 

[Vicshalls]

I keep seeing people talk about Dripping. What exactly do you need to do that with. I have a few egos. I don't really want any other thing for right now. Can I drip with those and some kind of attachment? What about that mini tank they mentioned.

 

[Parallel]

I like to think of steeping as making a crockpot stew. No matter what, it tastes pretty good... but the longer it cooks and the flavors marinate together, the better it tastes!

 

[Recycled Roadkill]

I would think that if an e liquid needs steeping why wouldn't they do that where it's mixed?
Would I buy a tiny charred barrel of 12 year old scotch that I was required to store for 11 years and 11 months before I would actually drink it?

Okay, just rambling with this but it would seem to me it would be to the manufacturers advantage to do the steeping before it hits the shelves if for no other reasons, newbies like myself having no knowledge of this.

 

[Parallel]

I would think that if an e liquid needs steeping why wouldn't they do that where it's mixed?
Would I buy a tiny charred barrel of 12 year old scotch that I was required to store for 11 years and 11 months before I would actually drink it?

Guess it's a personal preference? I love knowing mine were made closely to order. Many place custom orders too (ie. extra flavor shots) which requires custom made to order. If it's custom made, how would they be able to steep it for you?

 

[Baditude]

I keep seeing people talk about Dripping. What exactly do you need to do that with. I have a few egos. I don't really want any other thing for right now. Can I drip with those and some kind of attachment? What about that mini tank they mentioned.

At first glance, a drip atomizer will look like a cartomizer. However if you look inside the metal casing, the cartomizer will have a polyfiller material packed within it that looks like a cigarette filter. This is the wick material which absorbes e-liquid and feeds the heating coil.

A drip atomizer has no polyfiller material to hold the e-liquid. It is basically an empty tube with the heating coil at the bottom end. Only a few drops of e-liquid can be added to a drip atty, or else the heating coil would become flooded and not fire. To vape, only a few drops of liquid are added at a time, several puffs can be accomplished, and then an additional few drops can be added to continue vaping. Because there is no filler material to possibly affect the juice's flavor, drip atty's are said to have the fullest unadulterated flavor you can experience. Changing from one flavor to another is simple since the first flavor can be vaporized and the next flavor added.

 

[twgbonehead]

I would think that if an e liquid needs steeping why wouldn't they do that where it's mixed?
Would I buy a tiny charred barrel of 12 year old scotch that I was required to store for 11 years and 11 months before I would actually drink it?

Okay, just rambling with this but it would seem to me it would be to the manufacturers advantage to do the steeping before it hits the shelves if for no other reasons, newbies like myself having no knowledge of this.

Well, go to a typical juice vendor.
Count how many flavors they have
Count how many nic levels they offer
Count how many PG/VG ratio options they have

Where applicable, count menthol, extra flavor, flavor shots, sweetener, etc.

Multiply all those options together and you get?

 

[RobinBanks]

I would think that if an e liquid needs steeping why wouldn't they do that where it's mixed?
Would I buy a tiny charred barrel of 12 year old scotch that I was required to store for 11 years and 11 months before I would actually drink it?

Okay, just rambling with this but it would seem to me it would be to the manufacturers advantage to do the steeping before it hits the shelves if for no other reasons, newbies like myself having no knowledge of this.

Because these businesses don't have the resources to have a huge stock of pre-made juice they're just hoping people will eventually buy. Also, a lot of people are perfectly happy to use their juice fresh out of the mail.

There are a few companies (Ahlusion and Nicoticket come to mind) that keep a stock of their most popular juices pre-steeped.
Or, you can pay top dollar for boutique juices from sites like VapeRev and Elevated Vaping, but you'll find your options within these brands much more limited (not knocking them, I'm a boutique juice addict)

 

[RobinBanks]

Well, go to a typical juice vendor.
Count how many flavors they have
Count how many nic levels they offer
Count how many PG/VG ratio options they have

Where applicable, count menthol, extra flavor, flavor shots, sweetener, etc.

Multiply all those options together and you get?

A Metric Fudgeton (Scientific term)

 

[Freefall_Doug]

Is a Fudgeton similar to a Henweigh?

Great replies every one!

 

[AngiBe]

Five Pawns is presteeped, ready to go. As for other juices, smell them..do they smell as described or like perfume/alcohol or off? I'd say go ahead a drip a little just to see, but if they smell off, they usually need to be aged/matured.

Also good idea to check w/the vendor you bought them from on hhow they prefer them steeped. Some say open cap for a like five minutes, but put cap back on, shake daily and keep in a cool dark place. Some prefer the breathe method, cap off the whole time, shake daily or what have you.

 

[RobinBanks]

Is a Fudgeton similar to a Henweigh?

Great replies every one!

a lot bigger. if i recall correctly, a henweigh is approximately 5lbs?

 

[thatwierdguy]

I'm glad someone asked this question before I had to, and now I've got a good excuse to buy a dripping atomizer! So it's not so bad to shake up a 10ml bottle and put a little in a tank to check it out, good to know! Thank's for the info

 

[Anesthesia]

Wow, I'm glad I stayed in the new member area. Seems like every time I have a question I find some answers in the first few pages. Thanks everyone.
I've been uncapping and letting my juices sit since I joined. Can't hurt to try haha

 

[Duke23]

I'm still new enough that I didn't know steeping was a thing. It makes sense now though because when I first got my Grape flavor I wasn't impressed and tossed it in a drawer. Few weeks later I tried it again and was pleasantly surprised, I shrugged it off thinking it was because I was using a CE5 instead of a CE4.. Guess I should start the clock on the others I bought that I wasn't too happy about.