Newbie trying out some DIY. Am I doing something wrong?

[EvilGnome6]

I've been perusing the DIY boards for a bit and decided to try it out. Last week I ordered a starter kit and received it very quickly (props to One Stop DIY shop for speedy service). I got all VG nic and VG base with some Flavor Apprentice flavors:

RY4
Cotton Candy
Waffle
Maple Syrup

The plan was to make some RY4 and some Waffle juice based on recipes in the ejuice Me Up app.

The VG base was very thick so using pipettes I measured out 2ml of distilled water, 2ml of Everclear and 16ml of VG. That gave me a no-nic base for testing. Consistency seemed fine and I even vaped a few drops to test it out. It was completely flavorless and bland which is what I guess it should be.

Measuring by drops, I tried to make 1ml of RY4:
1 drop RY4
3 drops Cotton Candy
16 drops thinned VG

I shook it for a minute, dripped onto my atty and it was foul. Kind of hard to explain but it had a very dry mouth feel and a weird chemical flavor. The scent was a bit like RY4 but the flavor was awful. Maybe it's what people mean by perfumey? I don't know.

Thinking it might be because of the inaccuracy of drops, I tried mixing up a 10ml batch of Waffle using pipettes:

1.5 ml Waffle
.5 ml Maple Syrup
8 ml thinned VG

I shook it for a minute, dripped onto my atty and was hit with the same foul flavor. This time the scent was a bit like waffles but the flavor was awful again. I even tried dripping a few drops onto a fresh atty after letting it sit overnight and it was the same. Dry mouthfeel, chemical flavor.

Is it the Flavor Apprentice flavors? I'm guessing it must be since the thinned VG tasted fine. Has anybody had the same response to them? If so, which ones worked for you? I have some Capella on order to try out this weekend but I don't want to spend a fortune chasing down one that will work.

 

[cskent]

I found pretty quickly that juices need to steep a bit and I would suspect that is your problem. Some juices have a perfumey flavor, others have a flowery taste, and some just don't have any taste at all for a while. If you add nic you can also get a peppery flavor sometimes. I'd let them sit for a few days or so and try them again.

On another note, you've started at 20% flavoring. I usually start at 10% and work up. Too much flavoring can cause problems with flavor too. It's easy to dilute no nic juices so you might want to try that if it doesn't work out after steeping.

Good luck and come back and let us know how it turns out.

 

[EvilGnome6]

Thanks for the tips on steeping and I'll try diluting them further if they don't get better.

I was also surprised that the flavorings were almost completely clear. None of the Waffle or RY4 pre-mixed juices have been anywhere near that clear. Is that normal?

 

[cskent]

Some flavorings are clear and some aren't.
Juices may darken as they age, but it doesn't hurt them. If a juice is getting darker it tells me it's steeping nicely. Not all juices darken though, some stay pretty much the same color no matter what.

 

[Kimerpuff]

When mixing if it tastes bad, you have to much flavoring Flavors we use in DIY are highly concentrated, so a little does really go a long way! Start at 10% and see if that works for you. If the flavor is still bad, dilute it to 5% and so on. When you get to the place that the flavor is light, your getting close and you can add small amounts of flavor to get to that sweet spot for you!

 

[Hoosier]

There is a sticky that can help folks wanting to find flavors that are more likely to work. Nikhil did a flavoring guide with ratings.

If a person were to stick to only those flavorings with the highest rating, their odds of creating good mixes, without a lot of experimentation, increase dramatically.

I've never tried to do an RY4 just because I've never understood the appeal, but I do enjoy watching the discussions revolving around what it is suppose to taste like. I call it a shoe flavor. Everyone has their own idea of what the perfect shoe should be like too.

And maple is disgusting to me, so helping with your specific recipes are impossible for me.

Just add me to the list as saying it is usually much better to start light and work up.

Sometimes going higher has advantages, but that is probably best left to the more insane among us. (The Sweet Tart recipe by DaMulta is a good example of that.)

 

[Vidi]

steeping is important but sometimes its just the flavors that were purchased. I have not liked a single ry4 flavor Ive purchased and the tobacco ones are iffy.

One thing I have found that helps is I will run hot water over a bottle of juice for a minute or so after mixing. That seems to help things a little. But its really no substitute for a proper week steeping. Ive set bottles of juice I absolutely hated aside for a week only to find they were quite enjoyable after they steeped.

 

[garyinco]

When I started the DIY it was hard not to over flavor. My first RY4 tasted great right after made it. By the next morning it tasted so bad I immediately threw it away.

 

[DaveP]

Waffle is one those flavors that taste like maple flavored cardboard when first mixed. Let it sit in the closet for a month and it will change to waffle.

 

[leannebug]

A couple things to keep in mind..

FA drops are stronger. They are usually mixed at 10-15%. Not all drops are the same, so it's good to read up. The guide that Hoosier suggested is fantastic!

Mixing with VG is tricky and can take longer. Even with the added distilled water and PGA, you need to mix really well! I usually purchase PG based nic, add my extra PG, and my drops... then mix well.. and THEN add my VG and mix again. After all of that, if the juice requires it, I let it steep for anywhere from overnight to a couple weeks (depending on the flavors) and continually shake/mix before taste testing. It can make a world of difference.

On the coloring: nicotine adds color as well, and it darkens when exposed to oxygen.. thus some of your premade juices will look darker than just the drops.

HTH!

 

[EvilGnome6]

I tried mixing the Flavour Art flavors with 1-2 drops in 2ml of base VG (works out to about 2.5-5%) and they're tasting much better. I also tried out some Capella drops (Boston Cream Pie) and went all the way up to 20% where it's tasting great.

Thanks for all the tips, everyone. Starting light and mixing up is definitely the key.