Not pleased with TFA

[CallmeB]

Oh guy I am sure it is the cooks fault now. I'm an old shoe at this DIY stuff after nearly a week doing it. LOL I am still having trouble with the watermelon and the blueberry just isn't yummy as it should be, but hell I even got a good vape from the caramel cappuccino which is CRAZY strong and the one I thought I'd just throw in the garbage.

I have mixed up several watermelons but none of them have any real taste. I mixed it at 15% 80/20 pg/vg 2% sweetener. It smells great, but no taste to speak of. I am starting to think it is the sweetener killing the flavor. That or this is one that requires a longer steep. This is one I'm looking forward to heat steeping. I'll know right off if it had a positive effect.

My banana cream is pretty damn good. Tastes just like banana laffy taffy. I'm not that pleased with the vapor production though so I'm going to try a bit more vg next time. I'm using 80/20 now. I'm noticing though that a lot of the flavor issues can arise due to the wick being burnt or too loose or too tight. I warp my own coils for my kanger microcoil thingy. I think sometimes I vape too much and char the cotton. I am learning more everyday though.

This forum is by far the most helpful forum I have ever used. Thanks everyone.

 

[Myah_June2014]

I believe ya when you say you're a quick learner and I think you'll be making some great e-liquid in no time. Making mistakes up front lets you learn quickly what to watch out for. I make 1ml-3ml non-nic test batches of each flavor to taste so I can see how they work. This helps me determine if I like them by themselves or if they will work as a base flavor, mid-flavor, or a light (hi) flavor when mixing. I've gone to bed thinking about my flavors and wake up with combinations I can't wait to try, lol. You've been given some great advice already so I'll just wish you the best. Let us know how you get on.

What do you use to test your batches? I'm not only stating DIY but vaping so I only have PT2 & 3 mini tank & I clear 16... Just not working! I don't know how to build... REALLY wanna drip, but don't even have a shop within 2 hours to help me build one eeeeeek. Can I order something or can somebody I trust make 1 & send it to me lol?!?!?! Anybody chime in!

 

[MD_Boater]

Excellent reply. I am doing it that way now. I am very impatient, but I try not to let that affect my actual behavior too much. I will try some of those recipes. I distill my own water. I'd prefer to only drink that, but I misjudged pipe diameter so it only put out about 1 gallon a day safely, but that's more than enough for e juice mixin. What is your normal pg/vg ratio?

I really don't have a "normal" ratio, but they are generally in the 50/50 (PG/VG) to 70/30 range. I've never gone above 50% VG because to me, too much VG feels like it leaves a heavy film in my throat. Apparently, I am not sensitive to PG as seems common around here.

...LOL I am still having trouble with the watermelon and the blueberry just isn't yummy as it should be, but hell I even got a good vape from the caramel cappuccino which is CRAZY strong and the one I thought I'd just throw in the garbage.

I have mixed up several watermelons but none of them have any real taste. I mixed it at 15% 80/20 pg/vg 2% sweetener. It smells great, but no taste to speak of. I am starting to think it is the sweetener killing the flavor. That or this is one that requires a longer steep. This is one I'm looking forward to heat steeping. I'll know right off if it had a positive effect. This forum is by far the most helpful forum I have ever used. Thanks everyone.

Watermelon is a very subtle flavor. You will not get a strong watermelon flavor (unless you mix it much stronger than I have tried so far). I happen to have a 10% mix in one of my tanks right now, and it is what I would describe as "medium" strength. This one has nothing else in it. I have added a very small bit of raspberry (as recommended somewhere in this forum), and it added a bit more sweetness to the flavor. If you try this, use a very small amount of raspberry at first, and work your way up. Steeping won't change watermelon much at all.

Just curious. Are you still smoking? If not, how long has it been since you did? I am finding that even after 6 months of not smoking, my sense of taste and smell are still continuing to improve. I know this based on the fact that I have had to reduce the amount of flavorings that I used in my earlier mixes. They were fine when I started DIYing at the end of January, but not so good in April. Some of my recipes are now at half strength from where they started, and are more flavorful now. Flavor will get stronger as the juice steeps. Sometimes, it will get so much stronger that it will overshoot the optimum taste and turn nasty. If it tastes good right after you mix it, but bad after a few days, try the recipe again with a reduced amount of flavoring. Mutiiple flavor recipes, particularly those with cream type flavors take at least 2-3 days to blend together, so testing them immediately is not necessarily going to give you a good sample of what it will taste like later on. If it tastes weak right after mixing, and is still weak after steeping, increase the percentages in the next batch.

Good luck!

 

[flowerpots]

Just out of curiosity, which Blueberry flavor do you have, CallmeB? I have the Blueberry Extra and it's a strong, authentic flavor. I haven't tried it in a recipe yet though.

 

[CallmeB]

I have the basic Blueberry. I've got vapable mixes from it now, but its not as strong as I'd like. I like a very strong flavor.

I haven't smoked since 2011 or 2010. I was dipping after that until I started vaping a couple months ago. Now I can't dip. I've tried. It makes me have uncontrollable hiccups. Weird. I have a pretty acute sense of smell. I can't say I know how my taste perception compares to others though. I'm vapin on an 80/20 watermelon now. I taste it, but some of the comments on the site I bought it from are like, "perfect candy flavor" and such. I've mixed this probably to 30% and it has never been any more potent than it is at 15%. Doesn't change over time either.

I've got 10 flavors coming from Wizardlabs this week. I REALLY like that site. Everything is soooo cheap. At first I was put off by how few options they have for varying quantities of flavors; they only come in 8ml, but they come in glass 8ml containers and 8ml is quite a bit of flavor I now know. And for a 1.49 I'll buy this stuff all day long. It's half the price of any other site and comes in nifty glass vials I can reuse. I will be so pleased if they have a dropper too.

 

[DeadbeatJeff]

Out of 5 flavors I ordered form TFA (The Flavor Apprentice) so far none of them have come through. Most of this is my fault for not paying closer attention to the warnings they posted. I thought they were just trying to hype their products. You know like, Altoids, "so strong they come in a can". Well I won't make that mistake again. I've thrown out 60ml today of straight poison god awful mistakes. One ate my tank. Another stunk my whole house up and forced me to open all the windows to air it out

The flavors like, Watermelon, blueberry, banana cream are terribly weak, or maybe they need to steep for a while. I've been mixing and testing right afterward. They do seem to improve over time. This is really F N with my need for instant gratification.

I gotta say, I thought you guys were a bunch of fan boys just sittin around pattin ur selves on the back for figuring out something that any idiot measuring cup could do. I thought this stuff would be like Hamburger Helper. I was WRONG. But it's not impossible. I've only been at this for 1 day. Had some set backs but I've learned some valuable lessons along the way. I at least can mix a juice that doesn't make me ill.

But back to the reason I posted. I am not pleased with TFA. Am I wrong to feel this way? Do you guys order from them and like their flavors? I see the comments on the MyFreedomSmokes, but I know websites pay 3rd party companies to hire ppl to make those comments. Not all of them, but some. So I don't trust comments on sites that are trying to sell me something. I think I'm going to go with a different group next time. MFS I think, but I still have enough flavors from TFA to supply a small town, so I'll be using those. Might figure out how to get them to work.

You know there should be a catalyst to fuse the flavor to the mixing medium (PG/VG) quicker. My next door neighbor is a chemical engineer. I wonder if she might have any ideas.

I love the TFA flavors I use. Which is of course subjective. Some of them are terrible to vape, and some need tweaking with additives like EM, Smooth, etc to come out good. Some need to be blended with other flavors to work well. TFA flavors generally are used at 10%-20% of the total volume

Just keep at it.

 

[Mrdaputer]

It has been brought up before but the tank will make a difference. Also your battery. I wanted so bad to get a certain flavor but could not hit it. Close but not close enough, I bought a itaste vv cranked it up a bit and bam there it was. Since then I have gotten a mvp2 it is a vapen beast. There is a lot of error and trial to diy.

 

[GPC2012]

Out of 5 flavors I ordered form TFA (The Flavor Apprentice) so far none of them have come through. Most of this is my fault for not paying closer attention to the warnings they posted. I thought they were just trying to hype their products. You know like, Altoids, "so strong they come in a can". Well I won't make that mistake again. I've thrown out 60ml today of straight poison god awful mistakes. One ate my tank. Another stunk my whole house up and forced me to open all the windows to air it out

The flavors like, Watermelon, blueberry, banana cream are terribly weak, or maybe they need to steep for a while. I've been mixing and testing right afterward. They do seem to improve over time. This is really F N with my need for instant gratification.

I gotta say, I thought you guys were a bunch of fan boys just sittin around pattin ur selves on the back for figuring out something that any idiot measuring cup could do. I thought this stuff would be like Hamburger Helper. I was WRONG. But it's not impossible. I've only been at this for 1 day. Had some set backs but I've learned some valuable lessons along the way. I at least can mix a juice that doesn't make me ill.

But back to the reason I posted. I am not pleased with TFA. Am I wrong to feel this way? Do you guys order from them and like their flavors? I see the comments on the MyFreedomSmokes, but I know websites pay 3rd party companies to hire ppl to make those comments. Not all of them, but some. So I don't trust comments on sites that are trying to sell me something. I think I'm going to go with a different group next time. MFS I think, but I still have enough flavors from TFA to supply a small town, so I'll be using those. Might figure out how to get them to work.

You know there should be a catalyst to fuse the flavor to the mixing medium (PG/VG) quicker. My next door neighbor is a chemical engineer. I wonder if she might have any ideas.

What percentages are you mixing at? To much flavoring will taste weak or virtually unflavored as will not enough. Some ideas of the percentage guidelines for your specific flavors are here http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/fo.../4658-flavor-apprentice-flavoring-thread.html.

Are you using any additives? There are many (like sweetener) that are imperative to making a decent juice. Check out the DIY forum - DIY E-Liquid for some recipes to work with

Happy mixing!

Depending on the flavor and the supplier I mix from 5% to 30% use a little sweetner and on occasion smooth. It all depends on what I make. I also learned to mix with a pad of paper handy. If I make a mistake note it immediately. If I change something note it immediately. Mix ml at most 2 or 3 times to make sure it's what I like. Keep a little bit of version 1 when making version 2 and so on. practice practice practice.