I just started vaping Tuesday afternoon. So far I've tried the Maxx Fusion menthol prefilled cartos, which taste terrible. I'm sure of this because I had my son try it and he agreed. So I bought some juices from FSUSA, which came yesterday. The strawberry was pretty bad, but that could have been a bad blank carto because it did taste a bit burnt. I didn't like the chocolate cherry. The vanilla was pretty "eh". The menthol was just ok.
I read on here how people think all these different juices (not necessarily the ones I've tried) taste so good. And now I'm wondering what does taste good mean? As in you can really truly taste these flavors? Because I really can't that much. Maybe very slightly, but not much. For me so far, everything has a slight strange taste, with the very slightest hint of what the flavor is supposed to be.
OK, I am going to type a little bit of a novel here so hopefully this helps you somewhat.
Most juices appear to be made with flavoring mixtures that are either artificial flavors or a blend of artificial and natural flavors. As such, many of the resulting juices are going to taste pretty phony. Have you ever done any baking and used the flavoring extracts they sell in grocery stores? You add a drop or two of almond extract to some cake batter and it imparts a slight almondy taste to it, but it is also being diluted by the cake batter. However, put a drop of almond extract on your finger and taste it...bleah! One, its way too strong. Two, it doesn't taste much like an almond, does it?
Now, I have never made my own e-liquid but I have a feeling that a lot of these flavorings used to make juices are the same way. Except that the PG/VG blended liquid base used to make e-liquid has virtually no flavor of its own so it won't be able to dilute the flavoring much. Either they won't add very much flavoring and you'll end up with a lightly flavored e-liquid that doesn't taste too much like the real thing or they will add a lot and you will get a strong flavor that many people may find pretty gross (although many others will not).
Without naming names, there are some juice vendors out there (often ones that sell a huge array of flavors at very low prices) where most of their juices taste pretty much as I just described. Some people like them (and I envy them tremendously) and some people do not. You are probably one of them. I know I am. That isn't to say that some of the flavors they sell aren't pretty tasty anyway, but you will have to kiss a lot of their frogs to find the occasional princess.
It is possible to make some amazing juices with these flavorings, but it can take a tremendous amount of trial and error, blending different flavors together in different ratios. Real artistry can be involved. There are also vendors who appear to sell juices made mostly or entirely with flavorings they have either developed themselves or sourced from other places, often including much more natural ingredients. Heck, there is at least one that sells a whole line of juices made entirely with 100% natural and/or organic flavorings (Vaperite).
From my limited experiences buying juice samples so far, I would point you towards Backwoods Brew, the above-mentioned Vaperite and Kick Bass Vapor. There are undoubtedly others highly worth recommending out there which I just haven't tried yet (such as Tasty Vapor, some samples on the way). Make no mistake, these vendors have frogs too, but the frogs will at least be more interesting and original failures and only your palate can tell you what those frogs are. The frog to princess ratio will also probably be much more favorable.
Now, you mention that some of these flavors taste very faint. That is probably a combination of two factors. First and foremost, if you just quit or started cutting down on smoking recently, your taste buds (and as KeithB mentioned, your sense of smell) are probably pretty shot. Give them time. Second, a lot of these juices actually are pretty mildly flavored. Some vendors give you the option of adding extra flavor if you want. Also, some people can detect specific flavors more strongly than others. What tastes weak to you might taste strong to me, or vice versa.
Best of luck to you.
