Opinions on colored flavorings

[Randycleese]

Hi all,

I'm REALLY new to DIY e-liquid and I have a few questions and am in need of some advice. I recently made my first batch of DIY e-juice and 3 of the 4 flavorings I got were colored (I got an apple flavoring which was clear, a watermelon flavoring which was purplish, a whiskey one which was almost the color of whisky and a grape one which was a very dark blue). I'm assuming these colorings are food color additives. I'm no doctor, but I would think that vaping the food coloring wouldn't be the best idea in the world (particularly the grape one I got, its so dark that its still almost opaque even after its been mixed with the PG/VG and nic, the rest are actually not too bad and are comparable to the color of purchased e-juice).


What would your opinions be on this?


This leads me to my bigger question...I have to admit that I'm looking for a transparent (or almost transparent) flavoring (or at least one that isn't going to be very dark after mixing) for the following flavors...apple, grape, watermelon, mango, peach, and passion fruit. Do you know if there are any flavor manufacturers that would have these in almost clear formulations or am I chasing my tail with this??

Thanks in advance for your help!!!!

 

[Cullin Kin]

Hi! Congrats on switching to DIY and saving a boatload of money. Are you using LorAnn flavorings? They tend to be like that. I'm all for less additives, the less the better. Two great flavoring companies that don't use colorings are Capellas and The Flavor Apprentice. They both make fantastic flavorings. One thing to be aware of, a lot of the time, flavorings do have a natural color to them. So it may be impossible to find perfectly clear flavors for all of the flavors you listed. They can range from clear to golden, and if you're dealing with NET, brown and goopy lol.

Note: A good grape flavoring is nearly impossible to find. I've been through 5 companies and none of them were very good.

 

[Randycleese]

Thanks for the quick reply Cullin Kin!!!

I'm not into the tobacco flavors at all...that's why I took up vaping in the first place..LOL!!!! I know some of them do have natural colorings, but this grape one I'm referring to almost looks like ink when its mixed...the rest aren't that bad and are pretty close to what I'd have expected from e-liquid that you buy.

To be honest, I don't know the brand name of what I have, I'd have to look at them again. I know where I can get Capellas, and The Flavoring Apprentice flavorings up here in Canada, so its a good start!!! Thanks!!!!

 

[Cullin Kin]

It's all good buddy. Yeah, I had LorAnn Grape and I even mixed it at like 2% and it wasn't possible to see through the juice at all. It was solid purple. As long as the flavorings fall within the color range I mentioned, they should be fine. About 2 years ago, every ejuice company used to be all about adding food coloring to their juices to make them look cool. Now they have all stopped... I wonder why?

Another company that seems to come in close third behind Capellas and TFA is Flavor West. I haven't had much luck with Flavor Art. Also, I just tried this new flavoring company called 'Flavorah' and they are actually pretty awesome. I've only tried their Vanilla Custard, Blueberry, and Blueberry Muffin, but they were all good!

 

[Randycleese]

I just looked at my supplier's page again...they have TFA too!!!! WOOT!!!!

 

[Cullin Kin]

Right on. Here's some flavorings that I can certify are schmexay goodness:

Capellas: Sweet Strawberry, Vanilla Custard, French Vanilla, Simply Vanilla, Apple Pie, Blueberry Cinnamon Crumble, Cake Batter, Vanilla Cupcake, Cinnamon Danish Swirl, Graham Cracker, Horchata, NY Cheesecake, and Peaches and Cream.

TFA: Strawberry, Strawberry (Ripe), Dulce de Leche, French Vanilla Deluxe, French Vanilla, Basically any variation they have of French Vanilla, Vanilla Swirl, Vanilla Bean Ice Cream, Smooth, Sweet Cream, Vanillin (10%), and Vanilla Custard.

Also, if you ever plan on mixing bakery flavors like vanilla custard and stuff, I highly recommend (it's actually essential) to pick up some sweetener (Sucralose 10%). Also, Ethyl Maltol is always a nice addition to any mix.

 

[Randycleese]

Much appreciated Cullin Kin!!!!

 

[Nermal]

Capella also has a really good (to me) straight cinnamon.

 

[mattiem]

I have found the best way to get a fairly good grape is to use both grape juice and and grape candy (both TFA) and than add a touch of a sweetener, such as cotton candy, marshmallow, Ethol Malthol or just plain sweetener.

Something like
6% grape juice
4% grape candy
1-4% sweetener of choice
for a bit of creaminess you could try a bit of sweet cream in your mix