Problems with mixing, flavors

[extazy69]

Hello,

I am mixing my own juice for a year now. I have everything needed to mix: bottles, base, flavors, sweeteners, scale. The problem is that I feel excited when I find a new flavor. After purchasing it, I smell it and cant wait to mix. However, after mixing with recommended percentages, my personal knowledge, steeping, I usually cant enjoy the flavor I am getting. I tried some recipes, some of them I really enjoyed, but it still was not what I was looking for. I only get excited when I purchase and smell my flavors. After mixing, steeping (tried various methods and tutorials) and tasting I get disappointed. I cant get the taste of what I smell and that bothers me. If I find a new recipe that is interesting for me, I cant find some of the ingredient flavors I need. I started buying premium liquids again and want to give up with the DIY because it became unbearable for me to continue with it...

Maybe someone could share with their own experience, favorite simple recipes, advice, everything is appreciated.

Thank you

 

[tazzle]

Most single flavors are just not very exciting to vape on their own (with a few exceptions). Single flavors might smell great, but very often tend to taste flat and one-dimensional unless they are blended with other concentrates, even if they are the same flavor. This is why you will see so many recipes calling for TFA Strawberry Ripe, and also Capella Sweet Strawberry, for example. There are some that taste better on their own than others (I like Inawera Shisha Strawberry as a single flavor, for example), but it's more often the case that blending makes the taste more satisfying.

The excitement / challenge comes in creating or finding recipes that make the magic happen. Even then one will be disappointed in recipes that sound aMAZing, but don't quite taste as good as they seem like they should. The thing is to find one or two that completely satisfy, and have those to rely on for everyday vaping while you test out new stuff. After a while you find more recipes you can't live without, and end up with your arsenal of delicious diy gems for your own tastes.

Another thing is that many more one-shot blends are coming out now: so the flavors are pre-blended as a concentrate and you just add your base (pg, vg. nic). I have a few of these that I absolutely adore. Don't give up! There's a world of flavor treasure out there; it just takes a little digging!

 

[tazzle]

And for simple recipes, please check out this thread: Recipes for Dummies. There are a ton of wonderful recipes with a minimum of ingredients in there! Some of these have been in my always-rotation for a while!

And I *think* it's in that thread, but try out @JCinFLA's easy-but-great Nannerberry, if you like fruit flavors. I always have this one on hand.

 

[CagedSpam]

How many different manufacturers have you tried? It might also help to read some examples of recipes that aren't quite what you'd hoped for.

I jumped in with TFA but only found a select few of their flavors really kept me going. RY4D and variations on tobacco was my go to for quite a while. Did a run with Flavor West candy cane.

After trying Flavour Art I haven't looked back. At the same time I also began mixing more complex recipes so that may have something to do with it.

Personal opinion but to me FA has a more authentic taste.

Good luck, hopefully you find your mixing mojo

 

[JCinFLA]

And I *think* it's in that thread, but try out @JCinFLA's easy-but-great Nannerberry, if you like fruit flavors. I always have this one on hand.

I'm glad you're still liking the NannerBerry! It's the first and only "clone" I ever tried to come up with. I used to buy a fairly local vendor's Naner Berry for 2+ years. My version is very close to being his, but several friends and I actually like it even better. Being able to DIY it has saved me (and those friends I make it for) a bunch of money!

 

[dannyv45]

You may want to try an all in one flavor such as the one stop DIY flavors. There easy to mix and don't disappoint. At 10% they turn out great and are practically fool proof and need little to no steeping.

Make Your Own DIY Eliquid/Juice and Candy

and also the blends

Make Your Own DIY Eliquid/Juice and Candy

I highly recommend these for the new mixer or anyone that's fed up with bad mixes. These flavors are very popular with ECF members and eliminate a lot of mixing frustration.

 

[Jeff M.]

Most single flavors are just not very exciting to vape on their own (with a few exceptions). Single flavors might smell great, but very often tend to taste flat and one-dimensional unless they are blended with other concentrates, even if they are the same flavor. This is why you will see so many recipes calling for TFA Strawberry Ripe, and also Capella Sweet Strawberry, for example. There are some that taste better on their own than others (I like Inawera Shisha Strawberry as a single flavor, for example), but it's more often the case that blending makes the taste more satisfying.

The excitement / challenge comes in creating or finding recipes that make the magic happen. Even then one will be disappointed in recipes that sound aMAZing, but don't quite taste as good as they seem like they should. The thing is to find one or two that completely satisfy, and have those to rely on for everyday vaping while you test out new stuff. After a while you find more recipes you can't live without, and end up with your arsenal of delicious diy gems for your own tastes.

Another thing is that many more one-shot blends are coming out now: so the flavors are pre-blended as a concentrate and you just add your base (pg, vg. nic). I have a few of these that I absolutely adore. Don't give up! There's a world of flavor treasure out there; it just takes a little digging!

^Truth. I do a lot of 20-30ml testers to play with different flavors/recipes. Sometimes I'll have 6 or 7 of the "same" recipes going at one time, with minor variations, just to see how different percentages or additional flavors affect it. Little things I've found that work for me, like adding Lemon Juicy to a fruit recipe to make the other flavors really pop, or adding Vanilla Bean Ice Cream to a pastry recipe to smooth it out and bring the other flavors together, came from experimenting and reading about what others have tried and liked, testing it, then tweaking it until I was satisfied. The more time you spend at it, the more you'll get a feel for what will probably work for you, and what won't. Even if you keep using premium juices for your regular day-to-day vaping, don't give up.

 

[JCinFLA]

@extazy69 - I second the recommendation that @dannyv45 gave for One Stop DIY Shop's OS Flavors and OS Blends. Some of my favorites are their Lucky Shot, Lotta Latte, Baked Cinnamon Roll, Strawberry Milk, and Pink Lemonade. I also love the 50/50 combination of the Lucky Shot + Lotta Latte (I use them at 6% each). It makes a sort of Caramel Latte eliquid that's wonderful, IMO!

They also have an on-going coupon code for usually 11-15% off your total purchase. There are 2 different codes that usually work: ECF and JFK

 

[BrotherBob]

Hello,
I am mixing my own juice for a year now. I have everything needed to mix: bottles, base, flavors, sweeteners, scale. The problem is that I feel excited when I find a new flavor. After purchasing it, I smell it and cant wait to mix. However, after mixing with recommended percentages, my personal knowledge, steeping, I usually cant enjoy the flavor I am getting. I tried some recipes, some of them I really enjoyed, but it still was not what I was looking for. I only get excited when I purchase and smell my flavors. After mixing, steeping (tried various methods and tutorials) and tasting I get disappointed. I cant get the taste of what I smell and that bothers me. If I find a new recipe that is interesting for me, I cant find some of the ingredient flavors I need. I started buying premium liquids again and want to give up with the DIY because it became unbearable for me to continue with it...
Maybe someone could share with their own experience, favorite simple recipes, advice, everything is appreciated.
Thank you

Suggest you post 1 or 2 of the "premium liquids" (blender and name of e-liquid) you enjoy along with the recipe you tried to replicate/approximate the general taste. Perhaps someone will spot an obvious problem and can make suggestions to improve your recipe, at the vary least, most of us will have tried that type of e-liquid and may have equal or a better take on the "premium liquid" taste.

 

[go_player]

Maybe someone could share with their own experience, favorite simple recipes, advice, everything is appreciated.

It's important to note that the vast majority of commercial juice companies are using exactly the same ingredients you can order from Bull City or some other well-known vendor. There are a few who might make their own extracts, or source things that would be hard for you to get, but there aren't very many. So if you like commercial juice, but you don't like what you mix, you're mixing differently than they are.

Very hard to know for sure, but... one thing to be aware of is that a lot of the recipes considered "best" by DIYers are really different in character from most commercial juice, even most fairly premium commercial juice. Most commercial juice is not very complex, high in flavoring (to the degree that many DIYers would consider it over-flavored) and full of sweetener. It needs to appeal to people who recently quit smoking, are using a variety of equipment, etc. Serious DIYers, especially the most vocal ones, tend to be a different demographic, and tend to have correspondingly different palates. And correspondingly different equipment.

I'd be interested in seeing a list of commercial juices you like and of recipes that you've mixed and have been disappointed with (your own, or others,) as well as a description of the equipment you vape with, how much you vape a day at what nic levels, etc. My first guess is that a couple of bright flavors at a time that play well together along with some sweetener might be what you are looking for. But without answers to the questions above I'm whistling past the graveyard here.

Also- and I know this is a sensitive question- but do you still smoke, and if not how long has it been since you quit completely? I don't mean to pry, and I certainly won't judge, but it's an important question when it comes to how your perceive flavor. Feel free to not answer if you don't want to.

 

[Hightech Redneck]

I have mentioned to several new diy folks to look up the vapor chronicles on YouTube. He has a show on Mondays called fresh from the kitchen.
It is designed for new diyers to start at episode 1 and get a handle on most aspects. I have been doing diy for quite a while and have learned a lot from fresh03 on blending and accenting certain flavors. There are nearly 20 episodes now covering varying topics, and they can be entertaining. There are tons of shows about diy but this one specialized in the basics going foward. Might be worth watching some of them. Just a thought and ymmv. Good luck.
And don't give up took me a while to get a good recipe.

 

[CagedSpam]

Thanks for the tip about fresh from the kitchen, DL'ing now.

 

[extazy69]

It's important to note that the vast majority of commercial juice companies are using exactly the same ingredients you can order from Bull City or some other well-known vendor. There are a few who might make their own extracts, or source things that would be hard for you to get, but there aren't very many. So if you like commercial juice, but you don't like what you mix, you're mixing differently than they are.

Very hard to know for sure, but... one thing to be aware of is that a lot of the recipes considered "best" by DIYers are really different in character from most commercial juice, even most fairly premium commercial juice. Most commercial juice is not very complex, high in flavoring (to the degree that many DIYers would consider it over-flavored) and full of sweetener. It needs to appeal to people who recently quit smoking, are using a variety of equipment, etc. Serious DIYers, especially the most vocal ones, tend to be a different demographic, and tend to have correspondingly different palates. And correspondingly different equipment.

I'd be interested in seeing a list of commercial juices you like and of recipes that you've mixed and have been disappointed with (your own, or others,) as well as a description of the equipment you vape with, how much you vape a day at what nic levels, etc. My first guess is that a couple of bright flavors at a time that play well together along with some sweetener might be what you are looking for. But without answers to the questions above I'm whistling past the graveyard here.

Also- and I know this is a sensitive question- but do you still smoke, and if not how long has it been since you quit completely? I don't mean to pry, and I certainly won't judge, but it's an important question when it comes to how your perceive flavor. Feel free to not answer if you don't want to.

I think I understood what I was doing wrong. I steeped for short period of time. I found some of my mixes well balanced and flavorful enough for me. I don't smoke. I haven't smoked like a normal daily smoker either. I was the one who just liked rolling tobacco, trying different flavored cigarettes, and smoked only 1-3 cigs a day and not everyday. And I still sometimes smoke 1 or 2 cigs during parties but very rarely, because I don't feel crave for them. I really enjoy vaping though, and after a long work day I take my OBS engine RTA with iStick QC 200W simple dual SS coils, fill it with something delicious I have and relax. I really enjoy Pure Evil Wrath(made in UK) e juice lately. Its mainly raspberries combined with coconut and caramel flavors. I tried raspberry milkshake mix by myself and it went quite great. As I have mentioned earlier, it is hard for me to follow a given recipe, that people suggest, because I always cant get one of the flavors needed. I will share what I got, and maybe you could give me some tips or even recipes with %, that would be great when you have spare time to help me. My small inventory of flavors: TPA(mango, papaya, cantaloupe, green apple), Capella(Golden pineapple, vanilla custard, cherry cola, pina colada v2, harvest berry, sweet strawberry) and some flavors of solubarome(cassis, framboise(raspberry), snake v2, sweetener) molin berry milkshake, tjuice red astaire. Thats pretty much I have. I really like some fruity mixes, or vanilla milkshakes.

 

[MagicJosh]

Hello,

I am mixing my own juice for a year now. I have everything needed to mix: bottles, base, flavors, sweeteners, scale. The problem is that I feel excited when I find a new flavor. After purchasing it, I smell it and cant wait to mix. However, after mixing with recommended percentages, my personal knowledge, steeping, I usually cant enjoy the flavor I am getting. I tried some recipes, some of them I really enjoyed, but it still was not what I was looking for. I only get excited when I purchase and smell my flavors. After mixing, steeping (tried various methods and tutorials) and tasting I get disappointed. I cant get the taste of what I smell and that bothers me. If I find a new recipe that is interesting for me, I cant find some of the ingredient flavors I need. I started buying premium liquids again and want to give up with the DIY because it became unbearable for me to continue with it...

Maybe someone could share with their own experience, favorite simple recipes, advice, everything is appreciated.

Thank you

If you enjoy the smell you are smelling then do not mix your flavor with anything. Use one flavor and add some super sweet and you will be allot happier. If you want take two or three flavors and smell them all together and see how it smells and then mix them together.