Questions for a diy newb

[Kelly1988]

Hey everyone!

I've been working with my diy recipes for maybe a month or so. I still have a lot to learn but I do have some questions for my current all day recipe

I was given this recipe from another user, I'm not sure if I can post someone else's recipe but I just want to adjust it a little but I'm concerned about flavor percentages..

Ok - this is NOT my recipe but it's AMAZING.. Andria gave it to me on a different forum but I believe she is on the ECF as well... It's a strawberry and cream/ custard and when she made it years ago the flavor percentages we're really high due to taste and I know she has adjusted it to a lower percentage for herself but I'm still so new to diy that it's hard for me to taste flavors without high %

Currently I'm using it this way
6% Bavarian cream TFA
2% sweet cream CAP
4.5% vanilla swirl TFA
12% strawberry TFA ( I adjusted the strawberry)
1-2% sweetener ( I'm using a few drops capella and a few tfa sweetener)

I know to most of you that this seems too sweet but idk why I can't taste unless it's sweet.. it's been perfect until I decided I wanted to add a little extra vanilla swirl and sweet cream, but when I adjust the two then the strawberry fades out and the tfa strawberry is my favorite but I don't like it dominant either so I increased the strawberry and it was too much and then it all tasted very bland. I could no longer taste the custard note/ cream..

Does anyone know how to increase these flavors without it turning into bland eliquid? I vape at 24mg nic as well so Im not sure if commercial eliquids increases the flavoring if it is a higher nic level. I guess I kind of want to have the same exact recipe flavors but I don't know which flavors mute at certain percentages or what not. I only want to go up a little not a lot.

Sorry for the novel I wanted to be as clear as possible! Thanks - Kelly

 

[bombastinator]

Hey everyone!

I've been working with my diy recipes for maybe a month or so. I still have a lot to learn but I do have some questions for my current all day recipe

I was given this recipe from another user, I'm not sure if I can post someone else's recipie
but I just want to adjust it a little but I'm concerned about flavor percentages..

Ok - this is NOT my recipe but it's AMAZING.. Andria gave it to me on a different forum but I believe she is on the ECF as well... It's a strawberry and cream/ custard and when she made it years ago the flavor percentages we're really high due to taste and I know she has adjusted it to a lower percentage for herself but I'm still so new to diy that it's hard for me to taste flavors without high %

Currently I'm using it this way
6% Bavarian cream TFA
2% sweet cream CAP
4.5% vanilla swirl TFA
12% strawberry TFA ( I adjusted the strawberry)
1-2% sweetener ( I'm using a few drops capella and a few tfa sweetener)

I know to most of you that this seems too sweet but idk why I can't taste unless it's sweet.. it's been perfect until I decided I wanted to add a little extra vanilla swirl and sweet cream, but when I adjust the two then the strawberry fades out and the tfa strawberry is my favorite but I don't like it dominant either so I increased the strawberry and it was too much and then it all tasted very bland. I could no longer taste the custard note/ cream..

Does anyone know how to increase these flavors without it turning into bland eLiquid? I vape at 24mg nic as well so Im not sure if commercial eliquids increases the flavoring if it is a higher nic level. I guess I kind of want to have the same exact recipe flavors but I don't know which flavors mute at certain percentages or what not. I only want to go up a little not a lot.

Sorry for the novel I wanted to be as clear as possible! Thanks - Kelly

You can and this is exactly the right place to do it

 

[madstabber]

Hey everyone!

I've been working with my diy recipes for maybe a month or so. I still have a lot to learn but I do have some questions for my current all day recipe

I was given this recipe from another user, I'm not sure if I can post someone else's recipe but I just want to adjust it a little but I'm concerned about flavor percentages..

Ok - this is NOT my recipe but it's AMAZING.. Andria gave it to me on a different forum but I believe she is on the ECF as well... It's a strawberry and cream/ custard and when she made it years ago the flavor percentages we're really high due to taste and I know she has adjusted it to a lower percentage for herself but I'm still so new to diy that it's hard for me to taste flavors without high %

Currently I'm using it this way
6% Bavarian cream TFA
2% sweet cream CAP
4.5% vanilla swirl TFA
12% strawberry TFA ( I adjusted the strawberry)
1-2% sweetener ( I'm using a few drops capella and a few tfa sweetener)

I know to most of you that this seems too sweet but idk why I can't taste unless it's sweet.. it's been perfect until I decided I wanted to add a little extra vanilla swirl and sweet cream, but when I adjust the two then the strawberry fades out and the tfa strawberry is my favorite but I don't like it dominant either so I increased the strawberry and it was too much and then it all tasted very bland. I could no longer taste the custard note/ cream..

Does anyone know how to increase these flavors without it turning into bland eLiquid? I vape at 24mg nic as well so Im not sure if commercial eliquids increases the flavoring if it is a higher nic level. I guess I kind of want to have the same exact recipe flavors but I don't know which flavors mute at certain percentages or what not. I only want to go up a little not a lot.

Sorry for the novel I wanted to be as clear as possible! Thanks - Kelly

If you know Andria’s forum name you can put an @ and then type the first three letters and it will give you some choices. If you see her name click on it and she will get notified that she was mentioned in this thread. Thats probably your best bet since it’s her recipe and she would have the most information and experience with it.
I would suggest you mix a couple different strawberries together which may help bring it front and center of your juices flavor Profile. I like FA juicy strawberry for an authentic fresh picked ripe tasting strawberry. Jungle flavors sweet strawberry has a strawberry bubblegum flavor and when I mix them together it a really good strawberry flavor. Maybe try mixing a small batch of a couple strawberries at different %’s to see what you like. Good luck on your recipe and finding Andria to help you out.

 

[charlie1465]

Hi Kelly and welcome I'm not an expert but the flavour percentages seem way too high. Individual flavours at too high percentages can mute other flavours which i am pretty sure is what is happening here.

Bavarian cream is a known offender and its very high at 6 %. I would suggest that rather than increasing everything I would try lowering some of the ingredients to put your top note (strawberry i'm guessing) at a more prominent level. Bavarian cream should maybe be at a max of 3.5% and even that is high.

I've found that a lot of the old recipes are great as a shake n vape but when they sit for a few days become meh

Recipes are all about the balance of ratio rather than quantity of ingredients and many ingredients contanin ethyl maltol which is a known muting compound at higher percentages.

I hope this helps and good luck to you......

 

[IDJoel]

Currently I'm using it this way
6% Bavarian cream TFA
2% sweet cream CAP
4.5% vanilla swirl TFA
12% strawberry TFA ( I adjusted the strawberry)
1-2% sweetener ( I'm using a few drops capella and a few tfa sweetener)

Is this (^^^) your version that does taste good to you (but needs more cream)? Or, is this your version that is tasting muddled to you?

I am familiar with @AndriaD's recipe and this is certainly in the ballpark... though I believe she uses Shisha Strawberry (INW). This is a big (high percentage) recipe. But, I also know that there are those (besides Andria) who like it, and I do not judge.

Speaking in the most general of terms, especially when working with high(er) flavor percentage recipes, I find it more beneficial to reduce the over-lowering flavors, rather than trying to raising the weak ones.

I know you have been doing your research. So, I imagine you have read that many flavor concentrates have a maximum useful percentage before they either begin to disappear or become muddled messes. And, depending on what other concentrates they may be combined with, the maximum useful percentage can change.

When mixing higher flavor percentages, these "useful" thresholds become more bothersome, because the DIYer is working closer to their practical limits. This is why I suggest lowering the flavor(s) that are too prominent.

When I look at your recipe as you posted it; I see this:
A cream component made up of:
6% Bavarian Cream (TFA)
2% sweet cream (CAP)
4.5% vanilla swirl (TFA)
(totaling 12.5%)

A strawberry component made up of:
12% strawberry (TFA)

And a sweeteneing component made up of:
1-2% mixed sweeteners

The way I read your original post: you like the sweetness; You like the creaminess, but would like more, and the strawberry is okay, but you don't want it to be front-and-center. I would start by reducing the Strawberry. I, personally, would do two small testers (5mL to 10mL should be plenty): one using strawberry at 11.5%, and the second using strawberry at 11.0%. Leave (for the time being) the cream and sweet components at the original percentages. Do some test vaping of those and see if the cream becomes more of the focal point.

This may not seem like a big change. But, keep in mind, the change is relative to the original percentage... not the overall batch size. A 0.5% change relative to the original 12% is 4.167% change to that specific concentrate. A 1.0% change relative to the original 12% is 8.333% change. (0.5÷12=0.04167 and 1÷12=0.8333) That is a significant adjustment.

Take a lower percentage ingredient, like the 2% Sweet Cream, and that same 0.5% reduction would change the original by 25%. That can be a mighty big swing in flavor. When we start looking at our recipes in this light, we see how small changes can have meaningful effect.

Also, if you want to have the clearest understanding of what effects your changes have, adjust only one concentrate at a time. I find, that adjusting multiple concentrates at the same time, almost always leaves me questioning "is it too much A, or not enough B?"

When I change only one ingredient; I only have to ask myself two questions:
"Do I like it; more, the same, or less than the previous version?" (Sometimes I get unexpected/unintended results; but I like them, and want to keep them.)

"Is it closer to what I wanted?"

If I can answer "yes" to either or both of these questions, I know I am on the right track. If the answer is "no" to both, then I will look to other possible solutions (adjusting a different ingredient, or perhaps subbing out an ingredient for something else).

And, as always, take detailed notes; so you can repeat the winning changes, and backtrack from any failures.

Keep making small incremental changes; and you will get it figured out (and, just from my experience: the closer you get, the smaller the changes you are likely going to need/want).

 

[Letitia]

Andria does use inw shisha strawberry. I find the tfa will fade without the shisha, together they seem to stabilize each other somehow. I personally think dropping the bavarian down a bit might be of more help, less is more with some creams. I would just mix the creams, give them a couple weeks steep and add strawberry to taste then. Once you get your cream base nailed you'll be set. I would encourage you to mix two cream bases using the same percentages, one to use and one to let sit for a month, you might find its the time frame for the creams to fully mature is what works better. The strawberries only need about 3 days once added to the creams. Many mix their cream/custard blends by the liter and after steeping just pull off 30ml at a time and add fruits as needed.

 

[Vapedog]

Hey everyone!

I've been working with my diy recipes for maybe a month or so. I still have a lot to learn but I do have some questions for my current all day recipe

I was given this recipe from another user, I'm not sure if I can post someone else's recipe but I just want to adjust it a little but I'm concerned about flavor percentages..

Ok - this is NOT my recipe but it's AMAZING.. Andria gave it to me on a different forum but I believe she is on the ECF as well... It's a strawberry and cream/ custard and when she made it years ago the flavor percentages we're really high due to taste and I know she has adjusted it to a lower percentage for herself but I'm still so new to diy that it's hard for me to taste flavors without high %

Currently I'm using it this way
6% Bavarian cream TFA
2% sweet cream CAP
4.5% vanilla swirl TFA
12% strawberry TFA ( I adjusted the strawberry)
1-2% sweetener ( I'm using a few drops capella and a few tfa sweetener)

I knowflavour.t of you that this seems too sweet but idk why I can't taste unless it's sweet.. it's been perfect until I decided I wanted to add a little extra vanilla swirl and sweet cream, but when I adjust the two then the strawberry fades out and the tfa strawberry is my favorite but I don't like it dominant either so I increased the strawberry and it was too much and then it all tasted very bland. I could no longer taste the custard note/ cream..

Does anyone know how to increase these flavors without it turning into bland eLiquid? I vape at 24mg nic as well so Im not sure if commercial eliquids increases the flavoring if it is a higher nic level. I guess I kind of want to have the same exact recipe flavors but I don't know which flavors mute at certain percentages or what not. I only want to go up a little not a lot.

Sorry for the novel I wanted to be as clear as possible! Thanks - Kelly

I struggled badly with strawberry flavours, I wouldn't taste them, or some were like some really cheap nasty candy that you would want to spit out if you were eating it. Tried TPA, INW, FA, Cap, gave up. Until recently I tried FA 's new Pazzo Jack one shot. Bingo, no fade, nice flavour. 3% for me is nice, some take it to 5%. Needs a few weeks steep though, month is better. I mixed mine with Cap v2 custard 8%, FA fresh cream 2% and Jack 3%. Try it, I doubt you'd be disappointed.

 

[BrotherBob]

Does anyone know how to increase these flavors without it turning into bland eLiquid?

I would approach your problem just as @IDJoel stated:
"Speaking in the most general of terms, especially when working with high(er) flavor percentage recipes, I find it more beneficial to reduce the over-lowering flavors, rather than trying to raising the weak ones."
I agree with the statement above. I found that some recipes, esp the ones over 15% flavor mix, will eventually mute and numb my taste buds over time. When I first started DIY, like you, I had no problem with any high percentage recipes. I strongly suspect that high % recipes will over time take an accumulative taste toll on the DIY mixer. At present, I have been systematically going through my recipes and reducing my overall total percentages. The best way I found to test to see if a recipe needs a reduction of overall flavors is to saturate my RDA wick with 100% VG first, and then add 5 std. drops of VG to 1 drop of suspected to strong mix recipe. If I can taste the strong mix recipe flavor, the old/original mix may be too strong and probably needs to be thinned down. I have found that the lower total tweaked down recipes can taste far superior/tasteful than the original strong mix recipes.I suspect I could tweak down/stretch out some store bought strong mix e liquid recipes but have not tried.
Obtaining the original strong mix recipe taste along with accenting certain flavors can be where the real challenges begins. If DIY is easy/foolproof, fewer folks probably would be buying ready made e liquid mixes.

I vape at 24mg nic as well so I'm not sure if commercial e liquids increases the flavoring if it is a higher nic level.

I would mix with zero nic to test. Good nic is intended to be near tasteless.

 

[Letitia]

Have to disagree to 0nic for testers. Though the nic may be tasteless it does affect the taste of your juice, especially at 24mg.

 

[DeloresRose]

Totally agree with steeping creams first. Anything in the vanilla, cream, custard etc zone will bloom. Much better after a few weeks, and much easier to judge how much fruit will be needed.

Another thing, try Cap super sweet. I’ve tried about every sweetener out there, and nothing else gives the sugar lips without distorting the other flavors like SS.

 

[AngeNZ]

Totally agree with steeping creams first. Anything in the vanilla, cream, custard etc zone will bloom. Much better after a few weeks, and much easier to judge how much fruit will be needed.

Another thing, try Cap super sweet. I’ve tried about every sweetener out there, and nothing else gives the sugar lips without distorting the other flavors like SS.

Seconding the cap super sweet! I was using tfa sweetener previously.

Much much better results with super sweet. It's strong though I quickly learned that 2 drops (0.05g) per 10ml mix is more than enough.

 

[Fidola13]

Have to agree the flavor percentage seems waaay high even for me who is known for liking in your face flavor.

You got some good advice. Hope it works out.