Some very quick/simple flavour reviews

[chrismp]

Figured I need to contribute a little bit to this forum...this thread is a work in progress.

I'm planning on updating this fairly often. Will have to dig through my tasting notes as I've tried lots of flavours over the last 12 months.

Will be trying to focus more on comparisons between the same flavours from different companies in the future.



FlavourArt - concentration rating A+
Flavourart. La sartoria degli aromi

Cookie - YUM! Must have, very good biscuit flavour.
Strawberry - Very good. Still a bit candy-like (although less so than other strawberry flavs I've tried) Would work well in a cheesecake mix.
Apple Pie - YUM. One of my favourites. Add some caramel to this, or a little coconut. Great on it's own also.
Hypnotic Mist - Very good on its own. Citrus/sprite lemonaide-ish flavour with soft complexities I can't figure out. Gentle, refreshing.
Pear - Very good. Tastes like a fresh ripe pear. Refreshing/not overly sweet.
Blackcurrant - Friends seem to love this one. Tastes a bit artificial to me but not offensively so.


Inawera Flavours - concentration rating A+
Inawera Flavors

Morning Rain - Has potential...-await further testing-
ChocoMint - Nice blend of chocolate/mint. Has potential, add some cookie/biscuit flavouring to this.
Wild Strawberry - Good. Candy-like
Exotic Fruits - YUCK. Even at low concentrations getting weird taste.

To test/writeup-
Pineapple
Cool Mint
Mint
Banana

Capella - concentration rating B-
Capella Flavor Drops - Over 50+ Water Soluble Concentrated Flavorings

Vanilla Custard - Very good, must have flavour. Add it to anything, adds creamy deliciousness.
Blueberry Cinnamon Crumble - Very good. Tastes like it says.

To test-
Vanilla Cupcake
Cin-Danish Swirl
Waffle
Chocolate/coconut/almond

Perfumer's Apprentice/The Flavor Apprentice - concentration rating A
Perfumers Apprentice - Professional DIY Flavors

Vanilla Custard - Good vanilla flavour. Lacks the body and creaminess of Capella VC.


To writeup-
Pear - +
Caramel Candy - +
Sweet Cream
Graham Cracker - +
Blueberry

Health Cabin - concentration rating A-/tobacco's D-

Caramel - Sweet, caramel flavour. Different than other caramel's I've tried. Very good/useful.
Strawberry - Very good. Tastes like those strawberry heartbeat lollys to me.

Lorann's -
https://www.lorannoils.com/c-6-super-strength-flavors.aspx

Cheesecake -
English Toffee -
Creme De Menthe -

 

[Str8V8ping]

I think the Capellas concentration rating should be a A+ ,not because they are really concentrated but because they are so worked out before being released to have all their flavors even at 15% . Its a huge plus to know 15% is perfect without even needing to try the flavor . TFA get a D in concentration rating to me because they are all over the board . Some are as little as 5% while others are really around 30% . Health Cabin has by far the strongest concentrations . Half of them i tried have to be diluted in PG they are so strong . Cereal i use at .5% .

I like the way you put together the review though . Very professional .

 

[chrismp]

I was just using the concentration rating as an average potency type thing. Maybe I should score it a different way...

Doesn't necessarily mean it's a better flavour, just that you need more. All of this is subject to change, as I gain more experience with the different brands I'll probably change them.

If 15% is perfect that's great but if FA only needs 5% then it's going to score higher on the potency scale obviously. Reviews are subjective but any feedback/disagreements are MORE than welcome.

Maybe I could have an average potency rating and consistency rating?

 

[Bostonsnboxers]

I for one appreciate your reviews (very well done!) and your opinions. I might not agree with every assessment, but then it's not my review Thanks for the time and effort involved in sharing and putting this all together. Looking forward to more!

 

[Str8V8ping]

I was just using the concentration rating as an average potency type thing. Maybe I should score it a different way...

Doesn't necessarily mean it's a better flavour, just that you need more. All of this is subject to change, as I gain more experience with the different brands I'll probably change them.

If 15% is perfect that's great but if FA only needs 5% then it's going to score higher on the potency scale obviously. Reviews are subjective but any feedback/disagreements are MORE than welcome.

Maybe I could have an average potency rating and consistency rating?

I see what you mean but FA has some that are 5% and other that are up at 30% and still weak where Capellas is strong across the board . Also iv noticed that even though Capellas sweet spot is at 15% that even at 5% are more rich then a lot of FA,TPA etc . Rating like that with these companies doesnt really work out since each flavor is so different .

 

[jmlott]

I agree that not all flavors from each vendor are the same potency, but I also noticed a dropoff in general for Capellas flavors. I like a good strong flavor, and have only found a couple from Capellas (out of 12 I tried) that can give me that. That said, what little bit I can taste are spot on, delicious flavors.

In other news, I had never heard of Inawera. I'm glad to see your review of their strawberry so I can pick that up and try it. I have been searching for months for a good, strong, candy-like strawberry and havent found the right one yet (TPA, FA, CA, FW, LA).

 

[chrismp]

In other news, I had never heard of Inawera. I'm glad to see your review of their strawberry so I can pick that up and try it. I have been searching for months for a good, strong, candy-like strawberry and havent found the right one yet (TPA, FA, CA, FW, LA).

I would give health cabin a try if I were you. Inawera wild strawberry is not all that different to FA, where'as the HC one is like a different kettle of fish.

Still...Inawera definitely deserve more attention on here. Quality flavourings with good prices, very good shipping prices and quick processing. Need to delve a bit deeper into my recent order from them but totally overwhelmed with stuff from Capella and HC at the moment.

Capella flavourings are definitely different to the other companies. More refined and not as raw. Brilliant for people just starting out with DIY, and great stuff to have in your arsenal. I'm not experienced enough with them yet...but would love to find out what their secret is. Maybe it's just extreme care taken when formulating? Perhaps getting their sweetness exactly right, along with some creamy/butter ingredients that give body also...

If we could figure out the secret of some of Capella's flavourings we might gain some insight on how to achieve very similar results with the more 'raw' concentrated stuff other companies mostly stick with.

 

[chrismp]

I've also been thinking about how best to review or evaluate the different flavourants that are out there...Mostly we have numerical scores out of /5, or just people doing individual reviews, doing their best to explain what they taste and what they do/don't like about it. Then we have people concurring or disagreeing. There's lots of good information here, and people are very helpful. I've just been thinking maybe there's another way of doing it....

Maybe have a 'feature flavour' shoot-out type thing...where we pick a certain flavour (apple for example) and then someone gets all the different apple flavourings available, and sends them out to a 'panel' for testing...then get these people to do up their reports and compare the differences. We could also make a standardized testing procedure...like to start at 5% and work your way up. I don't think my taste buds would be up for this but I know quite a few people here that are very good with their tongues... errr taste

My pie in the sky goals - I'd like to unlock all the secrets of the pre-mixed juices people are buying from vendors, then make easily reproducible methods for people new to DIY to come up with some great mixes. Along with this make it easier for people to experiment with creating their own flavours and somehow smoothing out the learning curve involved. I know I can't do it alone, but there's gotta be a way The recent "Vinegar?" thread is a good example, with people working together to make things better.

Something else that's important is the limitation of flavourings. Sometimes it's just not possible to get the exact strawberry (for example) you want, the strawberry flavourings might have certain weaknesses. What are the best ways to overcome these weaknesses, or cover them up? There's things I've figured out on my own but it's often stuff I'm not really sure about...I want to know how it works and why it works. I know lots of you have different 'tricks', and many of you are more clever than I, it would be great to compile a more comprehensive list or manual to DIY with several people verifying and triple checking, lots of reproducible methods and standized measuring/mixing,

Geeze that's a long couple of posts! Don't know where the hell that came from. Just my 50 cents anyway...

 

[Bostonsnboxers]

nevermind...

 

[Str8V8ping]

I think a panel wouldnt work . Everyone has different opinions on flavors and not everyone uses them the same way . Then some people like mellow flavoring and others like rich flavorings . Peoples tastes are too different to have a special group of people telling us whats good or bad .

Just in this thread alone one person thinks that Capella flavors are generally weak while imo they are the most rich,thick and flavorfull flavors on the market and light years better than the rest in quality . To me personally theres Capellas then theres the rest . There are people that dont want there flavors to taste like the real thing and would rather a mellow vape with not much flavor . Everyones different so everyone should do there own reviews and just try to be a descriptive as possible .

 

[chrismp]

Good point St8.

Maybe I'll try and compile all these reviews people have done. Would be good to have as many different opinions I can find on as many different flavours in the one thread.