Steeping, can we be honest?
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I've heard something similar to this - steeping your juice in a bowl of hot water, and repeat for 2 hours to rush the steeping period. Does this really work, because I feel like a kid in the candy store over here!
Fresh mixed juices need more than 24 hours. Id say min. 5 days and probably even a week would be better. This stuff takes time. The longer you wait, generally the better its going to be. Thats why I have come to the conclusion that the stuff I really like is going to be getting bought in big bottles. Just when some of my stuff is getting really good, and im enjoying it, the bottle is empty :/ Would really like to start DIY but I dunno im all about instant gratification. I dont think I could just make juice and let it sit for a week. All the stuff I buy now is made to order but everything usually takes a good 3-5 days to get to me, so its already got a week steep on it by the time I get to vapin it
All this insight in steeping is great and has given me more perspective, however it has also pointed out something rather obvious. Vaping can be as easy or as complex as u make it. U can have rigid rules or just vape anything no matter the age.
Were any of u this picky about smoking? Lol I know I wasn't!
Were any of u this picky about smoking? Lol I know I wasn't!
I don't really do the steeping thing, even though I know it makes a difference. The longest I think I'e ever purposely not touched a liquid would be less than a week. I drip and if it's still not good, I just put it down again. Most of the stuff I get is good right away and at any given time I have about 10 different flavors I'm rotating so I try to just forget about it (which I admit is hard to do).
I think there is a Lot of Hype that is Thrown Around when it comes to "Steeping".
I am by No Means saying that my DIY Mixes don't taste better after I like them sit in a Cool Dark Place for 4-5 Days. They Do.
I just Question how much Better an e-Liquid Really is when someone Tells me that their procedure is to Mix with +/- .01ml Accuracy, then Blend with a Milk Frother, then Crock Pot for 4 Hours, then Ultra Sonic, then Tumble in a Rock Tumbler point Due North, followed by a 3 Month period of Opening and Closing the Caps on the Bottles and Turning them 90 Degrees each Time every day.
But then again, I guess if doing Something like this Makes a person Happy, Rock On.
I am by No Means saying that my DIY Mixes don't taste better after I like them sit in a Cool Dark Place for 4-5 Days. They Do.
I just Question how much Better an e-Liquid Really is when someone Tells me that their procedure is to Mix with +/- .01ml Accuracy, then Blend with a Milk Frother, then Crock Pot for 4 Hours, then Ultra Sonic, then Tumble in a Rock Tumbler point Due North, followed by a 3 Month period of Opening and Closing the Caps on the Bottles and Turning them 90 Degrees each Time every day.
But then again, I guess if doing Something like this Makes a person Happy, Rock On.
I'm still unsure. I have a lot of flavors sitting, waiting that second try after a month or so. So far, of the flavors that have made it past the month mark, I've found those with a menthol note tend to smooth out a bit after being allowed to sit, while the sweeter and tobacco-based flavors remain more or less unchanged. I do have high hopes for my Five Pawns Mixology line sampler; I noticed after my FOOB sampling that the Mixology Line samples had a 'born on' date of 1 April and the Signature samples were 1 February, and I largely preferred the Signature Line juices. Time will tell if the Mixology juices mellow out and blend well enough to become reorders.
Some juices though, there's just no helping. Whether because of individual preference or just poor quality, sometimes letting crap sit on the shelf and shaking it periodically just makes older well-shaken crap.
Some juices though, there's just no helping. Whether because of individual preference or just poor quality, sometimes letting crap sit on the shelf and shaking it periodically just makes older well-shaken crap.
Honestly there are some juices that don't change much with steeping
a lot of times this is a single or 2 note type juice usually a fruit
there are some that change into a completely different juice with steeping
this is even more so with a very complex juice
there are some that take the flav and Deeping over time
especially like with vanilla's and custard's
and there is everything in between
also there are juices that no amount of steeping will help
What do I vape while I steep ?
evry thing ive already steeped
In the beginning I started with a lot of presteeped stuff like halo
helped me get through
but now I always have around at least 200 ml's of steeped or close to steeped juice
I have regular vendors that I count on
and I get some small samples from other vendors from time to time
where I don't need it to be ready right away
Even with all this its cheaper then smoking
at $90 per carton when I stopped
I also went to Indian at $35 a carton but they have been more and more cracking down on that
with that said I cant complain about the added cost of keeping stocked that much ahead as it is still cheeper
and much better
and as long as I am spending the money
as much as I don't like to wait
I would rather it this way then vape a product that has not reached its potential
We may be looney lol. As to your question, I'd say do it. . . order it now, taste it when it arrives, then every few days, wait a week or so, taste again, etc. Just to see if it really does take until Thanksgiving until it's as great as you remember this one to be. Nothing wrong with that. If it works, just keep planning aheadOk, do you steep every juice or do u try them all then decide to steep.
I see what u are saying spazz, I did try it one other time in that 6 month time frame. Not sure when because I didn't expect much. I think I read another review of it that said it was good. When I vaped it at the 6 month mark it was because I was debating throwing it out so I could use the glass bottle, lol..hurricane has some nice glass, fyi. Then I was like damn that's pretty good! I kid u not it tastes like melted chocolate ice cream. You know, the last couple spoonfuls in the bowl? It was heavenly.....
Now its gone.....
So if I order another bottle it may be ready by Thanksgiving??? Believe it or not I am considering it. Sometimes I think we vapers are a bit looney
Some days e-liquids takes good, then some other days that same liquid is "meh" but it may depend on the coffee, or soda, or water, or alcohol that I'm drinking at the time I'm vaping that particular liquid. Some "go better" with different drinks.
Some liquids became way too strong after sitting around a few months. I have some that became overly, sickening sweet or too strong so that I have to dilute with my DIY nic base to make them vapable (and now they'll last a year or more now lol)
Yes was picky in that I did not switch flavors from day to day. Once I found a brand that I liked, I smoked it for years and years and years and years........... lol
We may be looney lol. As to your question, I'd say do it. . . order it now, taste it when it arrives, then every few days, wait a week or so, taste again, etc. Just to see if it really does take until Thanksgiving until it's as great as you remember this one to be. Nothing wrong with that. If it works, just keep planning ahead
Some days e-liquids takes good, then some other days that same liquid is "meh" but it may depend on the coffee, or soda, or water, or alcohol that I'm drinking at the time I'm vaping that particular liquid. Some "go better" with different drinks.
Some liquids became way too strong after sitting around a few months. I have some that became overly, sickening sweet or too strong so that I have to dilute with my DIY nic base to make them vapable (and now they'll last a year or more now lol)
Yes was picky in that I did not switch flavors from day to day. Once I found a brand that I liked, I smoked it for years and years and years and years........... lol
What she said.
It really does depend on the juice (complex or simple?), the vendor (ingredients/mixing skills), the pg/vg ratio (higher vg = longer steep needed), the size of the bottle (smaller amounts steep more quickly), and your taste buds.
What you eat or drink just before or while vaping can also make a tremendous difference!
And then there are those days . . . nothing has much flavor.
And then there are those other days . . . everything tastes fabulous! 
My practice, based on MY juices, vendor, ratio etc of choice: open upon receipt, shake well, and let sit for a week to 10 days (shake every day). Taste. If not completely satisfied, give it another week; taste. If not thrilled, let it age for a whole month; taste. If still not thrilled, PIF!
What's that you say? Oh yes, YMMV.
I think steeping is just another enjoyable aspect of the hobby, something we never got from smoking. I'm quite sure things will continue to evolve over the years with new and "better" ideas. Whether or not it's needed, it doesn't really matter. For some it's needed, for some it isn't. It is for me.
I think for someone like myself, who can't afford to stockpile e juice, I will have to stick with vendors who sell presteeped juices. The process of finding the right e juice, Id wager, causes alot of people to just give up. I can understand the frustration. Finding these magical and wonderous flavors, at times seems like a no win game. Because I am a stubborn old fart, I will keep searching for the right e juices that will work for me. If I were to give up on this whole vaping thing however, it would be due to lack of e juices that I can find that work for me, the gear and stuff is far and away less frustrating then e juice is for me at least.
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I've never had to steep a single flavor, from tobaccos, RY4, to fruity vapes from Moon Mountain Vapor. Dunno how they do it, but they're dead on from the mailbox. However, some vendors just have some great promos/sales, so I get some of them too....they're steeping under the cabinet as we speak. Vaping MMV while I wait.
You wont be sorry. Be sure to look them up on Facebook for their current promos and coupon codes.
There is an EXTENSIVE thread on this in the DIY section with extensive testing details and yes it does work and there is ~0 nicotine degradation.
I call shenanigans on steeping. I am of the camp that the flavor profile will change, slightly but will never make a bad juice good. Steeping can make a perfumy, throat irritating flavor mellow out but in the end, it still tastes the same. However, the better solution to this problem that I have found is to simply use less flavoring in the mix, then it is mellowed from the start. The way I see it, the steeping period of not vaping a juice is not worth the small, if any, change in flavor.
imo, a good mix will taste the same on day 3 as it does on day 45 or more. If your ( or their ) mix turns rancid after a month, go back and try again. The only advantage I see in 'setting' the juice is to let it chemically stabilize and thicken up. The time it takes to do that depends on the chemistry. You can speed it along somewhat, but any process of doing that changes nothing in the taste of a good mix, imo. I let my mixes sit at least 3-5 days but only because it is too thin out of the box and seeps past my attys. I have had seeping issues with vendor juices also, but after some time to thicken up and mature, they vape fine, and taste the same. "Magic Steeping" with UC's etc just speeds things up, it should not change anything in the way it tastes. 
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