Steeping in the mail?

[Oberon75]

Should I count the time it takes for my juice to reach my house as steeping time? I have a couple different orders coming in and was wondering.

My ITC juice has been in the mail for almost a week but they also have specific steeping instructions which consists of a warm bath, the cap off for a few hours and a lot of shaking when steeping max vg.

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[danibanani]

I always count the date it was mixed on. So, yes. The time in the mail counts as steep time.

 

[man00ver]

Personally, I start the countdown from when I do the bottle prep. In my mind, it's still "fresh" until I open it up.

 

[sparkky1]

From the time the nicotine is added to your juice the clock starts......best advice would be to always have bottles steeping of different flavors especially the bakery ones for a couple few weeks and alternate.

 

[Oberon75]

I just tried my first ITC order after being in the mail for 10 days. There's no possible way I could call this even close to steeped. It tastes very soapy. Guess I'll treat it as not steeped and go through the proper process. It just sucks I'll have to spend a small fortune at the B&M in the meantime. While I do have about 200ml of juice on hand from various bottles, I have very little for my Atlantis.

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[man00ver]

Ah yes, Oberon, you got the 120mL of custom-blended Melon Blast. That big bottle might be OK after warming, shaking, and a long breather (say, 8-12 hours). Then recap, shake, and give it a few more days with squeeze-airing and shaking before trying again. It's not creamy, nor tobacco, so it ought to settle down sooner.

 

[Oberon75]

Ah yes, Oberon, you got the 120mL of custom-blended Melon Blast. That big bottle might be OK after warming, shaking, and a long breather (say, 8-12 hours). Then recap, shake, and give it a few more days with squeeze-airing and shaking before trying again. It's not creamy, nor tobacco, so it ought to settle down sooner.

Now I've already gave it a bath, a five minute shake and 4.5 hours with the cap off. This is what was recommended in a post from ITC's blog claiming too long with the cap off will degrade flavor. You think four more hours will be fine?

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[man00ver]

Now I've already gave it a bath, a five minute shake and 4.5 hours with the cap off. This is what was recommended in a post from ITC's blog claiming too long with the cap off will degrade flavor. You think four more hours will be fine?

Yeah, for that flavor I wouldn't worry so much about longer breathing, as it's pretty potent and you've got a big batch of it. Of course, it'd be better if you could just put it away for 2-3 weeks at this point, with occasional squeeze-aeration and shaking. But if it's soapy, you've gotten it very fresh, and I wanted to help you hurry it along somewhat. Maybe you should just cap it now and test it again in a few days to decide whether another longer breather is needed.

 

[Oberon75]

Yeah, for that flavor I wouldn't worry so much about longer breathing, as it's pretty potent and you've got a big batch of it. Of course, it'd be better if you could just put it away for 2-3 weeks at this point, with occasional squeeze-aeration and shaking. But if it's soapy, you've gotten it very fresh, and I wanted to help you hurry it along somewhat. Maybe you should just cap it now and test it again in a few days to decide whether another longer breather is needed.

It's been capped for about 24 hours now and I was going to give it another test in a couple days. I have a 240ml Bananaberry Dream coming in the next few days which I'll give a nice slow steep. For the price, I'm considering a new 240ml bottle, every couple weeks. Even if I don't love everything I buy, I'll still vape it and the trial & error will be far cheaper then what I'm paying at the B&M. I just wasted another $15 today on 20ml as I wait for the melon to get better.

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[Ricky Spanish]

But if it's soapy, you've gotten it very fresh.

Is this the main reason or only reason a juice will taste soapy? Or like most things, are there other factors to be considered?

 

[man00ver]

Is this the main reason or only reason a juice will taste soapy? Or like most things, are there other factors to be considered?

Ricky I'm no chemist, and can't make any scientific claims. But since soapy taste and smell in new liquids is usually relieved over time with air-exchange and shaking, my belief is that it's a sign of the liquid being too fresh, and is probably a result of incomplete combination of flavoring additives and VG.

It could be other things, certainly. Some glycerin is derived from soap-making, and if it's impure it may have leftover fats that could theoretically saponify with any acid in the flavoring...making some real soap! But I'd hesitate to assign this as the cause, especially with a vendor like ITC that claims the highest-quality ingredients in their mixes. Honestly, no USP-grade glycerin should have this problem; it would have to come from a very dicey supplier. Plus, the soapy taste would never go away in this case.

 

[Ricky Spanish]

Ricky I'm no chemist, and can't make any scientific claims. But since soapy taste and smell in new liquids is usually relieved over time with air-exchange and shaking, my belief is that it's a sign of the liquid being too fresh, and is probably a result of incomplete combination of flavoring additives and VG.

It could be other things, certainly. Some glycerin is derived from soap-making, and if it's impure it may have leftover fats that could theoretically saponify with any acid in the flavoring...making some real soap! But I'd hesitate to assign this as the cause, especially with a vendor like ITC that claims the highest-quality ingredients in their mixes. Honestly, no USP-grade glycerin should have this problem; it would have to come from a very dicey supplier. Plus, the soapy taste would never go away in this case.

Thanks man00ver! That's plenty of good info for what I was wondering. I've noticed it from a couple different places and was just curious how a taste like that got there. Thanks again.

 

[Bunnykiller]

heres a test you can do.... once you get the bottle, divide it into 2 portions... age one and vape the other. Time the end of the start vaping bottle to go empty at the end date of the aged bottle and see if there is a big difference in flavor or even better yet order a new bottle once the original bottle has aged and vape both side by side and determine if the new bottle is as good/bad as the aged bottle...