Lots of new customers ask me, so I thought I might post my explanation about Ms T's e-juice and steeping. I will direct those who ask here, so they can benefit from other opinions too. Short story, yes, most of Ms T's juices benefit from steeping. Long story: Orders are created in the order in which they are received. There's no picking and pulling premade stuff from shelves, every bottle is made fresh for your order. When the liquids leave Ms T, most are very nearly clear. Over the course of the next three days in the mail, they may begin to change color slightly.
Not all of Ms T's juices will change color. Some stay completely clear for as long as you keep them. Some flavorings that Ms T uses do contain colorings, although Ms T never adds any additional color. If an item's product description says something about "no artificial colorings", it will most likely remain clear or at least translucent with age. If it has colorings (like many bakery or chocolate flavors), it will darken and become opaque.
The reason I mention color is because it is an easy visual indicator showing that steeping is taking place. Steeping seems to be a natural reaction among the ingredients (particularly the flavorings and nicotine), air, and light. The net effect is that color often changes, and the flavors tend to blend better, come out more, or even mellow out. Most anyone will tell you that there would a big difference between a fresh bottle of Snickerdoodle Cookies and a month-old bottle. Their colors would not match and the flavor of the older bottle would be more pleasant. Another excellent example of this is pretty much anything Strawberry. If you like straight fruit flavors, try our Strawberry, if you like bakery stuff, try the Strawberry Shortcake (seriously). When received, either of these will be nearly clear and almost colorless. Within a few days, they will become more yellow. When fresh, one might think it is a decent flavor. When steeped, it is amazing.
There are many philosophies on steeping. I will only recommend one. There are others that sound plausible, but I have not tried them so I can neither give pros nor cons. Some definitely sound like things I would not recommend. The standard method of steeping is easy, but takes a little time. Leave the bottles sitting out, caps on. Make sure they are not in direct sunlight. Room temperature is fine. You could put them in a dark cabinet instead, but I believe this might slow the process. That's pretty much it. Leave them there for 7-10 days after you receive them. Just make sure they are secure from children and pets! Whenever I think of it during that process, I will open each bottle, squeeze the air out, turn the bottle upside down, and release the pressure on the bottle allowing the air to reenter the bottle from the bottom and percolate up through the juice. I'll put the cap back on and shake it. Not sure if that helps, but I don't think it hurts. Within a week, you'll notice a color change (very significant in some cases) and they should be ready to go.
Others might tell you to leave the cap and dropper tip off overnight, or even for longer periods of time. This may work, but this is one I haven't tried. I would be concerned about too much evaporation, but then again I live in the desert. Please avoid any methods that will "cook" the juice. We do NOT recommend that you microwave them, immerse the bottles themselves into hot water, or set atop a warm network router for days. These liquids are not intended to be slow cooked, and I suspect that this would degrade the nicotine if nothing else. There are probably other methods, all of which can be found here on ECF I'm sure. It's up to you how you want to do it, just don't ruin it! The above is the opinion of Ms T's on how our liquids SHOULD be handled.
Remember, if you try one of our flavors minutes after you ambush your mail carrier for it, it MAY not be quite ready for you yet. If it doesn't scream at you, put it up for a week and try it again after that. In most cases, there will be a big change that you may like! Now, some flavors are great right out of the box and will not change much, and they usually tend to be/stay clear. My favorites are New Watermelon, Nectarine, and Tangerine for tearing into right away. These still improve with steeping even though they don't change color, and the difference in taste is not too profound. The vast majority of the bakery flavors do really benefit from steeping. There are also different opinions on how long to steep (some like to go much longer than a week). We have found that "at least" a week is a good rule of thumb until one discovers their own preference for particular flavors. It is not NECESSARY to steep, and you can use every flavor right out of the box. However, the general consensus seems to be that if you don't try our flavors steeped, your are missing out.
Of course if anyone else has anything to contribute to this, please do, including steeping methods and time spent steeping, which of our flavors YOU think are good steeped/unsteeped, etc. It would be very helpful to newcomers! I might sticky this.
Brandon
Ms T's Bakery
Not all of Ms T's juices will change color. Some stay completely clear for as long as you keep them. Some flavorings that Ms T uses do contain colorings, although Ms T never adds any additional color. If an item's product description says something about "no artificial colorings", it will most likely remain clear or at least translucent with age. If it has colorings (like many bakery or chocolate flavors), it will darken and become opaque.
The reason I mention color is because it is an easy visual indicator showing that steeping is taking place. Steeping seems to be a natural reaction among the ingredients (particularly the flavorings and nicotine), air, and light. The net effect is that color often changes, and the flavors tend to blend better, come out more, or even mellow out. Most anyone will tell you that there would a big difference between a fresh bottle of Snickerdoodle Cookies and a month-old bottle. Their colors would not match and the flavor of the older bottle would be more pleasant. Another excellent example of this is pretty much anything Strawberry. If you like straight fruit flavors, try our Strawberry, if you like bakery stuff, try the Strawberry Shortcake (seriously). When received, either of these will be nearly clear and almost colorless. Within a few days, they will become more yellow. When fresh, one might think it is a decent flavor. When steeped, it is amazing.
There are many philosophies on steeping. I will only recommend one. There are others that sound plausible, but I have not tried them so I can neither give pros nor cons. Some definitely sound like things I would not recommend. The standard method of steeping is easy, but takes a little time. Leave the bottles sitting out, caps on. Make sure they are not in direct sunlight. Room temperature is fine. You could put them in a dark cabinet instead, but I believe this might slow the process. That's pretty much it. Leave them there for 7-10 days after you receive them. Just make sure they are secure from children and pets! Whenever I think of it during that process, I will open each bottle, squeeze the air out, turn the bottle upside down, and release the pressure on the bottle allowing the air to reenter the bottle from the bottom and percolate up through the juice. I'll put the cap back on and shake it. Not sure if that helps, but I don't think it hurts. Within a week, you'll notice a color change (very significant in some cases) and they should be ready to go.
Others might tell you to leave the cap and dropper tip off overnight, or even for longer periods of time. This may work, but this is one I haven't tried. I would be concerned about too much evaporation, but then again I live in the desert. Please avoid any methods that will "cook" the juice. We do NOT recommend that you microwave them, immerse the bottles themselves into hot water, or set atop a warm network router for days. These liquids are not intended to be slow cooked, and I suspect that this would degrade the nicotine if nothing else. There are probably other methods, all of which can be found here on ECF I'm sure. It's up to you how you want to do it, just don't ruin it! The above is the opinion of Ms T's on how our liquids SHOULD be handled.
Remember, if you try one of our flavors minutes after you ambush your mail carrier for it, it MAY not be quite ready for you yet. If it doesn't scream at you, put it up for a week and try it again after that. In most cases, there will be a big change that you may like! Now, some flavors are great right out of the box and will not change much, and they usually tend to be/stay clear. My favorites are New Watermelon, Nectarine, and Tangerine for tearing into right away. These still improve with steeping even though they don't change color, and the difference in taste is not too profound. The vast majority of the bakery flavors do really benefit from steeping. There are also different opinions on how long to steep (some like to go much longer than a week). We have found that "at least" a week is a good rule of thumb until one discovers their own preference for particular flavors. It is not NECESSARY to steep, and you can use every flavor right out of the box. However, the general consensus seems to be that if you don't try our flavors steeped, your are missing out.
Of course if anyone else has anything to contribute to this, please do, including steeping methods and time spent steeping, which of our flavors YOU think are good steeped/unsteeped, etc. It would be very helpful to newcomers! I might sticky this.
Brandon
Ms T's Bakery
