Steeping - myth or fact

[BadHabit]

Is steeping really necessary for freshly-made juice? It seems strange to me. Most flavoring used in vape is PG-based. If you are adding it to PG, you are in essence just thinning it out. Why would thinning out flavoring require steeping?

Flavoring is often made will ethanol as its solvent instead of PG, or a combination of ethanol and PG. Even if you put it into VG instead of PG, you are just thinning it out. I can't understand why it has to sit for a few days. If you put aroma molecules into a solvent like PG and agitate it (shake it), you now have a solution, right? So once it is in solution, what difference could it possibly make if you let it sit? I cannot see the chemical reasoning behind this. Once it is in a soluble state, what more needs to be done? Nothing, I would think.

 

[swedishfish]

Try it. Buy juice and vape it and put it away for a week or two and try it again. See if it tastes different to you.

 

[hairball]

It's not a myth. I steep all of mine for 2 weeks. Steeping allows for the flavoring to bind to each other and the end result is some tasty treats.

 

[Della Cirque]

It definitely makes a difference. I've had some juices that upon arrival were almost unvapeable. After sitting on the shelf they were delicious. Caramel Kettle Corn immediately comes to mind. It was HORRIBLE when it first got here. I sat it on the shelf for a few weeks and decided to try it again before giving it away and it is now one of my faves!

 

[phatglass]

It's kinda like chili or sweet tea, I don't think yo need a week or two but a day or three works fine. Tobacco flavors do mellow over time so longer may be better. I make my own tobacco extract and just a day or two works the same as a week. In some formulations with VG it just needs time to bind together. You can also heat it in a hot water bath, to thin it out so it mixes well. Also if there is an alcohol in the flavoring, I think it's better when the alcohol evaporates. just my 0.02. hope it helps.
Mike

 

[Jimi D.]

I think flavors decrease when you add the nic. to it. Then in time it all comes back.

 

[Dieseler]

I never did anything with my e-liquid as it taste good from the start.

What i have notice as i tried recently out of curiosity is leaving the bottle cap off my 555 50ml bottle and keeping closed the other 2 50ml bottles.
So far after 4 days i can notice a very slight darkening of the open bottle e-liquid.

I only vape 555 and will eventually try the open bottle this month after i go thru the other 2 closed bottles for comparison.

Also i use a tank and a ce2 that i fill with 5ml and when it gets down to about 2ml the same day the juice is much darker in color maybe due to the heat i dont know but the e-liquid gets more tasty on the vape as the tank get low

Time will tell when i go to vape that open bottle of 555 that is starting to darken probably near the end of the month .
Thought i would share my experience.

 

[swedishfish]

I've had juice that tastes exactly the same regardless. I also have some juice that tastes better when it steeps. I usually buy a couple bottles of that juice at a time and when I get to the second bottle, it tastes better. No way to really know until you try it. I've found in my DIY attempts that steeping is no myth. I made a juice that tasted pretty OK when I first made it. A couple days later it was gag-worthy. Maybe I used too much flavoring, too much sweetner? Who knows.

 

[swedishfish]

I never did anything with my e-liquid as it taste good from the start.

What i have notice as i tried recently out of curiosity is leaving the bottle cap off my 555 50ml bottle and keeping closed the other 2 50ml bottles.
So far after 4 days i can notice a very slight darkening of the open bottle e-liquid.

I only vape 555 and will eventually try the open bottle this month after i go thru the other 2 closed bottles for comparison.

Also i use a tank and a ce2 that i fill with 5ml and when it gets down to about 2ml the same day the juice is much darker in color maybe due to the heat i dont know but the e-liquid gets more tasty on the vape as the tank get low

Time will tell when i go to vape that open bottle of 555 that is starting to darken probably near the end of the month .
Thought i would share my experience.

My mom vapes 555 or Casablanca and even with the tops closed they darken. Probably more so with the top open. I don't usually steep with the top off. I have spilling issues.

 

[madjack]

I wondered the same thing when I first started vaping and did a little experimenting...I get virtually all of my juice from BlueMistVaping.com and it is mixed when ordered...I found that non-tobacco flavors got much better if allowed to sit a day with the top/dripper off and then a couple of more days with the top back on...the tobacco flavor were MUCH better sitting for a week...it didn't seem to make any diff on them if the top was off or not...as in all things vape related, YMMV..........
madjack

 

[bjannr]

I have just had a light bulb go off. Steeping of juice is like making soup. Doesn't the soup always taste better within the next day or two? The flavors have a chance to blend together.
Steeping the juice allows the flavors the same chance to blend and possibly mellow.

 

[FreakyStylie]

Steeping is a myth: When you buy e-liquid that was mass-produced, and sat on a shelf for three months before you ordered it.

Steeping is a fact: When you DIY or buy freshly crafted or made-to-order e-liquids.

This is just based on a year's worth of vaping some ~500 different flavors from several dozen suppliers and my own and others' DIY.

 

[Tersur]

Steeping Definately can impact juice flavor. I got a Bottle of Coconut that tasted like suntan oil at first. And honey that Tasted like perfume. 2 Weeks of steeping and both tasted good and spot on for the flavor it was supposed to be. I generally only steep if there is a problem with the flavor when i get it. Some flavors its not needed. others its helpful. some its nessisary.

 

[BadHabit]

Perhaps steeping is needed if two different flavoring oils are mixed. If all you are doing is thinning, I can't see any reason for steeping.

As to leaving the top off, I would think all that does is allow humidity to enter and allow aroma molecules to evaporate. If that tastes better, it is probably all for the wrong reasons.

 

[Raynen]

I used to steep but now I don't really have to anymore. The only time recently that I've let something steep was my all-day Peach Bellini Tea to let it air out a bit because it was REALLY strong on the tea... and Gooey Butter Cake (which I love dearly) because I have had bad luck with cake flavors. I let them sit on my desk with the caps off for about half a day and it worked

 

[Raynen]

I have just had a light bulb go off. Steeping of juice is like making soup. Doesn't the soup always taste better within the next day or two? The flavors have a chance to blend together.
Steeping the juice allows the flavors the same chance to blend and possibly mellow.

It can also bright out a stronger flavor if the juice seems too weak. This has happened to me in the past with a few bakery flavors.

 

[pinellaspete]

Most of the quality made to order juices need to be steeped for at least a week. I make DIY juices and after you add all the ingredients it takes about a week for the flavors to come together. The juice keeps changing as it ages and after about a month you start to lose the flavor "definition". Some of the minor flavors disappear and the juice tastes "kinda sorta" like the premium 2 week old juice that you used to have.

That's why some of the cheaper off the shelf juices (Dekang) aren't as flavorful as made to order juices. They have been sitting on a shelf or in a warehouse for a few months.

I think some of the made to order juice houses try to compensate for this loss of flavor over time, by adding too much flavor and actually overcompensate. Almost all fresh made juice, especially if it contains tobacco flavor, tastes chemically/perfumery for the first week. I've made some DIY juices that when tested on day 1 tasted like BLECK, but tasted GREAT on day 8 or 9.

There really isn't a way to speed this process up either, believe me I've tried.

Leave those juices steep for a week and then re-sample them, you may be in for a pleasant surprise!

Good luck!

Pete