Steeping, Taste Buds, and Your Brain

[peacepipe]

When you had your first sip of beer you probably didn't like it, and as time goes on you acquired a taste for it more.

What changed? Your taste buds or your brain?

So, with eliquids how do you really ever know that steeping did the trick?

I'm reading about folks combining mixing and steeping together. I'm starting to think that the steeping part is all in their heads.

What do we know about the chemistry here, the flavors, the bases, and the nicotine.

 

[ScarletAbby]

Pretty interesting theory, and you might as well be right, but I do believe in steeping. When you first give a puff to an unsteeped liquid you can taste the alcohol, and that goes away after steeping. I dont believe steeping is a miracle worker but it helps.

 

[worthatry]

I hate steeping and if I don't like a juice at first I probably won't like it later. However your in the mind theory doesn't explain the color change juices go through. Something is definitely happening in the bottle.

 

[Rin13]

Steeping definitely works. ESpecially with me using a high VG, steeping is almost necessary. the flavors need to blend. Aging probably has something to do with it too. (like wine) Some flavors need it (require it) more than others... but I have succumbed to the fact that I will need to wait for most of my liquids to be decent.

 

[darkhood]

The promise this thread title made greatly disappointed me upon further inquiry. Just thought I'd share. Idk what I was expecting but certainly not questions...more like an in-depth examination of the relationship between steeping your tastebuds in brain. Wait, that's not right.

 

[piggy]

I have a local supplier that mixes the base and nicotine while you wait and his bottles don't have to steep. It seems as though the suppliers who are able to blend flavors during extraction process don't need to have their juices steeped. Also found that vendors i purchased from that are using natural flavors don't need steeping either. Their juices are little more expensive but are definately worth it. I'm guessing that the ones that use artificial flavorings that are mixed right before your purchase need to steep.

 

[Robino1]

Another thought to throw into the mix (pun intended), some vendors extract their own flavors. The extraction base needs to steep out. The fresher the juice the more it will require steeping. Vendors that use flavorings that are mixed/extracted by other companies may be aged and won't need steeping as much.

And to the OP: the liquids I get from my favorite vendor do need steeping and yes it Does make a difference. I frequently reorder several flavors. If I do a taste test between the fresh and the steeped ones, there is a marked difference in flavor and color.

 

[UncHellMatt]

I was curious about this issue as well. Was steeping REALLY needed?

After receiving an order from MBV last week, I decided to give it a try. I currently have a number of their juices steeping, and one (Apple Rings), I've been using for the last few days on a pretty regular basis. To avoid "vape tongue", I do switch things out. I have a French vanilla from my local brick and mortar (Eastern Vapors, great stuff) and a mixture of that flavor and the MBV black tea. Frankly, I'm not 100% sure it's not just that my taste has changed, but over the last several days there IS a distinct difference in how Apple Rings tastes. When I first vaped with it, the taste was kind of mild. Now it's decidedly more of a pronounced taste, a little sweeter.

I also separated the juices in my last order into different containers to see if there is a difference in how they look and taste after being steeped with caps on vs caps off, and took pictures before I transferred the juice. So it MAY just be imagination, but it'll be fun to test it out

 

[boomerdude]

I've been doing some research on steeping and DIY. I came to the conclusion that I would need to get a few Chemistry courses under my belt before I could understand the interaction of different flavor molecules, how they combine and how long it takes them to do it.

If you do a search on flavorist there's a wealth of information. Trying to understand it is another matter. There's even free course material with lectures.

I'm satisfied in my own mind that steeping is required for some DIY recipes especially tobacco flavors. If you ever mix up RY4 and watch the color darken you know what I mean.