May I make a suggestion to make your extracts using PG. From what I read VG is to thick and doesn't extract the tobacco essence as well as PG. You can always adjust the vg/pg content when you mix. E.G. 20PG/80VG.
Yes, most certainly! (all suggestions willingly accepted here)! And I totally agree! It's my educated-but-not-yet-experienced-opinion that PG is a much more effective menstruum for extractions that VG. Yet in this thread (
Coffee flavor?) , the originator used straight VG successfully for coffee. I originally added 10% dw and 10% pga to the VG in hopes to dilute the viscosity and add some extration 'oomph'. 'Turns out that (maybe?) not using a microwave may have had a negative impact (I read somewhere else that too much heat and "timing" in general factors in)...but we haven't owned/used a microwave for almost 10 years. I'd also read that steeping for several weeks would do the trick (in either PG or VG), so I was in the process of doing that when the UC arrived.
I UC'd two of the 'already steeping' coffee extracts for an hour, strained/filtered and tried them at 5/10/15% (without UC steeping the new blend)...and although the 15% was the only one close enough to be strong enough for my taste-buddies, the improvement in flavor-intensity was HUGE (I could actually smell/taste "coffee" in the 5%, where before there was nothing). So I have those 3 lil' test bottles steeping in the UC now to measure the increase (hopefully) of the flavor intensity.
:::sigh::: We're both fairly sensitive to PG (me more than hubby), so we do our best to minimize it. However, we DIY for others and realize the PG is essential for TH - particularly for tobaccos (and especially for those switching from analogs). Hubby vapes a lot more tobaccos than me, so we usually add a small amount of PG to the tobaccos we make for ourselves. So the extraction that just came out of the UC is 100% PG. If it's not strong enough to use at 5% or less, we'll make a "double extraction" (double extraction = using the PG extraction we just made as the "PG" while repeating the process with fresh tobacco).
We're working on an additive/alternative for throat hit using
Capsicum HEAT (FW at ECX). It's definitely volatile (probably dangerous/unhealthy at high strengths). By diluting/mixing 5 drops into 10ml VG, and using 2% of that mixture we're getting close on the TH (hope that helps somebody).
So far on the UC Tobacco Extraction:
We used a 1 cup mason jar, filled it halfway with tobacco, and added PG (about 1/2" more than the tobacco - figuring some would soak into the tobacco...but not much did).
We UC'd it for 4 30 minute cycles, with the heater on (resting the UC between the 2nd & 3rd cycle for 30 minutes). We shook the bottles 2-3 times during each 30 minute cycle.
We strained it through a single coffee filter. Then we layered two single coffee filters, and strained the 'single strain' through those. Then we put two cotton balls in syringe, and pressed it through the cotton balls.
Color? Deep golden amber
Clarity? Crystal clear
Taste? Not yet known. Hubby is mixing up vials at 1/2.5/5/7.5/10% as I type this. We'll give 'em a quick test vape, them UC/steep them and taste them again.
Something to note/think about (that I forgot to do :::grrrrr:::
)... When we made the inital tobacco extraction with the VG/dw/pga base, we originally macerated the tobacco in a coffee grinder in order to get a more complete extraction. It turned out to be very clear, but the color was VERY dark (almost black). No UC used.
My guess is that in making an NET (UC'd or not), if we macerate the tobacco fully before extraction (ours was similar to drip coffee in size), that it would create a MUCH stronger/darker extraction (and we'd be able to use far less in our mixes)....at least that's the way it works with herbal tinctures (using alcohol and dried herbs). Some herbalists use VG for extracting herbs instead of alcohol (it's farFarFAR less effective).
