Stirred, shaken, swirled, stirred...and what about steeping?

[stormwench]

I know this is probably as subjective as taste but I am sure you have seen as many comments around as I have about shaking a juice well (usually says so on most juice bottles too) or swirl it in bottle or tank, ir stir it first or always letting them steep for a few days after you get them.

I have had a few suppliers say to always steep a juice flavor but that is very generic in my way of thinking - what is a juice flavor for sure in some cases? Is Banana nut a fruit or nut, what about Pumpkin Spice and many of the 'drink' flavors also (one would assume) have a fruit juice type flavor in them. Then, many times yu have know why to know for sure when that batch yours came but of was made. Order pina colada and jamaican rum and one maybe made the day you ordered and the other a few days before when someone else ordered that flavor. (of course there are some places you know only make it per order so that is easier) but they don't always provide a steeping guide.

And now I have been hearing from many that how long to steep whether its a week to 10 days - two weeks or so on can depend on flavor and content often things you don't get exact info on.

Then there is the whole 007 debate on shaken, stirred or swirled and when to use one method or the other or the other. Definitely read on these bottle I get to shake well which makes sense before first use but have seen misc comments all over the place about not shaking hard after having used some from the bottle, and the comments about swirling in bottle and/or tank.

And now, if that wasn't confusing enough for one easily confused I have run into some reviewers who have started talking about using toothpicks and eye droppers to stir for less flavor bursting (huh? - I thought that was just with liquor)

Opinions?

 

[MiamiMom63]

Well, I DIY and I let my juice steep for a week with the lid on in a plastic bottle and shake it every night for a lil bit. It's in a cabinet with doors by my recliner in the dark. Plastic allows for better steeping than glass. After a week it's good. I make big batches that last awhile so I just make a big batch once I get down to my last 30 ml. Some juices don't require as much steeping such as fruits, which I'm sure you have probably heard. I think I had a hard time knowing when to steep also until I did DIY and could see the difference in color of the juice from the time I made it to a week later that helped me understand. Well, some juices do change in color more than others. Plus, making the same flavors taught me to just realize which ones were better to let steep. In other words, it's possible until you find your all day Vape that you love and use regularly, it's hard to determine until you get familiar with that particular juice and know the flavor it should be when you have enjoyed vaping it in the past. I hope I didn't confuse you too much but yea, you realize it most when you have a regular flavor that you love after its steeped but not so much until then.

 

[stormwench]

Definitely another good reason to consider DIY - as you know when your batch was made and what it looked like and how long it steeped, and how it changed over that time.

For many reasons, although I tried before I said 'nope', DIY is not for me. So I buy my e-juice and thats where the questions come in - and that information you rarely get ithe an order. I have never gotten a e-juice with a batch date on it or instructions to go ahead and use it immediately if I wished or not to use it without XX days of steep (or can the purchaser speed it up with a bit of judicious heating - even if they don't know what is in it 100%).

Also, DIY'ers probably have it over those of us that just buy or e-juice in care and handling. I think the 'cool, dark' storage is pretty universal as well as a great way to end the life of your juice is to set it in direct sunlight but from there it gets iffy - as i said shake it when you get it, or before you use it, or just go through your rack and shake all every day. In some ways a personal that just buys e-juice is taking over where the maker left off, and needs a better guide perhaps from makers were to go with it. ANd then after its reached its best vape point, do you let it be or continue to shake, swirl, stir etc!

Probably would not even have a conversation like this if we all made our own, or if suppliers had great ingredients labels (like MBV does) but they are all over the board from nothing but a flavor name, mgs (seen some that don't even mention whether PG/VG or mix) to those like MBV that are quite complete. Don't get me wrong - I am not saying an uninformative label is a bad e-juice - it just leaves you with questions. MBV really should be complimented on their labeling and packaging information and if every vendor went to that much trouble we probably would have less confusing or bad experiences.

Also few vendors/mixers etc send out any detailed instructions on handling. Sometimes the big clue abut shaking it is on the bottle and sometimes not. I remember the first e-juices I used when I started vaping. They had a flavor name on them and the mgs of nicotine and trying to ask the retailer anything about handling other then how to get the e-juice in the tank and I was getting the deer in the headlights reaction (ha-ha). Now MBV, for example, sends out a sheet that is pretty good for handling instructions such as pointing out rrit juice needs to steep some more, citric and cinnamon is going to destroy your plastic most likely and so on.

I would love to get more info with my e-juice. Has it already reached its steeping date by the day it shipped or was it a fresh batch the day before would be a neat little bit of information for example. Maybe some info on color change. So if you get it shipped the day they made it and its a pretty pale yellow - telling me its not going to taste right for 2 weeks and needs to be dark brown would be even better! I would think this would be especially true on a large order where you get 15 bottles that you know were not all made the same day and half could be ready to vape by the time you got them.

I guess you could get pretty complex but just a month/day on the bottle would be huge. Then you could have some rule of thumb to go bay - like if it was mixed two days ago according to the label - give it a vacation in the cupboard for at least a few more days. Would this help the vendor too maybe? You see lots of complaints from people who get a juice, vape it, have a foul taste and /or smell and then hit on the info that it probably needed to be steeped a while. Of course they have already removed some of the contents from the bottle, perhaps without enough shaking and then the balance is off so steeping does not help much? Maybe there would be less complaints about poor tasting or smelling juices if labels and packaging was more complete.

 

[MiamiMom63]

To try to keep it simpler for you, I would recommend letting your orders steep a week to play it safe. That tends to cover most flavors. And some vendors do put the date it was created on the label. I forget which ones but I've seen it. As far as shaking, I always shake it slightly before filling a tank or cart anyways.

 

[MiamiMom63]

Oh, and I never heard of the toothpick thing. Lol. Truth is you may hate a flavor no matter how long it steeps. And truth is there are probably going to be few flavors you truly enjoy in the end. I was a juice junkie and tried tons. I now prefer maybe 3.

 

[iceman68]

I guess you could get pretty complex but just a month/day on the bottle would be huge.

EC Blend dates their bottles with month/year. I think MBV dates their e-juice too. I have resorted to writing the date on the bottles myself in some cases.

 

[LisaR]

Here's what I do. As soon as my vapemail comes, I open it up, shake every juice and open them up an smell them. If they smell "right", or delicious, I taste a tiny drop on my finger. If it tastes great, I put a small amount in a clearo and try it. If it vapes as good as it smelled/tasted, it's good to go. I always try not to vape up all of my test bottles for the first week or so, because sometime they go from good to AMAZING, and I don't want to miss that. If they are not very good to start with, I shake some more, take the cap off, and squeeze it gently a couple of times to give it some "new air", then shake the heck out of it. Then I put it in my "steeping box". I shake it again and check it whenever I think of it. I do this until they start to smell/taste better. If they smell especially sharp, I take the cap and dripper off for a couple of days, shaking every day. Most of the time, things improve eventually, but sometimes I end up giving them away after I'm done waiting. Some of those give-aways, people love, some the recipients give or throw away. As they say, taste is subjective. Honestly, I would personally think that is just an excuse vendors give for crappy juice, except that so many of my discards, other people have absolutely loved!