The Flavor Apprentice Flavoring Thread

[b.m.]

It's probably better that you started with smaller sizes,at least that's how i do it.I would hate to get a big 4oz. just to find that i don't like that flavor,so any new flavor,i get a small sample size bottle first,then if it's good,i will eventually get the big bottle.

Ok Bill,it's official,i have been totally sucked in haha.My taifun clone should be here monday,and i have a few kgd pads coming as well.Actually i went way overboard this week,i have the taifun,a big buddha,and an aqua v2 coming,and just got a rose v2 the other day,so i'm tapped out for a while,so quit posting about good tanks and wicks and such for a while haha.By the way,i know you said they quit selling the taifun clones on fasttech,so if your in the market for more,the guy i bought mine from is on ebay,and he marked them down to $15.99 with free shipping.

 

[Bill's Magic Vapor]

It's probably better that you started with smaller sizes,at least that's how i do it.I would hate to get a big 4oz. just to find that i don't like that flavor,so any new flavor,i get a small sample size bottle first,then if it's good,i will eventually get the big bottle.

Ok Bill,it's official,i have been totally sucked in haha.My taifun clone should be here monday,and i have a few kgd pads coming as well.Actually i went way overboard this week,i have the taifun,a big buddha,and an aqua v2 coming,and just got a rose v2 the other day,so i'm tapped out for a while,so quit posting about good tanks and wicks and such for a while haha.By the way,i know you said they quit selling the taifun clones on fasttech,so if your in the market for more,the guy i bought mine from is on ebay,and he marked them down to $15.99 with free shipping.

I'm ok with the Taifun's for now, myself, Bill. Some day, I'll probably go for the GT II's, though, so I do have something to look forward to. I did just sell my Semovar V3 and my Kayfun 3.1 and hybrid connection, so no going back to the kayfun's for me. I will follow the Kayfun V4 though, and see where it goes. I do like the idea of AFC and juice control, so we shall see. I used to buy small and then go 4 oz if I liked something. However, given the price discrepancy between the 1 ounce and the 4 ounce, it no longer makes any sense, and smaller than 1 ounce is not viable to make enough juice with in most cases, so why not go straight to 4 ounces?

For flavors I really like, I buy them in the 16 ounce size, and have eighteen in the larger sizes now. They all get used, pricing is cheaper by the higher quantities, and shipping is also lessened per ml this way, as well. So, it makes sense to buy the largest sizes that you can afford, particularly after you get all the basic flavorings. just my two cents....

P.S. 'bout time you jumped full in!

 

[b.m.]

I'm not a big kayfun fan myself.I have a 3.1 clone,a lite clone,and a big 26650 kayfun clone,and they are all ok but i had to drill them all out to even make them usable as the draw was way too tight on them.I agree though the v4 does look very promising,so i may check it out eventually.Those GT II's definitely look like they should be good ones,in fact i already put 1 in my cart over on fasttech for the next time i put an order in with them.As for juice control,i had never really given that much thought,until i got this rose a few days ago.It's the first tank i've had that uses this,and i gotta say,i wish every tank had this it works wonders haha.
As for the flavors,i rarely buy the sample sizes direct from tfa,they want too much for the small sizes,so i usually get the samples from wizard or Bull city,since they are only like $1.50.If i had bought every flavor in the large bottles before trying them,i would not be happy since probably 85% of what i've gotten i don't like haha,this way i can weed them out before taking that plunge.Strawberry is the perfect example,i love real strawberries,and just about everything strawberry flavored when it comes to food.I almost bought the big bottle of that flavor,but at the last minute decided i better get a sample first,and good thing since to me that is one of the worst flavors i have tasted as far as juice goes,so i would have been out the $6 or $7 whatever it costs,plus i would have that big bottle of flavor that i despise sitting here staring at me haha.

 

[Monotremata]

Just ordered a KF4 clone a couple days ago, I'll let ya know how it goes Bill! Wish my Magma would hurry up and get here too!!

I've never had trouble with the draw on my 2 KFL+ clones, but I'm not a lung hitter or anything. Although my EHPro version, with the dual airflow, is definitely a notch up on my Infinite version. I still can't believe my KF4 was cheaper than both of them too, WITH shipping!

 

[Raguvian]

D'oh! Wizard Labs is out of stock on Marshmallow and Vanilla Custard! They just got the Bavarian Cream back in stock so I was going to order everything today.

 

[readeuler]

D'oh! Wizard Labs is out of stock on Marshmallow and Vanilla Custard! They just got the Bavarian Cream back in stock so I was going to order everything today.

That's how my slow descent into buying a ton of stuff from TFA directly started out. No vanilla custard?! Ah, might as well get an ounce from TFA, and ooh look, 4 ounces of strawberry for only 5 dollars...

 

[Raguvian]

That's how my slow descent into buying a ton of stuff from TFA directly started out. No vanilla custard?! Ah, might as well get an ounce from TFA, and ooh look, 4 ounces of strawberry for only 5 dollars...

I am going to keep going to their site until I can get everything at once and then order ASAP. I wish they would allow the option of purchasing everything, including out of stock items, and then just ship as soon as they get your entire order in. I don't want to pay $10 in shipping twice.

 

[DingerCPA]

Yeah, I just registered with TFA to get the bulk pricing

Anyway, I mixed up a new flavor on New Year's Eve. Toasty Tobacco. I don't normally do tobaccos, but I'd ordered 555/Double RY4/Black Honey Tobacco just to give them a try (I wanted to try a Tribeca clone).

Mix, shake, let sit. Broke out the Toasty this afternoon, (made it with the 555) and it still has almost a floral note (yes, only 3 days "steeping", but I wanted to give it a whirl.) The recipe called for Tobacco, Toasted Almond and Toasted Marshmallow. I get a little of the toasted almond, no marshmallow and the "floral" note (which is kinda why I haven't vaped many tobacco-flavored juices)

Any thoughts on what I could do to tone down the floral note?

 

[PaulBHC]

Years ago I got some 555 and didn't like it. I bought some last year at a b&m because the sampler seemed good. What I got had that perfume taste and smell that I just don't enjoy. You might try again with some other tobacco.

 

[Bill's Magic Vapor]

Yeah, I just registered with TFA to get the bulk pricing

Anyway, I mixed up a new flavor on New Year's Eve. Toasty Tobacco. I don't normally do tobaccos, but I'd ordered 555/Double RY4/Black Honey Tobacco just to give them a try (I wanted to try a Tribeca clone).

Mix, shake, let sit. Broke out the Toasty this afternoon, (made it with the 555) and it still has almost a floral note (yes, only 3 days "steeping", but I wanted to give it a whirl.) The recipe called for Tobacco, Toasted Almond and Toasted Marshmallow. I get a little of the toasted almond, no marshmallow and the "floral" note (which is kinda why I haven't vaped many tobacco-flavored juices)

Any thoughts on what I could do to tone down the floral note?

Floral/Chemical notes do exist in some flavors, or can occur at higher percentages in some flavors. To eliminate those notes, don't wait to see if they dissipate, the chemical/floral note is an indication of an incomplete mix, not a lack of steeping. Here are some suggestions:

1. Reducing the percentage flavoring of the primary can often times eliminate the floral/chemical note, or
2. Add 2% strawberry, or 2% raspberry to the mix. At these low percentages, they will not be significant, if they can be tasted at all, and they will help "neutralize" the offending chemical/floral notes. Primary flavoring at 7%+ will overwhelm these fruits at 2%. Give it a shot.
3. Adding a good balance of creams, sweeteners and vanilla, even to tobaccos will not overwhelm the mix, if mixed at under 6% (each), and will supercharge and enhance the primaries. In so doing, they will also eliminate the chemical/floral notes in most cases. Many juices, including tobaccos, DO have creams and vanillas at low percentages. They round, smooth, and enhance the mix very effectively, and in small percentages are not significant, often not detectable. In most cases, the creams/vanillas/sweeteners will be the missing ingredient that we often cannot put our finger on.

Good luck!

 

[DingerCPA]

Floral/Chemical notes do exist in some flavors, or can occur at higher percentages in some flavors. To eliminate those notes, don't wait to see if they dissipate, the chemical/floral note is an indication of an incomplete mix, not a lack of steeping. Here are some suggestions:

1. Reducing the percentage flavoring of the primary can often times eliminate the floral/chemical note, or
2. Add 2% strawberry, or 2% raspberry to the mix. At these low percentages, they will not be significant, if they can be tasted at all, and they will help "neutralize" the offending chemical/floral notes. Primary flavoring at 7%+ will overwhelm these fruits at 2%. Give it a shot.
3. Adding a good balance of creams, sweeteners and vanilla, even to tobaccos will not overwhelm the mix, if mixed at under 6% (each), and will supercharge and enhance the primaries. In so doing, they will also eliminate the chemical/floral notes in most cases. Many juices, including tobaccos, DO have creams and vanillas at low percentages. They round, smooth, and enhance the mix very effectively, and in small percentages are not significant, often not detectable. In most cases, the creams/vanillas/sweeteners will be the missing ingredient that we often cannot put our finger on.

Good luck!

Thank you, sir! I was browsing some previous posts (around the 4000 post mark LOL) and I just caught the raspberry to cut "offensive" notes. I'll go drop a touch of raspberry and maybe a touch of some sort of vanilla to see if that helps. I should be able to tell fairly quickly, right? I do like the toasty almond note.

Thanks ever so kindly - this is becoming one of my new favorite threads

 

[Monotremata]

Floral/Chemical notes do exist in some flavors, or can occur at higher percentages in some flavors. To eliminate those notes, don't wait to see if they dissipate, the chemical/floral note is an indication of an incomplete mix, not a lack of steeping. Here are some suggestions:

1. Reducing the percentage flavoring of the primary can often times eliminate the floral/chemical note, or
2. Add 2% strawberry, or 2% raspberry to the mix. At these low percentages, they will not be significant, if they can be tasted at all, and they will help "neutralize" the offending chemical/floral notes. Primary flavoring at 7%+ will overwhelm these fruits at 2%. Give it a shot.
3. Adding a good balance of creams, sweeteners and vanilla, even to tobaccos will not overwhelm the mix, if mixed at under 6% (each), and will supercharge and enhance the primaries. In so doing, they will also eliminate the chemical/floral notes in most cases. Many juices, including tobaccos, DO have creams and vanillas at low percentages. They round, smooth, and enhance the mix very effectively, and in small percentages are not significant, often not detectable. In most cases, the creams/vanillas/sweeteners will be the missing ingredient that we often cannot put our finger on.

Good luck!

BMV - What would you recommend for a sweetner?? I noticed TFA has their own sucralose mix, as well as the EM mix.. Was gonna get some more supplied from Nude Nicotine and they also have both EM and Sucralose as well.. The Boysenberry definitely has that floral/chemical smell. Mixed any higher than 6% and its UGH. Same with the Blue Raspberry.. 12% is it, any higher and Ive had to dump the whole thing it was just so obnoxiously foul haha.. After my first month or so of DIY, Ive got my nifty collection of single flavor Jolly Rancher type stuff rocking, but I think whats gonna make them really pop is some sweetner. I didnt bother ordering any on my first run cause I wanted to get a feel of just the basic flavors and mixing ratios...

Mixed up my last 30ml batch of Grape Juice last week and something funky happened during the mixing/steeping.. Mixed it in a PP conical tube, threw it into a 30ml PP dropper bottle after about 3-4 days.. First tank came out pretty much ALL VG, I could see it hanging in suspension in the tank, and man that thing did NOT want to wick to save its life.. Next tank came out perfect, then the last two were both hit and miss.. I was having dry hits and really hot vapes the last couple days to the point where I cranked the Kayfun down to 8-9w but it lost its 'punch'. Not to mention the inside of my upper lip is now blistered to hell and back. Decided to clean the whole KFL out this morning to fill it with the last of it, and what do ya know, damn coil got so hot it had burned one side of the wick off and it was stuck to the side of the chimney.. Made up my last 30ml batch of Blue Raspberry yesterday, and did the hot water steeping trick. Filled a bowl with hot tap water and just left the conical tube in there til it got room temp. Seemed to help make things gel a little better. Dumped it into a 60ml blue bottle (just bought a dozen yay!!) and did it again, and now it seems pretty 'liquidy' like store bought juices..

 

[Bill's Magic Vapor]

BMV - What would you recommend for a sweetner?? I noticed TFA has their own sucralose mix, as well as the EM mix.. Was gonna get some more supplied from Nude Nicotine and they also have both EM and Sucralose as well.. The Boysenberry definitely has that floral/chemical smell. Mixed any higher than 6% and its UGH. Same with the Blue Raspberry.. 12% is it, any higher and Ive had to dump the whole thing it was just so obnoxiously foul haha.. After my first month or so of DIY, Ive got my nifty collection of single flavor Jolly Rancher type stuff rocking, but I think whats gonna make them really pop is some sweetner. I didnt bother ordering any on my first run cause I wanted to get a feel of just the basic flavors and mixing ratios...

Mixed up my last 30ml batch of Grape Juice last week and something funky happened during the mixing/steeping.. Mixed it in a PP conical tube, threw it into a 30ml PP dropper bottle after about 3-4 days.. First tank came out pretty much ALL VG, I could see it hanging in suspension in the tank, and man that thing did NOT want to wick to save its life.. Next tank came out perfect, then the last two were both hit and miss.. I was having dry hits and really hot vapes the last couple days to the point where I cranked the Kayfun down to 8-9w but it lost its 'punch'. Not to mention the inside of my upper lip is now blistered to hell and back. Decided to clean the whole KFL out this morning to fill it with the last of it, and what do ya know, damn coil got so hot it had burned one side of the wick off and it was stuck to the side of the chimney.. Made up my last 30ml batch of Blue Raspberry yesterday, and did the hot water steeping trick. Filled a bowl with hot tap water and just left the conical tube in there til it got room temp. Seemed to help make things gel a little better. Dumped it into a 60ml blue bottle (just bought a dozen yay!!) and did it again, and now it seems pretty 'liquidy' like store bought juices..

I like both TFA Sweetener and Cotton Candy (no substitutions allowed please). No EM, no sucralose, nada....Sweetener and Cotton Candy. All I recommend, and the only two that taste any good to me, even at high percentages. My ADV includes 10% cotton candy. No way with EM!

Grape, like others, will go floral. Try 2% strawberry or 2% raspberry. Immediate fix, no need to throw out the juice. I have several, I think, very good grape recipes (tart and bubble gum, in particular). Both use strawberry and/or raspberry plus sweet cream. All the difference in the world.

Sweetener and/or Cotton Candy plus vanilla plus cream will make all your juices pop. Not one, or the other, but all three, together, work very well. Some blogs around here about that. Good luck!

 

[jelson873]

Just wanted to update you all on the Blueberry Mint juice I've been working on and share the final recipe. It's delicious and not to minty.

Blueberry Extra 10%
Sweet Cream 3%
Bavarian Cream 3%
Vanilla Swirl 5%
Cotton Candy 5%
Mint Candy 2%

Also, wanted to thank Bill for his help on this!

Here's another recipe that I've been working on that has turned out really good if you like vanilla

French Vanilla Deluxe 8%
Bavarian Cream 3%
Sweet Cream 3%
Sweetener 2%
Vanilla Swirl 4%

I just caught up on the last couple weeks of this thread, and I just ordered me a Taifun GT clone and a GT V2 from fastech and some KGD pads. I really need to stop reading this thread, it's breaking the bank LOL

 

[CampbellMC]

Bill I have seen you comment on EM vs Cotton Candy many times (and read others pots saying they are quite different), and seen many others say that it is the exact same. I have checked a couple websites that I use in Canada, one lists them separately (Cotton Candy TFA, Ethyl Maltol TFA), but in the descriptions, they have the exact same information (EM mixed in a 10% sol.). The other website which I ordered my first batch of flavors from (coming this week hopefully ) only has the EM listed, with the description of Cotton Candy smell. Also they have Cotton Candy (Circus), but not the regular Cotton Candy. Wondering if anyone has experience substituting one for the other, is one stronger, are they alike? Most of what I have read says they have basically the same flavor, but slightly different strengths (EM has more "Sweet", CC has more "Flavor").

 

[Bill's Magic Vapor]

Bill I have seen you comment on EM vs Cotton Candy many times (and read others pots saying they are quite different), and seen many others say that it is the exact same. I have checked a couple websites that I use in Canada, one lists them separately (Cotton Candy TFA, Ethyl Maltol TFA), but in the descriptions, they have the exact same information (EM mixed in a 10% sol.). The other website which I ordered my first batch of flavors from (coming this week hopefully ) only has the EM listed, with the description of Cotton Candy smell. Also they have Cotton Candy (Circus), but not the regular Cotton Candy. Wondering if anyone has experience substituting one for the other, is one stronger, are they alike? Most of what I have read says they have basically the same flavor, but slightly different strengths (EM has more "Sweet", CC has more "Flavor").

I just go by taste. They taste different to me. Perhaps the same to others. Dunno.

Anytime you talk about dissolving solids into liquids at any percentage, you're going to get variances in flavoring because of differences in weight, volume, and even the state of the matter, i.e., liquid vs. solid, but most particularly in preparations. No two people are going to make these exactly the same, and this is why I recommend the cotton candy. It's consistent and is a finished flavoring. Nothing more needs to be done, which will invariably account for the wide spectrum of taste differences, i.e., exactly the same, versus completely different, with EM. Hope this makes sense!

 

[Bill's Magic Vapor]

Just wanted to update you all on the Blueberry Mint juice I've been working on and share the final recipe. It's delicious and not to minty.

Blueberry Extra 10%
Sweet Cream 3%
Bavarian Cream 3%
Vanilla Swirl 5%
Cotton Candy 5%
Mint Candy 2%

Also, wanted to thank Bill for his help on this!

Here's another recipe that I've been working on that has turned out really good if you like vanilla

French Vanilla Deluxe 8%
Bavarian Cream 3%
Sweet Cream 3%
Sweetener 2%
Vanilla Swirl 4%

I just caught up on the last couple weeks of this thread, and I just ordered me a Taifun GT clone and a GT V2 from fastech and some KGD pads. I really need to stop reading this thread, it's breaking the bank LOL

Like them both. The Vanilla is like my Cream Fantastico without the fruit. The blueberry is very similar to many recipes. Great job! Thanks for the tip of the hat, too!

 

[Monotremata]

Oooh Bill please tell me your grape bubblegum recipe is in your blog??? That's what I'm shooting for really. I'm a simple dude that just wants a collection of like Jolly Rancher or good old Bubble-Yum/Hubba Bubba stuff!! I'm gonna be putting in an order for the 1oz Watermelon and Grape Juice at TFA Monday, I'll grab some sweetener and cream too now!! Love the watermelon and grape juice at 13% but the watermelon tastes like a real watermelon (which is good) but some sugary notes would just make it go mmmmmm!

 

[ozen]

Oooh Bill please tell me your grape bubblegum recipe is in your blog??? That's what I'm shooting for really. I'm a simple dude that just wants a collection of like Jolly Rancher or good old Bubble-Yum/Hubba Bubba stuff!! I'm gonna be putting in an order for the 1oz Watermelon and Grape Juice at TFA Monday, I'll grab some sweetener and cream too now!! Love the watermelon and grape juice at 13% but the watermelon tastes like a real watermelon (which is good) but some sugary notes would just make it go mmmmmm!

I think this is what you looking for

Grape Bubbleburst
Grape Candy - 10%
Vanilla Swirl - 5%
Sweet Crèam - 4%
Bubblegum - 3%
Sweet and Tart - 3%
Strawberry - 2%

 

[ItTechy]

Morning Fellow TFA' ...did I miss anything?....I had a minor hostage crisis here at home.

The police were not involved as it seemed Kitty Treats and coaxing relived the situation.