Tips for steeping tea in PG?

[MagnusEunson]

I was going to steep my favorite black Earl Grey in PG and I was thinking of using a tea bulb, mason jar, and leaving it out in the Florida sun for a few hours instead of direct heat source. Then it occurred to me I'm being a tool by not just asking here what people have done for tea/PG steeping? -Magnus

 

[beckah54]

I don't know the answer but I'll bump your post back up to the front page.

 

[zoiDman]

Not sure I have ever heard of someone doing this.

Let us know how it works.

 

[MagnusEunson]

That didn't work at all, the PG temperature never got above 107d.

So I brought PG to 190d, killed the gas, and steeped using two tea bulbs for 10m.. the PG was at 162d at 5m but I forgot the check the final temp. That worked well for the nose but the result wasn't really vapable. Wayyyy too bitter at 60% PG..

I found some vague suggestions in various places so I'll give it another go and report back after the weekend. -Magnus

 

[Katya]

Vaperite carries Earl Grey eliquid; very sweet and potent, but the bergamot flavor is spot on.

 

[Wingapo]

Magnus, now I've got to experiment with this too. I would think if you used linen tea bags they might work better. What steep time were you using, as an earl grey needs a three to five minute steep just off the boil, any longer and you'll get that super bitter taste you mentioned? One possible way is to steep the tea in water normally, remove the tea bags, and then use a low simmer to evaporate off most of the water and then add that to your PG. It will still be a bit more bitter than a proper steep but shouldn't be as bitter as an extended boiling. Another way may be to go Russian and boil the heck out of it and use something like vape Wizard to help cut the bitterness and add extra sweetener and/or a citrus like mandarin orange or lemon to help cut the bitter further. The Bergamot in the Earl Grey is going to be your main problem as it will go from tasty to terrible with a second to long of a steep. This is definitely one to ponder.

 

[MagnusEunson]

I was trying to avoid the boil because PG boils higher but a 60% solution boils at 225d so I might try that with a 3/4m steep.. I've got a bunch of options. I usually drink this tea with a longer steep as a lower temperature so I tried that first.

The more trying it, the merrier.. I want this particular set of flavours but I might go the Katya suggest route if I can't get good results in a few more attempts. -Magnus