"Unflavored" e-juice -- is it really flavorless?

[bwh79]

I'm brand new to vaping. I got a starter kit the other day at a local B&M store, and they had a flavor bar. They didn't have hundreds of flavors from different suppliers or anything, just a couple dozen of their own in-house brand. I tried a few, they all pretty much tasted the same -- a rich, sweet, almost fruity flavor -- with only subtle hints of the different advertised flavors underlying this same base flavor. Is that just the taste of e-juice itself? Is an "unflavored" juice going to taste like this, or is it really pretty tasteless? They all pretty much tasted like the whole place smelled, so maybe I was just being assaulted by the combination of all the different flavors?

The one I brought home is "Base Nectar Menthol" which has me wondering if "base nectar" (they had a plain one, too) is a flavor in and of itself, or if it perhaps just means the basic "unflavored" (still has a flavor, though) juice, before they put any other flavors in? It's not a bad flavor, I'm just wondering if that's what they all taste like or if it's just this one shop?

 

[*deleon517*]

Simple unflavored has next to no flavor and some notice a slight peppery taste too it. One thing to remember is that when first transitioning to vaping from smoking your taste will be off. After a couple of month's everything will smell and taste much different, as your taste buds will be healing up during that time. Depending on how good they are at making liquid and types that are easily available to other near by B&M locations, they may just be a sub-par juice line that is pretty popular.

 

[Frenchfry1942]

Like any other juice, we all probably have a different interpretation.

 

[bwh79]

Simple unflavored has next to no flavor and some notice a slight peppery taste too it.

Ah, well this was certainly not "next to no flavor." I got a free sample in today of another company's Coconut, and a couple more samples on the way from a third place. I guess I'll wait a bit for my taste buds to clear up, maybe go back there later on and try some of their other flavors again, see if I don't notice more differences this time.

Depending on how good they are at making liquid and types that are easily available to other near by B&M locations, they may just be a sub-par juice line that is pretty popular.

Well they claim that they sell it all over the country, but with the internet these days, anyone can do that, so it's noting special on its own. They're called "Vape Game" out of Springfield, OR, I don't know if anyone here has tried their flavors.

 

[faeriekitsune]

So, I think I understand what you're asking and I'm going to try to answer the best I can.

A) Unflavored ejuice is reported to vary in taste depending on source, nic level, and quality. It could be flavorless, or sometimes have a slight "peppery" taste.

B) When trying flavors in shops, it has been noted that if the shop is filled to the rafters with haze, you're not going to accurately taste anything. The sense of taste is closely tied to the sense of smell. Try coming back at a different time of day when there aren't as many cloud chasers hanging out.

C) They could be using a premixed base with the additional flavors added. I know some shops use premixed liquid and then add the flavors on request (like Black Hat Vapor, awesome stuff btw), so there is a chance of flavor cross contamination as well.

D) As your taste buds get used to not being assaulted by cigarettes, you will be able to distinguish a wide range of flavors you might not be familiar with, or may have forgotten.

Not all ejuice tastes the same... otherwise, I'd go nuts.

(Currently vaping 5pawns Castle Long, Mad Alchemist's Winter's Bite, and Wild Vape's Amaretto Rush... and they all taste differently delicious!)

 

[Harlen]

RST seams to have a light peppery flavor

 

[*deleon517*]

While it's possible they are sold all over the country, like you said with the internet anyone can be a national or global seller. After a quick google search most hits are for their own locations. Not saying they aren't good, my favorite brand of juice can be only found at a handful of vendors. While others blow up and can be found literally everywhere you can look.

 

[Grimwald]

I have vaped nothing but unflavored for more than a year. It is not flavorless. Let me see if I can describe what it taste like to me.

First, it tastes like nicotine. If you have ever tried nicotine gum or lozenges, then you likely know that taste. However, the strength of nicotine taste will depend on how much nicotine you use. 24mg will be much harsher than 6mg.

Next, because of the VG, it will be slightly sweet. Again, how sweet will depend on how much VG you use.

I find it to be more like what I vaguely remember smoking to taste like than any other "flavor".

 

[Spencer87]

some vendors i know of, at least 1, Seem to have a few blends with a similar underlying base flavor.

But Recommend trying some bakery stuff.

 

[Huh?!]

I have vaped nothing but unflavored for more than a year. It is not flavorless. Let me see if I can describe what it taste like to me.

First, it tastes like nicotine. If you have ever tried nicotine gum or lozenges, then you likely know that taste. However, the strength of nicotine taste will depend on how much nicotine you use. 24mg will be much harsher than 6mg.

Next, because of the VG, it will be slightly sweet. Again, how sweet will depend on how much VG you use.

I find it to be more like what I vaguely remember smoking to taste like than any other "flavor".

Where do you order your unflavored from? I recently switched (couple months ago) to unflavored as an ADV and enjoy it tremendously. also have been trying different "brands" (ecig express, my vape juice are a couple). It is also so much more economical for me as I'll vape anywhere from 5ml-8ml/day and I don't get sick of the flavor lolol

 

[Ablonz]

I get my Unflavored from www.MyFreedomSmokes.com I usually vape on that for a week or 2 at a time while my own is steeping I do notice it is fairly smooth even at 24 mg/ml with ever so slightest (if any) hint of peppery taste. I get the 75/25 blend though. Very clear in color. Just an option.

 

[AndriaD]

B) When trying flavors in shops, it has been noted that if the shop is filled to the rafters with haze, you're not going to accurately taste anything. The sense of taste is closely tied to the sense of smell. Try coming back at a different time of day when there aren't as many cloud chasers hanging out.

TRUTH! I have a very hard time tasting stuff in shops, if others are in there vaping, and at one place near me, the usual clientele seem to all be cloud chasers, so it looks like foggy with a chance of rain in there all the time. I made the mistake of buying Halo Voodoo from another shop near here, just because, in a room filled with vapor, the taste of it actually stood out, but when I got it home, I couldn't abide it. I got "Long Bottom Leaf" Pipe Sauce from the cloud chasing shop, and although I like it, the smokiness of it really surprised me, when I got it home.

But that's very true, OP, about your ability to taste things now, as opposed to months down the road, when your tastebuds and olfactory sense have healed; when I first started vaping, most ejuice tasted pretty much like "nothing much" to me; it took several months of being smoke-free before I could really taste much at all from vaping -- and now that I can taste, I no longer like the ejuice I used at first, "Virginia" from MyFreedomSmokes.

Andria

 

[Katya]

Unflavored means just that no flavoring has been added to your VG/PG/nicotine solution. But those three have their own, subtle flavors. Nicotine usually comes a bit of peppery taste (as others have noted), but you can get high quality nic that is almost flavorless. The best and cleanest nicotine base, IMO, is sold by Vapers Tek.

 

[bwh79]

Another question about unflavored...if I get unflavored, 0-nic, Max-VG (which, the way I understand it, without any PG-based flavoring "Max VG" is 100% right?) then is that just the same as something like this (Glycerin Vegetable USP) but at 200x the cost? Could I in theory just buy that bottle of glycerin and vape that at 95.5% savings if I don't care about the flavor or the nicotine?

 

[Katya]

Another question about unflavored...if I get unflavored, 0-nic, Max-VG (which, the way I understand it, without any PG-based flavoring "Max VG" is 100% right?) then is that just the same as something like this (Glycerin Vegetable USP) but at 200x the cost? Could I in theory just buy that bottle of glycerin and vape that at 95.5% savings if I don't care about the flavor or the nicotine?

You need USP (United States Pharmacopeia) vegetable glycerin (glycerol). If you want it cheap, Walmart's Humco brand is very popular here and easy to find at any Walmart store. Get some distilled water to dilute it to proper vaping consistency.

If you want the highest quality VG (with possibly better taste), get it from a good nicotine vendor, like Vapers Tek or Nude Nicotine. I prefer their PG and VG, but it may be all in my head.

 

[tFOrRESTee]

VG is naturally sweet by itself. I mixed 50% pg and 50% vg without anything else and it still tasted pretty sweet. I don't like everything tastes sweet just like I don't want dessert all the time. I learned to add some sterile saline to balance things out.

I have never tried pure pg though since it will be pointless.