What am I missing?

[acidtabvocab]

hey everyone, i have been making my own liquid for about 3 months now and its been good. Ive been selling some to my friends for a little extra cash so i can make my vaping cost almost free to me. But i feel like my liquid just isn't that great compared to the stores. Theirs is always so sweet and flavorful. Even after steeping for a month they still arent as good. Is it because they use sweeteners? I remember buying at the stores and the bottles would say "added sweetener" to a lot of them.

Right now I have been using TFA and DIYflavorshack for flavors. Ive probably made a total of 8 different flavors so far just using PG VG nic and flavoring and like i said, even with steeping for 30 days or more they just arent as satisfying as the stores flavors!

Should i try adding sweetener to them? Is this how the store bought liquid gets that added "pop" to their flavors? Help is appreciated!

 

[acidtabvocab]

Oh and most flavors percentages are upwards of 12-15%. So youd think that that would give them awesome flavor right? What am i missing?

 

[FinallyQuit]

I feel like mine are missing something too! But, you can't compare your handmade creation to something you bought. Compare what you are making now to what you were making then. Is it better? There's always room to grow, to improve.

I do use sweetener in some mixes, sometimes I find it burns and destroys attys in a couple days. Sometimes it's too cloyingly sweet. Sometimes too dry. Sometimes one flavor overwhelms the rest. Sometimes the whole bottle is overflavored and tastes meh, sometimes underflavored but trying!

Post a sample recipe and we'll look over it. There are some seriously smart people on this forum, someone should be able to recommend an addition for you.

Good luck!

 

[glasseye]

Have you tried adding little bits of magic fairy dust? Like a drop or two of apple cider vinegar in tobacco mixes, a drop of lemon juice in fruit mixes? I'm not at all sure that those are mutually exclusive though. I used to make a mean Peach Cobbler (real stuff, not e-liquid) and vinegar made it pop. I've been meaning to try it with peach flavoring. There is a huge thread somewhere around here on magic additives, plus Hoosier's blog is a good place to start.

 

[FACE MEAT]

Hoosier's blog is a good place to start.

Read it. Learn it. Live it.

 

[acidtabvocab]

Wow thanks everyone. Yea now that i think about it i remember reading about additives that make flavors better. Ill look in to it a bit better. As for a sample recipe, my most recent one used Watermelon and menthol flavoring from The Flavor Apprentice.

For 100mL recipe i made:
-24mL nicotine (50mg/mL base)
-31mL PG
-31mL VG
-12% watermelon
-2% menthol

Shook it up, vaped right off the bat, and kept 70mL to steep. Tried some 31 days later, still tasted washed out and unsatisfactory.

 

[bazmonkey]

Some of these suggestions might be shots in the dark but...

1) Do you typically make 100mL batches? IMO I think you'd be able to get a fix on a good recipe faster by making many more test batches, like 20-5mL ones. People say over-flavoring kills the flavor as much as under-flavoring, and for some there is a definite sweet spot that needs to be found by trial and error.

2) Some combinations just don't work. I'm only mentioning this because I tried some fruit-menthol combos and never ended up with anything very enjoyable.

3) Sweetener can totally make-or-break some fruit flavors for me. If your juice has the right taste but it's more like an essence than a flavor (like, the watermelon taste is good but it's weak and seems more like an odor than a taste), sweetener might really help.

4) I think you just need to get more methodical about it. Make 5 tiny batches of watermelon at various percentages (say, 3%-15%), and get a good feel for what a little watermelon tastes like, what a "normal" amount is to make straight watermelon juice, and what too much tastes like (i.e. what gets messed up when you use too much). From there, you'd be much more able to judge how much watermelon to add to a recipe. You'd know how much to add if you want to make the watermelon prevalent (for a punch or something), or how much if you just want a little hint of it (that's why knowing what it tastes like weak is important), and if you over flavored it, you'd be better able to identify that.

Do this same thing with menthol and unflavored juice (to get a feel for how strong it is), and I bet'cha the next time you tried to use these flavors, the result will be better.

5) There's thousands of flavor-producing chemicals out there, and millions of possible "recipes" of juice. Aiming for a pre-made flavor might be a little futile. Keep in mind most of the DIY flavors available are re-purposed food flavorings that happen to work well. There's a very good chance your favorite flavors involves chemicals that you can't find through the usual DIY vendors. It may have no other popular use and be the kind of one-off ingredient you never find. Making one that's "good enough" is a success in DIY-land.

 

[EagleTa2]

Sometimes you learn little tips along the way...and yup...most of the ones I have learned from Hoosier.

All of my fruit flavors get 1 drop of Lemon juice per 5 ml...it does a lot to pop the fruitiness.
Almost all of my recipes get Ethyl Maltol to sweeten and round out the flavors...I find I prefer 3% for my taste usually.

All of my vapes get shaken like mad and then spend at least 4 hours in a hot UC bath. Some steep naturally for a week or so more until I get around to vaping them.

Regarding batch sizes, I have never made anything larger than 20ml...

I have also sold some of my juice to friends and coworkers to make vaping easier on them... I have been fortunate and glow when I hear that they prefer my juice to the juice they bought at the local b&m...

I'm not a pro...but have learned a lot! Hope some of this is helpful...

Geo

 

[FinallyQuit]

Okay, I have advice on both watermelon and menthol.

Try a dash of raspberry in your watermelon to make it pop. This may be one of Hoosier's tips that I'm recycling here. Never tried it but make it a background note. . .

Also, nix the menthol and add Koolada, gives the cool feeling in the mouth and throat without additional flavor to drown out the watermelon. 1 drop per 5 ml for me.

Also the lemon juice, tart&sour, or citric acid makes fruits shine. 1 drop per 5 ml for me again.

Good luck!!

 

[Hoosier]

...Try a dash of raspberry in your watermelon to make it pop. This may be one of Hoosier's tips that I'm recycling here...

Yep, that's one of mine. You should try it Finally...

 

[Iffy]

Don't forget Hoosier's butterfly farts...

 

[EagleTa2]

Yep, that's one of mine. You should try it Finally...

I did it..and it worked great. I tried it at 2% and that was a bit much for my taste...was perfect according to the wife though...and that is all that really matters anyhow.

Thanks
Geo