What's the deal with steeping?

[Imfallen_Angel]

Thanks for confirming... That's what i thought, i have a few 30ml bottles of juice steeping right now that I bought and I'm hoping that cool dark place with hand shaking would be enough.
The only other reason i can think of for having a "shaker" for small batches is if there's not much space in the bottle to shake( 30ml juice in a 30ml bottle can get a little difficult to mix considering the liquid doesn't have much space to move around).

Yup.. that's another point that I forgot to mention... the space within the bottle limits the way the liquid gets mixed...

As you're just starting, it's fine to shake and get the general idea.. but the day that you do over a dozen bottles and see how much of a pain it is to shake them all, and then again for about a week (as the shaking simply doesn't do a good job), you'll be looking up milk frothers or similar, fairly fast.. and you'll curse my name..

 

[Cf11]

The goal is to have a uniform mix, you're trying to get the flavoring's molecules to both be mixed in the base, but also some flavours will bind together (basically what the steeping does), so the more mixed ... so just shaking, not really that great.

So regardless of bottle/quantity, it needs to be mixed well.

The difference would be that with shaking you have:

• a lot of air bubbles
• you need to do it every day for the first few days
• loss of some percentage of the flavour
• can't be certain of no "hot spots" where nicotine or flavouring might be "bubble up" and not mix well with the rest

There's a hundred ways that someone could go at it, it comes down that whatever works well is just fine.

Since I switched to shaking to using a frother, I find it much easier (as I can end up doing about 30-40 bottles in one afternoon) on the arm, the "steeping" is reduced by almost half I'd say, some quick recipes are ready within a day or two.

And if you are shaking and the top comes off the bottle (or it slips and breaks)... you will have a mess..

I would never want to go back to shaking bottles.

After reading this you've convinced me to order a stirrer of some sort.
Appreciate you taking the time to explain it so well.
Thank you

 

[Cf11]

Yup.. that's another point that I forgot to mention... the space within the bottle limits the way the liquid gets mixed...

As you're just starting, it's fine to shake and get the general idea.. but the day that you do over a dozen bottles and see how much of a pain it is to shake them all, and then again for about a week (as the shaking simply doesn't do a good job), you'll be looking up milk frothers or similar, fairly fast.. and you'll curse my name..

Look what you made me do.
I already am looking for them
Any good recommendations?

 

[Imfallen_Angel]

@Imfallen_Angel No no, you didn't. Cf asked if "you.. NEED stirring" for smaller batches; I assumed he meant a stirrer, and the answer to need is no. But you have well explained why you might want or prefer one

see my post: "Considering that magnetic stirrers are the "must-have" for some DIY lately"

Unless you meant the much previous post: "The only item I'd add would be stirrers (magnetic or other.. heck I use a milk frother...."

And yes, I do consider something to stir properly as a must have, doesn't matter what type, because there's a lot of possible issues with the "Just shake it" approach.

It'll work sure, but that's like saying crossing the city with a bicycle with a broken wheel as opposed to drive in a fine automobile on the highway.

 

[Imfallen_Angel]

Look what you made me do.
I already am looking for them
Any good recommendations?

Here's the one I got... the thin "rod" fits perfectly in the bottle's neck.

Norpro Deluxe Mini Mixer Cordless Kitchen Drink Frother Cappuccino Latte 2-Pack | eBay

(oddly, they only show the attachments and not the actual battery/motor device)...

Here's one that you can see the device... note that it's a fairly cheap little thing but it's been working fine for me for quite a while... I show the link with two of them above, as I tend to like having a backup in case (and price wise, it's just a few dollars to have a second one anyways)
Norpro Deluxe Mini Mixer Cordless Kitchen Drink Frother Cappuccino Latte 2273 | eBay

 

[Cf11]

Here's the one I got... the thin "rod" fits perfectly in the bottle's neck.

Norpro Deluxe Mini Mixer Cordless Kitchen Drink Frother Cappuccino Latte 2-Pack | eBay

(oddly, they only show the attachments and not the actual battery/motor device)...

Here's one that you can see the device... note that it's a fairly cheap little thing but it's been working fine for me for quite a while... I show the link with two of them above, as I tend to like having a backup in case (and price wise, it's just a few dollars to have a second one anyways)
Norpro Deluxe Mini Mixer Cordless Kitchen Drink Frother Cappuccino Latte 2273 | eBay

Fasttech links only please...
I tried looking for the product you mentioned on fasttech, can't seem to find that exact same one.

 

[90VG]

I think steeping is a way that juice manufacturers try to trick you into thinking there is something special about their product. There are no chemical reactions taking place, it only needs to be mixed. Yes alcohol can be evaporated off, but they should have done that during manufacturing. This is just my opinion, I'm not insulting anyone with this.

 

[Cf11]

I think steeping is a way that juice manufacturers try to trick you into thinking there is something special about their product. There are no chemical reactions taking place, it only needs to be mixed. Yes alcohol can be evaporated off, but they should have done that during manufacturing. This is just my opinion, I'm not insulting anyone with this.

But you have to agree that steeping gives time for everything to mix up properly.
And your opinion might vary but I think there are some reactions taking place in the mix, maybe not "chemically" but the flavors do tend to combine really well with "aging" as the molecules combine.
Not trying to insult your opinion but just stating what I think is true.

 

[90VG]

I personally shake and vape. @Cf11

 

[Cf11]

I personally shake and vape. @Cf11

Not all recipes can be "shaked and vaped".
There are a lot of complex recipes that get better with time. Have you not tried any of those? Or do you just prefer the "shake and vape" recipes?

 

[90VG]

I vape wintergreen and mint. Sometimes no flavor at all. 2-3mg/ml. I'm in a small town and if you vape something goofy smelling, people complain. With mint/wintergreen, no one seems to care. No steeping required.

It reminds me of when a friend was making me coffee one day. He boils the coffee, lets it sit a few minutes. Grinds the beans and places them in the french press. Pours in the water and puts on the lid. I'm getting anxious, I want some ** coffee. He says, "No, you have to wait, you'll bruise the beans." Forget that, I slammed the head down through the coffee and poured myself a cup.

I have the same opinion of steeping e-juice.

 

[ddirtyvapes]

see my post: "Considering that magnetic stirrers are the "must-have" for some DIY lately"

Unless you meant the much previous post: "The only item I'd add would be stirrers (magnetic or other.. heck I use a milk frother...."

And yes, I do consider something to stir properly as a must have, doesn't matter what type, because there's a lot of possible issues with the "Just shake it" approach.

It'll work sure, but that's like saying crossing the city with a bicycle with a broken wheel as opposed to drive in a fine automobile on the highway.

I understand. I disagree with a number of your statements, but you are of course entitled to your well-reasoned opinion.

 

[Cf11]

I vape wintergreen and mint. Sometimes no flavor at all. 2-3mg/ml. I'm in a small town and if you vape something goofy smelling, people complain. With mint/wintergreen, no one seems to care. No steeping required.

It reminds me of when a friend was making me coffee one day. He boils the coffee, lets it sit a few minutes. Grinds the beans and places them in the french press. Pours in the water and puts on the lid. I'm getting anxious, I want some ** coffee. He says, "No, you have to wait, you'll bruise the beans." Forget that, I slammed the head down through the coffee and poured myself a cup.

I have the same opinion of steeping e-juice.

Well, whatever works for you is the best way to vape and I'm not telling you anything different .
Cheers buddy

 

[90VG]

@Cf11 Cheers to you too!

 

[vapdivrr]

Do you think this one is steeped enough? Some juices don't do well in extended periods, but some can last for years. This juice is perfectly fine almost 4 years old....

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk

 

[Bunnykiller]

Steeping is the wrong term... its called aging

now if you were making DIYNETs ( do it yourself naturally extracted tobacco) then steeping would be the correct word to use during the tobacco soaking phase... once the tobacco is filtered out, it begins to age.

one steeps tea, and wine is aged

 

[Tonee N]

Paint shaker at a home supply store works great!

Sent from tomorrow

 

[Imfallen_Angel]

I understand. I disagree with a number of your statements, but you are of course entitled to your well-reasoned opinion.

Well, if you could actually say what you disagree with...

And opinion? Seriously? I'm stating experience, and facts here... There's a reason that most long term DIYers do use some sort of device to do the mixing here. I've done a bunch of tests, and didn't say a single thing that was "because I believe something I read somewhere" here, I've actually done hundreds of bottles (aka a couple of gallons' worth at least) by now if I was to take a guess.

It's one thing to state valid points, another to say "I don't use something because I don't think I need to".

I think steeping is a way that juice manufacturers try to trick you into thinking there is something special about their product. There are no chemical reactions taking place, it only needs to be mixed. Yes alcohol can be evaporated off, but they should have done that during manufacturing. This is just my opinion, I'm not insulting anyone with this.

No chemical reaction? Dang.. time for you to go back to school if you don't understand that molecules combining (aka Chemical Bonding) into compounds and such, are 100% a chemical reaction.

 

[Imfallen_Angel]

Fasttech links only please...
I tried looking for the product you mentioned on fasttech, can't seem to find that exact same one.

Regrettably, these types of frothers with the slim tip used to be all over the place many years ago (in dollar stores no less), but disappeared and are now very difficult to find outside of eBay and a few other places.. you can probably find some on Amazon.

 

[RainSong]

Just to add..

Some people use blenders, mixers, etc.

And I admit that there's many times that my frother is struggling (anytime I'm over 50-100ml it's an issue), so if I could find a better device to do the mixing, I'd jump on it... a small non-battery powered mixer type that would have a support, and holder for the bottles, and a small tip that could go into bottles.

Trouble is, either we go from the milk frother that are very small and low power, to something like a hand mixer that's 1000x too powerful and no tip that works for this sort of stuff

After reading this you've convinced me to order a stirrer of some sort.
Appreciate you taking the time to explain it so well.
Thank you

Unfortunately they are battery powered but I have a tiny hand blender meant for acrylic paints. The tip fits into most of my 30ml bottles and stirs up without excess air bubbles. I'm just too lazy to use it usually, I give things a shake and throw them in the cupboard. https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B000...aint+mixer&dpPl=1&dpID=21Ws4-oWJiL&ref=plSrch
CF it Looks like FastTech has something too if you look for paint mixer, mini mixer or mini frother