Why do all of my DIY mixes suck?

[zoiDman]

All day vape



Ok. When I first got my supplies, i tried the vg/pg by itself, and then I jumped into mixing multiple flavors which was probably a rookie mistake. I tried to do a blueberry since I can vape any kind of blueberry all day long. So, I did 1ml of my blueberry extra, .5ml of blue raspberry and then mixed those into a 90/10 vg/pg mix. I let it sit for two days in the cabinet where I keep everything. Pulled it out and dripped it on my doge rda, and it tasted terrible. I think the blue raspberry threw it off because I may have used too much since it is strong.

Another example that I did the night before last:
1ml blueberry extra
1ml vanillin 10%pg
6 drops of cheesecake graham crust (it smells really strong)
100% VG, no pg at all (8ml)
I tried it right after mixing it just to see and it was ok at best. I haven't tried it since but I will when I'm home from work.

I'm really trying to clone Puff Puff Vape's Blue cream muffin (my absolute favorite) which tastes like a creamy blueberry muffin/pie.

OK... I'm confused.

The 1st thing I would Suggest is you make a 10ml Unflavored batch of whatever mg/ml strength and PG|VG ratio you normally vape with. And then Test it for Taste.

If it taste clean and Relatively Taste Free, then move on to making a Flavored Mix.

The Second thing is a Freshly Made Mix is going to Taste Different than a Mix that has sat for 2 ~3 Days. Taste it when you first make it. But DON'T change it by adding something until it has sat for At Least 2 Days in a Cool, Dark Place.

Lastly, If I was going to make Blueberry Muffins or a Blueberry Pie, I can Guarantee that the Recipe is used would call for some Sugar. Probably a Lot of Sugar.

Many of the Food Flavorings we use to do DIY are just that, Flavors. They sometimes don't have the Level of Sweetness of a Finish Dish. Because they are Meant to go into Recipes that use Sugar.

So when I look at the Recipe you Posted, I can Tell that I wouldn't like it. Because you haven't Added any Sweetener.

Lastly, Starting off doing a Multiple Flavored Mixes is Fine. But it can Lead to Frustration if you Don't Know just how Strong Each Flavoring is Relative to Another.

So a Good Rule of Thumb is to "Mix Weak". Meaning, Cut all your Flavoring/Sweeteners back by about 25 or 30 Percent. Make you Mix. Taste it. Let it Sit for 2 or 3 Days. Taste it. Add what Flavor(s) you think it Needs.

Lastly, Unless you want to Constantly pull your Hair Out. Keep DETAILED and ACCURATE Records of Everything you Mix.

Let us know how that Blue Berry Mix tastes tonight. And Hope some of this Helped.

 

[Hoosier]

All day vape.

One mix...for a whole day?!?!? That's a disgusting idea and I will immediately erase it from my head.

With all the recipes I have of great taste that are just shake-n-vape, the thought of tasting only one for a whole day is inconceivable.

Now on a serious note:
I didn't see a single flavoring in your list that should need any steeping or airing-out to be good. IF the flavoring level is right.


(Since this is the serious section, I know what ADV means, but find the idea of eating the same food for every meal, for a year, as appealing as vaping the same thing all day...ugh)

 

[AndrewBacon]

OK... I'm confused.

The 1st thing I would Suggest is you make a 10ml Unflavored batch of whatever mg/ml strength and PG|VG ratio you normally vape with. And then Test it for Taste.

If it taste clean and Relatively Taste Free, then move on to making a Flavored Mix.

The Second thing is a Freshly Made Mix is going to Taste Different than a Mix that has sat for 2 ~3 Days. Taste it when you first make it. But DON'T change it by adding something until it has sat for At Least 2 Days in a Cool, Dark Place.

Lastly, If I was going to make Blueberry Muffins or a Blueberry Pie, I can Guarantee that the Recipe is used would call for some Sugar. Probably a Lot of Sugar.

Many of the Food Flavorings we use to do DIY are just that, Flavors. They sometimes don't have the Level of Sweetness of a Finish Dish. Because they are Meant to go into Recipes that use Sugar.

So when I look at the Recipe you Posted, I can Tell that I wouldn't like it. Because you haven't Added any Sweetener.

Lastly, Starting off doing a Multiple Flavored Mixes is Fine. But it can Lead to Frustration if you Don't Know just how Strong Each Flavoring is Relative to Another.

So a Good Rule of Thumb is to "Mix Weak". Meaning, Cut all your Flavoring/Sweeteners back by about 25 or 30 Percent. Make you Mix. Taste it. Let it Sit for 2 or 3 Days. Taste it. Add what Flavor(s) you think it Needs.

Lastly, Unless you want to Constantly pull your Hair Out. Keep DETAILED and ACCURATE Records of Everything you Mix.

Let us know how that Blue Berry Mix tastes tonight. And Hope some of this Helped.

I appreciate the input and I will try out your advice. When I placed my first order, I didn't order any sweetener but I have since ordered some but I haven't received it yet hence the reason why it hasn't been in any of my mixes.

One mix...for a whole day?!?!? That's a disgusting idea and I will immediately erase it from my head.

With all the recipes I have of great taste that are just shake-n-vape, the thought of tasting only one for a whole day is inconceivable.

Now on a serious note:
I didn't see a single flavoring in your list that should need any steeping or airing-out to be good. IF the flavoring level is right.


(Since this is the serious section, I know what ADV means, but find the idea of eating the same food for every meal, for a year, as appealing as vaping the same thing all day...ugh)

When I say "all day vape" I mean just one bottle that I can carry to work and vape on at work and not get tired of it. I don't mean the entire day obviously. I just think it's inconvenient to carry 2-4 bottles everyday know what I mean? There is a liquid that is probably my favorite that is actually a local company and they go by Cloudkilla vapes. They have a blueberry desert type liquid by the name of "lady d" and i could honestly vape that all day long and not get tired of it.

 

[HecticEnergy]

I appreciate the input and I will try out your advice. When I placed my first order, I didn't order any sweetener but I have since ordered some but I haven't received it yet hence the reason why it hasn't been in any of my mixes.



When I say "all day vape" I mean just one bottle that I can carry to work and vape on at work and not get tired of it. I don't mean the entire day obviously. I just think it's inconvenient to carry 2-4 bottles everyday know what I mean? There is a liquid that is probably my favorite that is actually a local company and they go by Cloudkilla vapes. They have a blueberry desert type liquid by the name of "lady d" and i could honestly vape that all day long and not get tired of it.

When I was on Ego's I always had 2 tanks with 2 different flavors with me at all times.
Before I got my Reo I was taking at least 2 15ml bottles with me everywhere because I hate vaping the same flavor all the time.
Now that I got the Reo, I usually vape through the 6ml bottle, then swap in another flavor. I'm not usually "SICK" of the flavor by the time I get to the end of the 6mls, but it is nice to have a change. I've got 3 diy flavors that I consider ADVs - basically they are good enough to go through 6mls at a time without dying for a change
I've got half a dozen other flavors that are good, I usually drip those on one of my other dripper setups and grab it occasionally when I'm at home. I only use 1 tank, and rarely at that.

 

[AndrewBacon]

I still use my ego/kanger aerotank mini setup and I'm not joking when I say that I vaped menthol, only menthol, for over a year. As a matter of fact, that's what is in my kanger right now. I really don't mind vaping 1 single flavor AT WORK as long as it's good.

So I just now whipped up a 80/20 VG/PG mixture in a 10ml bottle by itself and I'm noticing it does put off a very faint taste.. not bad but i have picked up on the same taste after mixing up a few flavors with it. I also just checked the blueberry extra/vanillin/graham crust and it's not bad actually. I think zoidman is correct about the sweetener. When I get it, I'll add some to this mix and see what happens.

 

[jpasint]

I use Juice Calculator and it is the best of the best IMO.

It is here http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/showthread.php?p=10998113

 

[FearTX]

One mix...for a whole day?!?!? That's a disgusting idea and I will immediately erase it from my head.

With all the recipes I have of great taste that are just shake-n-vape, the thought of tasting only one for a whole day is inconceivable.

Now on a serious note:
I didn't see a single flavoring in your list that should need any steeping or airing-out to be good. IF the flavoring level is right.


(Since this is the serious section, I know what ADV means, but find the idea of eating the same food for every meal, for a year, as appealing as vaping the same thing all day...ugh)

I have many EDVs, I cannot imagine an ADV.

The absolute boring horror!

 

[Mr.Mann]

Not to make a new topic out of this thread, but I too used to balk at the idea of ADVs, that is until I 'discovered' vaping unflavored. I occasionally vape unflavored all day and just love it.

 

[Hafaza]

Not to make a new topic out of this thread, but I too used to balk at the idea of ADVs, that is until I 'discovered' vaping unflavored. I occasionally vape unflavored all day and just love it.

New to all this, but have settled into unflavored also as my at work go to vape. Reasons.

1) I actually like the taste and have it dialed on now with nicotine so it provides what I need.
2) I can not screw it up taste wise. Every time I mix it is always the same. Consistent.
3) For public vaping it is more stealthy. Part of what bothers folks about analogs is that they stink. Unflavored has no perceptible odor to most.
4) It clears my taste buds for the next flavored batch...

As to mixing, I made the same mistakes that others wiser than me have indicated. Now all those wishful experiments are down the drain and there is a whole shelf full of single flavors mixed at various percentages to sample in attempt to dial in my own subjective baseline of what are appropriate amounts. Once I know that say Vanilla does not really do anything for me until 13%, and that Strawberry does not kick in until 8%, I have a good starting point for beginning to combine them. It is a longer road, but more precise. And, I always have the unflavored base to fill my needs...

 

[Cowboy192]

Short answer to your question of why everything you make sucks?.......

Because your starting to learn something new and it takes time and practise to become good at things, I've been doing diy for a couple months now and I'm starting to get some good results, I have a mix I call sucker punch that has become my other halfs adv (she gets through about 10ml a day) she prefers it to nt's Betelgeuse but thinks they are similar,

I have a chocolate hazel nut that's close but not quite right,

But the one thing I got into diy for was to make my own perfect custard (somewhere between bryces, dig boys and custards last stand was my aim) I'm onto about my 15th variation of the recipe I came up with and still haven't come close to what I am looking for,

It takes time practice and patience, don't loose faith, research lots, ask advice and also don't over complicate things, you'll get there in time

 

[AndrewBacon]

Yeah I'm not going to give up on it easily. I got another shipment of flavors in the mail last night including another blueberry flavor (TFA wild) and also some sweetener. I added 20 drops of sweetener and 20 drops of tfa blueberry wild to the blueberry muffin/pie/custard that i'm trying to duplicate from a different company. While it's no where near close to what I'd like it to be, it is getting better. I'm actually vaping on it right now and I really don't mind it. It could use a little something else but I haven't quite put my finger on it yet.

 

[Hoosier]

I'm going to bet it needs less sweetener. I dilute mine before I use it and even after dilution, an amount equal to one of my flavorings is on the extremely rare end of the spectrum.

 

[AndrewBacon]

I probably should have used a syringe to measure the sweetener instead of counting drops so it could be more accurate. I live and I learn. I'm going to try some other recipes out tonight since I believe my second shipment is coming in today.

Anybody know of any good beginner recipes that I can try? (with the above flavors listed on page 1)

 

[Hoosier]

Already gave you one on page one.

 

[zoiDman]

I probably should have used a syringe to measure the sweetener instead of counting drops so it could be more accurate. I live and I learn. I'm going to try some other recipes out tonight since I believe my second shipment is coming in today.

Anybody know of any good beginner recipes that I can try? (with the above flavors listed on page 1)

Nothing wrong with Drops.

As long as you use the Same Sized Dropper when you go to do a Recipe again.

Because the "Inaccuracy" that some people associated with drops Isn't in the Drop. It is in the Fact that a Smaller Dropper will make a Smaller Drop. And a Larger Dropper will make a Larger Drop.

 

[AndrewBacon]

Nothing wrong with Drops.

As long as you use the Same Sized Dropper when you go to do a Recipe again.

Because the "Inaccuracy" that some people associated with drops Isn't in the Drop. It is in the Fact that a Smaller Dropper will make a Smaller Drop. And a Larger Dropper will make a Larger Drop.

Yeah I understand. The Perfume Apprentice sent me these tiny little droppers ( i can't think of the name of them ) and I used those. What's the most accurate way of measuring fluid? With a scale? I've been seeing that here lately

 

[Cowboy192]

Yeah I understand. The Perfume Apprentice sent me these tiny little droppers ( i can't think of the name of them ) and I used those. What's the most accurate way of measuring fluid? With a scale? I've been seeing that here lately

Scale is good, I'm trying to find one that goes to 0.001 grams, but syringe is pretty good too

 

[zoiDman]

Scale is good, I'm trying to find one that goes to 0.001 grams, but syringe is pretty good too

Before you Spend the Money on a .001g Scale, because they are Pricey, you might want to make 2 Batches of you Favorite e-Liquid that are .01g Off in Flavor.

And then see if you can Tell the Difference between the Two? If you Can't, the there is No Need to buy a .001g Scale.

BTW - How were you Planning on Dispensing Liquids on the +/- .001g Level?

 

[Mr.Mann]

Before you Spend the Money on a .001g Scale, because they are Pricey, you might want to make 2 Batches of you Favorite e-Liquid that are .01g Off in Flavor.

And then see if you can Tell the Difference between the Two? If you Can't, the there is No Need to buy a .001g Scale.

BTW - How were you Planning on Dispensing Liquids on the +/- .001g Level?

Consistently and accurately dispensing that small is difficult without high-end pipettes, but with those it would kind of negate the need for a scale. Plus, if you go over with a drop, which you will do when measuring that low, how do you take it back once it is in the mix?

 

[AndrewBacon]

pipette! that's the word i was looking for.. anyways I don't think a scale is that necessary if you have decent syringes.. I have a few 1ml syringes, a 5ml, a 10ml, and then a 20ml.. My fiance is a RN so she brought them from work. If they're good enough to use on people, then I think they'll be okay on making ejuice.