So i saw a youtube vid about making your own ejuice. Seems pretty simple, nicotine liquid (or not) pg vg mixing by steps and proper measuring and %. Not a problem, there are plenty of apps for that. I will take every precaution as for safety ect. But..
Flavors and sweetners are getting me very confused. I placed an order for some premix juice that i have yet to recieve. All straight fruit flavors so i can give them a try to see what i like and mix as i want. Plus a bottle of vg base sweetner. I dont even know what is in the sweetner, if it isnt listed on the bottle when i get it i can call and ask.
Are there any types of sweetners i can source from the local grocery store? If so what is the ingredient i am looking for ( name brands would be helpful here)
As for flavors, any i can use from the grocers? Ive done a bit of baking and candy making, ive seen lorann oils mentioned. Ive only used loranns in candy, taffy, hard rock ect. This is oil base flavor, will it mix well with a 50/50 blend of pg vg? As for other types of flavoring, how about water base? Are any okay or are there certain things that wont vape well?
I will be ordering online for most of my supplies, a few months from now at the earliest. i will be the only one vaping what i end up making so i dont need gallons of anything.
On a related note, my order is from ecblendflavors, just got shipped today. But a few flavors i would really love to try i am having trouble finding. Namely lavender, ( saw on mt baker vapor site, they do sell just flavor but i dont want to get just one bottle) lemongrass, cant find that flavor anywhere and dont know what to mix that might produce it.
Any help understanding how to use what flavors would be very appreciated.
If it's called just "sweetener" it's usually sucralose. Ethyl Maltol (EM) is also used as a sweetener, sometimes called Cotton Candy flavoring. You can buy it as a powder and dilute it around 10% yourself in PG or buy it pre-diluted.
I have switched to using liquid stevia, EZ-Sweetz, as my sweetener of choice. You should be able to find liquid stevia at a grocery store or order it on amazon.
I buy all my flavors online so have never looked at the grocery store, oil based flavors aren't typically recommended for use in e-liquid. I believe I've read that inhaling oils can lead to lipoid pneumonia.
Flavor West has a lavender flavoring. It is rumored that Mt. Baker uses many of their flavorings.
Look at the spreadsheet in this post for flavoring sources.
This is what i am having trouble understanding. This is from the lorann site, like i said i have used some of this in candy. This is a list of the different flavoring types, which ones can i use in juice?
http://lorannoils.com/product-education/about-our-flavors
I really have liked some of the flavors i used to get from this line and seeing how im already comfortable with the brand, i just want to know what is safe. This is the one thing i am having the most trouble with. Which type of base would you use? I looked at the flavor west site, but the smallest bottle to order is 10$. I would like to get as many flavors as possible for about a 20$ order. Lorann i could get at least 10. Flavoor west only 2.
I will look up more pricing on my own, but safety and understanding ingrediants is importanat to me. This isnt the time for guessing on my own.
If you see ingredients along the lines of: PG/VG, natural or artifical flavor and alcohol you will fine. Lorann's has some inherent confusion because their name is "Lorann Oils". Think they are also one of the companies that uses food colorings in at least some of their flavors. It is up to you if you want to vape food coloring. No one knows if it is harmful but it doesn't add anything of value to the liquid. Just have to read the ingredients list for each flavor. As an example, the Lorann Super Strength Amaretto flavor should be ok to use but I wouldn't use their Anise Oil which says it is an "essential oil".
Look at some of the retailers in the spreadsheet, you can buy smaller sizes of many different manufacturers flavors from them. You don't want to invest in big bottles until you are happy with a recipe so start with smaller 1 dram, 8 or 10ml sizes. That is more than enough to experiment with.
Flavor West is usually between $5 and $7 per 4 ounce bottle. I do not recommend buying that much of any flavor to start with but you will appreciate buying directly from a manufacturer in a larger size if you start to make a lot of liquid. Stick to onestopdiyshop.com, ecigexpress.com, diyflavorshack.com or other online vendors that carry many lines of flavorings in smaller quantities.
I think in general you want to avoid the oil based ones. I've read that they can be bad for your lungs, and they are harder to mix. If you look at the label you should be able to see what kind of base it is.
Probably out of date, but here is a list: http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/diy-e-liquid/28975-lorann-flavors-color-coded-complete-ingredients-list.html
If you plan on using sucralose as sweetener, i don't think the powdered stuff you get in a grocery store would be good. It has a lot of filler stuff in it to make it more like sugar. You can use ez-sweetz, which is very concentrated liquid sucralose, or just some sweetener from a place that sells ecig flavoring. You can probably get it powdered without junk in it too, but im not sure where.
Sorry to bother you again, but i have more questions on the sweeteners.
So my order came in today. Ethyl maltol is the sweetner i ordered, but it has no taste. It smells very sweet, my nose thinks its sweet, but my tongue says there isnt any sweetness at all. Maybe i misunderstood, but what i wanted was a sweet i could taste, and not smell.
Will the stevia work for taste? All my new juices smell wonderful, but i ordered all without sweetness so i could add my own. Now nothing is sweet in more than scent.
EM in very low concentrations (x drops per ml or 5ml etc.) is usually just to balance out the other flavors or reduce harshness. The same reasons you will see lemon juice used in fruit flavors and vinegar in tobacco or bakery flavors.
If you want to taste any sweetness from EM you may have to calculate it into your recipe at 1 or 2%, potentially even higher. I don't care for EM at high concentrations because it becomes the only thing I can taste. Currently use liquid stevia for the actual sweetening in all my liquids, 1 or 2 drops per 5ml.
Does the stevia vape well? Does it give an actual taste as opposed to a smell? That might be just what i am looking for. Does it have an after taste? Sorry for so many questions, but i have 8 flavors and all of them need a bit of sweetness. Can you describe how sweet and any other thing you notice about using stevia? I can do one more small order this week and then wont be able to get anything else for a while.