EXTREMELY IMPORTANT - This is not the actual recipe Bombies uses.
As /u/_Bombies has said himself, this is not the recipe for 'Nana Cream. It does not even use the same ingredients. Please do not bug him about your allergies to the ingredients listed below – he's not using all of them.
This recipe is a "taste-alike" homage. It's not an exact clone. He's not lying to you about his recipes; this is simply not a 1:1 replica. Bombies, LLC has nothing to do with this recipe. Mix it at your own risk. If you suffer allergies to any of the ingredients below, that's an issue with this recipe, not the legitimate 'Nana Cream flavor you'd purchase from Bombies.
I know, I know, yet another 'nana cream clone thread. This one's worth it though, I promise :)
I've spent 5 months working on a 'nana cream clone. Over that 5 months I've tried more recipes than I can count, tweaking them down to the 0.1mL level. And I was wrong with every one of them.
As I said in another comment, I've learned a tremendous amount about creating juice recipes through this process. The constant iteration caused me to try many flavorings from pretty much every manufacturer and refine my testing process.
It also sent me down the rabbit hole of learning about flavorings on a molecular level – which components create which flavors, and how they play together. If you haven't spent any time browsing TFA's components list you should give it a look. Comparing the constituents of different flavorings provides great insight into the mixing process.
So on to the important part. First, the recipe...and it's a simple one:
5.0% LA Banana Cream
3.0% TFA Dragon Fruit
7.0% TFA Strawberry
~~1 drop per mL Citric Acid~~
Mix at 30pg / 70vg
LorAnn Banana Cream - As discussed elsewhere, this is undoubtedly the banana cream element in 'nana cream. Both color and taste. It's balanced between the candy banana flavor and a smooth, mellow cream. No other vendors work here, and no combination of Banana (Ripe) and cream flavorings will suffice.
The Flavor Apprentice Dragon Fruit - This was the eureka moment. I'd seen a few mentions on this sub that it could be Dragon Fruit of some variety in 'nana cream, and didn't think much of it until I took a good comparative look at the chemical components of TFA's flavoring. I'd been chasing a red herring with both pineapple flavorings and pear flavorings.
TFA Dragon Fruit contains a bit of ethyl caproate which lends a sweet pineapple tone. TFA's Pineapple flavoring contains a much higher percentage of ethyl caproate, which is why it was so hard to work such small amounts of the flavoring into the recipe; it was overwhelming.
TFA Dragon Fruit also contains ethyl butyrate which produces a pear flavor...hence the experimentation with pear flavorings. I knew I detected the flavor in the real juice. Dragon Fruit nicely wraps the pineapple and pear notes into a single flavoring with several other nuances that contribute to the 'nana cream flavor. I also tried Flavor West's Dragonfruit but it did not work in this recipe.
TFA Strawberry - One whiff of TFA's Strawberry flavoring is enough to confirm it's in 'nana cream. The question is: how much? I tried balancing the Strawberry and Banana Cream at equal proportions, but ultimately Strawberry wound up being the primary component. It provides the groundwork of the overall flavor with its berry sweetness and a bit of tartness. Strawberry (Ripe) does not work. Combining TFA Strawberry with other strawberry flavorings just pulls the recipe further away from the goal.
Citric Acid - ~~As Bombies himself told us on this sub, citric acid at 1 drop per mL brings out fruit flavors and makes them "pop." Here, I'm adding 1 drop per mL to a finished bottle. The citric acid is an additive on top of the other ingredients. Mix up the flavorings, VG, PG and nic, then add your citric acid on top. This recipe without citric acid is impressively close, however, adding citric acid pushes it over into spot-on territory. It gives the juice its unmistakeable tang and brightness. It's essential.~~ I no longer recommend using citric acid in this recipe; it tends to mute the flavor over time and isn't very gentle on coils. Up to you whether you use it or not. I personally don't.
PG/VG Ratio: This one is fairly important too. Bombies said here and on ECR to "expect about a 20/80 ratio" in his juices. My local B&M who sells Bombies juice said he told them his line is closer to 30/70, depending on the flavor. After mixing this recipe (and other trials) at 40/60, 30/70, 25/75, 20/80 and 28/72, I've found the flavor is most "correct" at the easily-mixed 30/70 ratio. Of course adding your PG-suspended citric acid solution alters this, but for purposes of measured mixing, 30/70 works best.
I've had everyone I know try this recipe – my S.O., guys at the B&M, friends who vape, friends who don't – none can tell the difference between the real juice and this recipe. Blind side-by-side comparisons on two similarly-built RDAs at the same wattage on DNA30 boxes...basically indistinguishable. Back-to-back through the same dripper? Can't really taste a flavor shift. Kayfuns and other tanks? Check. Very occasionally I'll get a too-strong note of strawberry on a single puff, but then it's gone. I think any subtle differences probably come down to different PG, VG and nic sources than I'm using. For reference, I'm using Essential Depot PG and VG, and Nude Nicotine nic base. I also suspect Bombies has a more production-level mixing process, likely using a magnetic stirrer.
I've been on this recipe for a couple weeks now, and I'll toss in some real 'nana cream occasionally to double check myself. I'm confident this is about as close as I can get.
Give it a try and post your feedback!
Looks like I'll have to try both of yours against the real deal and see what happens. Still waiting to order my LA Banana Cream, mean wifey.
I've got an unopened 1 dram vial if you need it. Do you have the other flavors?
Haha it's ok. It's not that I'm broke, it's just that my next order is going to be EXTREMELY LARGE (~$600. not bad for a non-pro!)
Upgrading some of my "by weight" mixing equipment (~$150) have a decent sized bulk order of TFA and CAP queued up ($250), as well as about 100 other tester size flavors ($200).
I'll get to it and without a rush (working on too many other damn recipes at the moment to get distracted with something else that I know I'm going to like.
Gonna go out on a limb here. Hi.
Guy who works at your local B&M here. I'm just here to verify that this is as spot on as its going to get. Also, you should bring some more of that RY4 stuff back by. It was tasty. I think I said it tastes like carrots.
All my ingredients except the citric acid have arrived, so I got a bit impatient and whipped up a test batch sans CA.
It's delicious, but not quite nana cream. It just doesn't quite 'pop' like the real thing (although I have tried the real thing only once, and don't have any just now) the base notes here are pure 'nana cream, but the slight tartness I remember isn't there.
I'm looking forward to receiving my citric acid and seeing how those few drops modify the flavour. I'm sure they'll add that little zing that's missing.
Thanks for the recipe!
citric acid vs malic acid?
Yes, citric acid. Malic acid tends to mute the flavor over time.
Well, crap. I've got a ton of Malic here, don't even see citric available at most diy shops.
I didn't know malic muted flavor either - I thought that was only EM.
thanks for the info!
Plenty of people and vendors use malic acid. If you don't find that it mutes your flavors, then mix on! I just personally like citric acid better.
I don't recall seeing CA on any DIY shops either, I just make my own. 1/4 tsp of citric acid powder dissolved in 10mL of PG. Most health food stores have citric acid in their bulk section; just make sure you grab some that's only citric acid. You can also find it in the canning section at grocery stores but that usually includes preservatives.
Do you know what's in those synthetic yellow lemon bottles you can get at the grocery store? Is that citric acid?
"Real Lemon" brand is just lemon juice, which is primarily citric acid. Lots of DIYers use it but I woudn't recommend it. Synthetic lemon juice is still just citric acid, but usually has preservatives too.
Your best bet is to make it yourself, 1/4 teaspoon of pure citric acid powder dissolved in 10mL of PG. Find citric acid at your local health food store in the bulk section.
Interesting lesson on flavor ingredients, particularly the part about Dragon Fruit imitating both pear and pineapple flavors. Thanks for the information.
I just mixed up a batch of this, but I don't have any dragon fruit. Instead, I used 1.5% LA Pear and 1.5% Pineapple in place of the dragon fruit. It's pretty indistinguishable in my opinion from the real deal, but I'll be ordering some dragon fruit this week and giving that a shot. I also appreciate the tip on using citric acid. I'll be ordering some of that as well. I didn't even think to use that in some of my other 'nana cream clone attempts. I was close but I knew I was missing something important.
Citric acid is certainly a "secret sauce" type additive that can dramatically help with fruit recipes.
I'd recommend checking any local health food stores before ordering the citric acid. A lot of what you find online is intended for canning vegetables and likely has preservatives. I know that what Ball sells contains preservatives. Just check the labels. My local health food stores have pure citric acid powder extremely cheap. Last time I put a few scoops in a baggy and it was 12 cents, and that was plenty. If you've got an EarthFare or Whole Foods nearby, check there, as well as food co-ops.
Unfortunately where I live, health food stores are few and far between. I'll check around the local area, but what about some of the usual DIY online stores that we would use like Wizard Labs, Nude Nicotine, etc, etc, etc? They would probably have citric acid, possibly already mixed in PG? If not I'm sure I'll be able to track some down somewhere.
This is as cheap as I can find it on Amazon, and it says 100% pure. I've never used it, so I'll leave the judgement to you. I've never seen it sold pre-mixed in PG at any of the usual DIY vendors (ecigxpress, Wizard, High Desert, RTS, One Stop, Nude, Bull City).
Thanks for this. I need to get the dragon fruit and I'll try it. I'd be really surprised if Nana cream was less than 80% VG. I'm somewhat sensitive to PG and nana cream does not hurt me at all like others with lower VG do. It's possible he's just using a higher quality nic, I guess.
Like I said, I tried it at 80% VG but the flavor dropped off too much for my liking. It may just be a personal thing.
With the old recipe, I did max VG with VG based nicotine and it came out to 85% VG. I think you're right about flavor dripping off, which I think is the biggest issue. I was thinking about upping the flavor percentages on that and seeing if it was better but I ran out of banana cream and I don't think I have enough strawberry. I'll order more stuff and try that at 80%. To far below 80, and it real lot bothers my throat dripping and I've never had an issue with legit Nana cream. I am using wizard labs nic, though.
That's certainly a good point. I'm fortunate to not be too PG-sensitive (it takes a lot of 50/50 juice to irritate me) so I'm not the best judge. Comparing the viscosity of real 'nana cream to this recipe at 30/70 I can definitely see a difference; the real thing is a bit more viscous. Bombies could be using no added PG and adding distilled water, but I don't have the slightest idea. Give it a try and let us know!
If this is going to be used in clearos, probably at 50 or 60% VG, do you think the flavoring should be reduced?
where you get the Citric Acid
I make it. Check the other comments here, but basically 1/4 tsp of citric acid powder in 10mL of PG.
Will the LorAnn's "Tart & Sour" work? Main ingredient is citric acid. Would I still do the 10% in PG? Thanks a mill man!! I'm a super n00b :/
This comes up a lot and I think it's answered elsewhere in the thread, but I should add a note to the original post.
Tart and Sour isn't the same thing; beyond citric acid, it also contains malic acid. Malic acid will dull the overall flavor over time, and it will never taste the same as using JUST citric acid. It's still not a bad vape, so if you've got it on hand you can certainly try it. Don't dilute it though, just add it in as-is. Citric acid powder is readily available in health food or nutrition stores (ie Whole Foods and similar), so I'd take a look around locally to see if you can source it.
Good luck, and let me know if you have any questions!
Ive never had nana cream, but I'm in the mood for something easy and fruity after getting into a rut. I already have about 3oz of LA Banana Cream... 4oz each of TFA dragonfruit and strawberry is only $15 with shipping. Ordering now, should basically have a lifetime supply of this stuff lol thank you a lot man I really appreciate it. Looks like a possible daily vape
Do you think TFA Sour Mix could be a replacement for the citric acid? I have sour mix but I don't know where to get citric acid.
Nope, you need citric acid. TFA Sour is malic acid. There is. Marked difference.
Alright, and where can I get citric acid? Thanks for posting the recipe, by the way. I've been meaning to try 'Nana Cream, but I make my own juices because money is tight so this is really helpful.
mixed this up in 3mg threw it and 3mg of nana cream in two seperate unmarked 5ml bottles. Buddy couldn't tell the difference and neither can I. THANK YOU fizzmustard
Great to see another confirmation from a fellow DIYer. Glad it worked out for you.
I've probably done at least 50 renditions of my own only parts I could every track down was fa strawberry and la bananna cream. I had it close and just kinda settled then happened to randomly check this sub which I normally don't lol. Mixing up a couple 120ml bottles now!
Wow, AWESOME work... I have one question though. Since you have done so much research on the chemical makeup of flavorings, what is your game on the "unsafe for inhalation" coloring a that are present in LA banana cream?
How do you feel about LorAnn Tart & Sour instead of just pure citric? it's: Citric Acid, Water, Malic Acid, Sodium Citrate
Doesn't work the same. Like I said elsewhere, the malic acid will dull flavor over time (around the 7 day mark I've found) and doesn't create the same flavor effect as citric acid. If you want to so this recipe, it's worth sourcing the CA.
On the citric acid how many drops are in a ml for your dropper? I would like to get as close as possible to the correct drops but we all know each dropper is different.
Thanks again
The volume of a drop is not well defined. It depends on the device used to produce the drop, and on the density and surface tension of the liquid. But, there are about 20 drops in a ml.
I know you have a lot of questions about citric acid but my question is can I use VG to dilute it or does it have to be PG? I get super irritated by PG
commenting to save. Ive never had the original, but i have to see what this recipe is like with all the work that went into it. congrats on figuring it out
The original is definitely worth a whirl.
Source: I'm a Bombies addict.
ohh yeah. i am going to try that and i think they have a white gummy bear one that i was told is pretty awesome as well.
Just wanted to say I've been loving this since I mixed some up. It reminds me of vapor chef hobbes blood not by taste but by its brightness and slight tang and constant vapability. Its hard to put down. Thanks again a ton for this recipe, its in permanent rotation now
This might be old, but I felt like I needed to reply. Mind you, I have never tried the actual, infamous 'Nana cream. But I wanted to try this recipe. Unfortunatly, the only Dragon Fruit I had was Flavor West's, and I only had TFA's Strawyberry ripe. So I went with;
5% LA Banana cream 4% FW Dragon Fruit 7% TFA Strawberry Ripe 2% TFA Lemon juice
And I have to say, this is by FAR the best e-liquid I have ever tried. This is now my favorite e-liquid, no matter how close or far it is to the actual 'Nana cream (which I have never tried, again).
Point is, if all you have is FW's Dragon Fruit and TFA's Strawberry Ripe.... for your own sake, do it. It's worth it, I'm still fairly new to DIY, but this is the recipe that convinced me. Oh and so far all the liquids I made were at least decent, this is the one that gave me the "Wow" factor.
Can someone point me to the citric acid you guys use?
So how do you make the citric acid solution? Do you discover the citric acid crystals in pg? How much? What concentration? I need to know the details here please.
Yes, I make my own but it is commercially available from Nude Nicotine. It's a 10% (by volume) solution of citric acid powder solvated in PG.
If you make your own, avoid mass-packaged citric acid marketed for canning such as Ball brand; they often contain anti-caking agents you don't want to vape. Health food or "natural" grocers typically carry pure citric acid powder in their bulk section.
1.66g of citric acid in 10mL of PG.../u/NudeNicotine can correct me here if I'm wrong. That's just under a 1/4 teaspoon if you don't have the equipment to measure 1.66g.
how many drops are in a ml for the Citric Acid?
I am wanting to make this, but don't wanna overdo the CA. I'd like to figure out a more precise measurement for a bottle than measuring out (and counting) 120 or 240 drops
So I just made this and it's a spot on to me. I cheated and got my citric acid from Nude Nicotine when I ordered a starter kit. I put it in an old Nana Cream bottle I had an my friends couldn't tell a difference. I love it and thank you so much for this!
Now I can order other juices from Bombies to satiate my juice lust.
Thank you. The reason I over think it is because of all the posts that I read and how they emphasize on accuracy and then there are posts about mixing based on the chemical make up of these flavors. I am really stressing a lot over all of this for some reason ;D
So, I mixed up a batch, and butter my butt and call me a biscuit, this is spot on.
However, I found that even a 80 VG mixture is too thin. When I get Bombies, the stuff is THICK and viscous. Maybe I got to use VG based nicotine, but I can not get the consistency and mouth feel to get right. The flavour, spot on. No doubt. The consistency needs tweaking.
Like when I drop Bombies on my wick, it doesn't just soak up and run down the wick, it's like placing liquid gel onto the wick.
The stuff I make permeates the wick immediately and pools at the bottom of my dripper, it's consistency is entirely different. I ought to try out a bunch of different vegetable glycerine. I bought three different brands from the pharmacy but none seem to be like Bombies.
I can't say I've ever had Bombies come out like toothpaste, but the consistency of this recipe at 30/70 is still off. I've tried just about every ratio and none are exactly like the original.
I've toyed with distilled water and saline and...I just don't care anymore. This recipe scratches the itch and is good enough for me.
As a note, I'm using Essential Depot VG from Amazon.
Yeah, I'm glad I am not imagining this.
Original Bombies is very thick and viscous (not like toothpaste, but maybe a bit like gravy).
I would love to know what it takes to get this right. If you know anyone selling good thick vegetable glycerine, let me know.
For the most part, USP Vegetable Glycerine should be consistent across brands.
I wish I had more in the way of an answer for you :/
My only guesses are a) a mix heavier on the VG but with distilled water for thinning, or b) a different flavoring combo that produces the same flavor but different liquid and vapor consistency.
Little is mentioned of it, but the actual makeup of the flavorings has a great impact on characteristics of the vapor.
After mixing over 500ml's of this... now i noticed that it was 1 drop of citric per ml and not 1 per 10ml's as i was doing... fuuuuuuck
I have to say though that I've been really enjoying it the way it is. Not sure if i'd be willing to put so much more citric acid in it as i find it acidic enough already.
oh well ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I'm mixing by weight.
With Citric Acid 1 drop per mL, and 20 drops about equal to 1 mL.
That gives you about 5% Citric Acid. Correct??
That seems really high to me, I usually use .5% or 1%.
There was a comment you made in another thread that you didn't get much feedback here, so....
Is it awesome? Yes. I'm loving this and has easily been an ADV for me the last two days. I just got into DIY, my first flavors and liquids came on Friday, so I don't really have suggestions on what to do. But, is it nana cream? Not spot on. It does seem a little bright, I think I'll lower the dragonfruit and play around with it. I ordered a bunch more random flavors this weekend so I have more of a battery to play with.
I'm gonna take a couple of 30mls to work monday to see what other Bombies lovers say about it. Maybe it just needs time to steep and I'm crazy impatient :D
ok, I'm italian, and here's my 2 cents. I wanted to try bombie's nana cream so bad, due to americans hype for this juice, but -as said before- I live in Italy, and I haven't yet found an online shop which sell nana's cream for an affordable price (shipping and all).
So, I'm just gonna try fizzmustard's recipe. Well, I have another problem: I can't find LorAnn juices nor wanna buy citric acid just for few drops.
So...I'm gonna try this recipe my way: TPA Banana Cream, TPA sour, TPA Strawberry and TPA Dragonfruit. Mixed, shaked and all: now I wait 4-5 days and I'll say if I love this juice or not.
Upvote and thanks to /u/fizzmustard PS: sorry for my english.
According to this spreadsheet, the LA Banana Creme is not the best to vape, are there any alternatives? or is isn't as bad as I make it out to be?
Was confused about the whole citric acid stuff. So I just added about 1/16th teaspoon straight to a 120ml batch. Tasting it about 30 seconds after mixing it seems kind of tangy and a little tart. That was probably way too much unless is it supposed to be tart?
Well, I did it fizzmustard, I made it finally, and over the course of a few days, I am sad to say, you are still missing that pineapple note I always tasted from nana cream.
Though this is pretty spot on for everything else it seems, I am gonna try when I get the chance and mix in around .50% pineapple from Lorann, and see what it does. Though I wish I had TFA pineapple from our discussion from last message =p.
So the guy below talking about how its too thin, I think its just his PG/VG he is using. I am using Essetial depots pg and vg myself.
Either way gj with the recipie can deff tell how close it is. Just still seems to be missing that feignt hint of pineapple I know is in there possibly and will have to check back when it steeps and I also make a pineapple added one, though from day 1 I always tasted it from bombies.
As pineapple if I remember right is strong, so just a .50% would do just enough if anything.
Hop on skype every now and then =P Just punch me one of these days for saying pineapple over and over hahaha.
I mixed some up for a friend, however he noticed his wick getting nasty fast vaping only this. Anyone else have that problem? After a couple days it's black. Here is a picture to reference [IMG]http://i58.tinypic.com/2nq46s8.jpg[/IMG]
where can i order some!? i dont diy
bombies.com
gotcha, didnt know you actually worked for bombies
3% nutmeg
4% banana creM
5% FA bread
6% TFA TIramisu
9% TFA Pear
9.25% horsceta
I think supplementing the FA Bread with a tiny bit of acetyl pyrazine (like a drop per 5mL) helps round things out.
>OneStopDIYShop? High Desert Vapes?
I find them too expensive for my blood.
>ECX has both the Strawberry and Dragon Fruit in stock right now
that bitch at customer service told me strawberry was going to be another 2-3 weeks. That whore...
Thanks btw. Going to pick up an order right now.