So I have a TON of flavors at my disposal. A good number of them are so unique and specific, it's hard to find a use for them. I'm talking to you TFA Plum. So they sit. They sit for a while, just waiting to enter the queue. And I have been noticing a definite change in flavor after long periods of stagnancy. Creams especially. Flavors more concentrated than others are more subject to flavor loss, due to oxidization, and settling, but this isn't always the case. I just had a bottle of peanut butter lose almost 40% of it's strength in less than 3 months. So be wary of this issue. Taste your flavors before using them in a large batch. Like if you're about to whip up a 120ml of something, make sure you flavor isn't degraded, otherwise your mix is going to suffer. I really want to talk to the flavoring companies about this issue, and have them place best by dates on their bottles. They can just do it by batch, but something needs to be done. There are a growing number of people complaining of the difference between buying flavors, and it's because flavor companies are putting the liquid into plastic bottles, then having them sit until sold. Just a little PSA.
Totally agree, the companies should put some dates on their juices. Do you think refrigeration would help slow the degradation?
No, refridgeration isnt necessary
>It is not necessary to store them in the refrigerator, but I don't think that this would hurt them. But sometimes refrigeration can cause re-crystallization of flavors that have a lot of the crystals like ethyl maltol in them.
Also, a fridge can cause condinsation which can then cause bacteria that will degrade your flavorings
This is from rolygate at ECF
>There are a lot of ifs and buts about this, but storing in fridge can work out successful or a disaster - it depends. There are two problems with a fridge: osmosis and headspace vapor.
>Osmosis is transfer of water vapor through the wall or lid of a container. This will happen with any plastic. It's the reason why foods can lose their flavor in a fridge; or why food A takes on the flavor of food B next to it, even though both are in sealed containers. Water vapor and flavors transfer in or out depending on various factors. Glass stops that, and cobalt glass (special blue lab glass) is best of all - but you could still have a plastic cap, even with that.
>In the headspace above the e-liquid, water vapor condenses out onto the wall of the container. This is distilled water with no PG in it. If there is any microbial material in the airspace - which there will be unless the manufacturer filled the bottle in a vacuum or a nitrogen atmosphere - it will grow in the water. This accelerates degradation of the rest of the materials.
I haven't had any flavors go bad, but I do try to keep my selection to a minimum so I don't have a bunch that never get used.
I actually wish TFA offered an "in-between" size, like 50ml or something. That would be enough to last a couple months, but would reduce the amount of flavors that sit around and hardly get touched.
I also wonder if these flavorings would be better off refrigerated, but I suppose that depends on how cold temps affect the flavor molecules.
Wizard sells 30ml bottles of flavor. That's what I usually get for heavy use flavor.
but for 4 bucks when tpa you can get most 4ozs from -5-6 bucks.
Yeah it's hard to beat TFA's 4oz (120ml) pricing. Honestly, it's so inexpensive that it's not that big of a deal if some of it ends up going bad. I mean, I don't like wasting stuff, but TFA's bulk price makes it fairly painless if one of my flavorings ends up turning crap. If I use at least half of a 4oz bottle, I'm at least breaking even with what everyone else charges for 30mL or thereabouts.
Still, might be time to invest in a dozen or so amber or cobalt bottles and transfer flavors over. Like I said before, I don't keep a huge stash (I've only got about a dozen of the 4oz bottles), so it wouldn't be too expensive.
How would one test a flavor to know if it is degraded?
How did you store your flavors? Did you have a different bottle for making the juice and a separate bottle for storage? What caps? For all we know you stored your flavors in a bowl on your counter.
Stored in original container closed in a cellar with regulated humidity.
Too lazy to dig up the source but TFA recommends directly on their website, I believe in one of their blog posts that their flavors should be transferred to glass once you receive them. They recommend against long term storage in plastic but generally recommend glass and a 1 year shelf life.