So I've been mixing for almost a year now and I love it. I especially love the fact that one 10ml bottle of juice costs me under $1.50. I went into the local vape shop the other day and tried their new stock, ANML looper. It was fantastic. It blew my mind. The flavor was just so powerful and full bodied. It almost had a different texture smoke! Thicker and yummier. Well I topped my dripper off with my stuff, and it was sad, it didnt have any of the body and thick flavoring of Looper. Does anyone have any ideas on making the flavor more full bodied and full?
A music technology student asks the class, "how does commercial music sound so perfect, so loud, clean, and clear?"
Another student has all the answers. The recording engineers will tell you to understand electronics and acoustics first, mastering engineers will tell you to learn how to listen, the producer will tell you don't bother if the song is shit.
because it is replaced, synthesized, autotuned and compressed.
right but you can give those tools to someone who only understands the concepts, and it makes no guarantee for a quality result. Every desktop producer free versions in some form.
MTS Vape Wizard, used sparingly, might help with that. Also check the side-bar under flavor enhancers.
I can't get the flavor enhancers link to work, I'm on mobile but I tried it a few ways with no luck.
Here is what the main post on that says:
Here's some notes I've gathered on additives and flavor enhancers. Most I've dug out of long threads on ecf. One comment I read that was interesting was the use of salt to bring out flavors...ie...as in cooking any food and especially desserts.
NOTES;
A few drops of saline solution per 10 ml works well... .9% Sterile Saline solution used for babies (Clenoz), but any pharmaceutical grade saline will work. At these low concentrations, you won't really taste the salt, but it will make many flavors "pop" - especially bakery-type flavors.
Purified Medical Inhalation Saline .5% – 1 drop per 10ml (Bakery and Tobaccos) Adds body and enhances juice. May add salty note.
About the Salt. If you are going to use it, use the NaCl 0.05% that you get from a pharmacy.
Most pharmacies will have injectable saline solution behind the counter. A small bottle will last forever... • TA- Tobacco Absolute (ALC) (Contains EM)– You can buy this Edit from ecigexpress, use 1% in most tobaccos; makes it “pop”. It’s that “missing element”.
• EM = Ethyl Maltol – Crystals to liquid - 1/4 tsp. to 10 ml warm PG or PGA (Some say VG will work)
Tiny Bit (A fraction of 1% in your mix) - Gives a "body" to the vapor and may slightly reduce sharp notes.
A Bit (Close to 1% +/- in your mix) - As above but will take the edge off sharp notes and may very slightly sweeten.
A Bunch (1%-5% of your total mix) - As above plus sweeten
A Load (10%+ of your total mix) - Cotton Candy flavor • ACV= Apple Cider Vinegar – 1-2 drops per 5ml (Tobaccos)
• Lemon Juice - 1-2 drop per 5 ml (Fruits)
• Sour TFA – Malic Acid 20% solution. 1-2 drops per 10Ml Makes Fruits “pop”
• Tart and Sour – (Citric and Malic Acid) 1-2 drops per 10Ml (Higher % creates Jolly Rancher-like effect) Makes fruits “pop”
• Menthol – Crystals to liquid – 50/50 in PG or VG Start a 2% (Some say 5%) – depends on how much you like menthol. 1 drop to 10ml brightens fruits with menthol actually tasted
• Vape Wizard (MTS) More,Thicker,Smoother– .5-2% - Smooth’s things out, cuts down harshness, creates body. Can dull flavors, use sparingly.
• “MTS Vape Wizard, aka VW. MTS is supposed to stand for More Thicker Smoother. It can help some mixes produce more vapor. (Some flavorings actually reduce vapor production) It can smooth or help blend flavors together. Use it in the 1 drop per 10ml to 1 drop per 3ml range, but usually start closer to the middle at 1 drop per 5ml to see if it will do a darn thing to the mix. Sometimes it seems to work wonders.
• Bitter Wizard – .5-2% - 1 drop to 10ml - Removes sweetness, adds dryness. May hurt blend (start with small batch). “Bitter Wizard. This makes things bitter. Mostly useful for tobacco blends, but sometimes a bit of bitter will make things much more flavorful. Again 1 drop per 10ml to 1 drop per 2ml is a useful range. Start at the tiny 1 drop per 10ml and work up if it is needed”.
• Smooth - .5-2% - Rounds out any harsh edges, provide a thick mouthfeel, softens the high notes of your blend while boosting your background notes.
• Sweetener’s - Sucralose (Most Common) – Better Stevia (Alternative – some say chemical taste) 1-2 Drops per 10 ml or 1% adds strength in flavor and sweetens greatly. (Remember; less is more, start small) – Mostly used in fruits, candy, and bakery flavors.
• Other Sweetener Options – TFA Marshmallow- adds moistness and sweetens. TFA Molasses adds sweetness + a trace spice. TFA Brown Sugar Extra – adds sweetness. Some custards and Vanillas have also been used (Also known to brighten other flavors).
• Ethyl Vanillin 10% Solution – Crystals to liquid – ¼ tsp to 10ml PG? Unsure Great sweetener + Vanilla taste.
• Caryophyllene Oxide TFA 1% PG – .5-1% - Adds a woody notes to tobaccos and mixes well with some fruits.
• AP = Acetyl Pyrazine 10% soulution – .5-2% Adds a bready/nutty note (Can turn into Frito taste if overused) Use sparingly.
• Aldehyde – L-14 Peach – TFA - Diluted to 1% - Use at .5-1% Be extremely careful with undiluted solution. Adds “a very dry, not sweet, peachy note”
• TH= Throat hit - “Capella's Horchata, want2vape's Caramel #2” Also, some cinnamon’s.
• PGA= Pure Grain Alcohol (Everclear/151 Rum/Vodka - high proof) 1-2 drops per 5 ml = Throat Hit
Side Notes;
Higher vg mixes 50%+; flavors are less intense – May require more flavor
70pg-30vg seems to be the commercial "norm".
Too much flavor will create flat taste…adding more flavor will most likely not “make it better”.
You gotta remember. A lot of juice makers don't sit and mix CAP and TFA and FA. They go to a lab and tell them to create a flavored ejuice, and that's it. If it needs more something, they say to the lab, it needs more something, and then another ejuice is spit out. The advantage of this is that you can get fully saturated mixes. The reason steeping is a such a big issue, is because it allows full homogenization of the base. Meaning the flavoring completely becomes one with the juice. So it all depends on what you're mixing, what enhancers you use, and how long your steep process is. I always laugh when people say ejuice mixing is easy, because to get a real premium product, you really need to know your shit. Try steeping your liquids a little more, and balancing your flavorings, not too much or too little. Add in flavor enhancers to make everything pop, and you'll have some good stuff.
Depending on the recipe, marshmallow is great for adding some thickness!
Do you think marshmellow would go well with fruity recipes? I could see it going in as a sort of cream, (peaches and cream for example)
Yeah, fruit with custard/cream and a bit of marshmallow totally works. Or try a few drops of EM.
I'm not sure Looper should be the standard juice quality to compare your mixes to... That juice is something special. I read an article from Philip Rocke a while back in which he discussed the creation process... I will link if I can find it when I get back to my desk....his juice is the only that I don't mind paying premium price for on the off chance I buy juice from a B&M
please do, i would like to read that. i went to a B&M yesterday just to visit and tried a bunch of juices and didnt really like anything at all. ended up picking up some Catherine the Grape which just kills RDAs with its flavor. have to rewick and completely wash to get rid of the overpowering taste. was interested in some PG-free juice.
had looper at another B&M and was pretty fantastic although i am not much of a cereal flavor fan so i didnt buy it... but might go grab some sometime.
http://firstwefeast.com/eat/phillip-rocke-the-vaping-gawd/
"My theory is that the more liquid we use, the longer it takes for the impurities to be absorbed. If the entire barrel was filled with liquid, it might take five to six months."
I just don't buy this bullshit. He's talking about storing his juices in reclaimed wood brandy barrels. Seems like a lot of fluff to make people believe that what he's doing is super special and worth a premium price. I suppose it's working for him though.
i've always wondered this myself.. i reserve 10-16% of my juice for flavoring. sometimes it seems like store bought juices use 20-25%. anyone know if this is true?
TFA Almond can add a lot of body to juices.
Speaking of almond, I've had some luck adding Marzipan to strawberry custard.