If you're playing with natural flavors or absolutes or HFC extracts or any sort of flavor additive that isn't a compounded concentrate, you're going to get harshness.
Most natural extracts are completely free of heavy base notes that can soften a final mix. The most common note used in probably 60-70% of compound concentrates is Ethyl Maltol (EM) -- usually noted as a sweetener or cotton candy flavor.
When used in a compound, EM is typically added pretty low: about 1% for most. It isn't there as a sweetener.
Consider that 1% of EM in a concentrate is a LOT more than 1% of a 10% EM solution in PG. 1000% more.
The recommendation for EM usage is around 100PPM. If you use a 10% EM/PG solution, and use 1 drop per 10ml of final eliquid, it gets you there:
1 drop (0.02g) of 10% EM is equal to 0.002g of EM per 10ml. That's approximately 200 PPM -- a bit on the high side but within acceptable parameters.
If you mix your own EM solution (10% in PG, 2-5% in VG) keep in mind that mixing a heavier note like EM with a bunch of harsh top notes in natural extracts means an extended room temperature aging time.
The EM molecules don't homogenize as easily with those harsh top notes, and over time some of those top notes will evaporate when you shake/open the mix.
If you're getting harshness from a natural extract, don't ignore EM. I find a lot of benefits at starting around 50PPM in the final solution, which is not that difficult to do if you mix EM at 0.5% in VG. 50PPM takes the edge off a lot of my PG-free mixes, without adding a sweetness or cotton candy flavor to the mix.
& here I was, thinking .2% EM in final solution is too much, while idiots yell at me for advising newbs against using Bavarian Cream in high percentages because of its insane EM content.
Thank you for this, Dada<3
Well 0.2% EM can be too much, if you're using other flavors that contain it. At a certain percentage or PPM, EM will definitely mute flavors. So you have to be careful and do a lot of adjusting and steeping to find out where it finally settles.
I try not to use concentrates that contain it, actually. I just advise newbs against using BC at random percentages in random mixes because it sounds good.
I do find flavour muting at .2% in a lot of mixes, even if only slightly.
very nice stuff as usual Abdada. I don't mess with many natural's or such of the sort, however this still provides some info on understanding EM and how it works and plays with the solution's a bit better.
Thanks man.
EM is especially important in natural fruit flavorings -- fruits can be a mess to mix as they're heavy on heart and top notes and can be incredibly harsh.
I personally keep a blend of ethyl maltol and regular maltol as my go-to. 1 part EM, 2 parts M, diluted at 1% total in VG. Really enhances flavor and reduces harshness.
Since most people use 10% EM/PG I always suggest dilution that to 1% EM/PG to play with.
i have a 5% I use. sometimes 1 drop 10% ruins my flavors but 5% will make it perfect.
I think I'm going to start introducing a 2% and play with it
Holy shit, thank you for finally putting some science behind what I've been suggesting people. I found EM to mellow out the harshness of terpenes and other flavors/oils with unfavorable top notes but could only attribute it to EM's flavor-muting properties. Maybe now people will take that advice more seriously.
It's somewhat part of the flavor-muting process of EM but that flavor-muting is top-down meaning it affects the harshest notes first and then overconcentration will have an effect on heart notes later. Some volatiles are uneffected by EM completely or even enhanced (vanillin, other aldehydes, etc).
The key to proper EM usage is to be patient. No amount of heat steeping is going to accelerate the homogenization and molecular magic that EM can do at the right level. Add EM, check back in a few days. I've even found EM go from no taste to super cotton candy in 4 days to a perfect balance in a week or two.
I premix some of my terpenes with EM in a bottle to dispense so they're at the proper ratio and partially pre-steeped. It helps, somewhat.