I felt that I had to share to this with you guys. I just whipped a quick batch together because I forgot my ejuice at work. It's an easy 3-ingredient recipe:
Marshmallow (FA) - 1%
Sweetener (Sucralose) (TFA) - 1%
Raspberry (TFA) - 5.2%
This was in 25/75 PG/VG with 0.25% (2.5 mg/ml) nicotine.
I seriously did not expect this to come out so amazing. It's thick, juicy, sweet and produces a ton of clouds - all of which are my favorite things. I steeped it in 170F water for ~45 min with cap off and gave it a shake.
Edit: For clarity, the high temperature isn't all that necessary. It's just something I always do because I tend to make alot of high-VG juices that are very thick at room temperature. In my experience, higher heat allows the solution to become homogeneous at a faster rate, thus allowing more the flavors to meld together, faster. If I were planning on heat steeping juice for longer than a few hours, I would likely lower the temperature to 100-120F, or so.
The only reason I would worry about higher heat is when 'm worried about degradation of nicotine.
oh god 170
I've heard a lot of people that use that temperature. Keep in mind that is in Fahrenheit.
Not trying to sound dickish but if it was Celsius you wouldnt have much water left to steep the bottles in!
When you need to make the solution as homogenous as possible, fast, it does the job. Plus the temperature helps to evaporate any unwanted aromatic compounds (like alcohols) that might impart bad-taste. Also, 45 min is fairly short, so I'm not worried about degradation of nicotine.
So wait. Is this a shake n vape or something that requires a short heat bath steep? How different was the flavor from shake n vape and steep? I'm lost lol. When I see shake n vape I assume you mix, shake, and vape. Nothing else required.
A little bit of heat helps mixing, especially if you're using a high fraction of VG.
When I think of shake-n-vape, I don't necessarily take it literally. I think it just means that you aren't steeping for an extended period of time, i.e. a week or more.
I would consider anything that took you less than 4 hours a shake-n-vape, because in the DIY ejuice world, that's a short cut.
We've got 2 different definitions then so that explains it.
So basically if you don't like to use heat to speed things up, this is not in fact a shake-n-vape and it would require speed steeping or sitting for a couple days? Again, how different was it pre and post steep? Did it actually change, or just help to evaporate any alcohol?
Heat is always optional. But then again, so is mixing. You are physically able to vape a juice that isn't mixed, however, it's improbable that you will get the full flavor. There are so many different parts to the juice that are so spread out all over the place. You'd be tasting something a little different every time you took a hit. The bottom line is, both heat and mixing are done to reach the same end goal, with some key differences.
Flavor chemistry is extremely complex. What you put into a solution and what you take out after a period of time will be surprisingly different. The key factor is, of course, "time". Heat is like fast forwarding the clock so that various reactions are sped up and you start to perceive certain flavors earlier than if you were not to use heat. Upon homogenization, flavors smooth out, pH changes, certain esters are made, etc. So yes, you could do without the heat. All I'm saying is, heating will help meld the flavors together faster and will aid in all sorts of different physical and chemical reactions that happen within your juice. Some might argue that heating allows certain reactions to occur that would never have happened without heat. And who knows how many of those are good or bad.
Heating is a part of my procedure for nearly every recipe. I don't taste before and after because it's a step that always works for me. It's not something that is as crucial as time itself, but if you're like me, you want to experience the closest thing to the full flavor that you're going to get without waiting for a few weeks.
That's just my two cents. I'm not at all preaching a a right or wrong way to do it, just a method that I picked up on after trial and error.
Upvote simply for listing PG first in the ratio. Good on ya :)
Just curious, why does listing PG first matter? Alphabetical? I am wondering because I usually list VG first and if I am doing something wrong I'd like to know.
Hahaha no it's just the "old school way" I guess. It uuuuuused to be the proper way when VG wasn't all the rage, but it seems VG first is more typical now. Maybe I should've just said "yes, alphabetical." ;)
Made a 10ml bottle with 0 nic and LOVED it. Good god this is a good vape. It's too sweet to be an all day vape for me (tires the pallet quickly) but it is fantastic to swap to when you get tired of your all day vape. The flavor seems to be VERY EASILY altered by nicotine. Most of my flavors are 3mg but I like to make this one with 0 nicotine ot 1-2mg. I have vaped about 30 ml of it so far and it is great. The Raspberry actually seems to work more as a background note than as the key note, which is surprising considering the percentages. The prominent flavor is just an amazing sweetness and the raspberry helps balance the sweetness and give a barely detectable fruity exhale. I actually like to add a little more marshmallow than you do for a super succulent and sweet vape.
Glad you enjoy it! I will have to try it with a bit more marshmallow, now that you bring that up. I've been thinking about what kinds of fruits might go well with it, next.
...I'm gonna be busy. Looked at my shelf for 2 flavors, Came back TPA: Blackberry, Cranberry, and Strawberry (Ripe) CAP Sweet Strawberry, and FA Strawberry. I'm gonna substitute raspberry with each individual flavor. I am thinking of starting at :
- 1% LA Marshmallow for all
- 1% (Sucralose) TPA Sweetener for all
- 5% for TFA flavors
- 1% for FA Strawberry
- 4% for CAP Sweet Strawberry