If all ingredients are in squeeze bottles, mixing by weight is so much better. And to get smallest size of a new flavor, until I try it...
This. I bought 30ml of all my flavors thinking I was being smart. I don't think I'll ever use that much joy. Plus I could have had twice as many flavors.
And that one damn bottle from Wizard Labs without the drip top.
Steeping doesn't make bad recipes good - It makes good recipes better.
AKA, if it tastes like complete shit after a good shake, it probably won't taste better after a good steep.
A flavor professional told me this a while ago and it saved me so much time and effort.
Dude I hope you’re wrong, just mixed up some awesome apple pie by botboy and it’s not very good straight after shaking.
Just polished the bottle i made from his concentrate that I got for the groupbuy. The date on my bottle is 8/8. I demolished that 60ml. It was amazing, the cinnamon really needs time to mellow.
The truth can be for the opposite. That bottle of heavenly smelling and tasting juice might turn into something that needs to be shot behind the shed in a couple weeks.
I love your analogy, and yes, I couldn't agree more.
Don't buy TFA Honey
Not that I've being doing it long, but:
- Skip mixing by volume and go straight to mixing by weight (buy all small dropper bottles)
- Buy an RDA + clapton wire for wickless flavour testing
- Figure out a storage solution before you go crazy trying to find that ONE flavour in your box of 100 flavours
Any good guides for this wickless build?
Here's one :D
- Buy RDA
- Buy/make clapton wire
- Make some coils from the clapton wire
- Put coils in RDA
- Drip juice onto coils (~3 drops each)
- Hit dat bad boy
- Go to step 5
Goddammit, I've heard people do this, never tried it.. facepalm A few drops on each coil, two decent lung hits, dry burn, change flavors, not even a hint of the previous flavor. Sick! For someone too lazy to change cotton like mad, this is invaluable! Thanks for hammering it in! =)
The third hit produces little vapor and tastes metallic, which probably isn't great, but it's always on the third one with my setup. I wouldn't hit it twice at higher wattages.
Labeling with version numbers can help. Buy some small cheap labels and a sharpie. Use notebook or Juice Calculator to assist in tracking the recipe for the versions.
Keep it simple.
I think this goes for most subbers here. I think we are naturally inclined to try ALOT of flavors all at once when we see really complex recipes posted. Those recipes are done by people who are VERY familiar with certain flavors, and they have likely been tweaking them for some time.
If you're having trouble making good juice, start with 1, 2, or 3 ingredients at most, and use them in low concentration to start.
why would i as a beginner find it hard to replicate an exact recipe? I was looking at doing a Unicorn Milk clone 5-7 different flavors, they list out exact percents...etc. seems pretty straight forward when someone else has done all the work for me.
or you mean, a beginner trying to make his own 5-7 flavor recipe?
This is key. Don't start out trying to clone 5 Pawns. Start out with a simple flavor profile and add to it after you have perfected it. Don't know everything that is in April morning? No big deal, start with the main profile of apricot and blueberry. Spend a week tweaking the ratios until it's perfect. At that point, it's probably a good enough substitute, or you can start making additions to dial it in to perfection.
That additives are mostly bullshit. I remember reading how important AP, EM, Sucralose, Smooth, and all the others were and people claiming they made your juice sooo much better. The only additives I ever use now are Citric Acid and very rarely EM.
That's funny, these are the only two additives that will be on my first order (we'll EM anyway, I'll get citric locally). Thanks for the confirmation :D
Don't make your first batch of 250 ml. Just don't. It's gonna suck and you're gonna end up dumping anyways.
When you buy batches of flavor, get a little of everything. I can't tell you how many times I see a recipe that I have been chasing and it has an ingredient that I dont have.
Don't be ashamed at making a bad flavor. Embrace it as learning. (which reminds me of when I made a peach popcorn flavor)
> Don't be ashamed at making a bad flavor
True that. I learned quickly that I simply cannot do Koolada at anything higher than 1-2%. OH god, I've tried numerous times, but I can't.
and being careful of working with menthol. I had a menthol bottle that the tip wouldn't squeeze out anything, so I took it off...and it slipped.
Menthol in your pants is no joke.
I am not a chef
It is a lot like being a chef(I wouldn't say I'm a chef, but cooking has been a huge part of my life, hell I was literally born into a family restaurant..lol) . Knowing how to nuance flavors correctly in food helps with mixing a good vape.....I'm learning this more everyday. My project vape I've been working on forever is based directly on a recipe I developed over the course of a year or so.
snozberries don't always taste like snozberries
But it smells like Snozberries. You smell it and think yup Snozberries then taste it and its just Strawberry and your sense of smell is damaged from recent years of smoking.
This got too real.
Dont store your bottle of VG on its side unless you want to flood your entire kit
I thought that there were only a few flavors. I thought I'd just squirt the cinnamon into the toast, and the toast into the crunch, and bam, ADV! Boy was I wrong. I also thought every flavor would be about the same strength, so equal parts cinnamon, apple, caramel, equals all day vape.
Buy a notebook before your flavors arrive.
another good option is Juice Calculator or other recipe programs. These can help you track versions of recipes, costs, and assist with ordering more. Juice calculator ECF
Less is more; I probably didn't need to go chasing 10%-15% flavoring at first. Also, 5ml test batches are the shit.
Buying too many flavors to start , i haven't used any of them and it's been two years since i purchased them lol.
Buy flavors that you know you like and will complete the recipes you plan to make , it will save you a lot of $$
- 1.) How flavors tasted.
- 2.) How much better some Manufacturer's flavors are compared to others.
- 3.) How using too much of a flavor can make mixing confusing. (Sometimes using too much of something can make that flavor more mute)
- 4.) How I shouldn't try mixing my own recipes until I try a few "proven" recipes.
- 5.) How some recipes have to be changed due to the difference of using Dripping vs Tanks.
- 6.) How some flavors "or percentages of flavors" that other people love may taste like crap to yourself.
- 7.) How bad most of the so called "Premium" juice sold in vape shops can taste compared to a DIY juice.
- 8.) How much better dessert vapes are. When switching from Tobacco I had the thought that I needed a tobacco flavor or a candy flavor for an all day vape. My mind couldn't comprehend how a dessert vape could fill the craving.
I love hand writing notes in a special notebook I have strictly for DIY. Most of my notes I go back through and transcribe anything and everything of potential value quickly to a dedicated Google Doc as soon as I can. Unfortunately the reason I'm much more on top of it now is I learned the hard way when my awesome little notebook of wisdom blinked out of existence and I lost SO much valuable info to whatever abyss it found its way into.
Even though I got another notebook and still write hand written notes I now transcribe everything important ASAP into my Google Doc. Also if you have a good teacher, take advantage of their experience and (with their permission of course) try to record as much of their valuable knowledge on your smartphone and glean the best info onto your dedicated Google Document as quickly as possible. Casual conversations often contain the best nuggets of wisdom ;)
However the most important advice I can offer is to keep a spreadsheet or note book of all your recipes complete with dates, changes, and any thoughts you have that might improve upon whatever recipes you happen to be working on or might want to work on in the near future. Also when you come up a good idea write it down somewhere safe as fast as you are able. I have lost so many cool possible vape ideas because I didn't take a few minutes to write them down at first blush.
And of course if you are fortunate to have a experienced DIY'er as a friend don't be afraid to ask their advice on subject you aren't familiar with or might have trouble understanding, There really aren't any dumb questions when it comes to learning this rewarding skill. Take pride in your work, by all means make several versions of the same idea until you get it just right, failure and partial success will be your greatest teachers. Also have patience and let your mixes steep properly, patience is a virtue and waiting for your mixes to mature on their own is the way to go IMHO.
Also as coop34 mentioned mixing by weight is definitely the best way to go :)
TL:DR- It's not that long and I hope I included some good info, take a minute to read it. This might contain something that will benefit beginners and maybe even some of the pros this awesome little community is populated by. Good night and Happy mixing!
ehem /u/crappy_guitarist's answer you ask?
shake your nic
Make 20ml's for a new recipe, try it fresh and then try it again 5 days later. TAKE NOTES
If you don't like a certain flavor profile, don't buy the flavor profile. I have bought so many flavors I don't use because I kept seeing recipes pop up. Not sure what to do with them now
Buy 4oz bottles if you restocked the flavor multiple times.
Mix by weight. Get a bunch of squeeze bottles to transfer your juice.