Most people use far too much of any acid, and because of this, they experience flavour muting much faster. Malic is stronger than citric because it lasts longer in effect, hence it muting even more over time when used too much. Most people cant tell a difference between a juice with citric and the same juice without - and citric still mutes flavours over time.

I've been noticing differences in certain recipes using .1 - .15% Malic, and around .3 - .4% Tartaric acid, both 10% solutions - but you should go no higher than that & I might even still need to lower both. Trying to find my Deeper_DIY material regarding acid but, i cant find shit right now. I need more caffeine. edit: if using citric, try .7% or less.

I make a Sour Skittles with 10% Rainbow Drops, 1% Sucralose, and 1% TFA Sour.

I usually make 450-500ml at a time, let it age for 2-4 weeks, and it takes me a bit over a month to finish it. Never had a muting of flavor over that much time.

I don't know how TFA makes their sour, but it seems to work great.

Hey. I won't be much use here...I got my citric acid from Nude Nicotine, but I've only used it a couple of times. It won't be used at high %'s, so I don't know that you need to try to get a higher concentration really. I'd look for recipes that use those ingredients to see how they're used. Here is a link to look at how people use TPA sour. Scroll down some to see recipes. I haven't found much use for CA, and I've just started using sour a little in fruit mixes around .5%. I think they are used for different effects, so it's really about using one over the other in certain recipes, not overall.

All the acids mentioned in this thread, tartaric, malic, citric are used in women's facials in high %'s. Your skin is the largest organ of your body and absorbs everything you put on it into your bloodstream. Point here: while you need to be careful with any ingredient in DIY, these acids in the %'s used in DIY aren't anymore dangerous than any other ingredient; they pose less of a threat to your body than handling 100mg nic so you really don't need to go out of your way handling them. Don't put drops directly on your eyeball and your fine. Even if you did it'd hurt but you wouldn't go blind. Plenty of people have gotten these acids, in way higher %'s, in their eye on accident and not gone blind, including yours truly. Your source here is an aesthetician graduate ;)

I use both Malic and Citric when I want a sour pop to a flavor. My latest recipe with these in it uses 0.1% Malic Acid (20% solution) and 0.4% Citric (10% solution) and I get a nice little zing without destroying the flavors.

Its real easy, as others have said, to overdo it with malic. Citric is more forgiving but by itself tastes less fruity than malic. Too much of any acid will irritate the throat. Depending upon the flavor your going for, natural citrus oils can provide acidity and complement the base flavor. For example lemon oil in small amounts make apple flavor more crisp without introducing lemony flavors. You can overdo it as well with citrus oils, but it takes more than with naked acids.

I've used TFA sour (malic acid) at 1%, then at 3 and 4% and still don't notice much potency.

I'm interested in finding a way to add some sour to some juices I have that are muted or bland. What ,where and how much to add to 120ml.