Welcome back friends!

So you've been doing your single batch tests, mixing other people's juices, and training your palate. You're totally ready to make the next Rhondonite, right? Yeah, I thought I was too at that point. Truth be told, I still have to remind myself to tone it down on the stupid number of ingredients I put into my recipes. Thank you /u/crosstown_rebel

There is a lot more to making a 10 flavor juice than just adding in 10 ingredients you think will taste good. As you start off your actual mixing journey, it's important to keep your mixing simple at first.

#Learn How Flavors Interact

Just because you're keeping your juice simple doesn't mean complex things aren't happening in your juice. They are chemically reacting worth each other and changing composition. CAP Sweet cream is a delicious flavor, especially in a dairy or dessert vape, but the second you start to add fruit to it, I can promise you're juice isn't going to turn away the way you originally envisioned it. The fruit will be very muted and nearly nonexistent depending the ratios of the two flavors you used.

Koolada is super fun to use in fruit vapes to add a nice cooling effect, but if your add it to a dessert or cream juice, you are going to get a pretty gnarly band-aid off taste.

Taking the time to slow down and build 2-4 flavored juices gives you the ability to identify how your flavors are actually interacting and what percentages they go best together. Trying to find the cause of these same interactions in a 6-8 flavor juice is much more challenging. Adding too many flavors that don't go together can just create a muddled mess.

#Simple Recipes can be just as complex

Mustard Milk by /u/fizzmustard. Enough said.

Take the time to learn which of your flavors stand sufficiently on their own. Don't get discouraged by people posting 8 flavored juices. There is no guarantee their juice is any more complex than your 3 flavored juice.

With that said, also take the time to learn which flavors don't stand on their own, but don't just assume it without trying. TFA pineapple is amazingly complex and realistic. It doesn't need anything else to benefit and add to the profile. However, I have yet to find a single orange flavor that doesn't need help from another one when I want orange to be the main profile. My favorite is FW blood orange, but I still have a hard time using it by itself because it's a great base, but lacks backbone and top note citrus. I usually like putting some CAP juicy orange or CAP sweet tangerine with it, depending where it needs it in the recipe.

#Get Feedback

Until people start to acknowledge you as a successful mixer, people aren't going to go out and buy flavors just for your mixes. Unfair, popularity contest, narrow minded, etc, but whatever you want to call it, it's the truth. Don't get too caught up in it though. My most popular recipe to date is still Best Damn Pink Lemonade with only 4 ingredients.

Think about it realistically though. There's not a single person in this community who has every single flavor. You're more likely to get feedback if mixing your juice is easy and people actually have the flavors you are using.

With that said, there is one other note to make here: Learn to leave not just good, but great notes on your recipe. That is the single biggest factor in whether people will pay attention to your post.

#Bonus Recipe

Back to Basics|% ---|--- FLV Wild Melon|3 FLV Boysenberry|1 FW Whipped Cream|2 TFA Koolada|0.25

#Conclusion

Taking baby steps is an important step in becoming a good mixer. No one starts off being able to make Rhodonite after a month of mixing. I can honestly say I'm not even at that point even though I mix about 2-3 hours a day, every day.

Be sure to catch Matthew Kocanda, Jack, and myself on Beginner Blending tonight at 9pm EST. www.mixlr.com/inthemix-podcast.

You can find my previous Modest Mondays at /r/ModestMonday