Been vaping for 3 years and DIY for two years. For the past 5-6 months I noticed that I can't taste anything as well anymore. Even "premium" juices I once loved (i.e. Kilo's Dewberry Cream) taste bland and muted. I don't think its vaper's tongue as I drink a gallon or more of water a day. I brush my teeth two or three times a day as well as use a tongue scraper so I think hygiene is not the issue either.
I also can't attribute it to over-flavoring. For example, I mixed up ID10-T's Frosted Lemonade (https://alltheflavors.com/recipes/7021#frosted_lemonade_by_id10_t) and its only 7.5% total flavoring and all i can taste is a slight sweet lemon flavor. I let all my mixes steep at to 3-7 days and 2 weeks for creams and custards with similar results. Very faint flavor and no "mouthfeel".
As far as equipment, I use a Kylin RTA or a Reload RDA. Usually fused claptons @ .26 ohms @ 62watts. I use Essential Depot PG & VG and Nude Nicotine Nic Salts smooth @ 100mg/ml PG or Carolina Xtracts 100mg/ml PG. I don't heat, froth, breath, or speed steep anything. I simply shake and store in a cool dark place.
Has anyone else experienced a situation like this? Any solutions, thoughts, remedies, etc.?
I make so many different mixes and can't enjoy them and its frustrating because I really miss the amazing flavor experience vaping has and I feel like I'm left with 300 useless flavorings.
A while ago I vaped something with strong menthol for a couple days. When I came back to regular juices I suddenly had a sharper palate and everything tasted better. Apparently menthol can sort of shock your taste buds and cleanse your palate.
I always mean to try this, but something in my soul won't let me sit down and only put menthol or a cooling agent in a bottle. That's how I end up with cold apple soap mixes.
Haha I don't even have any menthol..seems like a nice addition, but I hesitate pulling the trigger also. I was messing around with FW Jungle Juice (it's the candy menthol in Watermelon Crack) as a solo flavor and it seemed to reset my taste buds. It was nuts. I would suggest making a menthol juice that's icy as balls.
edit: I don't have straight menthol I meant
I've got INW Tobacco Menthol now because 20% off, why not? Don't even like Menthol. INW Morning Rain Tobacco is surprisingly good. Really cool and citrus-y. Not a lot of tobacco going on, but it's pretty yummy. I just don't know that I can go a whole day with the cool stuff.
Try doing unflavored for a week and go back to it :) might help
If anything is going to get you back to tasting, mix up 30mL of unflavored at 2x your preferred nic. Vape it all. Flavors will taste amazing again.
You don't happen to be smoking cigs every now and again do you? Because that will kill your sense of taste.
edit: /u/CVRNAGE
I'm thinking I should try this next :( I did unflavored for a day and while its not terrible, its nowhere close to as satisfying.
Perhaps try a mint flavor if menthol isn't up your alley & the lack of flavor becomes too boring.
I vape tropical fruits when I start to adjust to my vanilla & custard flavors to bring them back to the front.
Another issue I find is that so many recipes use similar components, so for me it's often necessary to make ones that consist of entirely different flavors that accomplish the same things.
For example, if I go to make two recipes that call for TFA strawberry, one will get that and the other one will get INW shisha strawberry, or RF SC strawberry.
I try to rotate the flavors I use as primaries because I can become adjusted to a flavor (and lose a lot of the subtle good things about it in the process) vaping it more than two tanks in a row.
A strong one you may be able to taste is INW Tiramisu. I can overpower mixes with 0.5-1% of that depending on what I throw it on top of.
Have you tried bumping your nicotine and reduce your wattage? Maybe you changed cotton 5-6 months ago? Is the vg/PG carrier off? When did you switch to salts?
Whenever I stop tasting juice I try cherry cola, because it's a very obvious flavor. If that's muted I swap cotton, if it's still weak or wrong I replace the coils.
I hope you figure it out!
Nope, I find that If i try builds than use less wattage (regular 24g kanthal builds) its even less flavor. I switched to salts maybe 2 or 3 months now. Before salts, I found that even flavors like FA Fuji were too sharp for me at 3%
I change my wicks every 2-3 days and coils ever week as rebuilding is easy and cheap. I use either Rayon or Cotton Bacon.
Thanks!
How's your sense of smell otherwise? Is coffee a strong smell? Tobasco? Milk?
Fuji is one of those flavors that really pops, they nailed it so well. You don't get the apple flavor from that anymore?
I think I can taste foods perfectly fine =/ Coffee is still a strong smell to me. Peppers and spices as well. I don't drink milk so I can't answer that one.
The last mix I did with Fuji was with RF SC Grape and I could still taste a bit of fuji (but overall its muted) but I'm noticing RF SC flavors need like 3 weeks minimum steep for me unless their really sharp/harsh.
The fact that you're not getting impact from an INW lemon / lemon mix combination juice is a little concerning. Maybe consider increasing the % of lemon mix a little.
Do you vape a lot of citrus & fruits, or mix it up with other varieties of flavors? If you vape primarily fruity blends or citrus, you might be desensitized to those flavors.
& have you tried sweetener? I've used NOW Foods' Stevia in Glycerite (betterstevia brand stuff) usually at 0.5-1% to make fruits pop in a mix, with far less gunking than I experienced with other sweeteners... still gunks, though.
If you're using the cotton in the Kylin, try this wicking method.
I've found that using this technique with something like a caterpillar track/ flattened fused clapton is probably the best taste I've gotten out of it.
Flatter wire will also heat up faster and cool quicker, and the increased surface area ramps up the flavor.
If you're using Rayon in it, you should already be getting really efficient wicking & rich flavor with the right build.
Only other thing I can think of is something that someone brought up recently in another vaper's tongue post
So, it's possible that or something else entirely is going on medically that is completely unrelated to vaping. If it continues despite what flavors you vape, the nicotine you use, the build you're using, wattage, ect, perhaps consider seeing a doc about it.
Because honestly, vaping for 5 minutes at a time 4-5 times a day shouldn't be giving you vaper's tongue that badly if you rotate flavors and are properly hydrated.
Video linked by /u/Mister_Regeal:
Title|Channel|Published|Duration|Likes|Total Views :----------:|:----------:|:----------:|:----------:|:----------:|:----------: KYLIN RTA by VANDYVAPE|AdvancedVape|2017-05-04|0:15:36|216+ (88%)|21,973
> Today we're looking at the dual coil postless KYLIN RTA...
^Info ^| ^/u/Mister_Regeal ^can ^delete ^| ^v1.1.3b
Do you chain vape?
Try taking a week off from vaping entirely. Flavor fatigue isn't 100% a matter of hydration and hygiene, overstimulating can dull your perception of flavor, so taking a break from vaping might help. Or maybe just vape vg+nic for a while.
Either is your build or it's vaper tongue
How would the build create this problem?
How could it not? If the coils aren't placed properly in relation to airflow and such, the flavor could mute. A short can also affect the flavor but that usually tastes horribly wrong.
I've tried my old 10 wrap 24g dual coil at .4 on an old Royal Hunter RDA. A Dual 7 wrap fused clapton (26/32 kanthal) on a Reload RDA as well so I don't think its the build.
I'm hard-pressed to believe its vaper's tongue due to the amount of hydration, hygiene, and flavor rotation.
I've tried just about everything to fix this issue. I can only vape something now for about an hour before it is completely muted to me.
I tried unflavored for a week, koolada/menthol for a while and uber low percentage recipes. Nothing has worked. It goes right back to the same old shit. The only thing I haven't tried is straight up quitting for a week or so. I find myself now vaping unflavored more than anything because I still haven't been able to find an answer to the problem.
I'm going to try /u/dvrzero's suggestion of upping the nicotine and lowering the wattage to see if that helps at all.
No help here, but just want you to know I can relate. Shitty thing is the flavor get muted before I can break in a new coil. Try a buddy's rig with different flavor and it's off the charts. Can even smell his when we hang out together. It can be frustrating at times.
It is not your issue only. I've been having these problems for as long as I vape. Excluding some "extreme" flavors, like menthol, sour fruits etc, I usually stop to feel any taste after ~30ml of juice. My solution is simple - I change flavors as often as I can.
When did you start using the Kylin? Could that be the issue? Try a different setup.
This happened to me too a few months ago. A clerk at my local B&M showed me this new juice they had for super cheap- Humble. I vaped a 120ml of their strawberry whatever and couldn't taste any other mixes for about two weeks. I even tried mixing a ridiculous 30%+ recipe and still nothing. Turns out, the crazy amount of sweetener in the Humble juice killed my palate. If that's the case for you, just vape unflavored/unsweetened for a couple weeks and you'll be good.
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