Hi, I am new to the DIY world. I just mixed my first two recipes (God's Milk and Mother of Dragons Milk). They taste good, but I feel like they really miss the depth, texture and thickness of Naked juices for example. Go Nana and Azul Berries feel rich and deep What makes liquid thicker (in terms of smoothness and depth of flavor)? Is it % of flavors? Sweetener maybe? All liquids are 70/30 vg/pg.
Thanks
If you JUST made them then you might find they develop that deeper flavor profile over time. Commercially made juice has a set time dedicated to “steeping” which allows all the flavor concentrates to mix together; in science we call this homogenization.
Some recipes are as good as they can reasonably get from the moment you mix them. These are known as SNV or shake-n-vape because all you need is a little shake and they’re good to vape. These are generally simple recipes made of mostly fruity concentrates.
Fruity concentrates are more volatile than creamy concentrates so fruit flavors develop more quickly than creamy ones. In addition, more complex flavors also need more time to steep because not all the concentrates come together at the same rate.
If you vape a complex creamy flavor right after you mix it, it can still be tasty and work just fine. The most concentrated flavors will overpower any of your background flavor, so some of the recipe will be muted until proper homogenization can occur.
I personally only mix a couple bottles at a time so I never really get to wait for things to homogenize effectively, which has made me prefer simple juice recipes.
Edit: also, if you’re just coming off of commercial juice you’re probably used to juice that is WAY too sweet. Most DIY recipes don’t call for sweetener because that sugar is unnecessary and will ruin your coils faster. A lot of commercial juice tastes the same cuz they just crank the sweetness up to mask their shitty recipes (and to appeal to the masses). Good flavor does not necessarily mean sweet, so keep that in mind as your taste for DIY juices develops.
From what I've learned , higher percents and Sweetner is probably what you want. Try bumping the overall percentage of flavoring up around 2% and adding 1% super Sweet or 2% of another Sweetner like tfas or something. Marshmallow flavorings like fa or tfas can add volume as well. Around .5 to 1% is all you need.
I think it's the sweetener,what you miss. Have you steeped the juices? Maybe you just want different recipes. I really don't like the mothers milk, and it's one of the most famous recipes out there. We all have different tastes.
I have steeped them for a day for now (going for 7). I am asking this because I had a mixed Unicorn Milk (not mine) and it didn't improve in this aspect after a month (flavors were more balanced but the texture and depth remained the same).
I have TFA sweetener, is it enough? How much should I add without making the juice taste like a sweetener but improve?
Steep those for a week and try them again.
If you still think something is lacking, try adding some sucralose as others have suggested. TFA Sweetener has both maltol and sucralose but in relatively low concentrations. The maltol tastes sweet but will mute the flavors a bit, that sounds like the opposite of what you want to happen here. And to add much sucralose, you'll have to use more and that means watering down your juice and muting even more. Get yourself some CAP Super Sweet or if you're concerned about vaping the preservatives used in that one, FW Sweetener.
Use sweeter varients of flavor you're already using, bring your base to 50/50, and throw some sucralose in there. I'd toss in some coconut flavoring (super small amount) to add some heavier mouthfeel.
What size bottles did you use and how many ml's of each flavor did you put in?
I mixed these recipes in 30ml each [70/30 vg/pg, 3mg nic (0.9ml of 100mg/ml)]:
https://alltheflavors.com/recipes/15504
https://alltheflavors.com/recipes/6851
For the Mother of Dragon's Milk recipe, I haven't tried using dragon fruit that high before but I've made plenty of strawberry recipes using Bavarian cream and cheesecake. Try taking the dragon fruit out of that first one as that recipe would be super strawberry flavored and may be overpowering your taste buds. I have this recipe which may work for you.
- (CAP) Bavarian Cream - 2% (0.6 ml)
- (TFA) Strawberry Ripe - 1% (0.3 ml)
- (CAP) Sweet Strawberry - 4% (1.2 ml)
- (FA) Meringue - 1.5% (0.45 ml)
- (TFA) Vanilla Swirl - 1% (0.3 ml)
Then add either of these, or you could try both.
- (CAP) Vanilla Custard V2 - 3% (0.9 ml) or
- (CAP) New York Cheesecake - 3% (0.9 ml)
That is a total of 4.65 ml of PG including the nicotine at 3% assuming all flavors and nicotine is in a PG solution. You can make the rest all VG but pg does absorb flavor better and would take off some steep time. The vanilla swirl and meringue would make the juice feel thicker on the palate. Coconut (0.5-1%), peach (1%), lychee (0.5-1%), yogurt, ice cream, marsh mellow can all add texture too.
Make sure you shake the juice up really good! Leave a little air within the bottle so the juice can move around nicely. Twice a day shake it around each and every way, upside down etc. Then let it rest for at least 4 days to 2 weeks.
I think the issue here is your making strawberry's n cream recipes then wondering why it don't have the depth of a banana or berry recipe. Sweetner isn't really the solution here. SB n C recipes tend to have a lighter flavor to them. Try some other popular recipes, Nana Cream, Simple Sugar Cookie, some Custards ussually a thicker flavor and alot of depth. Good luck.