There are quite a few sweeteners on the market, and for me personally it gets very confusing trying to figure out when and where to use certain sweeteners over other ones. I’m not talking about sucralose vs ethyl maltol. I’m talking about the deferent varieties of sucralose flavours.
I know super sweet is an extremely popular sweetener that everyone uses for the most part, however, I was watching a developed livestream and I heard them mention using FW Sweetener over CAP Super Sweet, as Super Sweet contains citric acid which has an effect on the overall mix. I haven’t seen the practice of subbing certain sweeteners for other be explained before so I was wondering if anyone could take the time to explain. When to use TFA Sweetener, when to use FW sweetener, when to use CAP SS, etc.
I guess what I’m asking is, what different sweeteners do to a mix, and what is a situation you would find yourself subbing a certain sweetener for a more fitting one?
EDIT: sum up the question since it could have been worded better, when is it better to use FW Sweetener over CAP SS and vice versa. Or when is it better to use TFA Sweetener over CAP SS and vice versa
I'll preface this by saying that I don't have a comprehensive knowledge of sweeteners on the market... but for the big 3, I mostly break it down like this:
CAP Super Sweet is a whole lot of sucralose (which is normal and usually what people are looking for.) Pretty intensely sweet, sub 1% will get you where you want in terms of pure sweetness. It also has that aforementioned acid or whatever in there. I find that Super Sweet lends a weird kind of bright harshness to creamier or bakery type recipes that sort of clashes with the vape experience I'd be looking for there. I'm probably in the minority here, but it also seems to send up the same kind of harshness alarms that I get from most nic salts. I'd keep this one for candy or fruit vapes that have some brighter flavors and don't already lean towards harshness.
FW Sweetener is also very sweet. It terms of raw sweetness it's probably up there with Super Sweet, but it's just sucralose. I tend to use a heavier hand with this stuff, just because I don't have to worry about it really altering the recipe underneath it all that much. You do you, obviously, but I enjoy this up to 2% depending on the recipe. I find that FW works substantially better than CAP in bakeries, and doesn't get too bizarre with anything involving a heavier cream. It's usually my default for anything that isn't reading harsh.
TPA Sweetener is less sucralose, some maltol, and also involves some water. It brings some sucralose punch but will mute your recipes a bit. Again, I don't usually go above 2% with this but it's mostly because of the aforementioned muting being too pronounced and not the juice being too abjectly sweet. I save this for when I want to knock down some of the sharp edges of a juice as well as do some moderate sweetening. I find it works wonders with citrus-based recipes or vaguely harsh fruits like peach.
I'm not a custard guy, but I think that straight ethyl maltol is usually preferred there. That seems like a whole other argument.
You might want to take a look at this -> Noted - Sweeteners
I will generally use CAP SS in fruit mixes, the citric acid in it really will make fruits pop. I never use more than 0.50% though, it is nasty to me above that.
For bakery and dessert flavors I generally opt for a marshmallow or meringue to add sweetness. If that is not enough I then reach for the FW Sweetener, start low and add as I go along.
Not a fan of TFA Sweetener, get too much of a sucralose note with it at any percentage, like a Diet Coke vibe....yuck.
Edit: Just saw that there doing a show on additives at 4PM PST https://youtu.be/kZSCNeVtwO0 I have known Woftam on that channel for a long time, the guy really knows his additives and everyone else on there is knowledgable as well.
I don't use any sweeteners. Sure, my juice isn't quite as tasty as the next guy's, but my cotton lasts seemingly forever and I almost never have to burn off my coils.
Sucralose caramelizes too easily, Stevia adds a weird diet coke-like taste, Ethyl Maltol adds too much cotton candy flavor, etc.
I personally use sweeteners very sparingly even though I make a lot of dessert flavors, I rarely if ever use sweeteners or "flavor enhancer" which is essentially the same thing. I would always suggest to make it without first, then if you find that the flavors sweetness is lacking try a few drops, it really is less is more when you do use it. You want to always remember your trying to bring out your flavors, if your wanting to sweeten your blend, adding extra VG can be a much simpler option. It is kind of one of those things that as you get more used to different combo's, if you should add a drop or two of sweetener, I hope this helps and wish you the best of luck :D if there is anything else I can help with dont hesitate to let me know :D Happy Vaping :D
This doesn’t really answer my question at all but I appreciate the effort. I’m not new to mixing, and yes I also use sweetener sparingly. I was just curious as to what situations do certain sweeteners work better than others.
Ok, I'll try to help here if I can, the way I decide is based off experience and ability to taste Maltol in any concentrate. If I feel that there's already some Maltol in my concentrates, I will choose a sucralose as top sweetener. Otherwise it's really a matter of personal taste.
My go to is 0.5% super sweet with 0.5% sweetness flv. Yes both contain sucralose, but the flv is something else as well. This blend is perfect. Super sweet alone is too sharp sweet. The blend is milder but still sweet. Also this combo is coil friendly.
Personally my go-to sweetener is organic stevia which can be found at River Supply (previously Nic River). Yet I use Vanillin or Ethyl Maltol with fruits, ethyl maltol or stevia with creams. With bakery and tobaccos, I use brown sugar, dulce de leche caramel or caramel. So there are tons of sweeteners out there but with several trials you can find out which sweetener works best with a specific profile. That was me but may be different for you.