My First DIY - Not So Great

[DaveNC]

I just tried my first DIY e-juice, and am not too happy with it.

I just tried a simple 1-flavor juice, using FlavourArt Cowland Blend tobacco. I would like to eventually add some honey or other flavor to it, but wanted to see how it was by itself first.

I'd read here that with the FA tobacco flavors you need to start low, and work up. I started with 2% in a 70/30 mix at 12mg and couldn't taste anything but a very faint "floral" or "perfume" taste. No tobacco taste at all. So I added another percent of Cowland Blend flavoring and still had nothing, so I went to 5% and still just have a floral/perfumey taste, only more of it.

Since I also read here that FA tobacco flavors need to steep, I tried a "quick-steep" with hot water baths and a lot of shaking, but it didn't seem to change much.

So now it's sitting on the shelf with the cap off of the bottle. I guess I'll wait a few days and try it again. Hopefully it will make something vapeable.

 

[Vash]

I mix my FA virginia at 10 percent with a few drop EM to take away the harshness but thats just me.Why not make a few small batches at different ratios and see how you like them What other flavors do you have ?

 

[Shilo]

I'd wait a week before making a complete determination or adding anymore flavoring. I am pretty sure I used Cowboy at 7% and I don't like heavy flavor so to me its one of the milder tobaccos. The only one milder yet is called Mellow. Overall FA tends to have florally or hayish notes and takes awhile to develop.

 

[Vash]

I'd wait a week before making a complete determination or adding anymore flavoring. I am pretty sure I used Cowboy at 7% and I don't like heavy flavor so to me its one of the milder tobaccos. The only one milder yet is called Mellow. Overall FA tends to have florally or hayish notes and takes awhile to develop.

I agree I tend to make mine in larger amounts only because I know I like it and after a few days to a week the taste improves alot.

 

[DaveNC]

I may still be a little low at 5%, if y'all are using FA tobaccos at 7% & 10%, but I'll give it a week to see if that flowery taste goes away.

My flavor stash is miniscule right now, Besides the Cowland I have some honey and caramel I wanted to try mixing with it, and some MTS Vape Wizard. But I just placed an order tonight with some TPA tobacco flavors in it - American Red, Flue Cured, & Black Honey Tobacco, as well as some EM and some sweet and fruity stuff.

 

[Vash]

The fruits are very simple IMO.Just start at 5% and add a % at a time if needed You should try the TPA strawberry with some EM and Hangsen Blueberry with EM .Both are very good !

 

[Blackbeard]

Hitting that perfect flavor level is a moving target for me. I tried TPA Double RY4 and really liked it. And I thought I had found the perfect percentage to use. Didn't seem to matter whether it steeped or not, it was pretty good, although the flavor changed a little with aging. But I started getting flavor changes in the middle of an eGo-T tank along with diminished vapor. The flavor would be there just fine, then disappear and then come back.

What I'm discovering is that hardware and how you use it has a lot to do with flavor. Maybe it's because I'm relatively new to vaping and DIY, but I sort of figured out that as I dirtied my atomizer, the flavor vanished. So I started taking longer drags on the thing, which hot-boxed it, and it became worse. I'd then stick it back in my pocket for a while and it would cool off. The next time I took a puff, flavor was back. During the course of enlightening myself, I ordered a Kanger EVOD because I had read all the great reviews and watched the very foggy videos.

I tried the Kanger and was amazed at the amount of smoke pouring out of this thing. My wife and I took turns hitting it and discovered we were getting head rushes from the thing. OK, now the point of this novel: I also discovered that now my percentage of flavoring was way too strong. If I continue using the Kanger, I'm going to have to lower my strength of flavor from (just guessing) 8% to 5%, maybe lower.

DIY, it seems, requires just the right mix of everything. That means NIC, PG, VG, flavoring, hardware, bottling, sense of taste and smell, etc. I've spent a fortune on hardware, just to find I discover something better, and each time, I have to change my mixture. I benefit in different ways when I change devices, so it's a good thing to keep looking for newer and more improved hardware.

Keep in mind that when you get suggestions for what others use as a strength of flavor for any particular flavoring, it only becomes a starting point for finding that sweet spot you'll end up using. Everything comes into play here, especially your own ability to taste that flavoring. Just like some people can eat hot peppers without any effect, others can't even smell them, and your taste buds and likes differ from all others'.

Just keep trying and you'll find that magic elixir that you are searching for.

 

[Hoosier]

Tobaccos are tougher than most. Not really sure why you want to air it out, by leaving the bottle uncapped, before you try actually steeping it though...that is very confusing. I don't have a single tobacco recipe where breathing the bottle helps, in fact, it usually makes them worse.

I do have some that need at least 2 weeks of steeping though and haven't found anything that will speed it up too much. A little, yes, but still not quick.

 

[adeline]

I just tried my first DIY e-juice, and am not too happy with it.

I just tried a simple 1-flavor juice, using FlavourArt Cowland Blend Tobacco. I would like to eventually add some honey or other flavor to it, but wanted to see how it was by itself first.

I'd read here that with the FA tobacco flavors you need to start low, and work up. I started with 2% in a 70/30 mix at 12mg and couldn't taste anything but a very faint "floral" or "perfume" taste. No tobacco taste at all. So I added another percent of Cowland Blend flavoring and still had nothing, so I went to 5% and still just have a floral/perfumey taste, only more of it.

Since I also read here that FA tobacco flavors need to steep, I tried a "quick-steep" with hot water baths and a lot of shaking, but it didn't seem to change much.

So now it's sitting on the shelf with the cap off of the bottle. I guess I'll wait a few days and try it again. Hopefully it will make something vapeable.

I like the Cowboy (or "Cowland" as RTS sells it) at 2%

It needs to steep though. You won't get much flavor through until you do.

It will turn pee-yellow when it's ready. Or just stick it in an ultrasonic cleaner for a couple hours.

 

[DaveNC]

It will turn pee-yellow when it's ready.

I had high hopes when I got home from work and saw that my Cowland/Cowboy concoction had turned a light yellow. So I put a couple of drops on an atty, but it was still like vaping a bunch of flowers or something. No tobacco taste at all. So, I guess it needs more time. I think I'll give it until this weekend before trying it again, unless it gets significantly darker.

And Hoosier, I put the cap back on the bottle after reading your post. I think I'll go back and read your blogs again.

Thanks to everyone for all the advice.

 

[Hoosier]

I haven't done one specific to tobacco type flavorings. They break some of the parameters of other types of flavorings. For one thing, they don't follow the flavoring levels progression as charted in flavoring levels blog.

 

[DaveNC]

I haven't done one specific to tobacco type flavorings. They break some of the parameters of other types of flavorings. For one thing, they don't follow the flavoring levels progression as charted in flavoring levels blog.

I look forward to the day that you do.

 

[Rin13]

Tobacco#1
5% commercial tobacco
3% brown sugar
2% Carmel
25% pg
65% Vegetable Glycerin

I can and do vape this immediately and it's good. Someone on here posted it. (may have been PurelyScientific?)


RWhy4 (original recipe posted by Ohio Points)
10% Double RY4
5% Caramel Candy
2% Marshmallow
3% Vanillan

No steeping there either. I guess it depends on the type of tobacco. I do notice that when Double RY4 steeps when alone, it gets stronger pretty quickly. (at least when mixed at 10%)

 

[DaveNC]

Thanks for the recipes, Rin13.

I saw the thread for the RWhy4 and have ordered the flavors for it. They should be here Monday and definitely plan to give that one a try.

For the "Tobacco #1" recipe, is the "commercial tobacco" the Seedman's stuff. If so, I haven't ordered any of it yet. One of the places I ordered flavors from was out, and I didn't see it on the other site I ordered from. I've been wanting to get some to try Scubatandan's tobacco base recipe.

ETA: By the way, I took a sniff of the Cowland Blend juice I mixed up the other day and it still has a strong flowery smell. It is getting darker, though.

 

[vernhall]

My first DIY attempt (for my wife) was a Raspberry Cream at 10% Raspberry and 5% Cream using a 50/50 24mg base. She loved it right after mixing and, even though I'm not partial to fruits and berries, I had to agree it was mighty tasty. FWIW, and I'm new to DIY too, I wouldn't start less than 10% on the theory that it's always easier to thin something out than to add flavor to it...

 

[DaveNC]

I received an order of a few flavors and a couple of 306 attys today from ecigexpress so I mixed up 5ml of Double RY4 at 10% in some previously mixed 20mg, 70/30 nicotine base to try. I could taste a little flavor, but it was pretty faint. So I added some Caramel and Bavarian Creme to make it this version of RWhy4:

10% Double RY4
5% Caramel
5% Bavarian Creme

The Double RY4 and Bavarian Creme were ecigexpress "Signature" flavors, and the Caramel was Flavor Apprentice (Original) Caramel flavor.

Again, there is some flavor there, but it's pretty faint. I thought 20% flavoring would be a little stronger. So I guess I'll set it on the shelf for a few days and try it again before adding anything more to it. (I figure my taste buds are shot since I've only been off cigarettes for a week after smoking a pack a day for 35 or so years.)

I also noticed that my 5% Cowboy/CowLand Blend mix that has been steeping a few days is getting to be a darker yellow, so I thought I'd give it another try. When I opened it I still got a very flowery/perfumey/soapy smell. I dripped some on the atty and it was still just a very floral taste. So, It's back on the shelf.

I decided to take Will's advice, and mixed up four more bottles of the Cowboy at 1%, 3%, 7%, and 9%. I didn't even try them, just mixed them up and set them on the shelf to steep a week or two first. They all have the same weird smell, just at varying degrees.

I noticed that when I open the Cowland Blend bottle to make the new batches, it smells just like the mixes I've made with it. I had my wife smell it since I'm having a hard time describing it. She says it's not flowers or perfume, but some kind of overpowering sweet chemical smell that she can't place either. Should a tobacco flavoring smell like that? I expected it to smell more like tobacco.

Hopefully Wizard Labs will ship out my order soon and I'll have a bunch of other flavors to try while these sit for a while.

 

[RobertNC]

Of the flavors that you have mentioned:

TFA Red - not flowery but very peppery.
TFA Flue Cured - Definitely flowery. I add a drop to a 3 mL batch occasionally just to add some complexity, no more than that though.

You may want to try FlavourArt Virginia. It does not have much tobacco taste unfortunately but it also does not have the weird perfumey tastes many tobaccos have.

Another couple to throw out there as not flowery:

TobaccoExpress 555
TobaccoExpress B&H
TobaccoExpress Virginia

 

[DaveNC]

Thanks Robert. It looks like I didn't make the best choices to start out with. I'll have to try some of the ones you mentioned in my next flavor order.

 

[darkhood]

tobacco flavors are hit or miss, the only one I've like from FA is royal - the rest have been sitting on my shelf since I got em. FA makes great fruit flavors and GREAT mixes (hypnotic mist, liquid amber, etc). Not sure they're the best for tobacco though.

 

[RobertNC]

Thanks Robert. It looks like I didn't make the best choices to start out with. I'll have to try some of the ones you mentioned in my next flavor order.

Join the club. It is hard to find good tobacco flavors. I've yet to find one that tastes like just good old basic tobacco. Now I am happy with anything that does not taste like patchouli or incense, lol.