New Vaper, Same liquid now tastes like menthol. Weird or normal?

[Galactic Stone]

This is probably a really dumb question, but I am shameless, so here goes :

Started out with those Blu disposables, moved to Blu rechargeable, and then graduated to a eGo-T/CE5 rig which I have been using for less than a month. I have tried exactly two(!) different e-liquids - four if I count the two Blu flavors I tried (tobacco and cherry). Obviously, my experience is very limited and my tastebuds are semi-virginal and still adjusting to a full switch from inhaling analog cigars to vaping.

Here is my issue. Lately (last 24+ hours), the flavor I am getting from my liquid is taking on a growing menthol after-taste. This is when using two non-menthol liquids. The first liquid is a strong, darker, thicker, "Gator Vapor" brand that is labeled as "Mar Red" and is supposed to taste like a Marlboro Red analog. That liquid is 24mg or 28mg of nicotine (forget which at the moment and it's not at hand to check). The second liquid I have tried is a Wicked brand that the store clerk claimed I would like based on my preference for a Marlboro-like taste. That bottle is 18mg, thinner, lighter, and is labeled "Pillbox 38". FWIW, the Wicked brand seems to produce more vapor than the Gator, but the Gator seems to have more flavor at first. However, both liquids are tasting about the same and I get a menthol aftertaste when I exhale and for a few minutes after each vape. I have tried menthol cigarettes in the distant past and never liked them, so maybe my brain is playing some weird trick of memory-taste on me?

Or, is this some kind of standard transition that a person goes through when making a radical switch in their nicotine delivery system - from brute force analog cigar to a more delicate vaporized product? Are my deadened taste buds (killed by years of chainsmoking analogs) coming back to life in some way, or is my already-damaged sense of taste just moving into new territory that is par for the course?

Or, am I just nuts?

 

[mkbilbo]

This is probably a really dumb question, but I am shameless, so here goes :

Started out with those Blu disposables, moved to Blu rechargeable, and then graduated to a eGo-T/CE5 rig which I have been using for less than a month. I have tried exactly two(!) different e-liquids - four if I count the two Blu flavors I tried (tobacco and cherry). Obviously, my experience is very limited and my tastebuds are semi-virginal and still adjusting to a full switch from inhaling analog cigars to vaping.

Here is my issue. Lately (last 24+ hours), the flavor I am getting from my liquid is taking on a growing menthol after-taste. This is when using two non-menthol liquids. The first liquid is a strong, darker, thicker, "Gator Vapor" brand that is labeled as "Mar Red" and is supposed to taste like a Marlboro Red analog. That liquid is 24mg or 28mg of nicotine (forget which at the moment and it's not at hand to check). The second liquid I have tried is a Wicked brand that the store clerk claimed I would like based on my preference for a Marlboro-like taste. That bottle is 18mg, thinner, lighter, and is labeled "Pillbox 38". FWIW, the Wicked brand seems to produce more vapor than the Gator, but the Gator seems to have more flavor at first. However, both liquids are tasting about the same and I get a menthol aftertaste when I exhale and for a few minutes after each vape. I have tried menthol cigarettes in the distant past and never liked them, so maybe my brain is playing some weird trick of memory-taste on me?

Or, is this some kind of standard transition that a person goes through when making a radical switch in their nicotine delivery system - from brute force analog cigar to a more delicate vaporized product? Are my deadened taste buds (killed by years of chainsmoking analogs) coming back to life in some way, or is my already-damaged sense of taste just moving into new territory that is par for the course?

Or, am I just nuts?

The early period of vaping, your taste buds will get weird on you sometimes. There's even a phenomena called "vaper's tongue" where your taste buds go on strike. Doesn't seem to affect your ability to taste food but you can't taste any juice (or barely can).

Since you say:

However, both liquids are tasting about the same...

That could be what's happening. I had vaper's tongue early on (may have made it worse on myself by overvaping a juice I discovered that I really, really, really liked). Just, wham, every juice was tasteless. Drug on for over a week. Very irritating!

It's hard to say. There's no "set schedule" for your taste buds recovering from smoking. They seem to do it, sometimes, in weird fits and starts.

Since you've only sampled a few juices so far, hard to say that's what's going on. You could try a couple more small samples of radically different tasting juices and see what happens. If things are starting to taste the same or no real taste at all. It's probably vaper's tongue.

Here's a little bit about it:

Taste Buds and Vapers Tongue

It does pass. It's no fun but it passes.

Further, as your taste recovers, your preferences may well change. I've gotten to advising new vapers to not buy big bottles of any liquid. No matter how much you like it. I did that with one I just loved. Bought big bottles of it. A few weeks in, I could not stand it. Literally thought it tasted like crap and could not vape it at all.

A few weeks after not touching it at all, I tried it again. And it's okay again.

I don't like it as much as I did at first but I also don't think it tastes revolting. But I'm only going to use up what I bought (so as to not waste the money). I won't be buying more. It's okay but just okay.

I haven't a clue what that was about. But what I liked at the start and what I vape now, they're pretty different. I have some bigger, pricey bottles I'm trying to rescue now. Fiddle with the flavoring myself (now that I'm doing some mixing of my own). They weren't cheap. Used to just love 'em. Now... meh...