Brown Sugar Extra from Flavor Apprentice

[horton]

I need some advice regarding the flavor mentioned in the title. When I open the bottle, I don't smell any sweet aroma, basically smell nothing. I was hoping someone who has used this flavoring in the past could give me some advice on what proportions to mix it and possibly any recipies you may have used it in. I was hoping to use it to use it in either a waffle or french toast juice. When I made test samples of just the Brown Sugar, it tasted awful in strengths ranging from 5% to 20% using just VG as the diluent. Is there some "trick" to using this flavor?
Any advice or suggestions would be greatly appreciated..... Thanks very much... horton

 

[aprioristic]

Flavor Reviews

You got it directly from TFA? She doesn't call it "extra". IDK if that is one where the recipe changed.

I haven't used it, but have some similar types of things. Sounds like you might be using too much, especially up toward 20%. My guess is it is only good for mixing. What do you mean by "tastes awful"? Sometimes flavors do need more % to bring out their true colors, sometimes they change to a bad character when you have too much. Maybe try lower?

 

[horton]

Yes, straight from the TFA. The bottle reads exactly as I put in the title of my post, Brown Sugar Extra. I am starting to wonder if it is best used for mixing with other flavors. I really was not looking for a brown sugar only vape, but wanted to use it in other recipies. I was simply testing it to see how it tasted by itself. When I say "tastes awful" I mean I get sort of a chemical solvent taste, and I made sure to shake the bottle well before using. Maybe I need to try a lower % and see how it works mixed with some other flavors. I just don't want to trash a batch of juice.
Thanks for your input.... I'll try making up something with some other flavors and use the Brown Sugar in a lower % to see what happens.
Appreciate your reply..... horton

 

[aprioristic]

OK, I think she maybe just didn't update the name on her site, but I believe that "extra" means she updated the recipe at some point to make it stronger. I could be wrong but think she did that with some other stuff like Blueberry. So yeah... try lower. Just try doubling the 5% mix and add another flavor, then drip some 20% mix in or something if you need it.

 

[horton]

I think I do remember reading something to that effect on her site. With the 15ml bottle I bought, it could be a lifetime supply of Brown Sugar...lol. I'll give your suggestion a go. Thanks again for your help.....horton

 

[Liv2Ski]

I have found that this is not a good stand alone flavor. I have it and use it as a background flavor to add to apple Pie, apple cookie, cinnamon roll etc. when I use it I mix it at low levels around 2%. I find this flavor to be along the lines of the Caramel flavors and agian used to enhance a juice and add some complexity but alone they are flat. Also try adding about 1% of sweetner (either the cotton candy, ethyl malto or the sweetner flavor, sucralose) which will give the juice some "pop" and liven it up a bit. I am using 80pg/20vg so I mix very light. You may have a harder time with 100% vg since it tends to mute flavors. Hope this helps and happy DIY

 

[horton]

Thanks for the tips. I agree by using 100% VG I'm muting the flavors. I'll try a change up with the mix and reduce the amount of VG.
I really appreciate all the help..... I'll get this figured out and put the Brown Sugar to good use.
Again, my thanks for all the suggestions...horton

 

[Hoosier]

The only existing recipe I can think of that uses that flavoring is http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/e-liquid-recipes/134487-mojito.html.

I've been playing with this recipe for awhile, but haven't gotten it adjusted to my tastes yet. It is interesting though.

 

[MaxUT]

More Brown Sugar Extra:

Cinnamon Almond
PA Toasted Almond 15%
PA Brown Sugar Extra 7%
PA Cinnamon 4%
Capella Vanilla Custard 2%
VG base* 72%

Snickerdoodle
PA Brown Sugar Extra 12%
PA Vanilla Bean Ice Cream 12%
PA Cinnamon 3%
PA Sweetener 3%
VG base* 70%

*80% VG / 20% distilled water

I would call these recipes "unfinished" since they're only version 2 or 3, but should be close enough for someone to start with.

 

[MaxUT]

http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/e-liquid-recipes/134487-mojito.html.

It is interesting though.

LOL, getting the Lime and Spearmint to 'stay put' is my problem! Yours too?

 

[Hoosier]

LOL, getting the Lime and Spearmint to 'stay put' is my problem! Yours too?

I think I have discovered a trick that keeps the spearmint in place, kept it tasting the same level throughout my last 6ml batch. The lime is still jumping all over the map though. It can go from, "yeah there is a hint of lime there" to "holy cow I don't think that lime I'm eating has ripened yet!", between cart fills. So I've got that part left to figure out without re-releasing the jumpy spearmint.

There is greatness in that recipe at times. Still trying to tame it. It IS interesting!

 

[horton]

Thanks for the recipies..... now time to order some of the flavors I don't have...lol. I think by the time it's all said and done, I'll have a complete flavoring lab able to make any flavor on the planet. I'm running out of room for all the bottles and equipment. Glad my wife is a good sport about it. But, I'm enjoying myself and that to me is what it's all about..... Those recipies really look interesting.

 

[TJVapes]

about the chemical taste/smell... I've found that generally the flavors need to steep just the same as mixed juice needs to steep. I had several large bottles of TFA flavors that were chemical smelling but today they smell much better. The components used to make flavors need to meld together, in my opinion.

 

[horton]

I am noticing some very slight changes to the aromas of two of the flavors I purchased. But, there still is a very strong bitter smell.... that's the best I can describe it. Reminds me a little of paint thinner...yuk. I've only had them a couple of days, so I'll give them some more time. Keeping them in a cool, dark environment. I sure hope they do get better. Hate to think I wasted my cash on poor quality merchandise.

 

[aprioristic]

The whole steeping thing is very curious to me. The very basic advice given, hot water bath and/or let it sit for a week if it doesn't taste good, isn't good enough for me. I want to know what is really going on. It could be very different from flavor to flavor. Anyhow, back to the original point on how flavors can change depending on concentration, here's an excerpt from an Perfumer & Flavorist article on "high-impact flavors" (ones active at very small amounts), but i know it applies to flavorings we buy too.

Roasted, Burnt Flavors

This sector is the first associated with cooked food; in this and the following sectors the high-impact chemicals are those produced in the Maillard reaction. For roasted and burnt notes, derivatives of furfuryl mercaptan (28) are paramount. The mercaptan itself, with an odor threshold of 0.005ppb, was the first high-impact aroma chemical to be identified. It exhibits
one of the classic phenomena associated with high-impact chemicals, the change in the nature of the odor with concentration. At low concentrations (0.01-0.5ppb), the material has a roasted-coffee aroma, becoming burnt and sulphurous in the range 1-10ppb. The neat material has no coffee odor, only an unpleasant oily smell resembling gasoline. Derivatives of furfuryl mercaptan tend to be somewhat less odorous; the disulphide (29) (dithiodimethylenedifuran) is much less obnoxious, and the mixed disulphide furfuryl methyl disulphide (30) has a pleasant sweet coffee (mocha) aroma; the latter has an odor threshold of 0.04ppb.​

 

[horton]

That article is talking some pretty tiny concentrations. I'm thinking we would have to do some very careful measuring and dispensing to get the right amounts to obtain the optimum flavor. This is starting to sound like my quant. chemistry class....lol.
May have in invest in some more precise measuring devices like glass pipettes, etc. There are sites that sell off older lab equipment that may come in handy for measuring and using amounts this tiny.

PS... you can check out the Maillard Reaction in Wikipedia. Sounds like it is a rather important reaction in food prep. Better have a chem book or two handy to wade through the technical stuff.

 

[aprioristic]

Yeah, I'm not going to be working in parts per billion any time soon heh. Look up the thread on "pandan" in this forum, I'm onto the whole Maillard thing, it's critical to the flavoring industry. It's been a while since I had any chemistry classes, but been trying to learn recently. I'm lucky my brother is a chem doctoral student so I get to bug him with questions =)

 

[Hoosier]

Not wanting to get too deep in this, but the whole hot water bath & steeping if for diffusion. That is all it really does, but it is helpful.

 

[keelalagirl55]

Just a quick thought on steeping.....ever notice how food such as soups and stews, chili and homemade spaghetti sauce tastes soooo much better the next day??? That IMO is the steeping sitch.....it allows the flavor to fully combine with the base and "ripen" for lack of a better word atm.....

 

[leannebug]

Hi Horton!

Ok.. I've used the Brown Sugar before. (oh.. it's a TPA flavor.. from The Perfumers Apprentice... not TFA)

The brown sugar is a complimentary flavor. It's best as an addition, not as a main flavor base. (like the creams and whatnots) The recipe I used it in is a Snickerdoodle cookie.. just as someone else did. Except in my recipe, the brown sugar is at a smaller percent. Some drops are just better as compliments, and can't carry the whole flavoring. It's like butter. You really wouldn't want to vape plain butter, but in a cookie mix, it's quite tasty!

As to steeping: some juices do better after sitting for a while. It takes longer for the flavors (like the oils) to mix into the recipe, and merge together. Other juices are fine from day one. This is just a hit or miss, and you'll have to find these out for yourself (unless it's listed in the recipe)

HTH!