SessionDrummer
Postman
- Joined
- Nov 17, 2018
- Messages
- 157
Guys, James from https://LiquidDIY.com.au went and did it AGAIN !!!!!!! I can't say for sure, but I suspect they moved soo much of the Duomei LAST time, they got some MORE !!!!!
Thanks VERY much out to James for thinking of me, AND us. I know Luke, Hatrick, and I were ALL looking forward to the Vanilla Custard, and Fruit Loops !!!!!!
https://www.liquiddiy.com.au/douomei-flavours-duo
As always these are VERY hard to come by flavors, so if you ARE interested, hop on over to Diquid DIY and pick yours up before they're gone.
***Disclaimer -- These flavors were sent by James from LiquidDIY for the purposes of this review. But, as always, if I taste it, you WILL know it.***
**Bubblegum (Duomei) 0.8% (6-7-23)** -- For the FIRST FLAVOR in this second series of Duomei's I could TELL it was going to be good, JUST by smelling it. Obviously TASTING can sometimes be VERY different. In this case, they were identical. Smelling and Tasting this one revealed I believe one of, if THE most accurate Pink Bubble Gum flavors I have ever tried. Some others have come close, but this one, was ON point, and I believe, now the ONE to beat. Hyper accurate chewy, juicy, pink bubblegum, and it was so closely matched, that at times I almost tasted the powdered sugar/starch on the outside of the gum. It was so realistic, I kept trying to decide if it was a Hubba Bubba, or a Bubble Yumm, but couldn't decide. At the low weight of 0.8%, it was nicely full, and I didn't feel the need to boost it, and I'm sure you COULD go a little higher if you needed. No off-notes, and sweetness was just above mid-level. Very nicely done by Duomei, and (repeating), I think this is/will be my reigning Bubble Gum champion at this point. VERY hard to assign take-offs to this one, as it just did exactly what it was supposed to do, and nothing more. Just a hyper accurate, juicy, pink, sweet bubble gum with just about everything EXCEPT the bubbles. Too hard to leave this one at anything other than a stellar high note, and it felt JUST barely below perfect, at a **9.9/10**.
**Butterscotch (Duomei) 0,8% (6-9-23)** -- This one turned out to be an interesting Butterscotch flavor. At 0.8% it was fairly present, but felt like it might be able to be pushed up a bit. It did present as a BS, but some of the rich, buttery-ness was lacking. Even with that, it didn't feel lacking. There were a large portion of darker, almost burnt notes that pulled it down into a darker BS. I think @lukeloop described it as "smoky-ness", and although I didn't get any smoky from this one, the darker/burnt notes did persist. It was at about mid-level sweet, and beyond the darker/burnt notes, there were no off-notes to be had here. I struggled to decide whether or not the dark/burnt notes helped, or hurt the flavor overall, and although I don't think it/they were detrimental to it, it/they did pull it to the darker side. I would have preferred a brighter, much more buttery BS. All in, not a bad BS, and the "smoky", or darker/burnt elements may or may not be to every user's tastes. In total, not bad for a darker BS, and it felt fairly placed at a **7.5/10**.
**Cherry (Duomei) 0.5% )6-9-23)** -- Cherries CAN be scary. There's just NO other way to put it, and you NEVER know what you'll get when you are testing a NEW one, hehe. Good news here, was that there were NO florals, perfumes, soaps, nadda. So THAT is the biggest hurdle to get past, and Duomei DID. Now, with that said, hehe, there WAS something TO this Cherry that took me a little bit to figure out, and I think I FINALLY DID. Only for you guys, do I struggle to really nail these flavors down, as I taste them, and sometimes it's actually pretty hard. After MUCH consideration, this one WAS a pairing of a Cherry Compote, with a Chai Tea. YES, that IS what I got from it, and it really took me a while to nail it down. I tested it lower at 0.5%, and it in no way was ceiling smashing, or folding over on itself, but it really did taste like a pairing of the two. At first I though "spiced cherry" ??, but the more testers I threw back, it settled to my tastes to be very Chai Tea like. The compote cherry was actually very good, with some darker, almost jammed aspects to it, BUT, the Chai Tea note(s) were always there. Now, it was good, AND unique, BUT, will it fit YOUR needs for a Cherry ?? That's the question. As a solo cherry it didn't really pass muster, BECAUSE of the spicy notes, but as a mixer/blender, it could REALLY be useful, and in many different ways. It was very present but not overbearing at 0.5%, and was at about mid-level sweet, with no (errrrr) off-notes, UNLESS you qualify Chai Tea as an off note LOL. Rating this will be hard, as it was actually really good, and it WAS unique for a Cherry, BUT, I have to rate JUST as a solo flavor as named, SO, as a specific, solo Cherry I would have to down rate it a bit down to **5.5/10**, but as a pretty damned interesting cherry / chai tea mix, I'd rate it much higher at a 9.0/10. Even with the lower rating, I'd still recommend this as it was interesting.
**Mint 0.5% (Duomei) 6-9-23** -- Being a HEAVY Mojito drinker, I KNOW my mints. So much so that I grow my own, so I'm the guy for testing all things Mints. This one, however, was NOT the mint I was looking for, as it was NOT a fresh mint. Upon the very first taste, I knew what it was ...
Now, I think it's safe to say that ^^^^^^ this profile is/was NOT in my wheelhouse. Mint/menthol/eucalyptus/cooling. There you have it. NOW, if you like that type of profile, this IS the one for you. If however you are/were looking for a fresh mint profile, this would NOT be the one for you. The mint THAT was present was ok, but it was fairly saturated with the menthol/eucalyptus, and I couldn't NOT think of the halls cough drops. Surprisingly it was even keeled at 0.5% without being overbearing, and the cooling was fairly prevalent throughout. Sweetness was lower than mid-level, with the cooling being above mid-level. I hate to say it, but I could not see this working out for any of my personal mint required recipes. Maybe it could work out in one of yours. As a minty/cooled cough drop I would rate it VERY high, but as a "mint", I have to apply fairly heavy take-offs, leaving it at a **1.5/10**.
**Fruit Loops (Duomei) 1.0%/1.4% (6-9-23)** -- ANY of you Loopers out there who have tried most of the offerings know how most of them fall short. I'm ALWAYS up to see who's going to try and get it right NEXT. It's not often upon the FIRST taste, that I can exactly nail down the ONE thing that would make a flavor perfect, but I DID, with this one. This one smelled REALLY good out of the bottle, and when finger testing, AND that continued when testing it. It was probably the most spot on Fruit Loops flavor from any manufacturer, EXCEPT, for one thing. The grain. It was VERY light in the mix, and because the REST of the flavor profile(s) were SO good, the missing grain WAS noticeable. Now, was that a flavor killer ?? Hellz to the No, this was a GREAT loops flavor regardless. It really perfectly captured the dominant lemon, with a lighter orange, and SOME grainy-ness, and the associated "cereal" notes. The sweetness, while almost bordering on high, did perfectly mimic the cereal, and the "sugar lips" effect, and I would rate it a few ticks above mid-level sweet. For a test, I did boost it up to 1.4%, and it actually got even better (I didn't think that would be possible), but the cereal grains still stayed very low in the mix. As I continued through 3 testers LOOKING for any weaknesses, off-notes, or mark downs, I could not find a single complaint or issue. The lemon while higher in the mix, was VERY nicely done, without approaching "Lemon Pledge", or becoming fatiguing. The only thing stopping it from being a "Release the Kraken" 10/10, was the very light cereal grains. Thsi OBVIOUSLY could very easily be fixed, with little to no effort by pairing with CAP's Silverline Fruit Circles, which had outstanding cereal grains. Now, the hard part. For a flavor that soo many have tried to capture, with soo few successes, how to rate this one, WITH the light grains. I toiled over this for quite a while before the third tester ran dry, and I finally settled on a **9.1/10**. If you love the loops, and have some Silverline Fruit Circles, just buy the BIG BOTTLE now, and consider your Loopity Looper Loops DONE.
**Green Grape (Duomei) (Re-Test) 0.8% (6-9-23)** -- This is/was a RE-Test of the Green Grape from Duomei, and at double the earlier rate. As before his one smelled VERY promising in the bottle, and, proved to be just as promising when testing. Unique was accurate, as I don't think I've got anything like this on my racks. I don't know if I would have purchased a green grape or not, but thanks out to James, I have it. Another first tor this review is that I was actually EATING some green grapes while testing it, and honestly, this flavor was BETTER than the grapes I was eating. Now to be fair, they weren't the best green grapes, BUT, this flavor took the lead. It DEF. had the "green" part from the grape down pat, and there was NO white, or purple present. It leaned fairly heavily to a natural gg, and the more I tested it, the more authentic it appeared to be. Fresh, natural, with plenty of "green", and dammit, "grape". It's hard to put into words, but needless to say, this one DID taste like a green grape. At times, I thought I MIGHT have tasted just a smidge of light green apple accents, but then it would disappear, so I can't count that as a persistent note. No real off-notes, and it was just about mid-level sweet. Maybe a little of the skin, but no stems LOL. The finish had a very nice tart-ness to it, that really sealed the deal for me, and pushed it further into the authentic. I went back and checked my notes from the previous test at 0.4%, and now that I've tested it at 0.8%, it WAS much improved. About the only 0ff-note (and I hate to use that word in this case) would be the slight, green apple note, but it was so slight, it really didn't detract from this at all. All in, a pretty damned convincing green grape, with a tart finish. Because it was very convincing, I had to rate this one higher @ **9.5/10**. I will update the flavor review to show these notes from the higher percentage.
Thanks VERY much out to James for thinking of me, AND us. I know Luke, Hatrick, and I were ALL looking forward to the Vanilla Custard, and Fruit Loops !!!!!!
https://www.liquiddiy.com.au/douomei-flavours-duo
As always these are VERY hard to come by flavors, so if you ARE interested, hop on over to Diquid DIY and pick yours up before they're gone.
***Disclaimer -- These flavors were sent by James from LiquidDIY for the purposes of this review. But, as always, if I taste it, you WILL know it.***
ALL were steeped over 3 weeks, while I was finishing the previous review series. All are tested at the listed weights, in a 70v/30p/3mg carrier/NIC base, and tested on my beloved SteamCrave RDTA v.1 running dual, vertical Kanthal 24 ga. 7 wrap coils, running at 65 watts. Fresh coils were installed at the beginning of the series, with dry burned coils, and fresh KGD cotton for every flavor.
**Bubblegum (Duomei) 0.8% (6-7-23)** -- For the FIRST FLAVOR in this second series of Duomei's I could TELL it was going to be good, JUST by smelling it. Obviously TASTING can sometimes be VERY different. In this case, they were identical. Smelling and Tasting this one revealed I believe one of, if THE most accurate Pink Bubble Gum flavors I have ever tried. Some others have come close, but this one, was ON point, and I believe, now the ONE to beat. Hyper accurate chewy, juicy, pink bubblegum, and it was so closely matched, that at times I almost tasted the powdered sugar/starch on the outside of the gum. It was so realistic, I kept trying to decide if it was a Hubba Bubba, or a Bubble Yumm, but couldn't decide. At the low weight of 0.8%, it was nicely full, and I didn't feel the need to boost it, and I'm sure you COULD go a little higher if you needed. No off-notes, and sweetness was just above mid-level. Very nicely done by Duomei, and (repeating), I think this is/will be my reigning Bubble Gum champion at this point. VERY hard to assign take-offs to this one, as it just did exactly what it was supposed to do, and nothing more. Just a hyper accurate, juicy, pink, sweet bubble gum with just about everything EXCEPT the bubbles. Too hard to leave this one at anything other than a stellar high note, and it felt JUST barely below perfect, at a **9.9/10**.
**Butterscotch (Duomei) 0,8% (6-9-23)** -- This one turned out to be an interesting Butterscotch flavor. At 0.8% it was fairly present, but felt like it might be able to be pushed up a bit. It did present as a BS, but some of the rich, buttery-ness was lacking. Even with that, it didn't feel lacking. There were a large portion of darker, almost burnt notes that pulled it down into a darker BS. I think @lukeloop described it as "smoky-ness", and although I didn't get any smoky from this one, the darker/burnt notes did persist. It was at about mid-level sweet, and beyond the darker/burnt notes, there were no off-notes to be had here. I struggled to decide whether or not the dark/burnt notes helped, or hurt the flavor overall, and although I don't think it/they were detrimental to it, it/they did pull it to the darker side. I would have preferred a brighter, much more buttery BS. All in, not a bad BS, and the "smoky", or darker/burnt elements may or may not be to every user's tastes. In total, not bad for a darker BS, and it felt fairly placed at a **7.5/10**.
**Cherry (Duomei) 0.5% )6-9-23)** -- Cherries CAN be scary. There's just NO other way to put it, and you NEVER know what you'll get when you are testing a NEW one, hehe. Good news here, was that there were NO florals, perfumes, soaps, nadda. So THAT is the biggest hurdle to get past, and Duomei DID. Now, with that said, hehe, there WAS something TO this Cherry that took me a little bit to figure out, and I think I FINALLY DID. Only for you guys, do I struggle to really nail these flavors down, as I taste them, and sometimes it's actually pretty hard. After MUCH consideration, this one WAS a pairing of a Cherry Compote, with a Chai Tea. YES, that IS what I got from it, and it really took me a while to nail it down. I tested it lower at 0.5%, and it in no way was ceiling smashing, or folding over on itself, but it really did taste like a pairing of the two. At first I though "spiced cherry" ??, but the more testers I threw back, it settled to my tastes to be very Chai Tea like. The compote cherry was actually very good, with some darker, almost jammed aspects to it, BUT, the Chai Tea note(s) were always there. Now, it was good, AND unique, BUT, will it fit YOUR needs for a Cherry ?? That's the question. As a solo cherry it didn't really pass muster, BECAUSE of the spicy notes, but as a mixer/blender, it could REALLY be useful, and in many different ways. It was very present but not overbearing at 0.5%, and was at about mid-level sweet, with no (errrrr) off-notes, UNLESS you qualify Chai Tea as an off note LOL. Rating this will be hard, as it was actually really good, and it WAS unique for a Cherry, BUT, I have to rate JUST as a solo flavor as named, SO, as a specific, solo Cherry I would have to down rate it a bit down to **5.5/10**, but as a pretty damned interesting cherry / chai tea mix, I'd rate it much higher at a 9.0/10. Even with the lower rating, I'd still recommend this as it was interesting.
**Mint 0.5% (Duomei) 6-9-23** -- Being a HEAVY Mojito drinker, I KNOW my mints. So much so that I grow my own, so I'm the guy for testing all things Mints. This one, however, was NOT the mint I was looking for, as it was NOT a fresh mint. Upon the very first taste, I knew what it was ...
Now, I think it's safe to say that ^^^^^^ this profile is/was NOT in my wheelhouse. Mint/menthol/eucalyptus/cooling. There you have it. NOW, if you like that type of profile, this IS the one for you. If however you are/were looking for a fresh mint profile, this would NOT be the one for you. The mint THAT was present was ok, but it was fairly saturated with the menthol/eucalyptus, and I couldn't NOT think of the halls cough drops. Surprisingly it was even keeled at 0.5% without being overbearing, and the cooling was fairly prevalent throughout. Sweetness was lower than mid-level, with the cooling being above mid-level. I hate to say it, but I could not see this working out for any of my personal mint required recipes. Maybe it could work out in one of yours. As a minty/cooled cough drop I would rate it VERY high, but as a "mint", I have to apply fairly heavy take-offs, leaving it at a **1.5/10**.
**Fruit Loops (Duomei) 1.0%/1.4% (6-9-23)** -- ANY of you Loopers out there who have tried most of the offerings know how most of them fall short. I'm ALWAYS up to see who's going to try and get it right NEXT. It's not often upon the FIRST taste, that I can exactly nail down the ONE thing that would make a flavor perfect, but I DID, with this one. This one smelled REALLY good out of the bottle, and when finger testing, AND that continued when testing it. It was probably the most spot on Fruit Loops flavor from any manufacturer, EXCEPT, for one thing. The grain. It was VERY light in the mix, and because the REST of the flavor profile(s) were SO good, the missing grain WAS noticeable. Now, was that a flavor killer ?? Hellz to the No, this was a GREAT loops flavor regardless. It really perfectly captured the dominant lemon, with a lighter orange, and SOME grainy-ness, and the associated "cereal" notes. The sweetness, while almost bordering on high, did perfectly mimic the cereal, and the "sugar lips" effect, and I would rate it a few ticks above mid-level sweet. For a test, I did boost it up to 1.4%, and it actually got even better (I didn't think that would be possible), but the cereal grains still stayed very low in the mix. As I continued through 3 testers LOOKING for any weaknesses, off-notes, or mark downs, I could not find a single complaint or issue. The lemon while higher in the mix, was VERY nicely done, without approaching "Lemon Pledge", or becoming fatiguing. The only thing stopping it from being a "Release the Kraken" 10/10, was the very light cereal grains. Thsi OBVIOUSLY could very easily be fixed, with little to no effort by pairing with CAP's Silverline Fruit Circles, which had outstanding cereal grains. Now, the hard part. For a flavor that soo many have tried to capture, with soo few successes, how to rate this one, WITH the light grains. I toiled over this for quite a while before the third tester ran dry, and I finally settled on a **9.1/10**. If you love the loops, and have some Silverline Fruit Circles, just buy the BIG BOTTLE now, and consider your Loopity Looper Loops DONE.
**Green Grape (Duomei) (Re-Test) 0.8% (6-9-23)** -- This is/was a RE-Test of the Green Grape from Duomei, and at double the earlier rate. As before his one smelled VERY promising in the bottle, and, proved to be just as promising when testing. Unique was accurate, as I don't think I've got anything like this on my racks. I don't know if I would have purchased a green grape or not, but thanks out to James, I have it. Another first tor this review is that I was actually EATING some green grapes while testing it, and honestly, this flavor was BETTER than the grapes I was eating. Now to be fair, they weren't the best green grapes, BUT, this flavor took the lead. It DEF. had the "green" part from the grape down pat, and there was NO white, or purple present. It leaned fairly heavily to a natural gg, and the more I tested it, the more authentic it appeared to be. Fresh, natural, with plenty of "green", and dammit, "grape". It's hard to put into words, but needless to say, this one DID taste like a green grape. At times, I thought I MIGHT have tasted just a smidge of light green apple accents, but then it would disappear, so I can't count that as a persistent note. No real off-notes, and it was just about mid-level sweet. Maybe a little of the skin, but no stems LOL. The finish had a very nice tart-ness to it, that really sealed the deal for me, and pushed it further into the authentic. I went back and checked my notes from the previous test at 0.4%, and now that I've tested it at 0.8%, it WAS much improved. About the only 0ff-note (and I hate to use that word in this case) would be the slight, green apple note, but it was so slight, it really didn't detract from this at all. All in, a pretty damned convincing green grape, with a tart finish. Because it was very convincing, I had to rate this one higher @ **9.5/10**. I will update the flavor review to show these notes from the higher percentage.