How to reduce steep time

[zouzounaki]

You could try it out for yourself and see @memzey . It might change a bit, the flavours might degrade natural over time, but what we call steeping (flavours developing, distinctive colour changes) wouldn’t.

@Cliffyboy1962 is in something of a minority of non-believers. We could probably describe him as a heretic.

 

[memzey]

You could try it out for yourself and see @memzey . It might change a bit, the flavours might degrade natural over time, but what we call steeping (flavours developing, distinctive colour changes) wouldn’t.

@Cliffyboy1962 is in something of a minority of non-believers. We could probably describe him as a heretic.

lol! I'm going to focus my attention on meeting my current DIY e-liquid needs at the moment, as I still have some way to go before I'm happy with my mixing. Once I'm producing e-liquid that I consider to be acceptable to my needs then I may indeed do some experimenting to see if I can establish some deeper understanding. Anecdotally the pure flavours I mixed up the other day with 72mg nic are already darkening nicely, moreso than would have been the case if I'd mixed them with pg/vg I feel (although that may in all fairness be an inevitable consequence of them being more concentrated). I'm also trying @StrawberryRipple 's trick of changing out the air each day. I can't see how it would hurt and expelling carriers in the air (like alcohol particles) may improve things, logically speaking.

 

[Cliffyboy1962]

Yes - logically that would be the case as there would be no nic for the flavours to react with so whatever process occurred could not accurately be considered steeping. So does that mean no flavour enhancement can occur when nic is not present or does it lend credence to @Cliffyboy1962 's theory of degradation taking harsh notes away over time? Cliff - do you use nic in your mixes or do you vape at 0mg?

I vape DTL at 3mg and MTL at 18mg. I appreciate I am swimming against the tide with my opinions on steeping but heretical? Well, @zouzounaki is a bit of a drama queen. Cliff the Heretic, does have quite a ring to it though.

 

[zouzounaki]

It’s personal preference, really. I usually start puffing a bottle of liquid as soon as I’ve mixed it, but I do notice the flavour improving over time. Some don’t change much and others change a lot.

 

[memzey]

It’s personal preference, really. I usually start puffing a bottle of liquid as soon as I’ve mixed it, but I do notice the flavour improving over time. Some don’t change much and others change a lot.

As soon as you’ve mixed the steeped flavours and nic with the PG/VG?

on another note: I mixed a shake and vape mango last night at 5%. A bit acrid and harsh on the throat at first but much better this morning. I suspect that some “gassing off” occurs with flavours which should be taken in to account.

 

[zouzounaki]

@memzey i don’t bother steeping flavours and nic first. I usually make a litre of unflavoured 12mg at 50/50 and then decant it into smaller bottles as i need it, and add flavours then. it’s quicker and easier.

 

[memzey]

@memzey i don’t bother steeping flavours and nic first. I usually make a litre of unflavoured 12mg at 50/50 and then decant it into smaller bottles as i need it, and add flavours then. it’s quicker and easier.

Right - so you don’t actually use the nic+flavour steep technique most of the time then? Unless I’m missing something the method I have quoted above means you don’t steep at all, as flavours and nic only come into contact at the last minute. I take it this is used mainly for fruits and other flavours that don’t need a long steep, right?

 

[zouzounaki]

Right - so you don’t actually use the nic+flavour steep technique most of the time then? Unless I’m missing something the method I have quoted above means you don’t steep at all, as flavours and nic only come into contact at the last minute. I take it this is used mainly for fruits and other flavours that don’t need a long steep, right?

No, it’s much easier for me to use the method i described above. It does steep, but not for a specific amount of time. I’ll just stick it in the cupboard and it goes into the rotation. Certain ones I’ll try not to touch for a week, but mostly i’ll puff a tank or two. I usually have a load of bottles on the go so they can sit for quite some time before they end up finished. There’s always a difference between just mixed and months old.

The thing about fruits not needing to steep, i find the flavour does still develop with a lot of them. Pomegranate, plum, fig and others i use i find they do improve. It the usually i’m mixing them with tobacco, custard etc.

 

[MarylinC37]

As I'm still new to mixing I'd value your opinions. Most people seem to say you should leave liquids in a cool dark place to steep.

Having read the article Richard Winter linked to earlier, it seems to be saying the way to speed things up is to use various methods to warm up the liquid which makes sense to me. Chemicals react and move around much more when they're warmed up so leaving them in a cool place doesn't seem right to me.

I'd be interested to understand why most people recommend steeping in cooler conditions.

 

[Richard Winter]

As I'm still new to mixing I'd value your opinions. Most people seem to say you should leave liquids in a cool dark place to steep.

Having read the article Richard Winter linked to earlier, it seems to be saying the way to speed things up is to use various methods to warm up the liquid which makes sense to me. Chemicals react and move around much more when they're warmed up so leaving them in a cool place doesn't seem right to me.

I'd be interested to understand why most people recommend steeping in cooler conditions.

The cool dark place is the easiest and most convenient way of steeping. A shake every now and again, let old air out now and again then forget it till your ready to vape.
There are many other methods that can be used to aid or speed up steeping but these do require some interaction lol
I'm guessing most people just leave for a couple of weeks in the cupboard out of direct sun light till they are ready to vape.