SessionDrummer
Postman
- Joined
- Nov 17, 2018
- Messages
- 163
**UPDATED 1-16-23** -- NEW Flavors on deck !!!!!
Thanks out to Allan from Capella for not only letting me pick these flavors, but sending them out for this review. As always, all tested at the listed percentages, on the SteamCrave RDTA v.1 with dual Kanthal 24ga., 7 wrap, vertical coils.
**Candied Mango (CAP) 4% (1-17-23)** -- FIRST ONE out of the gate on these NEW Cap flavors, and it was GOOD !!!! A bright, juicy orange, with a smidge of yellow mango. Sweetness was just above mid level, and it just tasted great @ 4%. Now, onto the "candied" part, I think it is/was more than just adding sweetener, as I got an almost SunnyD nuance to this one. Now this did NOT take away from the juicy mango, but I think it did add an almost (not quite but almost) candied aspect to it. Sweet, fresh, and juicy were the three things, that just carried through form beginning to end with this one, and it was just almost complex enough to solo all day long (I did). No rind, or musky-ness present, and no off-putting notes could be found. It presented as maybe a 50/50 mix of natural/artificial, and it just worked. Your needs will dictate what kind of Mango you need, and this one was sweet, and somewhat candied, and although good, didn't lean fully natural, so that may decide it for you. For me, it was HARD to put down. For a fairly sweet, and juicy mango with an almost SunnyD twang on the finish, this one just worked for me. I couldn't go below a **9.8/10** on this one.
**Chocolate Caramel Nut (CAP) 4% (1-18-23)** -- Any of you who know me, KNOW that I am a S'mores junkie, and I have released numerous recipes to that effect. This flavor, is the BEST "not" S'mores I have ever tried. What does that mean ?? It tasted like an almost perfect S'mores, and maybe 85% of the way there. It is FAR closer than most, if not all of the actual S'mores flavors OUT there. I think what was happening was the "nut" portion wasn't overly "nutty" which was GREAT, but added just enough ooomph, and punch to the finish, that almost added some grainy-ness, which was similar to a graham cracker. The chocolate notes were almost perfect in this medley, and the caramel was just perfectly paired WITH it. It's no secret that I love CAP's Double Chocolate, and this one is similar, but not quite as dark, with no bitterness, or dryness. The way the caramel and chocolate are proportioned, just left them to MELD into something unique, and the "nut" on the finish just sealed the deal. I challenge anyone who gets this (and you should) to test it, and see if it DOESN'T taste like one of the best-est S'mores you have had. Nothing off-putting @ 4%, and it tasted very good at this weight. Just above mid-level sweet. NOW, scoring will be slightly complex BECAUSE of my obsession with S'mores, AND this flavor's similarities. I see no reason to mark down, as Chocolate, Caramel, and Nut is fairly similar. It DID exactly what the name implied, and it did it damned well, AND, just so happened to taste like a great S'mores as a bonus. Minor take-offs, as the nut was just a smidge low in the mix. I can't go lower than **9.7/10**.
**Chocolate Fudge Brownie v.3 (CAP) 4% (1-19-23)** -- I started out using this flavor versions ago, and there was something special about the way that Capella captured the brownie flavor. This version was no different. One of my simple favorite-ist brownie recipes was again, captured by this flavor. I knew the v.2's were a/p free, but still not 100% clear on what the v.3 changed. I had the luxury of EATING some brownies, WHILE testing this one, hehe, for science and shit.
As with the previous versions, the chocolate was key, and did favor more of a cocoa, and you could almost get the flour and baking soda, especially on the finish, and that was what really separated this one from the rest of the brownie pack. At 4% it was very rich, and full and sweetness was about mid level. Little to no off notes, but there was a slightly dry finish. I'm still not sure if it's an "off" note or not, as I think it added authenticity to the chocolate being more cocoa focused, than a creamy, or desert chocolate, which again, FITS the brownie profile. This is/was one of the darker flavors, and it did soil the coils a little more than a clear flavor, but nothing out of the ordinary for a daker flavor. 2nd tester in, my wife was growing tired of the "brownie fog" that I was creating. I searched for something, anything I could nit pick about, and the only slight tick off was the ever so slight dry finish. Very accurate brownie, and if you like brownies, and you haven't tried this one yet, you should. Finishing the 2nd tank, and this review, at a very good **9.5/10**.
**Chocolate Coconut Almond (CAP) 4% (1-27-23)** -- CAP Chocolate lovers rejoice, as we're coming back to this one. I pushed it further down in the list, rather than test 3 chocolates back to back. Starting with fresh eyes (tastebuds) on this one, revealed yet ANOTHER great chocolate flavor from Capella. This one was different from the Chocolate Fudge Brownie, but very similar to the Chocolate Caramel Nut, as expected. The chocolate was very rich and full @ 4%, and was light enough to squarely place it in the "candy bar" realm. What was interesting with this flavor was the way the Coconut (and Almond) were "melded" into the chocolate. The choco WAS the main player here, and although neither the coconut or almond were OVERTLY present, they were in there. I wouldn't call it a spot on "Almond Joy" which I had suspected, but it was more of a great candy bar chocolate TEMPERED by a Coconut, with a SLIGHT Almond kiss on the finish. It is, and was a great flavor, and even after 2 testers, I couldn't fully PULL the coconut out of it, but it's effect on tempering the chocolate was evident. No greasy or oily notes from the coconut, which when it peeked out, was more of a sweetened flake coconut. The Almond was even more elusive, and could JUST be detected on the finish. If I had to ROUGHLY describe the supporting flavor ratios, I would have to go with Chocolate 60%, Coconut 30%, and Almond 10%, just to give you a ROUGH idea. Nothing off-putting out of place, and it was a tick or two above mid level sweet. Overall it was a very tasty, even keeled, and smooth mix, and I contemplated whether or not it needed more coconut, and almond, but in the end, it felt smoothly balanced as is. No real takeoffs, except for somewhat diminished coconut and almond. Leaving this one @ **9.0/10**.
**Cookie Crumble (CAP) 4% (1-20-23)** -- I love it when you test new flavors, and on the VERY first taste, you immediately think of an identical, or close flavor neighbor. That happened with this one, and it was JOLTING. In a GOOD way. OK, first things first, I did NOT really get a lot of "crumble" in this one, which at first, was disheartening, but what I DID get, was an INSANELY good BUTTAH COOKIE. I was immediately directly comparing this to MB's ....
Now, you're probably starting to get confused, right ?? OK, the BUTTER in this one, was off the charts, in your face, buttery delicious. It was almost more of a "Capella's Butter My Cookie". It was far more cookie than biscuit, but the #%$^$%*^@# butter was front and center, from beginning to end. Now I did get some slight crumble nuances, but to my tastes, it was almost a deliciously light vanilla cookie, drenched in butter. At 4% it was just damned rich, and full, with a few ticks below mid level sweet. The cookie was fairly non-descript, with maybe some vanilla notes lightly tossed in. Honestly, I just couldn't get past the butter. Super delicious, but never in an overpowering way. I hope this review challenges you guys to pick it up and post YOUR thoughts on this one. Maybe, just maybe a little crumble, but more so a light, grainy cookie with light vanilla accents, slammed with delicious butter. Scoring this is going to HAVE to be a "two-fer". As a slamming butter cookie, with some MORE butter, I'd give it a **9.85/10**, but as an official "cookie crumble" I would have to push it down to **6.5/10**, JUST for the lack of the crumble. NOW, I HIGHLY recommend you pick this up, especially if you like cookies, and butter. Don't let the lack of the crumble scare you off, embrace the BUTTAH !!!!!
**Creamy Vanilla (CAP 4% (1-21-23)** -- I'll admit to wanting to jump RIGHT to this one, but that would have screwed up my process hehe. Diving RIGHT into this one, I did NOT know what to expact. What greeted me at the door, was, dammit, a deliciously creamy vanilla, go figure. I compared it to all of my current CAP Vanillas, and it shared many similarities to their French Vanilla, but with differences. Capella did a GREAT job layering in the creamy base, as it perfectly complimented the Vanilla, and honestly, "Creamy Vanilla" is a much more accurate name, than say a "Vanilla Cream". The Vanilla never took second place, and was literally blanketed in a velvety smooth, creamy base. It was at mid-level sweet, and perfectly rich @ the 4% testing weight. I could see a LOT of people using this for a myriad of things, most notably when in need of a creamy vanilla without any custard/egg notes. What makes this hard to describe was it WAS incredibly rich, but didn't present as a custard. Rich, creamy, sweet, and a somewhat complex Vanilla was what this brought to the party, and it did it handily. No off notes, other than a slight dry-ness on the finish. It really was like a rich French Vanilla-ish vanilla that was custard-LIKE, without the custard. Hard to completely convey, but it was a two tank finisher tester for me. If you are looking for, or can use a super rich and creamy vanilla sans the overt eggy custard notes, you should pick this up. As stated, only minor take-offs for a slight dryness on the finish, but spot on accurate to it's name. Easily a **9.5/10**.
Thanks out to Allan from Capella for not only letting me pick these flavors, but sending them out for this review. As always, all tested at the listed percentages, on the SteamCrave RDTA v.1 with dual Kanthal 24ga., 7 wrap, vertical coils.
**Candied Mango (CAP) 4% (1-17-23)** -- FIRST ONE out of the gate on these NEW Cap flavors, and it was GOOD !!!! A bright, juicy orange, with a smidge of yellow mango. Sweetness was just above mid level, and it just tasted great @ 4%. Now, onto the "candied" part, I think it is/was more than just adding sweetener, as I got an almost SunnyD nuance to this one. Now this did NOT take away from the juicy mango, but I think it did add an almost (not quite but almost) candied aspect to it. Sweet, fresh, and juicy were the three things, that just carried through form beginning to end with this one, and it was just almost complex enough to solo all day long (I did). No rind, or musky-ness present, and no off-putting notes could be found. It presented as maybe a 50/50 mix of natural/artificial, and it just worked. Your needs will dictate what kind of Mango you need, and this one was sweet, and somewhat candied, and although good, didn't lean fully natural, so that may decide it for you. For me, it was HARD to put down. For a fairly sweet, and juicy mango with an almost SunnyD twang on the finish, this one just worked for me. I couldn't go below a **9.8/10** on this one.
**Chocolate Caramel Nut (CAP) 4% (1-18-23)** -- Any of you who know me, KNOW that I am a S'mores junkie, and I have released numerous recipes to that effect. This flavor, is the BEST "not" S'mores I have ever tried. What does that mean ?? It tasted like an almost perfect S'mores, and maybe 85% of the way there. It is FAR closer than most, if not all of the actual S'mores flavors OUT there. I think what was happening was the "nut" portion wasn't overly "nutty" which was GREAT, but added just enough ooomph, and punch to the finish, that almost added some grainy-ness, which was similar to a graham cracker. The chocolate notes were almost perfect in this medley, and the caramel was just perfectly paired WITH it. It's no secret that I love CAP's Double Chocolate, and this one is similar, but not quite as dark, with no bitterness, or dryness. The way the caramel and chocolate are proportioned, just left them to MELD into something unique, and the "nut" on the finish just sealed the deal. I challenge anyone who gets this (and you should) to test it, and see if it DOESN'T taste like one of the best-est S'mores you have had. Nothing off-putting @ 4%, and it tasted very good at this weight. Just above mid-level sweet. NOW, scoring will be slightly complex BECAUSE of my obsession with S'mores, AND this flavor's similarities. I see no reason to mark down, as Chocolate, Caramel, and Nut is fairly similar. It DID exactly what the name implied, and it did it damned well, AND, just so happened to taste like a great S'mores as a bonus. Minor take-offs, as the nut was just a smidge low in the mix. I can't go lower than **9.7/10**.
**Chocolate Fudge Brownie v.3 (CAP) 4% (1-19-23)** -- I started out using this flavor versions ago, and there was something special about the way that Capella captured the brownie flavor. This version was no different. One of my simple favorite-ist brownie recipes was again, captured by this flavor. I knew the v.2's were a/p free, but still not 100% clear on what the v.3 changed. I had the luxury of EATING some brownies, WHILE testing this one, hehe, for science and shit.
As with the previous versions, the chocolate was key, and did favor more of a cocoa, and you could almost get the flour and baking soda, especially on the finish, and that was what really separated this one from the rest of the brownie pack. At 4% it was very rich, and full and sweetness was about mid level. Little to no off notes, but there was a slightly dry finish. I'm still not sure if it's an "off" note or not, as I think it added authenticity to the chocolate being more cocoa focused, than a creamy, or desert chocolate, which again, FITS the brownie profile. This is/was one of the darker flavors, and it did soil the coils a little more than a clear flavor, but nothing out of the ordinary for a daker flavor. 2nd tester in, my wife was growing tired of the "brownie fog" that I was creating. I searched for something, anything I could nit pick about, and the only slight tick off was the ever so slight dry finish. Very accurate brownie, and if you like brownies, and you haven't tried this one yet, you should. Finishing the 2nd tank, and this review, at a very good **9.5/10**.
**Chocolate Coconut Almond (CAP) 4% (1-27-23)** -- CAP Chocolate lovers rejoice, as we're coming back to this one. I pushed it further down in the list, rather than test 3 chocolates back to back. Starting with fresh eyes (tastebuds) on this one, revealed yet ANOTHER great chocolate flavor from Capella. This one was different from the Chocolate Fudge Brownie, but very similar to the Chocolate Caramel Nut, as expected. The chocolate was very rich and full @ 4%, and was light enough to squarely place it in the "candy bar" realm. What was interesting with this flavor was the way the Coconut (and Almond) were "melded" into the chocolate. The choco WAS the main player here, and although neither the coconut or almond were OVERTLY present, they were in there. I wouldn't call it a spot on "Almond Joy" which I had suspected, but it was more of a great candy bar chocolate TEMPERED by a Coconut, with a SLIGHT Almond kiss on the finish. It is, and was a great flavor, and even after 2 testers, I couldn't fully PULL the coconut out of it, but it's effect on tempering the chocolate was evident. No greasy or oily notes from the coconut, which when it peeked out, was more of a sweetened flake coconut. The Almond was even more elusive, and could JUST be detected on the finish. If I had to ROUGHLY describe the supporting flavor ratios, I would have to go with Chocolate 60%, Coconut 30%, and Almond 10%, just to give you a ROUGH idea. Nothing off-putting out of place, and it was a tick or two above mid level sweet. Overall it was a very tasty, even keeled, and smooth mix, and I contemplated whether or not it needed more coconut, and almond, but in the end, it felt smoothly balanced as is. No real takeoffs, except for somewhat diminished coconut and almond. Leaving this one @ **9.0/10**.
**Cookie Crumble (CAP) 4% (1-20-23)** -- I love it when you test new flavors, and on the VERY first taste, you immediately think of an identical, or close flavor neighbor. That happened with this one, and it was JOLTING. In a GOOD way. OK, first things first, I did NOT really get a lot of "crumble" in this one, which at first, was disheartening, but what I DID get, was an INSANELY good BUTTAH COOKIE. I was immediately directly comparing this to MB's ....
SessionDrummer said:**Butter My Biscuit (Molinberry) 6% (1-26-20)** – FIRST Molinberry out of the gate, and what the HELL is this one ?? !! Do I have your attention LOL ?? OK, the moment you vape this, you get literally SMACKED by the Butter. Not a smidge, a dab, a bit, literally right between the eyes. Wow, didn’t see that coming from a “non-triangle” formulation. Once you get past the shockingly good butter, the biscuit starts to reveal itself. This is not an INW Biscuit which is more like an American Bisquik, but more like Jungle Flavors biscuit which is more of a European biscuit. It has some sweetness, but lower in the scale, with a convincing bakery finish, which has a subtle note, perhaps a slight almond maybe ?? Now I’m quite sure not many of you, just go out and single flavor test a biscuit, but that’s why you’re reading this LOL. As a SF it is an interesting one, and even with the slight sweetness and probably almond-ish undertone, the overwhelming buttery nature of it, will lead to a LOT of uses for this one. For a buttery biscuit, or a really buttery biscuit, Molinberry nailed this one. Easily **9.5/10**.
Now, you're probably starting to get confused, right ?? OK, the BUTTER in this one, was off the charts, in your face, buttery delicious. It was almost more of a "Capella's Butter My Cookie". It was far more cookie than biscuit, but the #%$^$%*^@# butter was front and center, from beginning to end. Now I did get some slight crumble nuances, but to my tastes, it was almost a deliciously light vanilla cookie, drenched in butter. At 4% it was just damned rich, and full, with a few ticks below mid level sweet. The cookie was fairly non-descript, with maybe some vanilla notes lightly tossed in. Honestly, I just couldn't get past the butter. Super delicious, but never in an overpowering way. I hope this review challenges you guys to pick it up and post YOUR thoughts on this one. Maybe, just maybe a little crumble, but more so a light, grainy cookie with light vanilla accents, slammed with delicious butter. Scoring this is going to HAVE to be a "two-fer". As a slamming butter cookie, with some MORE butter, I'd give it a **9.85/10**, but as an official "cookie crumble" I would have to push it down to **6.5/10**, JUST for the lack of the crumble. NOW, I HIGHLY recommend you pick this up, especially if you like cookies, and butter. Don't let the lack of the crumble scare you off, embrace the BUTTAH !!!!!
**Creamy Vanilla (CAP 4% (1-21-23)** -- I'll admit to wanting to jump RIGHT to this one, but that would have screwed up my process hehe. Diving RIGHT into this one, I did NOT know what to expact. What greeted me at the door, was, dammit, a deliciously creamy vanilla, go figure. I compared it to all of my current CAP Vanillas, and it shared many similarities to their French Vanilla, but with differences. Capella did a GREAT job layering in the creamy base, as it perfectly complimented the Vanilla, and honestly, "Creamy Vanilla" is a much more accurate name, than say a "Vanilla Cream". The Vanilla never took second place, and was literally blanketed in a velvety smooth, creamy base. It was at mid-level sweet, and perfectly rich @ the 4% testing weight. I could see a LOT of people using this for a myriad of things, most notably when in need of a creamy vanilla without any custard/egg notes. What makes this hard to describe was it WAS incredibly rich, but didn't present as a custard. Rich, creamy, sweet, and a somewhat complex Vanilla was what this brought to the party, and it did it handily. No off notes, other than a slight dry-ness on the finish. It really was like a rich French Vanilla-ish vanilla that was custard-LIKE, without the custard. Hard to completely convey, but it was a two tank finisher tester for me. If you are looking for, or can use a super rich and creamy vanilla sans the overt eggy custard notes, you should pick this up. As stated, only minor take-offs for a slight dryness on the finish, but spot on accurate to it's name. Easily a **9.5/10**.
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