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- Jul 18, 2012
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Alright guys, I have just been on here checking out some of the tips and tricks to steeping. I have done a great deal of them myself and researched many more. Following is the simplest guide to steeping that you are going to find.
First and foremost, a lot of steeping depends on your flavor. Not just sweet vs. savory, but also on who makes the flavor concentrate you are using. I have tried quite a few, but have come to settle on "The Flavor's Apprentice" (TFA). These are highly concentrated and a very little bit goes a long way. Most of my mixes use at least three different flavors, some up to seven. My total percentage of flavor usually totals 20%.
Now, for the meat and potatoes. If you are using more fruity flavors, then doing a quick steep in a hot water bath is just as good as letting it sit for a few days. Get your water BOILING, as in, on a stove, in a pot. Now, you might say "but I can boil water in the microwave". Without going in to too much detail, yes, you can, but because of how a microwave works, the heat disperses too quickly and this isn't good. So, get a pot boiling on a stove, Remove the pot from the heat, shake your fresh bottle of juice, then put it in the water. Let it sit until the water is at room temperature, usually about 30 to 45 minutes. There really isn't a need to reach in and keep shaking it. The heat is acting as a catalyst which is breaking down all of your components, as it cools, everything bonds together as it should. I would recommend using a plastic BPA free bottle for this simply because glass bottles range in density and can break when exposed to the heat. If you really want glass, what I did was test the bottle first, boil the water, drop it in. That way, you are only out a bottle instead of a bottle plus juice.
If you are using more savory flavors such as Belgium waffle, French toast, Chocolate, or basically anything that is non fruity, usually about 4-7 days in a cool dry place is the best. I have a small wooden box, I drop them in that, and put them out of direct sunlight. Patience is key. Try it as soon as it is mixed, take your notes, then put it away and try it (on an RDA of course) every day or so. After about a week, it will be as good as it can get. Time acts as the catalyst here and really does give an actual infusion of the flavor. Leaves you with deeper flavor and more subtle notes.
Now comes the debunk. Some of you may disagree, and that is fine. But this is based on science, as well as trial and error. These seem to be the three most common that people have questions about, so here goes.
Sonic cleaners, this is a new one. Yeah, don't do it. First, not a lot of people can afford a sonic cleaner, second, all you are doing is shaking the juice repeatedly. Nothing is acting as a catalyst and therefore, nothing is actually bonding. Some might say "the shaking is a catalyst", No, it isn't. The shaking is blending, but not bonding. Will taste great for a couple of hours after, but then it will go flat since no bonds were actually made.
Direct sunlight.
Ever wonder why your nicotine comes in a black bottle? It isn't to look cool, it is because prolonged exposure to light will cause the nicotine to break down and go bad. When you leave your juice in the sunlight, this happens pretty rapidly, and is the cause for the discoloration. The sunlight will also cause some of your juice to evaporate, not a huge deal since it is a minute amount, but this will throw off your actual ratio and cause the flavor to be less than a good infusion.
Frothing.
Yeah, no. I am not going to purchase a milk frother and since this method takes a couple of days anyway, you might as well just let the juice sit and infuse itself.
So, there you have it. Hot water bath for fruity flavors, time for something with a more complex profile and more subtle notes. I hope this helps. Any questions? Feel free to ask below.
-----Edit-----
Thanks for the input guys. I greatly appreciate it. I do understand that some will choose to use hot water and not boiling. I have had the most success with boiling water. I have tried hot, and I have done boiling, and honestly, it just seems as if I get a fuller flavor with boiling. Though depending on what ingredients you guys are using, Hot water may be just fine. Especially in the case if your VG is a bit thinner.
@ZT I have never heard of taking the cap off and sticking it in a drawer. This in and of itself just doesn't make sense and I completely disagree with it. Especially since I am prone to knocking things over and this would just waste the juice. Thanks for the tip that this is out there, I will keep it in mind and attempt to educate if I ever see it out there.
@Peej I would not recommend "pre-mixing". The steep process is allowing all of your ingredients to come together and mix. The nicotine does have an effect on the flavor and your VG will affect the consistency of your juice. ZT is right, you should go ahead and do a large batch of several different flavors at once. Give yourself something to vape on while you are waiting for that precious Omega mix to come to full flavor.
@mxethey usually about a week is all that I give my juice to steep. It seems that the most flavor I am going to get is at about the week long point. Thought it seems as though custard is the one that takes the longest, more than a month in some cases. I love custard, but have never been a big fan of custard flavor juice, so I am going to pass on that one and leave it to those that enjoy such a thing.
@twoeyedbob Sunlight and juice just don't mix. The best thing to do is get in to a rotation. I know this can be a bit difficult when first starting out with a new batch because you want to vape it, you want to taste it, you want to kick back and enjoy it, but trust me. Time is always your best option. Again, I'm not a huge fan of custard flavor, so I can't really speak to that portion of it. But nothing beats time. Any time you speed up a steep, you are going to lose out on the depth of flavor. Custard is really complex and in order to get it right and have something that tastes like actual custard, I would avoid speeding up the steep. Anything that complex needs time. As for your Grants clone. I would recommend it sounds as if you might have PG sensitivity. Since most flavors are PG based, I would be willing to bet it is the PG and not the actual flavoring itself. Mix it up a gain, try it fresh, no fast steep etc. Then skip all of the agitation and speed steep methods and let it sit for a week. Try it, if it still isn't right, give it another week and so on for about a month, maybe two. If it still isn't right after two months of wait time, then try to find a new recipe. And remember, using straight VG will limit the amount of flavor you will receive. Flavors typically bond more to PG than VG.
As always, any more questions, post them here or shoot me a PM.
I can't count the amount of times I see "Got my new juice through the post! cap off steeping in the cupboard!"
it makes me want to do the dance of "Doh" every time I see it.
For a start PG is hygroscopic - which translated means it draws in moisture (and anything in it) from the surrounding air ...
its not just a case of something may get in it, to some degree an open bottle will actually suck it in actively.
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