Testing new mixes

[atomised]

This ramble is all about technique/kit not concentrates/flavours.

I'm doing my first "grown-up" multi-concentrate mix.

I've got to a stage where it's basically right but still a bit "meh"/bland/non-lipsmacking/dry/disappointing.
So I want to tinker rapidly and push it in the right direction.

I've got my basic concentrate mixed and steeped for a few days and I've got my stock PG/VG mix.

I mix 5ml juice and drip it. I then add a few drops of something to the mix, rewick and try again to see if it's going in the right direction. (Which it rarely is 'cos I'm so inexperienced and, sometimes, a drip of something I think ought to be innocuous trashes the mix entirely.)

Here are some random thoughts:
1. I can only try one or two variations before my taste buds get punch-drunk (even with copious amounts of tea).
1a. I quite often forget where I'm supposed to be going with a mix. (Alzheimers?)
2. My cloud chasing dripper is not the right vehicle for this. (Too difficult to wick; flavour not the same as a kayfun which I normally use.) Other drippers (Igo, patriot) not good either. I need several really cheap "assay" drippers - recommendations please!
3. I haven't understood that to get a really good juice I need a huge amount of time.
4. I haven't fully grasped that I may have to waste a lot of liquid/concentrate/money.

I've noted that:
My ability to taste changes markedly during the day. Sometimes I can only taste rancid laundry. I do hope it's not acrolein.
Thinking isn't good - bash on and make mistakes is the best.
Testing with zero nic doesn't work for me. Nic has an effect on my perception of flavour but I can't really quantify it.
Any concentrates left in a cupboard, caps on tightly, will get together in time and make the cupboard smell absolutely disgusting.

Ramble over; time for another taste test. Any thoughts to make my mixing life easier gratefully received!

 

[oldhippydude]

What about something like this for testing.https://www.fasttech.com/products/0/10004597/1483900-sm30-rebuildable-dripping-atomizers-8-pack
Not tried them myself I tend to use igo-l which are cheap but not as cheap as the above.

Beyond that your method looks good to me.

Personally I am quite happy with my limited range of mixes and I just make small changes when I mix every couple of months.I suspect I am easily pleased because I am happy with most of the changes I make and if not totally happy I can live with it for my 100ml mix.

You will get there eventually.

 

[travolski]

Not tryed this method and wouldnt advice is tbh, for a really rough guide some folks on a site i use for clone recipes get a glass of water and add a drop of the concentrate in, swill it in there mouth and spit out to get a genral taste etc, as i said not somthing id do or advize but people do it

 

[atomised]

What about something like this for testing.https://www.fasttech.com/products/0/10004597/1483900-sm30-rebuildable-dripping-atomizers-8-pack
Not tried them myself I tend to use igo-l which are cheap but not as cheap as the above.

Beyond that your method looks good to me.

Personally I am quite happy with my limited range of mixes and I just make small changes when I mix every couple of months.I suspect I am easily pleased because I am happy with most of the changes I make and if not totally happy I can live with it for my 100ml mix.

You will get there eventually.

Thanks for the support and link, I'm thinking those mini drippers might be just what I need.
I'll also give the Igo another bash if I can find it.
Love your avatar; make me wish I still had my yellow loon pants (1976 vintage).

 

[atomised]

Not tryed this method and wouldnt advice is tbh, for a really rough guide some folks on a site i use for clone recipes get a glass of water and add a drop of the concentrate in, swill it in there mouth and spit out to get a genral taste etc, as i said not somthing id do or advize but people do it

Oh - that's right up my alley. I'd not heard that one before. Thanks!

 

[rughead121]

What about something like this for testing.https://www.fasttech.com/products/0/10004597/1483900-sm30-rebuildable-dripping-atomizers-8-pack
Not tried them myself I tend to use igo-l which are cheap but not as cheap as the above.

Beyond that your method looks good to me.

Personally I am quite happy with my limited range of mixes and I just make small changes when I mix every couple of months.I suspect I am easily pleased because I am happy with most of the changes I make and if not totally happy I can live with it for my 100ml mix.

You will get there eventually.

To be honest I have a couple of those mini drippers for juice testing and a pack of pre made coils.

Totally lazy I know but it saves time. The flavour isn't exactly what you get from a Kayfun but it will steer you in the right direction.

I usually keep a little tank of a fairly strong menthol to hand and have a blast of that between tastings. Seems to keep my last few remaining taste buds 'on their toes' so to speak.

 

[atomised]

To be honest I have a couple of those mini drippers for juice testing and a pack of pre made coils.

Totally lazy I know but it saves time. The flavour isn't exactly what you get from a Kayfun but it will steer you in the right direction.

I usually keep a little tank of a fairly strong menthol to hand and have a blast of that between tastings. Seems to keep my last few remaining taste buds 'on their toes' so to speak.

Good ideas there, thank you very much.

Menthol? Seems so obvious - after I've been told! I'm off to find the crystals I used when I had flu.

 

[pw]

Right, I might be talking rubbish but I found a vid this week that changed my whole perception of making ejuice. I'll also state I'm a noob at all this too, and in the few weeks I've been mixing I sort of got what I wanted, but no real skill in the mix.

I read loads about percentages and realised that lower % meant better flavour for me and then I saw this
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v9cZNTb7d10

I work in the creative sector and I teach this as well. I have learned that without fast feedback on your own decisions you stunt your own creativity. In turn, you forget your mood for creating the juice if you need to wait days or weeks to find out that 8% of that type of custard is too much for you.
I tried this once and will now do it religiously until i figure something better out.
For me this video gave me the speed and accuracy I needed to be creative and actually create a juice within a few mins. It allowed me to very quickly realise that the peach and ripe strawberry I was using was not right and my ideas for flavour percentages was well off. I changed the flavours really fast with a few drops of something else in a different cup and bam! The juice I was gunning for!

I am letting it mature now and it's the nicest smelling juice I've made so far and I just hit my 1st 100mls made. The wife even said she thought it smelled like a bought bottle. Everything else I've made has been like a painting a picture with a blindfold on. With this skill I now at least have a decent idea about what the ejuice might taste like and then imagine the dry effect of the nicotine on top.

I know it probably isn't perfect but I tried this yesterday and it was so nice knowing really quick that the strawb I love is better at 3 drops instead of the 5 that i thought would be well nice at. That custard on this occasion was not quite the right layer was a fast and thoughtful decision rather than the punt it so often feels like.

For anyone wanting a fast way to figure out your flavours and a bit unsure like me, I figure this would be useful

 

[pw]

Just noticed this was posed before, my bad


Sent from my iPhone using Planet of the Vapes

 

[atomised]

Right, I might be talking rubbish but I found a vid...
...I have learned that without fast feedback on your own decisions you stunt your own creativity.

Thanks indeed for that link; I'd not seen the vid before so I learnt a lot and have just eBayed a load of little tasting beakers for my next recipe day.

My (4 day) experience with the water tasting is that it does indeed steer me in the right direction but the vape can still be very different to what I expect. I think it's because I test things out at too low a concentration so, for example, my current Bakewell Pud project tastes and smells delicious in water but is all mushy/muted when vaped. (Plus there's a hint of something medicinal which is just nasty! A bit of steeping might make it go away but I kinda doubt it.)

After watching the vid I had to have a go at a custard again. I used butterscotch instead of his banana. It's in a warm ultrasonic bath as I type. Tastes nice but smells vile (Capella Van. Cust.); but I know for sure it will be OK after a good steep.

Your point on fast feedback is well made. I think I learned about that 45 years ago when programming mainframes with punched paper tape. It took hours to punch in the code and at least a week to have an operator run it. By the time you'd got all the typos and logic errors out of it you'd lost the will to live.