the grumpy vaper
Postman
- Joined
- Oct 9, 2014
- Messages
- 352
Today's Industry Insider Q&A very nearly did not happen. I received a phone call earlier to let me know that the person who should have been interviewed was ill and had to pull out at the last minute, even though I should have had this in the bag last night, with plenty of time to edit to allow the interview to go live this evening.
"Oh shit!" I thought to myself and wondered for a moment what to do. I had already spoken to Leigh "PlumeBlu" Godson around the same time to ask him if he would like to be involved for next week, to which he responded positively. A few minutes and a couple of messages later and he very kindly agreed to put some time aside today and get stuck into the interview for publication tonight.
Leigh, I owe you a big thank you and a pint for this. You didn't need to screw up your busy day as you knew you were already involved next week. Also, what I wasn't bargaining on was that he would give such in-depth answers to some of the more uncomfortable questions put to him.
Leigh, you've been an absolute star all the way through today, I'd just like to say how much of a pleasure it's been getting down to brass tacks, quick time and sharpish with you. The interview below, is in my opinion pretty great and that's absolutely testament to Leigh Godson.
Many thanks again.
Oh, one last thing, he also makes damn good e-liquids, you can read my review of three of his, here.
I hope you all enjoy what follows...
TGV: Hey Leigh! Many thanks for taking the time out to spend some time with The Grumpy Vaper. How are you? What juice are you vaping today?
Leigh: Hi Damon, I'm good thanks. Busy as always getting orders sorted and playing around with yummy flavours when the day in the shop is over. Today I am vaping By Jove primarily which is a flavour I have used as an all day vape since around February, mixed in with that is something new and will become apparent shortly.
TGV: So, give me an introduction to PlumeBlu and Colonel Boom, what are you all about, what’s a PlumeBlu, what influences you?
Leigh: I don't actually know the answer to what is a PlumeBlu. I have a background in web design so when I decided to set up the site I knew what colour scheme I was looking for and a plume of vapour worked well with the colouring. I actually designed the first version of the logo before I came up with the name and then the PlumeBlu part kinda stuck.
PlumeBlu is the original side of the business and was always aimed at starters and intermediate users who were looking for reliable and high quality products to make the switch from smoking. It really only started because I was sick of sending my friends and family across different websites to get them kitted out and it just went nuts fairly early on.
Colonel Boom's was a pet project really and not intended to be anything more than mixing my own flavours that were unusual or a twist on other versions on the market. I had a few flavours that I thought were nice and friends had been taking (and raving about) and the need to release them to the public grew organically as a result and again went absolutely haywire to the point where most of the range was rated in the top ten global on Allthejuices and in hot demand for wholesale across the EU, USA and UK.
It got a bit too big for it's boots and faster than I ever expected so since mid 2014 we have been increasing production and capacity and have just moved into a new premises to cope with it all.
TGV: Can you tell me about your business ethos?
Leigh: First and foremost it is quality and customer satisfaction which I believe go hand in hand, we have always had pride in offering old fashioned customer service and support while only stocking the products we know are well made and (in hardware terms) reliable.
Vaping as a whole is like no other industry I have been involved in and it does feel very much that your customers are your friends and supporters. The amount of help we have had for both PlumeBlu and Colonel Boom's just from customers who were impressed by the products and service is astounding really – so thanks to every one of you who has helped spread the word.
In terms of juice production it is all about quality for us. Quality ingredients made with attention to detail and ultimately a desire to put out a product that is unusual in a good way but the very best that it can be.
We just moved into a new premises and have a large cleanroom at the back of the shop so the move for us as a company is a proclamation that we are here to stay, through regulation and otherwise – and we are doing it in the right environment too.
TGV: Could you take us through how you develop your juice line and the flavours?
Leigh: That is a difficult question because the honest answer it is just happens. I have a short attention span and a creative brain so my mind is always coming up with new and interesting ways to screw me over and work hard.
All the juices under the Colonel Boom's range are a 60VG and 40PG blend through trial and error at the start of the project. The original plan was a higher VG ratio but that would limit the types of flavours and strengths we could get away with.
From our stock of flavour samples we produce a variant of the planned flavour using different flavourists products, test when fresh and leave to steep for 5 days before testing again to see if the flavours die back during steeping. This was a major problem for a couple of juices where the primary fruit flavour didn't steep well with certain suppliers products and we found that others worked exceptionally well.
TGV: So, how do you come up with ideas your flavours?
Leigh: I guess for many of the flavours in the range it stems from something I have a love for in real life and then I twist it or even in some cases go back to largely forgotten versions and work from there. It helps that I do a lot of cooking I think as blending flavours comes fairly naturally and then it is more a case of ironing out little niggles which can take the bulk of time.
For By Jove as an example, I love a good rhubarb fool and at the time of planning it there were hundreds of custard e-liquids on the market but nothing that was more cream based and certainly nothing trying to blend a fruit dessert with a little bit of cooling, so it gave the sensation of coming straight from the fridge. I think the unusual approach and execution worked well as we count quite a few of the well known juice makers as customers of By Jove.
Key West is another oddity, there are loads of key lime flavours which try to only mimic the lime and filling of a key lime pie and yet no-one tried making a more traditional recipe using condensed milk or making it so the base was included and prominent. When was the last time you had a key lime pie where the buttery biscuit base wasn't one of the primary flavours you tasted and the filling and citrus tang were balanced with that? So I decided I needed to try and make it.
TGV: Love the Masterchef reference there! It is indeed a great e-liquid.
Leigh: As you know the range is varied in flavours, all feature a fruit as the top note and my criteria for those fruit flavours is they have to 'pop', not just disappear into the background. Our custard isn't really a custard in that the vanilla custard aspect is used more as a background and base while the fruit stands at the forefront in the way a dessert dish should do.
TGV: How do you know when a flavour is perfect, when it’s time to stop research and development?
Leigh: There is no such thing as perfect. Even with the most popular juices I am still tweaking the recipe when I find different ways to work a flavour and then if I can introduce an improved recipe I will do but only if it brings something to the table over the original such as any chemicals or compounds we are trying to get rid of.
TGV: Does the food you love influence you in any way? Maybe some childhood food memories?
Leigh: Absolutely! BlackPowder is based around my love of licorice and aniseed, By Jove I have already touched on, Key West is because I adore key lime pie, HeartShot was a very happy accident but one that came out tasting similar to Love Heart sweets so it was tweaked, added some fizz and released as a limited run for Valentines day which was so popular it became a part of the range. Most of the range is based around something I can recall and have a passion for.
TGV: Your Key West and Ceasefire e-liquids are spectacular, can you take me through the process of bringing them to market? Why Key Lime Pie?
Leigh: Thanks! I still find it very odd getting compliments on pretty much the whole range as it's just little old me coming up with flavours I might like personally.
Typically I make quite a lot of revisions on any flavour. The first revision is not counted and is where I just make the flavour I have in mind using different suppliers products. From there the top three are selected and checked at fourteen days steeping to see how they fare.
The next revisions are always more difficult as I need to go further in to work out whether a filling flavour needs increasing, acidity on fruits improving or in the case of the latest flavour – how to reduce the throat hit to an acceptable level.
Every juice is different with what is needed and some fall in to place faster than others. I have had juices I was happy with the overall flavour in two revisions and then ten more later I am still trying to bring out the tiniest percentage of one of the ingredients.
TGV: You mentioned steeping back there, quite frankly, it gets me more than a bit grumpy that you buy a supposed premium product with a high price tag and then you are told, this must be steeped for X amount of time. Shouldn't the product be generally ready for use as it arrives through your letterbox?
What are your thoughts on steeping, should a customer be asked to steep?
Leigh: That is a hard one to answer as I don't want to sound like I am badmouthing others products. Personally I believe that all e-liquid should be ready to use when it arrives and particularly when a premium tag is applied.
Part of ensuring a juice is ready is allowing it to steep and testing it before it gets put on a shelf so at Colonel Boom's we batch steep for a minimum of fourteen days before the containers are opened and a sample is tested.
Some people get confused with steeping and breathing though and steeping really is just the infusion of flavours within the eliquid solution to the point where they are fully mixed and have the right depth of flavour. Once you get a juice back you can always pop the lid off and let a little air in which will in most cases help soften some of the flavours up a little.
TGV: Ok, safety is a huge and contentious issue at the moment in the world of vaping and e-cigarettes; there’s a 280w device coming out. How many watts is too many watts? Is the vaping arms race necessary?
Leigh: I don't like the trend of stupidly overpowered devices, nor do I like the trend in some circles of 'release a new version of the same mod – again – and add £10'
TGV: Yup, it is a bit naughty.
Leigh: 50 watts I think is powerful enough to give headroom for most average vapers who may want to try higher powered builds, the kinds of builds that I go for that devices like the Hana cannot regulate the power on.
TGV: How about Diacetyl and other nasties?
The rest of the interview is, here.
"Oh shit!" I thought to myself and wondered for a moment what to do. I had already spoken to Leigh "PlumeBlu" Godson around the same time to ask him if he would like to be involved for next week, to which he responded positively. A few minutes and a couple of messages later and he very kindly agreed to put some time aside today and get stuck into the interview for publication tonight.
Leigh, I owe you a big thank you and a pint for this. You didn't need to screw up your busy day as you knew you were already involved next week. Also, what I wasn't bargaining on was that he would give such in-depth answers to some of the more uncomfortable questions put to him.
Leigh, you've been an absolute star all the way through today, I'd just like to say how much of a pleasure it's been getting down to brass tacks, quick time and sharpish with you. The interview below, is in my opinion pretty great and that's absolutely testament to Leigh Godson.
Many thanks again.
Oh, one last thing, he also makes damn good e-liquids, you can read my review of three of his, here.
I hope you all enjoy what follows...
TGV: Hey Leigh! Many thanks for taking the time out to spend some time with The Grumpy Vaper. How are you? What juice are you vaping today?
Leigh: Hi Damon, I'm good thanks. Busy as always getting orders sorted and playing around with yummy flavours when the day in the shop is over. Today I am vaping By Jove primarily which is a flavour I have used as an all day vape since around February, mixed in with that is something new and will become apparent shortly.
TGV: So, give me an introduction to PlumeBlu and Colonel Boom, what are you all about, what’s a PlumeBlu, what influences you?
Leigh: I don't actually know the answer to what is a PlumeBlu. I have a background in web design so when I decided to set up the site I knew what colour scheme I was looking for and a plume of vapour worked well with the colouring. I actually designed the first version of the logo before I came up with the name and then the PlumeBlu part kinda stuck.
PlumeBlu is the original side of the business and was always aimed at starters and intermediate users who were looking for reliable and high quality products to make the switch from smoking. It really only started because I was sick of sending my friends and family across different websites to get them kitted out and it just went nuts fairly early on.
Colonel Boom's was a pet project really and not intended to be anything more than mixing my own flavours that were unusual or a twist on other versions on the market. I had a few flavours that I thought were nice and friends had been taking (and raving about) and the need to release them to the public grew organically as a result and again went absolutely haywire to the point where most of the range was rated in the top ten global on Allthejuices and in hot demand for wholesale across the EU, USA and UK.
It got a bit too big for it's boots and faster than I ever expected so since mid 2014 we have been increasing production and capacity and have just moved into a new premises to cope with it all.
TGV: Can you tell me about your business ethos?
Leigh: First and foremost it is quality and customer satisfaction which I believe go hand in hand, we have always had pride in offering old fashioned customer service and support while only stocking the products we know are well made and (in hardware terms) reliable.
Vaping as a whole is like no other industry I have been involved in and it does feel very much that your customers are your friends and supporters. The amount of help we have had for both PlumeBlu and Colonel Boom's just from customers who were impressed by the products and service is astounding really – so thanks to every one of you who has helped spread the word.
In terms of juice production it is all about quality for us. Quality ingredients made with attention to detail and ultimately a desire to put out a product that is unusual in a good way but the very best that it can be.
We just moved into a new premises and have a large cleanroom at the back of the shop so the move for us as a company is a proclamation that we are here to stay, through regulation and otherwise – and we are doing it in the right environment too.
TGV: Could you take us through how you develop your juice line and the flavours?
Leigh: That is a difficult question because the honest answer it is just happens. I have a short attention span and a creative brain so my mind is always coming up with new and interesting ways to screw me over and work hard.
All the juices under the Colonel Boom's range are a 60VG and 40PG blend through trial and error at the start of the project. The original plan was a higher VG ratio but that would limit the types of flavours and strengths we could get away with.
From our stock of flavour samples we produce a variant of the planned flavour using different flavourists products, test when fresh and leave to steep for 5 days before testing again to see if the flavours die back during steeping. This was a major problem for a couple of juices where the primary fruit flavour didn't steep well with certain suppliers products and we found that others worked exceptionally well.
TGV: So, how do you come up with ideas your flavours?
Leigh: I guess for many of the flavours in the range it stems from something I have a love for in real life and then I twist it or even in some cases go back to largely forgotten versions and work from there. It helps that I do a lot of cooking I think as blending flavours comes fairly naturally and then it is more a case of ironing out little niggles which can take the bulk of time.
For By Jove as an example, I love a good rhubarb fool and at the time of planning it there were hundreds of custard e-liquids on the market but nothing that was more cream based and certainly nothing trying to blend a fruit dessert with a little bit of cooling, so it gave the sensation of coming straight from the fridge. I think the unusual approach and execution worked well as we count quite a few of the well known juice makers as customers of By Jove.
Key West is another oddity, there are loads of key lime flavours which try to only mimic the lime and filling of a key lime pie and yet no-one tried making a more traditional recipe using condensed milk or making it so the base was included and prominent. When was the last time you had a key lime pie where the buttery biscuit base wasn't one of the primary flavours you tasted and the filling and citrus tang were balanced with that? So I decided I needed to try and make it.
TGV: Love the Masterchef reference there! It is indeed a great e-liquid.
Leigh: As you know the range is varied in flavours, all feature a fruit as the top note and my criteria for those fruit flavours is they have to 'pop', not just disappear into the background. Our custard isn't really a custard in that the vanilla custard aspect is used more as a background and base while the fruit stands at the forefront in the way a dessert dish should do.
TGV: How do you know when a flavour is perfect, when it’s time to stop research and development?
Leigh: There is no such thing as perfect. Even with the most popular juices I am still tweaking the recipe when I find different ways to work a flavour and then if I can introduce an improved recipe I will do but only if it brings something to the table over the original such as any chemicals or compounds we are trying to get rid of.
TGV: Does the food you love influence you in any way? Maybe some childhood food memories?
Leigh: Absolutely! BlackPowder is based around my love of licorice and aniseed, By Jove I have already touched on, Key West is because I adore key lime pie, HeartShot was a very happy accident but one that came out tasting similar to Love Heart sweets so it was tweaked, added some fizz and released as a limited run for Valentines day which was so popular it became a part of the range. Most of the range is based around something I can recall and have a passion for.
TGV: Your Key West and Ceasefire e-liquids are spectacular, can you take me through the process of bringing them to market? Why Key Lime Pie?
Leigh: Thanks! I still find it very odd getting compliments on pretty much the whole range as it's just little old me coming up with flavours I might like personally.
Typically I make quite a lot of revisions on any flavour. The first revision is not counted and is where I just make the flavour I have in mind using different suppliers products. From there the top three are selected and checked at fourteen days steeping to see how they fare.
The next revisions are always more difficult as I need to go further in to work out whether a filling flavour needs increasing, acidity on fruits improving or in the case of the latest flavour – how to reduce the throat hit to an acceptable level.
Every juice is different with what is needed and some fall in to place faster than others. I have had juices I was happy with the overall flavour in two revisions and then ten more later I am still trying to bring out the tiniest percentage of one of the ingredients.
TGV: You mentioned steeping back there, quite frankly, it gets me more than a bit grumpy that you buy a supposed premium product with a high price tag and then you are told, this must be steeped for X amount of time. Shouldn't the product be generally ready for use as it arrives through your letterbox?
What are your thoughts on steeping, should a customer be asked to steep?
Leigh: That is a hard one to answer as I don't want to sound like I am badmouthing others products. Personally I believe that all e-liquid should be ready to use when it arrives and particularly when a premium tag is applied.
Part of ensuring a juice is ready is allowing it to steep and testing it before it gets put on a shelf so at Colonel Boom's we batch steep for a minimum of fourteen days before the containers are opened and a sample is tested.
Some people get confused with steeping and breathing though and steeping really is just the infusion of flavours within the eliquid solution to the point where they are fully mixed and have the right depth of flavour. Once you get a juice back you can always pop the lid off and let a little air in which will in most cases help soften some of the flavours up a little.
TGV: Ok, safety is a huge and contentious issue at the moment in the world of vaping and e-cigarettes; there’s a 280w device coming out. How many watts is too many watts? Is the vaping arms race necessary?
Leigh: I don't like the trend of stupidly overpowered devices, nor do I like the trend in some circles of 'release a new version of the same mod – again – and add £10'
TGV: Yup, it is a bit naughty.
Leigh: 50 watts I think is powerful enough to give headroom for most average vapers who may want to try higher powered builds, the kinds of builds that I go for that devices like the Hana cannot regulate the power on.
TGV: How about Diacetyl and other nasties?
The rest of the interview is, here.
