Hi bolter2
I'm a NOOB poster, so hope this doesn't count as resurrecting a old thread.
I've been DIYing for about 3 years tho, and as jjde says, this hobby takes time...your not going to produce a brand new, amazing adv in your first couple of attempts...its a learning curve, and steeping, tweaking etc all takes time......
That being said... There are loads of good tips here so far. Steeping is by far the most important factor, and the results of ongoing steeping continue for a while....I have made juices that are crap at week 1, a bit meh at week 3, and only by week 6 have I started to taste their potential, or learn from the amount of flavouring added. In my experience steeping CANNOT BE RUSHED. Heat steeping, ultrasonic etc are all well and good, if you know what end result you are aiming for, but for trial and error, and dialling in your pallette, nothing beats 4-5 weeks in a dark, cool drawer.it can be a frustrating process, and requires good detailed note taking and labeling, lots of patience, and a ridiculous amount of wicking material, but you will start to identify what you like from a manufacturers flavour range. Bigbluenose gives good advice in saying pick a recipe you like the look of, making it, and then try tweaking/adapting it...this will help you understand how different flavours combine, and act at different %.
You are using good concentrates by good manufacturers, and whilst everyone may have an opinion on which is best, these are subjective, and good mixers, even professional companies have been able to get amazing results from all of these flavours.
For guideline %, try e-liquid-recipes.com, and search for individual manufacturers flavours. These pages tell you mind, max, aggregate average and optimum % used in recipes, often with tasting notes, as well as collecting all the recipes that use a particular flavour...then try mixing, adapting, substituting ingredients or taking inspiration.
One of my biggest revelations was "accenting" flavours, to improve even simple mixes...basically small amounts of similar or harmonious flavours added to help improve a simple mix. For instance from your stash:
"I want to make a nice strawberry"..... Mix Cap Sweet Strawberry at 8,10,12,14 and 16% ...." Oh, it still tastes flat, dull, doesn't pop etc" (I wasted £100s doing this and getting frustrated at poor results...the potential flavour was there, but it just wasn't great.
Try adding TFA Rasp @ 1-3%.....you won't taste the Rasp, but it's flavour will accent the strawberry, and make it fuller, more rounded....just better.
The same logic goes for combining the same flavour from multiple producers...each manufacturers flavour is different, and together they will build and combine into a a deeper, more nuanced, satisfying flavour. Example.....
My DIY mango flavour, which is just Mango, not mangoes and cream, not mango custard, not Mango cereal with mango milk or anything, just tastes like a good, sweet, simple mango, contains mango flavourings from 4 different producers, at wildly different % ( from 0.5 to 8%) and also has dragonfruit, lychee and cactus flavourings as accent notes. It's stupidly complex, took 18 tests to develop, but damn I love it, and it pisses on ANY commercially produced straight-mango Vape I have ever tasted. And now, having done the long work developing, I can mix it in my sleep, and it costs pennies.....DIY is a long road, but if you love flavourful vapes, can be very rewarding.
Sorry, that ended up being longer that I originally anticipated.
Good Luck
I'm a NOOB poster, so hope this doesn't count as resurrecting a old thread.
I've been DIYing for about 3 years tho, and as jjde says, this hobby takes time...your not going to produce a brand new, amazing adv in your first couple of attempts...its a learning curve, and steeping, tweaking etc all takes time......
That being said... There are loads of good tips here so far. Steeping is by far the most important factor, and the results of ongoing steeping continue for a while....I have made juices that are crap at week 1, a bit meh at week 3, and only by week 6 have I started to taste their potential, or learn from the amount of flavouring added. In my experience steeping CANNOT BE RUSHED. Heat steeping, ultrasonic etc are all well and good, if you know what end result you are aiming for, but for trial and error, and dialling in your pallette, nothing beats 4-5 weeks in a dark, cool drawer.it can be a frustrating process, and requires good detailed note taking and labeling, lots of patience, and a ridiculous amount of wicking material, but you will start to identify what you like from a manufacturers flavour range. Bigbluenose gives good advice in saying pick a recipe you like the look of, making it, and then try tweaking/adapting it...this will help you understand how different flavours combine, and act at different %.
You are using good concentrates by good manufacturers, and whilst everyone may have an opinion on which is best, these are subjective, and good mixers, even professional companies have been able to get amazing results from all of these flavours.
For guideline %, try e-liquid-recipes.com, and search for individual manufacturers flavours. These pages tell you mind, max, aggregate average and optimum % used in recipes, often with tasting notes, as well as collecting all the recipes that use a particular flavour...then try mixing, adapting, substituting ingredients or taking inspiration.
One of my biggest revelations was "accenting" flavours, to improve even simple mixes...basically small amounts of similar or harmonious flavours added to help improve a simple mix. For instance from your stash:
"I want to make a nice strawberry"..... Mix Cap Sweet Strawberry at 8,10,12,14 and 16% ...." Oh, it still tastes flat, dull, doesn't pop etc" (I wasted £100s doing this and getting frustrated at poor results...the potential flavour was there, but it just wasn't great.
Try adding TFA Rasp @ 1-3%.....you won't taste the Rasp, but it's flavour will accent the strawberry, and make it fuller, more rounded....just better.
The same logic goes for combining the same flavour from multiple producers...each manufacturers flavour is different, and together they will build and combine into a a deeper, more nuanced, satisfying flavour. Example.....
My DIY mango flavour, which is just Mango, not mangoes and cream, not mango custard, not Mango cereal with mango milk or anything, just tastes like a good, sweet, simple mango, contains mango flavourings from 4 different producers, at wildly different % ( from 0.5 to 8%) and also has dragonfruit, lychee and cactus flavourings as accent notes. It's stupidly complex, took 18 tests to develop, but damn I love it, and it pisses on ANY commercially produced straight-mango Vape I have ever tasted. And now, having done the long work developing, I can mix it in my sleep, and it costs pennies.....DIY is a long road, but if you love flavourful vapes, can be very rewarding.
Sorry, that ended up being longer that I originally anticipated.
Good Luck
