Even though I’m full on DIY’ing, and have more mixes steeping in various levels of taste testing, I still like a few from Vendors. One in particular I had been buying for years, and loved it to death. MBV French Toast. Not overly complex, just plain good and simple. Have NOT been able to clone it despite having every cinnamon flavor made. Had no problems still buying from them, up until recently. They, like many other juice companies, are reacting to the FDA deeming regs. trying to stay ahead of the curve which is understandable. NO more big bottles, removing some underselling mixes, NO more extra flavor shots, etc. For some reason they’ve also forced PRE-steeping on all of their juices. NO more fresh mixed juices, period. Now as mixers we all know the value and benefits of steeping. My problem was that with my beloved FT, it was TOO steeped by the time I got it. Checked the date codes and they were 6-7 months steeped !!! I’ll post a pic below to show how bad it was. I posted on their forums as a long time customer, clearly stating the problem, attached images, etc. The juices were very dark, and although had lots of flavor, they were almost bitter, and clogged up my setups. Ended up tossing new bottles, couldn’t be vaped. I hounded them on the forums for a bit, and it seems they are dead set on forcing pre-steeped, which is when I logged out, and ended it. This isn’t about bashing anyone, or railing against their product or decisions, as I/we are free to leave, and take our dollars with us. Even with my heavy custard/creme mixes I let them go for a month tops, and start vaping them. I hear tobacco mixes require quite a bit of steeping, but I don’t mix those.
Realizing ELR is for DIY, I’m assuming many of you still have a few mixes that you still buy. I think most of us know BETTER about steeping than many of the juice makers. What do you think, steeping TOO much at 6-7 months before shipping ??
I think “oversteeped” is just the wrong explanation here. I think “overflavored” is the true reason these juices darkened to the point of no return in a relatively short time frame. Overflavoring can accelerate the e liquids steep/maillard and instead of becoming amber over many months and then stabilizing they continue to darken and go flat/stale/harsh. Looks like oxidization played a big part here as well A. The bottles are not full to much air left at the top. B LDPE bottles are very slightly permeable and will oxidize e liquid more readily. C. Storage? Harshness can occur if left in sunlight or if exposed to higher temperatures.
is there nicotine in those ??? if so i feel the length is too long and depending on how controlled the environment is , ive read on here some people enjoying a bottle of juice that was steeped for 6 + months so im not sure , i just have noticed once i introduce nicotine my juices start darken and in my case since im making juice in an uncontrolled environment im introducing oxygen in the bottle with nic so i believe the nicotine will slowly degrade might be wrong n
fidalgo_vapes, yes this is a high 16mg for my non sub-ohm tanks MTL. These were sealed from manufacturer, and I received in December, so the date codes reveal 6+ months of steeping prior to shipping. I have seen similar results when mixing, and even when comparing 3mg and 6mg the color change it obvious. I tired of pleading my case with them, and tried to propose a 1 month steep which would keep the newer vaper’s complaints about flavor/taste from UN-steeped juice, and not kill those of us who didn’t want the 6-7 month pre-steeped.
If your talking store or vendor purchasing then yes, steeping that long is too long unless it is something you requested. IMHO you should get your stuff fairly quickly and if you wanted to steep it longer then you can do it… having said that as a diy’er sometimes you mix stuff up and then put it in the back of your steeping shelf and do forget about it… I just never had the time to try these out it seems…
Chris that’s what I thought, and I checked around, and MBV is pre-steeping ALL of them. Has nothing to do with the deeming regs, they’re just doing it now. Clearer juices MIGHT fare better, but the darker ones are past end of life when you get them.
Well even though I’ve got about 20 mixes steeping right now, I still love MBV’s French Toast, and therein lies the problem. I’d never let me own mixes get that steeped. I’ve tried to clone it many times, and cannot get it. I have about every cinnamon flavor available and still can’t get it. It had been one of my ADV’s for quite a while, so even after I started mixing, still liked that one, and was about the only thing I purchased since.
since the vendor has nic in these, i would say the darkened color is due to old oxidized nicotine. i have many bulk liquids steeping in bottles with zero nic for 6 months and they are still as clear as they were when i made them. i only add nic at the very last step in bottling. however, with store bought juice with nic, if you wont be using these for a while, just put them in the fridge away from the kids and they will stay good for a very long time! i have some of these in the fridge for over a year(really) and they are still clear. then again, if the liquid has chocolates, heavy vanilla or some caramels that contain caramel coloring, then the liquid will be somewhat brown but not that brown
My step daughter wanted a “cinnamon” type vape and I couldn’t nail it for her, but I made up a Pumpkin pie that @Wayne_Walker made up once on his DIYorDie channel and she seems to really be enjoying it, I think the trick was the Pumpkin Spice (TPA) spice that is/was used. I had the Pumpkin Spice slightly higher but she likes it at 2.0%, at 2.5% she didn’t enjoy the mix very much so ya might want to watch it if you decide to try this out.
My version that I normally steep to steep for about 7-10 days prior to giving to her is:
@CallMeTut - Edit cuz I replied to myself originally instead of you:
I just realized I missed this. The batch I am vaping now is standalone at 3.5% and quite good. I have a couple recipes in my calculator to try mixing it with in the future but it is so good standalone I am in no rush.
Here is one recipe I tried it in that turned out pretty good:
Very Berry French Toast (RFSC)
1.60% French Toast (Real Flavors)
1.10% Cream (Real Flavors)
1.05% Strawberry (Real Flavors)
variant of - Check cookies
The fruit was a bit strong for me so next time I plan to try it with a 0.25% less strawberry and leaving the other 2 flavors the same percents. Now that I have more RF SC fruits on hand I will probably try some variants with apple, pear, boysenberry and/or yumberry.
Fozzy, you’re the man. I hope (think) that with the 3 multi packs, and 2 addons I just purchased from RF, I should be able to try this ^^^^ soon. Thank you.
