So I always make test batches of 15ml, then put them in 30ml bottles for steeping (leaving lots of headroom) When a tester works out well, I go ahead and make a 100ml batch in a 100ml bottle. (Leaving barely any) I have always noticed my test batches always taste better.
I don’t breathe my big batches because I never did that with the small bottles. I wish I had figured this out earlier before changing recipes…anyway.
Does anyone else do this as a method? Leaving extra room so volatile flavours come to the top, a good shake everyday pulls them back into the liquid, Instead of breathing the bottle? letting the bottle breath only let’s flavours escape. It’s early in the morning and I just thought of this, so sorry if it’s incoherent. 
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A portion of steeping is the gentle oxidation of flavors, which is generally noted by a change in color, but not always. Leaving headspace will help this. However, too much and the juice goes risks going bad.
Also, once a volatile aroma is released into the air, it will not reincorporate. The fragrance industry uses stabilizers to keep aromas where they belong, but they are not safe for consumption.
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Interesting, how much headspace do you think is appropriate on average? 20-30%?
I only use the amount of headspace given by a bottle. 10mL bottles will hold closer to 12mL, etc, for overflow and capping options
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Cool, thank you!
@James35 I think it’s generally accepted that smaller batches steep faster. It may just be a matter of two weeks in a tiny bottle is enough, but the exact same recipe in a larger bottle is not enough steep time (the two weeks). Test; allow the larger bottle more steep time then retest/compare. Some more detailed Notes might help. I know it’s hard to explain exactly how the 10ml was better than the 100ml, but you must be experiencing something …try to record. Then after another couple weeks you may be able to recall if the 100ml is improved/changed.
I’ve never breathed any e-juice, and steeping heals most flavor issues ( 
the “curing” process?). Imagine being a manufacturer, you want the flavor to have shelf-life and most products have some headspace. How this DIY stuff works is an intimate peek inside some common commercial processes …fascinating
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Thanks, I always steep the larger batches longer, but possibly not long enough. Thanks for the input, back to the drawing board.
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The 10ml batch always tastes balanced. Like you can’t tell witch Flavor is most dominant. The large batches usually lean to one end of the scale. 10ml batch 1 week, 100ml 2 weeks. (Don’t usually do creams/custards, but they go in much longer). I now see that my big batches may need much longer…
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I do 20ml testers in 30ml bottles, and my batches are 100ml in 120ml bottles or 220ml in 250ml bottles. I do it so the badger paint mixer has some room to spin off the juice when I am mixing them. I never let any of them breathe with the cap off, just sit and age once mixed.
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I never breathe bottles either, I know some do and figured maybe leaving more headspace would get around having to do so.
I leave enough room to shake it.
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my single flave tests are usually 10ml in a 15ml glass bottle , and new creations are typically the same, once i nailed down a recipe ill usually use a bottle that the juice fits in so 120ml liquid in a 120ml bottle
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I always mix 90ml in 100ml bottles because its easier to shake up
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