At the urging of friends, I have decided to share this recipe for what I think is a close approximation for the base flavor of Taffy Man. After having tried easily over a hundred different combinations, its time to share and get some feedback. Curiously, I really don’t think Taffy Man contains any taffy flavor. Half the people that tried it said it is an exact clone, the rest said that it is very close. All agreed it was very good and wanted more. It very well might be a clone for the base, and the only thing that keeps it from being an exact Taffy Man flavor is the absence of the correct fruit flavors. I have made no effort to hunt down the fruit flavors, as it seems to me, just about any fruit flavor added to it is delicious. I would suggest keeping the fruit flavor percentages very low as to not overpower the base. I am typically using about 2-4% depending on the strength of the fruit flavoring. So far I would recommend only the Flavor West Juicy Fruit and the Capella Marshmallow. The other gum flavors I tried are not close and the same for other brands of marshmallow I have tried. The Capella Marshmallow also gives it that light gold / amber color that all Taffy Man juices have. I shake and vape this, but steeping a day or two just makes it all mesh even better. Hope you enjoy this, and I look forward to comments and tweaks to improve it.
I know that the sweetener probably gives it the sweetness that’s similar to the original, but have you tried it without? Just curious. I’ve never tried Taffy Man juice before, but I’m always game for trying recipes that lots of people love. Thanks for sharing!
Hi VapeyMama, yes I have tried it without the sweetener and it is still good and plenty sweet. You are correct in that I was trying to match the level of sweetness of the original. For my own I prefer 0.5% sweetener. I also tried adding a little more marshmallow rather than sweetener but it just doesn’t taste the same.
Thanks! I like my juice less sweet than most pre made stuff, plus since starting to diy I’ve been enjoying that longer life of my coils from the lack of sweetener. I think I’m going to order the flavors to make this. Any favorite fruits you have paired this with?
I know what you mean about coils. Taffy Man is notorious for gunking up coils… but I can’t stop vaping it… or now my version of it. (saving me a lot of money not having to pay retail for a name brand) The sweetener seems to add that cotton candy element that is a subtle part of the Taffy Man flavor. The trick with the fruit is to balance and not overpower the candy flavor. Any berry works well with it. I really like FA Red Touch Strawberry at 4% in it. I also like FW Natural Grape with it and suspect that is what is used in the Taffy Man grape. I have not tried any of the more bitter fruits like pomegranate or plum, and I doubt acidic fruits are going to work with it, but I haven’t tried it yet, nor have I tried any melons. I haven’t had good luck with melon flavors and need to research them more. Taffy Man does make an apple flavor that I don’t care for, but I would vape any of the other three they make. I am excited to get your opinion on it and any changes you make.
@Jim22 I hope somebody is still paying attention to this thread. I found your revalation about the FW Juicy Fruit to be pretty mind blowing. I always tasted that strange fruity, gummy flavor in Taffy Man and just could not put my finger on it. Kudos to you sir! Now, after mixing my own test batches I believe that FW Saltwater Taffy may still be there. It has a candied sweetness to it that I think is really prominent in smelling and tasting Taffy Man. The addition of EM does add some nice body and I do believe it’s the actual recipe but some Supersweet by Capella really give it the sugary exhale that I was missing. I haven’t added any fruits yet, I’m strictly focused on the base at the moment and I still feel like there is one missing component to it. There’s an almost sweet and tart flavor that hits you on the inhale of taffy man. It’s sweet but chalky and I can’t nail down what it is. I’ve tried some other bubblegums and I don’t believe that’s it. I’ve also tried some marshamallow and it added a creaminess that I don’t believ is present in the actual recipe. Please let me know if you got any farther with your research on this flavor!!
Hi Jon, I still tinker with this when I have time. I believe the sour comes from a sweet tart candy flavor. At first I thought it was FW Skittles as it has a slightly sour citrus lime flavor to it, but after a number of test batches I don’t think that’s it. I also tried a few brands of sour. I think its more along the lines of Signature Sweetangy flavor which is like the Sweet Tarts candy. I tried it at 0.5% and it was too strong, so the next batch will be 0.25%. FW makes a Sweet Tarts type flavor which I was going to try next.
A big stumbling block I have run into and which may give others poor results is that I have found that Capella’s Marshmallow has changed, or I was getting a different or old product. The CAP marshmallow I had been getting from ECX was a very robust and sweet marshmallow. Very yellowish golden and contained alcohol. You could smell it and taste it until you whip it, mix it and otherwise get the alcohol to evaporate out, but it gives that smooth and thick candy taste. The label on it still lists Capellas in NJ and that it contained alcohol. The more recent batches I got do not contain alcohol and taste very different.It is now clear and colorless and Capella has moved to California it looks like. The new marshmallow is less sweet, more subdued flavor and less of the candy mouth feel.
Although I really haven’t concentrated too much on the fruits, I have noticed a strong similarity in smell of the TR4BLU to CAP Blackberry, and I have tried it up to 2% but there is another berry component in there that I haven’t nailed down.
Hmm Capella Supersweet, I’ll have to order that as I believe you are right in that its missing something in the exact type of sweetness. I was looking at other types of pure sweet flavors like honey too, but haven’t bought any yet. It would make sense to me if all of the flavors were from CA as Taffy Man is here, so I am thinking they might all be FW and or CAP.
Please keep us posted of any developments. All of us Taffyheads need our fix.
great job on the juicy fruit discovery, i agree spot on when mixed with capella m. I took it one step farther and used equal amount Flavorah Candy Roll, which really gives it that extra delicious sweet and tart taste. This is how I made my grape taffy clone:
5% Capella Marsh
4% FW Juicy Fruit
4% Flavorah Candy Roll
3% FW Grape
Have you tried using Malic Acid for the sour note? Maybe 1% or 1 drop per 10ml. Anyhow, I’d like to thank you for this Post. I LOVE Taffy Man and I wish it could be an ADV for me but my pockets say different which is what lead me to your post. Keep up the good work. I have this thread saved in my bookmarks and have been following your progress. Best of luck with this.
Hey all! I do still play with this mix. I am also starting to add FLV Candy Roll to my mixes. It’s not really possible that it’s an actual ingredient in Taffy Man, but something in it is similar. I think there may be a plain bubblegum note in Taffy Man, so for now I am playing with FW Bubblegum along with Juicy Fruit and the FLV Candy Roll. Also, I do add about .15% TPA Sour which definitely brings out that tart note in the base. Ugh, I go through ups and downs trying to nail this. Good luck to all! If you come across anything new, don’t be afraid to share!
I have revisited all the taffy flavors and just don’t taste any of them in there. I have tried both the Signature and FW Sweet Tart flavors in very small amounts and they kinda give it that flavor but not quite. I have been adding 1% FW Blueberry Cotton Candy and it seems to add that EM cotton candy note that I taste in TM. The missing element is still the sweet candy flavor. When I smell Taffy Man I get almost a sweet honey type of aroma. Most recently I’ve tried it with FW Gummi Bears, FW Hard Candy and even Jawbreaker, but so far no luck… Some of them taste ok but its not TM yet.
I’ve also played with this a lot. I can tell you to not waste your time with CAP bubblegum, or any Grapes (imo) I still have the old version of CAP marsh, and I love it. I’m getting close to empty so I’ll need mor, I’ll be upset if it’s changed for the worse.
Imo, the marsh, juicy fruit & sweetener was decently close but in agreeence with everyone else, it is missing something. Have also tried CAP strawberry taffy & blue cotton candy…didn’t see anything there. Been a while since I’ve been here, so it looks like I need to try that Candy Roll on top of the original mix:
CAP marshmallow
FW juicy fruit
FW sweetener (imo it’s not the same without this sweetener, it gives it a completely different TASTE)
Just a thought?
Have you tried FA Tutti Fruit in place of FW juicy fruit?
FA Tutti Frutti is the closest to juicy fruit gum flavour than anything I’ve tried?
Also have a look at Inaweras Donald Bubble Gum, after a weeks steep this flavour totally nails the retro bubble gum taste!
Also I believe that like many premium brands, Sucralose is your friend.
what about the grape, what grape come close to the real deal?
imo definitely not juicy grape, grape candy (TFA) and also not grape w/ stevia (CAP)
that’s the only grape i have in my arsenal
been tinkering using only salt water taffy (FW) + grape juice/ grape candy / grape with stevia + super sweet,
the result was waaayyy off
i guess the taffy-ish flavor come from the juicy fruit(FW)?
not really using the salt water taffy (FW) ??
I think I’m finished chasing this white whale for now kids. I recently ordered the FW sweetener as well as the CAP Marshmallow and some FW Blue Raspberry. I then mixed up some of the base recipe that’s floating around on this thread (with minor tweaks) and added 5% of the blue raspberry as well as 3 drops of TFA Sour per 30ml (roughly .20%) and shook it up. I always let my mixes rest over night so the next morning I tried it and wouldn’t you know it, it’s DAAAAMN close to the TR4 BLUE Taffy Man. I’ll most likely tweak only slightly from here. This confirms some of my thoughts that Taffy Man uses mostly FW flavors, if not all and that there is no actual “taffy” in the original recipe. It’s all about the FW Stick Gum (juicy) aka FW J Fruit Gum. It brings that chalky yet sweet flavor that fills the exhale of each of the flavors in the Taffy Man line. We may still be missing a note or two but I believe we have arrived at a very acceptable clone of this juice or at least it’s base.
I just haven’t been able to let this go. Hundreds of trials and variations. What I came up with was like an early Xmas present to myself. I did what most people do when you feel like you have exhausted every option. Go back to the beginning because you must have missed something and apply everything you have learned. Its all about identifying the most subtle flavors rather than overpowering with the prominent flavors. Whew!
1.5% FW Juicy Gum
2% CAP Strawberry Taffy
1.5% FW Salt Water Taffy
3% CAP Marshmallow
0.25% CAP Blue Raspberry Cotton Candy
0.25% FA Fresh Cream
0.5% CAP Super Sweet
The fruit part you will have to figure out according to your own tastes. To me, the fruit is secondary and almost any fruit will taste good. I am currently vaping this with 4% FW Strawberry and 2.5% FA Strawberry Juicy.
I think this is a really good representation of Taffy Man, much better than previous versions. The low amounts of the combined taffys seem to give it that missing candy taste and texture. I’ve tried the taffy flavorings solo and in varying amounts and this seems like good percentages. The fresh cream gives it that ever so subtle vanilla I was always missing.
This version I have been mixing up 60ml batches on a magnetic mixer, no heat for about 45 minutes. 70/30 VG/PG, 1% nic. Flavor is really good right away but is even better after at least a one day steep.
From what I have been able to come up with, Taffy Man was originally based in Southern California. At some point they seemed to have moved to Las Vegas. About a year ago I tried to order directly from their website because no local shops had it any more. They sent me an email saying they were down for re-branding. Their website still says “OPENING SOON”. What a good way to kill a brand with a following.
I hope you like this recipe and am looking forward to any feedback and improvements you can come up with.
I’ve never tried Taffy Man juice before, but I’m always game for trying recipes that lots of people love. Thanks for sharing!