Hi, everybody! Nothing groundbreaking here, just a new realization as I approach the 6 month mark in my DIY experience.
I’ve had plenty of duds, more than a few really bad, a lot of good, and a couple of real winners. Getting more hits than misses now, thanks to all of you ELR folks and the amazing amount of knowledge and experiences you’ve shared.
My latest discovery is that even though I’ve had some major excitement at 1-3 weeks steep with some of the good ones, there is something that happens at 4 weeks that seems to take it to a higher level of quality. Homogeneity is key. I read recently a remark from @Pro_Vapes, I believe, that he steeps all of his mixes for 30 days, and it clicked! I’ve been super happy with some almost-finished e-liquids that, if I let them sit for just another week, would be stellar instead of really good.
I know this can’t be a hard-fast rule, everybody has their sweet spot, and it varies from bakery to fruit to custard, tobaccos, brands, etc. But, I’ve found that even the fruits that are great at 1-2 weeks jump up in quality Greatly with a whole month. Some people even steep for 2-4 months! Not there yet, but will have to try that out when I have a longer steeping method to play with.
Anyway, just sharing my new insight/understanding. Maybe someone new to mixing and trying to figure out how long to steep mixes will stumble upon this and take something from it. Thanks for all the advice and hard work, everyone! Happy mixing!
Some mixed are just done after 2 weeks. But for the most I have found that it takes longer. Even simple fruit mixes benefit from 3 weeks or longer and only a few are s&v. And them creams, bakeries, custards and the like seem to really like long steeps months instead of weeks.
Problem is that it ain’t that popular in this instant gratification era, especially not when you’re selling.
Would really like to learn how long the better commercial juices steep for. From the day it’s made to the average day it’s sold and vapes but I’ll likely never know.
It’s funny. I’ve kind of found that there are only two types of juice… they’re either S&V or they need 30 days. Seems in my own experience that if a juice is not a shake-n-vape, it will simply need 30 days minimum. I’m sure it’s all about chemistry and such, but even ones that seem pretty good after 14 days will be a lot better after 30+. I’ve yet to find one that truly matures fully (that isn’t a S&V) in less than 30. Not that some aren’t really good in less than 30, it just seems that that magical mystery threshold makes all the difference.
Mmm quite surprised by this trued be told.
I got a simple forest fruit, Fuji apple, menthol mix.
s&v I find the menthol a bit strong, with an apple taste.
1 to 2 weeks it just falls flat doesn’t taste like much really.
3 to 4 weeks it’s back alive and it doesn’t really change after that.
Grubby, I am just curious… this may be a silly question but are some liquids actually not sold pre steeped? I know this was about the length, but the way he responded made me think some perhaps were not… TY in adv
Ι found recently that I have to steep my juice 45 days and I try to keep a sample for 2 months steep test to see what and if something will change. But winter is coming, we have lower temperatures than the summer and I believe that that change the steep period. At the summer I believe that 30 days was good.
I haven’t bought vendor juice in quite a long time, but I do recall Vapewild used to sell “pre-steeped” juices at a premium, which led me to believe they do not steep prior to shipping normally. That was way back when I was just a little baby vaper, before I understood what steeping was in relation to vape juices. I thought back then it was just a way to sell the same juice for more money (probably partly true too).
Oh I just meant i realize the post was about steeping time length, but the way the the quote read to me made me think some sellers may not sell steep ready vapes…something i never thought of because to me it would seem quite crazy to sell something not ready, but as i said im so new that i have bo idea if s o me vendors do.
In general i vape everything at the 4-6 week mark. If a juice is not good at that point then the recipe Needs to be fixed. The only juice that steeps for longer are heavy custard and I try not to not touch them untill 6-8 at least.
Hmm, good question. I’d suspect it doesn’t make a difference because in proportion, everyone who’s looking for a partner will hook up over time regardless of bottle size, but maybe someone has more than a guess.
I havent noticed that, but my largest mixes have only been 120ml. Mixing 60 and 120ml has actually been the shift in my style that has let me reach the 1 month+ steep time to find out that there is a difference. Before, I was mixing 15-30ml and would get happy at 1 or 2 weeks, maybe 3, and drain the bottles. So, I’ll be on the look-out for the difference at 240 when I get there.
first of all i am making large batches of like 300ml and over up to 1liter…my average steeping time is like 30-40days so the things in my experience go like this:
cinnamons: they’re working great after long time steeping
Creams/custards: they’re working probably the best in long term steeping
menthols/fruits: i don’t know why but after a long time steeping they lose their strength in general… menthols are becoming very mild, fruits lose their power… in this category i make smaller batches and i usually tend to steep them like 15-20 days before i start using them
but just a lil notice… 30-40 days is when i start trying my mixes… rest of juices that aren’t consumed are still getting steeped until they get consumed and this could take months… the winners under this condition eventually are creams on long term steeping… maybe for some other people things work differentely (depending also flavors they use, or even flavor manufacturer… personally i am mostly on TPA/CAP while rarely using FW and FA )
steeping method is always the same… mixing, placing them in my closet…away from sunlight and heat… nothing special for real…
on the other hand steeping is also a hard thing to say in general… i mean, it’s personal preference when someone like THAT juice (even speaking for the same ejuice i might like better it’s taste on the 2nd week, someone else on the 4th, someonelse may go deeper in steeping time etc) while hardware and setup imho have a serious role in it… for example since i stoped using simple kanthal wire and moved to claptons, fused claptons, alien and in general more “advanced” wires i can’t get satisfaction no matter how hard i tried to use simple kanthal wires (24ga for example) no matter if it was single, dual or Xcoil… all these things matter too imho when trying a juice and unfortunately they 're “outside” of the steeping curve etc while they’re completely also on personal preference…
Lol. I still mix 15 & 30ml bottles. 12-20 every two weeks. It’s a lot of work mixing all those individual recipes but I love vaping something different day. Typically 3 different flavors.
Overall it’s a lot of work but imo it’s well worth it once you get far enough ahead when you can skip to 3 weeks when needed and still have enough in rotation.
I couldn’t agree more! @Pro_Vapes follows the same rule as I… 30 days seals the deal! I have so many mixes that are magical after the 30 day mark. Patience isn’t something I possess in the mixing world (and most everything else) but as long as I have enough juice on hand, I try not to open most of my new mixes before the 30 day mark. Not all, but most
And sometimes it’s just a specific flavor that needs that time to really come out. Example. Some RY4’s I built (2 of them) to add Oak to. At 2-3 weeks I’d say the other components and the Ry-4 had formed the base they were going to form. That extra time to 30 days on out to 45, the Oak really showed up and began to take on a note that does remind me of cask aging. It wasn’t really there other than as a subtle hint in the 2-3 week range. 30+ you can taste the woodsy flavor laying not at the front, but across the base blend.
