New to DIY. I was wondering if anyone has had any luck with this idea before I try it. Is it a good idea to mix single flavor recipes in desired nicotine strength and then mix them in different proportions to achieve a combination flavor?
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That’s a great way to start, especially to get to know your flavors better. Mixing up single flavors at various percentages and tasting them individually will help you dial in where you like each one. Mixing them together can give you an idea of how different ones work together, BUT be warned that unless they actually have a chance to steep together, a mix of several different juices (even just single flavor juices) can taste a lot different than if you were to mix them all together from the beginning. So bottom line is regardless of how long your singles have steeped, once you mix them together I would suggest that you restart the clock and steep the new mix again to see where it lands in the end.
Another thought! Don’t forget that if you’re using this method for recipe development, you’ll need to really keep track of how much of each pre-mixed flavor you’re adding. Let’s say you have each flavor mixed at 5%. If you mix two together equally, they’ll only be 2.5% each in the final mix. And it just gets more complicated from there the more flavors you end up putting together, so brush up on those math skills! 
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No such thing as a single flavor recipe. By definition a recipe consists of 2 or more flavors.
But regardless of how you concoct your recipes the question is…Have you done taste-testing on each individual flavor first? Do you know what goes well with something and what won’t? If not then you’LL be spending more time than is necessary.
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Single flavor testing is a must if you want to get anywhere with mixing your own recipes. If you don’t know your flavors, you won’t know what they will pair with.
And yes, it is a good idea to mix your flavors to see if they go well together. It won’t be the same as mixing flavors together in 1 juice and letting it steep, but it’ll give you at least a good idea of what kind of result you might expect.
I often change flavors throughout the day in my drippers and sometimes you really do find a good combination when the old and new flavors combine. Other times it just doesn’t taste right but I agree that it’s an easy way to check what goes well together and imo, better than putting some drops in water, coffee or on your hand. The best impressions are always from what you vape.
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Well… I’ll just be honest here… I very, very seldom SF Test anything. I know it’s the most popular response for a new DIYer, and it work great for a lot of mixers, but it’s not a rule of thumb for me. Sometimes knowing the flavors you mix it with tells you more about it than a SFT. After all, what you really want to know is how does it mix.
Really it’s all about mixing flavors together and unless you’re mixing a SF mix or a note-less flavor, you can get a good idea about a flavor from notes… and a finger taste for accuracy and potency.
If you’re smart about your research then you should be buying popular or semi-popular flavors from the start. I discard so many flavors before I even attempt to purchase them simply from the notes I read and considering things like usage %.
I’m patient enough to not be the 1st to run and buy most new or untested flavors. One thing I learned a long time ago is the cream will rise to the top. If you’re patient enuff someone will take that bullet for you and if you’re following someone trustful then you’ll get all the notes you need without all the work.
I know it sounds lazy, but it’s a alternate method and IMO I’ve built a quite decent stash with a minimal effort.
Now I’ll turnaround and bend over so whoever want to kick me in the ass can do so.
Sorry, but it’s my method and I just wanted throw it out there.
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Yeah that is how I usually create my recipes if I’m starting from complete scratch.
I keep all my finished steeped single flavour test (SF). If I have an idea for a new recipe I will then mix for example 3 SF flavours in a 3:2:1 relationship and test taste it, make some adjustment until it is close to the taste I’m aiming for. I then do the math to work out the percentage needed for each flavour, increase the total flavour percentage by about 50% and then mix the first actual recipe test.
You can’t create a finished mix or a final recipe this way, but it will allow you to make some shortcuts, and put your first actual recipe mix closer to the end result, compare to just estimating or guessing the percentages.
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I do and don’t do SF testing (yeah contrary remark), I have done SF testing on some strawberry flavors, mainly cause the vast differences in many of them, but I haven’t done SF testing on all the ones I have. I have done some SF tests on non-standard flavorings… things like: Wild Berry Harvest, Strawberry Lemonade, Deep Fried Cookies and Cream, or French Toast… things that are (at least in my mind) suppose ta be things that stand on their own for the most part. The way I test flavorings is by finding/mixing a recipe I like and then switch up the ingredients with different “like” ingredients or adding a ingredient that I have liked to the recipe,
Like Trifecta… it started as this:
Trifecta
6.00% RY4 Double (TPA)
2.00% Graham Cracker (Clear) (TPA)
1.50% Madagascar (Vanilla Classic) (FA)
1.00% RY4 (Hangsen)
0.50% Caramel Candy (FW)
0.30% Acetyl Pyrazine 5%
And I’m really liking this:
Trifecta sweet 2
3.00% French Vanilla Deluxe (TPA)
3.00% RY4 Double (TPA)
2.00% Graham Cracker (Clear) (TPA)
1.50% Sweet Tobacco (Purilum)
1.00% RY4 (Hangsen)
0.50% Caramel Candy (FW)
0.30% Acetyl Pyrazine 5%
As an aside for flavor testing instead of mixing up 3 or 4 variations of the same ingredient at different strengths what I use to do was mix one version up at say 5 or 6 % and vape about 25% of what I mixed up, then added more vg/pg/nic to that and vape it about 25% then water that down again with vg/pg/nic if I was curious on what it would taste like at a lower percentage. To me it made a bit of better sense instead of having 3 bottles of a single flavor at different strengths sitting around, unless of course you have a suicide bottle sitting around needing filling.
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There isn’t one over all best way, only what’s best for your mixing style and preferences.
I do disagree that a single flavor isn’t a recipe though. 5% Kiwi Double with 80VG/20pg at 12 mg nic using freebase is going to taste different than 5% Kiwi Double 50/50 at 3mg nic using salts. Not vastly different to most people but noticeable. The VG and PG are ingredients in this recipe and so is the type of nic, the strength etc.
The most sensible reason for mixing up a small, 0 nic tester for a new flavor is to be sure it doesn’t do anything strange to you in particular when you vape it. It may taste fine to put a few room temp drops in a shot glass of water or as some brave souls will do, lick a drop from their fingers but that’s room temp. It’s rare but it does happen where the actual vape experience takes an unpleasant turn and it can work the opposite way too. Right out of the bottle LA Butter Rum smells and tastes like nail polish to me but after steeping for 6 weeks it’s really nice.
Another reason is because some people react oddly to certain flavors that other people adore. I adore Cap Creamy Yogurt, some people think it tastes like sock sweat but if you only mixed my berry yogurt recipe, you wouldn’t know why it tastes like fruity socks to you. If I had never tested a single of Vienna Cream, I’d never know why so many of my coffee attempts tasted like rubber cement.
Keep in mind, as a single, most flavors are going to be a little flat or pale while a few rare gems will be good as singles. Once you know the ones that show promise you’ll have a solid foundation to decide how you want to go about combining them. My method may not work for others but here it is.
I start by mixing two single flavor testers directly into my tank. If that works I reverse engineer a small batch using an estimate of 1/3 tester A with 2/3 tester B. Then I’ve got a combo which maybe needs a little something else so I try a few drops of flavor C into that combo. If that works I reverse engineer the three flavor recipe. Etc. Another thing I try is when I’ve got one recipe in my tank and it combines well with a second recipe, I make a small tester of a combined recipe.
This method can work for those who drip too by alternating the recipes you’re dripping but like I said, it may not work for everyone. There is no BEST WAY, only what works best for you.
Good Luck!
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DITTO / CHAR
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That +test + 
+3rd flavor later
Thanks for the good question
lambu
@VapeLoki try some two or three flavor recipes to learn how things can pair. While single flavor testing has it’s value, it is very important (as said above) to also learn how two flavors react with each other, because that can be very unpredictable.
One of my favorite examples of weird pairings (also a great recipe that’s easy to mix and tasty) is @SunnyT’s Strawberry Apple, where with a large % of Sweet Strawberry (CAP) (8%) and a low% of Fuji Apple (FA), you mostly just added some complexity to the Apple while the SB takes a back seat.
You can read a thead with lots of favorite recipes with just three ingredient here:
Of course there are a ton of these 1+1 flavor pairs and I find them generally to be the real building blocks of DIY. Again the Strawberry Apple above you have your primary pair and then just add Marshmallow for sweetness and mouthfeel… B00M you just made a recipe!
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