Mixing NOW !!! (1-10-22)
All flavors tested at the listed percentages, on my beloved SteamCrave RDTA v.1, with dual 7 wrap, Kanthal vertical coils, with fresh cotton, and pulsed coils in between all flavors. Steeped 1.5+ weeks.
Custard Cake (CAP) 4% (1-15-22) – Alright, I couldn’t wait for the FULL steepity, steep, steep, steep, so we’ll just get INTO these NOW !!! FIRST official Capella SFT thread by me, so never a dull moment here. It was actually THIS flavor, mentioned in another thread, that alerted me that CAP had released some NEW flavors, so let’s get TO it. Having a LARGE collection of CAP flavors, it’s pretty rare, and very unexpected to get a flavor that really tastes NEW, that doesn’t share numerous commonalities with other CAP flavors. This one I TRIED to pick apart, find close similarities, or “recycles” as I call them, and I couldn’t. Pretty cool, right ? In the bottle, I thought I might have caught a whiff of French Vanilla, but tasting is, that was NOT present. I found this to be a really NEAT flavor. The Yellow Cake to my tastes was readily present, BUT, it was tempered by something else, something more. At first, I was trying to envision a CAP VC but, without the egg, but that wasn’t it. Vanilla cupcake ?? No. Maybe an almost vanilla pudding, with fairly recessed vanilla, might be close. Some YC’s can push into “baby powder” if run too high, and this one showed no signs of that @ 4%. If was actually nicely full at this weight, with nothing off-putting, and sweetness was at about mid level. It wandered around a bit, which kept it more interesting than not, but try to imagine a delicious Yellow Cake, with some darkened notes, just like the cake out of the pan where it was slightly overcooked on the outer edges, mixed with Pudding, a smidge of Vanilla, and that’s what this one was. No eggy, so eggy custard junkies, will have to look elsewhere. I kept pondering if the slight Vanilla I was getting was CAP’s French Vanilla, but every time I focused on it, the answer was no. I was very surprised by this one, and had completely expected to notice/identify a previous CAP nuance, but, it never revealed that. Moderately sweet, and with an overall smooth, and almost creamy-like aspect, that did keep you coming back, this one proved to be interesting, and addictive, AND, could almost stand on it’s own. What will be neat about this one, is it’s uses. Custards, cakes (duh), but bakeries, and much more could benefit from this, as it straddled a few different profiles. Not just a custard,or just a cake, but actually BOTH, and with some delicious pudding thrown in on top. Having been unable to put it down yet, I think 9.4/10 outta about sum it up.
Fresh Pineapple (CAP) 3% (1-16-22) – OK, is it better than CAP’s Golden Pineapple ?? I think it is. Now, I smelled this one in the bottle, and it was a little punchy, so I decided to drop it to 3%, and one tester down, I’m wondering if I could have pushed it to 4% for some more presence. As it stood, for MY tastes, it was far juicier, and indeed fresher than CAP’s aforementioned pineapple. Nice bright yellow chunks, in pineapple juice is what I got from this one. Not candied, not cooked, but just fresh juicy chunks in juice. At times I did wish it had just a bit MORE, so that was probably my fault for dropping it to 3%, and I think I’ll change my rec. to 3.5-4.0% for a single flavor. The mid notes were perfectly paired with the bright higher notes, and it was very convincing, and did taste very natural. Nothing off-putting, and the juicy/fresh aspects carried all the way through till the end of the test. Now it might not be quite able to topple my personal Pineapple fav. Sugarloaf, but I could see running them in tandem, or pairing this with another like INW’s Pineapple to really push things. By itself, it was quite good, and worth picking up. I can see why CAP added this to their roster, to better accommodate Pineapple-ers. This felt pretty good at 8.4/10.
Frosting (CAP) 4% (1-16-22) – With FLV’s Frosting being my GOTO Frosting, I was curious to see how CAP’s new Frosting would fare. In two words, Pretty Good !!! Somehow Capella was really able to capture an almost pure Confectioners Sugared Frosting. Not buttery, not rich, but it presented with an almost creamy-ness to it, that might be better described as a “smoothness”. Very clean, somewhat light, but unmistakably a Frosting. Whether or not it had slight vanilla notes may be up to you, and I sometimes got a slight hint of it, but not strong enough to be called a Vanilla Frosting. Just a very clean, fairly neutral frosting, that was just a perfect capture of confectioners sugar. @ 4% it felt about as full as you could get it, yet, it was still somewhat of a lighter flavor. Sweetness was a few ticks above mid-level, but hey, it’s a Frosting !!! Nicely done, with nothing off-putting, and very accurate. If you need some nice finishing touches to add to your bakeries, or a sweet kick, this one, should be in your cart. Fluffy, light, accurate, and sweet, what else could you need in a frosting ? Easily a 9.5/10.
Milkshake (CAP) 4% (1-16-22) – In a word, WOW !!! I’ve got to give you more than that, right ? In many milkshake flavors I have tried, there was often a common “dairy” element, maybe even a “malted” element, that was used to simulate a “milkshake”, and I had expected it to be in this one as well. It wasn’t !!! This was exciting as that flavor/element/profile always seemed to be just a blah workaround. It wasn’t terrible, BUT, it always felt, “just kind of close”. Great thing for us, is that was NOT present here, and that really opened up the possibility for a newly new Milkshake for all of us. This presented as a very clean, and accurate Milkshake, BUT, without any typical vanilla, or malted profiles, which left it completely willing, and able to be molded into whatever you needed it to be. It was fairly creamy, and had good mouthfeel, but wasn’t the tops in either, but neither was lacking. For those of you in the US, it was VERY close to a Chick-Fil-A milkshake. Because it WAS lacking that aforementioned dairy/malted note, I could see almost unlimited uses for this flavor, and even as a solo, was pretty damned impressive. If you’ve been let down by other Milkshake flavors, or found yourself needing a clean, accurate one, this one should be on your list. It wasn’t buttery rich like LB’s VIC, but cleaner, like Sobucky’s Ice Creams. For my milkshake needs, even while not topping the ultra creamy or mouthfeel departments, I just couldn’t mark this one down. 4% left it full, rich, and just above mid-level sweet, and pushing it higher probably wouldn’t saturate it any more. Clean, crisp, neutral, accurate, without any off-putting notes. 10/10.
Shortbread (CAP) 3.5% (1-17-22) – It appears that BCF is having a hard time keeping this one (and others) in stock, so must be a good sign, right ?? Hehe, we’ll just see about that. Initially when I tested this one, I did a DOUBLE TAKE. Now, not because it was terrible, or off-putting, but UNEXPECTED. What, you say ?? Well, I’d swear this one was almost like a Pumpkin Bread, but without the Pumpkin. Yes, you read that right. I double, and tripple checked, to make sure nothing was wrong on my end, and that’s what I get from this one. Now, this is going to be hell for me to rate, as it’s a GREAT flavor, I just don’t think it’s a shortbread. At times I could get a LITTLE buttery-ness, and almost shortbread-ed-ness, but the majority of the time, it presented as a pumpking bread, missing the pumpkin, or even a ginger bread, minus the ginger. Sound confusing, good, welcome to MY world. In no ways was it off-putting, but it really came across far too dark, and almost spice (like) to be a light, shortbread. If this is a shortbread, it’s like none that I’ve ever tried. Regardless of it’s namesake or lack thereof, it was actually hella delicious, for WHATEVER it was. Just below or at mid-level sweet, with literally no off-putting notes, and with no indication of hitting the ceiling. @ 4% it was a nice, rich, almost dark cookie, that (repeating) just leaned towards a pumpkin or gingerbread cookie more than anything else. NO overt spices, but it’s like they were IN there. Quite good, and damned fine, as a solo too boot. I am enjoying this one SOO much, I’m going to have to DOUBLE RATE it. No other way, it’s too good. OK, for a “shortbread cookie”, I would have to go low, maybe 5.5/10, BUT, as a (I have no clue), maybe a cookie base for a gingerbread, or pumpkin bread, I would have to rate it at a 10/10. You guys NEED to get this one, and YOU sound off, what YOU get from it. Don’t buy it to be used as a shortbread, but get it anyway, and ENJOY it, just like I am. Bad name Capella, but GREAT flavor !!!
Sticky Bun (CAP) 4% (1-18-22) – When I first saw this one, I feared, no FEARED, that there might be some CAP Glazed Donut in it, that has plagued me with PlayDoh since I tried it, years ago. GREAT NEWS, it’s NOT here !!! OK, but what is. An almost perfect Sticky Bun. Now you might have to tweak it, JUST a pinch, depending on YOUR tastes. The dough is fairly low in the mix, as is the cinnamon, which I think was almost brilliant, as they are not FORCED on you, BUT, they’re still there, just a little lower in the mix. The almost buttery honey-ness is beyond reproach, and it super authentic, smooth, and deliciously done. You may find yourself checking your fingers for sticky-ness after trying this one. Buttery rich, and smooth, the topping steals the show here, with an almost honey kissed finish. You could easily spike it with your favorite yeasty dough, maybe a smidge of Biscuit, or Cinnamon if you need to, but even as is, very convincing. I like that CAP held off on any heavy yeasty dough or heavy handed cinnamon, because you can just tweak (if at all), if you want to. Nicely rich and slightly above mid level sweet @ 4%, you may find this hard to put down. Later I may experiment by boosting the dough a bit, but I have to put it down long enough TO do that. Want a great sticky bun, click, click, “Buy Now”. 9.5/10.
Vanilla Milk Froth (CAP) 4% (1-23-22) – Now normally I don’t do this (I think, EVER), but I tried this one in a mix BEFORE I SFT’d it. The reason I don’t typically do that is because I don’t want anything clouding my FIRST judgements of a flavor. After I took ONE look at @Lynda_Marie’s Vanilla Milk Steamer, I KNEW I had to mix it up, AND, it turned out STUNNINGLY delicious. Solo’d this one presented as a deliciously light Vanilla Milk, but the dairy elements were light, airy, and dare I say, almost “frothy”. Not heavy handed, or with a super rich mouthfeel, it still was milky. What was nice, was that it was an airy dairy (hehe, see what I did there ?), which kept it OUT of a straight Milk, or Creme realm, and pushed it into a rather unique place. The Vanilla was fairly present, but not as to overshadow the lighter milk elements. The Vanilla presented to me as an almost pairing of a French Vanilla, and a Vanilla Cream, which worked perfectly with the milk. Nicely full, yet still light and airy @ 4%, and about a tick above mid level sweet, I could see this one with numerous uses. This one might just make a great new addition to your collection, as it was pretty unique, and although Milky, didn’t push into a full Milk or Cream profile. Finishing up this run of the NEW Capella Flavors with a pretty nice, and sweet Vanilla-y note. Nicely placing this one @ 9.8/10.
If you liked these reviews, stop over to @BullCityFlavors and pick up a pack …
https://www.bullcityflavors.com/capella-new-flavors-sample-pack/
UPDATED 1-16-23 – NEW Flavors on deck !!!
Candied Mango (CAP) 4% (1-17-23) – FIRST ONE out of the gate on these NEW Cap flavors, and it was GOOD !!! A bright, juicy orange, with a smidge of yellow mango. Sweetness was just above mid level, and it just tasted great @ 4%. Now, onto the “candied” part, I think it is/was more than just adding sweetener, as I got an almost SunnyD nuance to this one. Now this did NOT take away from the juicy mango, but I think it did add an almost (not quite but almost) candied aspect to it. Sweet, fresh, and juicy were the three things, that just carried through form beginning to end with this one, and it was just almost complex enough to solo all day long (I did). No rind, or musky-ness present, and no off-putting notes could be found. It presented as maybe a 50/50 mix of natural/artificial, and it just worked. Your needs will dictate what kind of Mango you need, and this one was sweet, and somewhat candied, and although good, didn’t lean fully natural, so that may decide it for you. For me, it was HARD to put down. For a fairly sweet, and juicy mango with an almost SunnyD twang on the finish, this one just worked for me. I couldn’t go below a 9.8/10 on this one.
Chocolate Caramel Nut (CAP) 4% (1-18-23) – Any of you who know me, KNOW that I am a S’mores junkie, and I have released numerous recipes to that effect. This flavor, is the BEST “not” S’mores I have ever tried. What does that mean ?? It tasted like an almost perfect S’mores, and maybe 85% of the way there. It is FAR closer than most, if not all of the actual S’mores flavors OUT there. I think what was happening was the “nut” portion wasn’t overly “nutty” which was GREAT, but added just enough ooomph, and punch to the finish, that almost added some grainy-ness, which was similar to a graham cracker. The chocolate notes were almost perfect in this medley, and the caramel was just perfectly paired WITH it. It’s no secret that I love CAP’s Double Chocolate, and this one is similar, but not quite as dark, with no bitterness, or dryness. The way the caramel and chocolate are proportioned, just left them to MELD into something unique, and the “nut” on the finish just sealed the deal. I challenge anyone who gets this (and you should) to test it, and see if it DOESN’T taste like one of the best-est S’mores you have had. Nothing off-putting @ 4%, and it tasted very good at this weight. Just above mid-level sweet. NOW, scoring will be slightly complex BECAUSE of my obsession with S’mores, AND this flavor’s similarities. I see no reason to mark down, as Chocolate, Caramel, and Nut is fairly similar. It DID exactly what the name implied, and it did it damned well, AND, just so happened to taste like a great S’mores as a bonus. Minor take-offs, as the nut was just a smidge low in the mix. I can’t go lower than 9.7/10.
Chocolate Fudge Brownie v.3 (CAP) 4% (1-19-23) – I started out using this flavor versions ago, and there was something special about the way that Capella captured the brownie flavor. This version was no different. One of my simple favorite-ist brownie recipes was again, captured by this flavor. I knew the v.2’s were a/p free, but still not 100% clear on what the v.3 changed. I had the luxury of EATING some brownies, WHILE testing this one, hehe, for science and shit.
As with the previous versions, the chocolate was key, and did favor more of a cocoa, and you could almost get the flour and baking soda, especially on the finish, and that was what really separated this one from the rest of the brownie pack. At 4% it was very rich, and full and sweetness was about mid level. Little to no off notes, but there was a slightly dry finish. I’m still not sure if it’s an “off” note or not, as I think it added authenticity to the chocolate being more cocoa focused, than a creamy, or desert chocolate, which again, FITS the brownie profile. This is/was one of the darker flavors, and it did soil the coils a little more than a clear flavor, but nothing out of the ordinary for a daker flavor. 2nd tester in, my wife was growing tired of the “brownie fog” that I was creating. I searched for something, anything I could nit pick about, and the only slight tick off was the ever so slight dry finish. Very accurate brownie, and if you like brownies, and you haven’t tried this one yet, you should. Finishing the 2nd tank, and this review, at a very good 9.5/10.
Chocolate Coconut Almond (CAP) 4% (1-27-23) – CAP Chocolate lovers rejoice, as we’re coming back to this one. I pushed it further down in the list, rather than test 3 chocolates back to back. Starting with fresh eyes (tastebuds) on this one, revealed yet ANOTHER great chocolate flavor from Capella. This one was different from the Chocolate Fudge Brownie, but very similar to the Chocolate Caramel Nut, as expected. The chocolate was very rich and full @ 4%, and was light enough to squarely place it in the “candy bar” realm. What was interesting with this flavor was the way the Coconut (and Almond) were “melded” into the chocolate. The choco WAS the main player here, and although neither the coconut or almond were OVERTLY present, they were in there. I wouldn’t call it a spot on “Almond Joy” which I had suspected, but it was more of a great candy bar chocolate TEMPERED by a Coconut, with a SLIGHT Almond kiss on the finish. It is, and was a great flavor, and even after 2 testers, I couldn’t fully PULL the coconut out of it, but it’s effect on tempering the chocolate was evident. No greasy or oily notes from the coconut, which when it peeked out, was more of a sweetened flake coconut. The Almond was even more elusive, and could JUST be detected on the finish. If I had to ROUGHLY describe the supporting flavor ratios, I would have to go with Chocolate 60%, Coconut 30%, and Almond 10%, just to give you a ROUGH idea. Nothing off-putting out of place, and it was a tick or two above mid level sweet. Overall it was a very tasty, even keeled, and smooth mix, and I contemplated whether or not it needed more coconut, and almond, but in the end, it felt smoothly balanced as is. No real takeoffs, except for somewhat diminished coconut and almond. Leaving this one @ 9.0/10.
Cookie Crumble (CAP) 4% (1-20-23) – I love it when you test new flavors, and on the VERY first taste, you immediately think of an identical, or close flavor neighbor. That happened with this one, and it was JOLTING. In a GOOD way. OK, first things first, I did NOT really get a lot of “crumble” is this one, which at first, was disheartening, but what I DID get, was an INSANELY good BUTTAH COOKIE. I was immediately directly comparing this to MB’s …
Butter My Biscuit
Now, you’re probably starting to get confused, right ?? OK, the BUTTER in this one, was off the charts, in your face, buttery delicious. It was almost more of a “Capella’s Butter My Cookie”. It was far more cookie than biscuit, but the #%$^$%*^@# butter was front and center, from beginning to end. Now I did get some slight crumble nuances, but to my tastes, it was almost a deliciously light vanilla cookie, drenched in butter. At 4% it was just damned rich, and full, with a few ticks below mid level sweet. The cookie was fairly non-descript, with maybe some vanilla notes lightly tossed in. Honestly, I just couldn’t get past the butter. Super delicious, but never in an overpowering way. I hope this review challenges you guys to pick it up and post YOUR thoughts on this one. Maybe, just maybe a little crumble, but more so a light, grainy cookie with light vanilla accents, slammed with delicious butter. Scoring this is going to HAVE to be a “two-fer”. As a slamming butter cookie, with some MORE butter, I’d give it a 9.85/10, but as an official “cookie crumble” I would have to push it down to 6.5/10, JUST for the lack of the crumble. NOW, I HIGHLY recommend you pick this up, especially if you like cookies, and butter. Don’t let the lack of the crumble scare you off, embrace the BUTTAH !!!
Creamy Vanilla (CAP 4% (1-21-23) – I’ll admit to wanting to jump RIGHT to this one, but that would have screwed up my process hehe. Diving RIGHT into this one, I did NOT know what to expact. What greeted me at the door, was, dammit, a deliciously creamy vanilla, go figure. I compared it to all of my current CAP Vanillas, and it shared many similarities to their French Vanilla, but with differences. Capella did a GREAT job layering in the creamy base, as it perfectly complimented the Vanilla, and honestly, “Creamy Vanilla” is a much more accurate name, than say a “Vanilla Cream”. The Vanilla never took second place, and was literally blanketed in a velvety smooth, creamy base. It was at mid-level sweet, and perfectly rich @ the 4% testing weight. I could see a LOT of people using this for a myriad of things, most notably when in need of a creamy vanilla without any custard/egg notes. What makes this hard to describe was it WAS incredibly rich, but didn’t present as a custard. Rich, creamy, sweet, and a somewhat complex Vanilla was what this brought to the party, and it did it handily. No off notes, other than a slight dry-ness on the finish. It really was like a rich French Vanilla-ish vanilla that was custard-LIKE, without the custard. Hard to completely convey, but it was a two tank finisher tester for me. If you are looking for, or can use a super rich and creamy vanilla sans the overt eggy custard notes, you should pick this up. As stated, only minor take-offs for a slight dryness on the finish, but spot on accurate to it’s name. Easily a 9.5/10.
Fresh Spearmint (CAP) 4% (1-22-23) – As a typical rule, I cannot vape any cooling agents, and also avoid “mints” for fear OF the cooling, BUT, for you guys, I test on. This one did indeed present as a fairly natural spearmint, with no cooling effect (whew). It was not a “mint” or “double mint” but squarely a SPEAR-mint. Throughout both testers, I kept getting an almost two pronged effect with this one. The first was the natural spearmint, with almost green leafy nuances on the start, and the finish morphed into a slightly dryer, almost spearmint oil-ish experience. Not off-putting in any way, and it was interesting as it shifted from one to the other. At 4% it was present, but somewhat relaxed, and almost mid level sweet. The slight dryness on the finish did almost remind me of double mint gum, BUT, this was NOT a double, nor gum. It’s fairly possible it could be pushed higher due to it’s relaxed nature, and even still, it stayed true, and accurate. The “spearmint oil”-ish finish was not off-putting, slightly dry, and did add to the complexity, and authenticity of it. Even NOT being in my typical wheelhouse, it did what it was supposed to do, with no off notes, and in a non overpowering way. Spearing this one @ 8.9/10.
Grape Candy (CAP) 4% (1-25-23) – Sorry for the slight delay while writing up the SteamCrave Meson RTA. My experience with vape grapes has always lead to one of three categories. Natural, Candied, Soda’d. Now IMO, there is, or can be a FINE line when trying to make a candy grape vs. a soda grape, but CAP did it. This one WAS indeed, a candied grape. Although this one leaned artificial, I was surprised to get some good, natural tasting notes. The grape was a nice dark concord-ish grape, and was a few ticks above mid-level sweet. Smelling it in the bottle I kept wondering if I was getting a Grape Nehi from it, but vaping it, proved to be candied, for more than a soda. At 4% it was very full, AND purple, just the way I like my grapes. I can’t think of many grape recipes this wouldn’t work in, except for the rare few, where a less sweetened, completely natural flavor is/was required. Simply put, this was a very accurate, candied grape (aka. Grape Candy), with no off notes, and above mid level sweetness. You COULD easily smash this into a soda, and/or with pair other grapes if needed, to bolster/drive the purple. As a solo, while not overly complex, held my interest through two tanks. In closing, this one hard an almost “tarty” finish to it, and that helped it finish with a “zing”, and that helped to keep it interesting. With little to no takeoffs, it was hard to go below 9.0/10 on this one.
Indo Strawberry 1 (CAP) 4% (1-28-23) – When I received this shipment from Allan at Capella, and saw 2 Indo SB’s it had me curious about the names, and what they actually were. Diving into the Indo 1, I was greeted by a somewhat unique Strawberry. I think that’s REALLY hard to do given the crowded field of SB’s currently available. This was an interesting medley of almost a red, white-ish, with a smidge of green. A green strawberry ?? Hehe, yes, it’s hard to quantify exactly, but that is how it presented. not really a full on juicy, but it had jucy-ness, not overly a ripe, but it had some of those aspects as well. Now even though it was a “little bit of this, and a little bit of that”, overall it worked. The green/white/red nuances stuck with me till the end of the test, so despite it SOUNDING confusing, it did work. It was below mid level sweet, and @ 4% it was somewhat relaxed, and might be able to be pushed a little higher. At the testing weight, it was ALMOST full, but stayed just below that level. If I were FORCED to classify, it would have to be a “fresh” strawberry medley. It presented as very natural with no artificial notes, and no off notes. About the only take offs would be for the relaxed nature of it, BUT, that might be able to be resolved, by increasing the strength. Fresh, with aspects of literally a green, white, and red SB. The finish was the most interesting, as there was just this very NATURAL dab of tartness. VERY natural, and realistic, that really added an extra natural boost at the end. Because it presented to me, more as a medley, rather than a one dimensional distinct SB, the uses would be opened up. Not the strongest, at least at 4%, but somehow Capella managed to squeeze in a lighter, green/white/red strawberry, that was somewhat unique, with a nice slightly tart finish into a crowded field of strawberries. This felt good at 8.9/10.
Indo Strawberry 2 (CAP) 4% (1-29-23) – FRESH off the heels of Capella’s Indo Strawberry 1, we’re going to dive into this one. There WERE some similarities to the Indo 1, BUT, some nice differences. This one was still somewhat relaxed at 4%, just like the Indo 1, but in no way weak. It was fully present @ 4%, just not in an overwhelming, or IN your face way. This one def.was FAR more focused DIRECTLY on the “berry” part of the Strawberry. It also tasted FULLY in the red part of the berry with no white, or green aspects. Juicy, suculent, and a full, red strawberry. So much so, that you could ALMOST get the little seeds in it. It was just below mid-level sweet, and was very natural tasting, with no off notes, or identifiable artificial notes. No jams, candies, or creams here, just a great juicy red strawberry. Because I use, and have tested soo many SB’s it can be hard to recall ALL of them, but this one didn’t remind me of any other, out of the gate. Fresh, Red, and Juicy were the three things that were the strongest 3 aspects I got from start to finish, and ON the finish, there was a nice subtle tartness. Sumurizing this one as a juicy red strawberry, with a slightly tart finish, and it felt very good @ 9.4/10.
Juicy Watermelon (CAP) 4% (1-29-23) – This one remained somewhat of a mystery till the very end, with not everything completely figured out. Firstly, it WAS a watermelon, BUT, it tasted like it was almost tempered with another melon, maybe a honeydew-ish type. It never fully took on the red juicy center of a watermelon, despite having that IN here, dancing around. The watermelon notes were sweet, somewhat juicy, but they just seemed to be paired with something else. The funny thing was that both the watermelon and “other” melon were nicely paired, and seemed to work well together. Let’s just call it 65% watermelon and 35% “other melon” for the sake of the argument. It felt like 50/50 natural/artificial, and had no off notes, and was fairly full at 4%. Sweetness was at about mid level, and it never felt fully pushed into a “candy”. Your tastes will have to decide for YOU, if the watermelon/melon here is a plus or minus. I don’t feel like the other melon-ish elements detracted from the watermelon, but just diluted it down from a true, full watermelon. On the second tester, I was trying to focus on whether or not I was getting any rhind from it, and I think it was in there, but lightly. So, as a “pure” watermelon, I would say no, but as a watermelon/melon I’d say yes. With no off notes, no take offs in that regard, but simply for the melon dilution of the primary watermelon would leave it happily at about an 8.5/10.
KK Bar (Chocolate Wafer Bar ?) (CAP) 4% (1-30-23) – OK, you’re PROBABLY wondering, what up with the name here, hehe. CWB ?? KKB ?? OK, sometimes when you get the newest of new flavors, things can change up a bit. When Allan from Capella and I were talking, it was listed as CWB, BUT, it would appear that KK Bar IS the name. OK, with that said, I LUV me some Kit Kat Bars, and I was thinking, “No way Capella got THIS one right”. Well. I was WRONG. This one may just be the BEST crisp water flavor I have tried. The chocolate is lighter in the mix, bordering on TOO light, but NOT quite, so no overpowering the wafer in this one. I don’t think any recipe or flavor has ever gotten the crispy wafer right. The vanillin notes mated flawlessly WITH the wafer, and made it all the more authentic, and enjoyable. Now, it is not a PURE crisp water, due to the slight lighter chocolate undertones, BUT, you COULD probably use this pretty damn effectively AS a wafer. If you wanted to boost the choco just a hair (or a lot), you could easily do that. I actually EXTENDED this test into 3 tankfuls JUST to decide if the light chocolate undertones were NOT enough, or JUST right. I just don’t think it was a negative here, as choco’s can easily run ripshod over entire mixes, so I think Capella’s going lighter on the choco WAS the right decision. Like the crispy vanillin wafers in Kit Kat’s with some light chocolate undertones, you need to GET this flavor. If you even just wanted a really good crispy wafer, you should STILL pick it up. I gotta STOP testing this one, and get on with the rest of the series LOL. Tasted great @ 4%, a little below mid level sweet, whcih was a bonus so it wasn’t sickeningly sweet, even FOR a chocolate candy bar at that. Nothing off-putting, and just a great vanillin laced crispy wafter, ever so lightly kissed by a good light chocolate. This one had to be a 9.8/10.
Lemon Drop (CAP) 4% (2-1-23) – Most lemons I’ve tested fall into 3 categories. Natural, Lemon Candy, and Lemonades. This one as expected landed into the “candy” category, but unlike FE’s it was NOT a Lemonhead candy. It had some slight natural undertones, but the majority were almost a mixture of a lemon candy with some lemonade thrown in. I think this helped pull it from a more Lemonhead into a drop (candy). The natural / artificial ratio would be roughly 20% natural, 80% artificial, and the natural/candy/lemonade ratio would be close to 10% natural, 60% candy, 30% lemonade JUST to give you a better idea of what was I getting from it. With soo many lemony notes floating around, it actually took me QUITE a while to figure up those ratios for you guys, hehe. It was full but still just a smidge relaxed at 4%, and a few ticks above mid-level sweet. You could POSSIBLY go up a percent more without hitting the ceiling as a single flavor. There were some tart/sour notes, and although not reaching full on natural lemon levels they were enough to give it a crisp, clean finish. Because it had all three elements (natural, candy, lemonade) it could actually be used beyond the obvious “candy” uses, possibly even on LMP’s and more. One meat aspect that I seemed to keep getting on the finish also, was an almost powdered confectioners sugar that some candies have on the outside. An interesting mix or medley, and it’s straddling across the 3 big types, would help increase it’s uses. Nothing off-putting, and it was an accurate Lemon Drop, without turning into a Lemonhead. Not the tartest lemon out there, but I don’t think it needed to be. Even keeled, sweet, tart, with a dash of sour, slightly relaxed, and a good medley of lemon types is what you get with this one. It felt Solid @ 9.0/10.
Lemon Meringue Pie v.3 (CAP) 4% (2-2-23) – Capella’s Lemon Meringue Pie (v.1) was one of the FIRST flavors I ever purchased, and remains one of my most used, to this day. I briefly tried the v.2 when the anti DIK/DAAP movement was afoot, but it became obvious that too MY tastes, v.1 rained supreme. Now on to v.3, I was indeed curious to see what was what. Despite having a love affair with LMP v.1, both the v.1 and v.2 needed some help to really make them shine. This one, felt about the same. The familiar bakery/graham crust was there, along with a very good meringue, along with the Lemon. The lemon (as in the other 2 versions) would, and does require a little bit of help to really make it POP. The lemon was present, but fairly low in the overall mix, hence the need for a boost. The graham/bakery crust was almost the star of this flavor, and is/was completely different from Capella’s Graham Cracker, and I actually wish Capella, would release JUST the bakery/crust from this flavor, as a STAND ALONE. I’d buy it. With that said, assuming dik/daap free, it was not as buttery rich as the v.1, but still accurately conveyed a great bakery/crust. The meringue took second seat to the crust, and was present enough, to hold it’s own throughout my tests. It was very hard to tell if there was indeed any “curd” in this or not because of the way the crust and meringue were blended, and the light lemon, made it hard to tell. I’ve seen testing done at over twice this rate @ 10%, but I decided to keep this lower, and even at 4% it was a good flavor, and very similar to the v.1, and v.2 that most of us have used over the years. Just below mid level sweet, and as with the previous versions, no off-putting notes, or anything out of place. By boosting the meringue just a smidge, and heating up the lemon a bit, maybe even a touch of sweetener, would really push this one to the next level. At it stood, at 4%, it was a great LMP, that could EASILY be spiked to the next level. Great flavor, just needed a little boost. It felt solidly placed @ 8.5/10.
Nectariine (CAP) 4.0%/6.0% (2-4-23) – I had to spend some EXTRA time on this one, as it was a curiosity to me. Now as strange as it sounds, I got an initial impression, that 3 testers later I was unable to shake. This one although good, did not present as a full on Nectarine, but more like a nectarine mixed with RFSC Yumberry, or something close to that. Crazy right ? Smelling it, the Nectarine was far more present than when tasting it. Now with that said, it was a great flavor, but not as pure or clear of a nectarine. The yumberry-ish blend/ing was unshakeable, and stayed present throughout the entire test. The ironic thing here is, this flavor is GREAT, but not as a pure Nectarine. The nectarine that was present was somewhat sweet, and juicy. The room note on this one, had a very recognizable smell that reminded me of commercial fruit mixes. Just to make sure I hadn’t underpowered this one I upp’d and re-tested it @ 6%, and it was a little stronger, but the same. After 3 testers, I still hadn’t grown tired of this one, and as stated, it was actually a really good flavor, and despite not super nailing the nectarine, if you like fruity flavors, I would actually highly recommend it, as it was that good. No ceiling smashing at either percentages, and it was just below mid-level sweet. I struggled to better describe this one, but could not, so I’ll leave this one as a good Nectarine, BUT, paired up with an almost candy-ish Yumberry. As a pure/specific Nectarine, I would have to drop it somewhat to a 6.5/10, BUT, as a Nectarine paired with a delicious Yumberry I would have to rate it MUCH higher @ 9.5/10. You may want to pick this one up, and enjoy it anyway, … I am.
Peach (W/O Stevia) (CAP) 4% (2-5-23) – Because I’m finishing up this series, I didn’t want to slow the roll, and break into side tests, but after this series is completed, I WILL directly compare CAP’s Peach WITH and WITHOUT Stevia to see how much of a difference the Stevia makes. Right out of the gate, without Stevia, this one did not disappoint. It presented as a nice juicy, yellow peach without hesitation. No pits or skin, but the juicy yellow fleshy body. @ 4% it was nicely full, and did not taste underpowered. Sweetness was just below mid level, and at that level it felt/tasted natural without any “candy”-ness. To better define the sweetness, it was also not soo sweet that it fell into canned peaches in sytrup. Natural tasting, with no off-notes, and it had plenty of lower/mid notes as well as some sparkling high notes, which kept it interesting, and non one dimensional. As far as peaches went, it was right in the middle of the road, and that would allow for even more uses, from candied, fruit pairings, and bakeries and pies. Overall it did have an interesting tartness, which not only gave it a little kick, but added authenticity, and ripe-ness to it. All in, an impressive NON-Stevia’d version of a yellow peach, that was JUST sweet enough, and just tart enough to really keep it interesting. Hard to knock something down, when it does what it claims to do, and does it well. Easily a 9.5/10.
Smooth Custard (CAP) 4% (2-5-23) – Ohhh Yeahhh !!! I just had to get THAT out of the way. YES, this is one of the ones I wanted to hit FIRST, but, I had to let the process run. OK, what DO we have here with the NEW Cap Smooth Custard. EXACTLY that. Vanilla Custard paired perfectly with creams/creameries. Review over, right ?? Hehe, ok, a little more details on this one. I did get a good dose of what I call “Capella Classic Vanilla Custard” in here, BUT it was tempered by a super smooth (and creamy) creamery. Now, I’ve already been asked more than once if this was CAP VC1 with the NEW Creamy Vanilla. I can neither confirm nor deny that, BUT, it could be. I honestly think it’s more than that simple pairing. The eggy CAP VC is back, BUT, because of how it is/was tempered by the creamery elements, it was not quite as IN your face. It was still plenty thick, and rich at 4% with utterly NO NEED to crank it up, as it was full flavored at this weight. Now I continue to mention VC v.1 but, in this new dik/daap free-ish world we live in, I’m sure this one is free of those as well, and although there were no overt buttery notes, it was still QUITE the tasty one. I felt that it was thicker than just a simple VC and Cream mix, and at times I almost got a bakery-ish element in there, that also worked to thicken it up, and make it even more enjoyable. Because the VC elements were still fairly present, it made completely identifying the cream/creameries in here, pretty damned hard, BUT they ARE in there, and worked to really increase the richness of this one, without a thinning effect. Beautifully blended, and ratio-d. What’s neat about this one is it will probably appeal to both diehard CAP VC fans, AND people not necessarily looking for a heavy eggy-ness. It’s there, but tempered by the creamy elements. Creamy Custard perfectly names this one, as I did not get any Pudding in here at all. No off notes, and rather HARD to put down. If you like Cap’s VC, and Creameries, you should sign up for this one !!! For a rich, creamy mashup of Cap’s VC and and delicious creams/creameries, this one won’t let you down. Creamy and rich RIGHT up until the end of the testers. I cannot go below 9.9/10 on this one guys.
Sour Blue Raspberry (CAP) 4% (2-7-23) – Wow, the room note on this one, was full on BLUE !!! Nearing the end of this big ass series, I finally got to spend some time with this one, and I was glad I did. It presented as a fairly artificial Blue Raspberry, which in and of itself is hard to explain, as they don’t occur in nature. Some people think the BRB is a pairing of Raspberries and Blueberries, which MIGHT be true, but it’s hard to 100% nail that down. Regardless, it WAS true to the traditional profile, with a nice sour tartness, with JUST enough sweetener to round it out. @ 4% it felt like it might be able to go a little higher, maybe even 5.0-5.5% as a solo flavor, but even at my testing weight, there were no off-notes. Like a previous flavor above, this one had a recognizable “commercial” taste/ room note that is used widely, and you’ll know what I mean when you taste it. No cooling, which was a bonus for me, as I can’t use them, BUT, you could chill it down if needed. Regardless of how ICEE came up WITH the blue raspberry, this flavor did really capture it well. Non fatiguing, and still mysterious as to what exactly WAS in it, this one stayed interesting, and fresh throughout. If you DO like the Blue (hehe, it’s actually a clear flavor), you’ll love this one. While I still may not be able to 100% fully identify the “berry” compounds in this one, it had no real faults, and did what it was supposed to do. Solidly placing this one @ 9.0/10.
Strawberry Kiwi Fusion (CAP) 4% (2-9-23) – I had a LOT of fun with this, the second to last flavor in this big series of the NEW Capella flavors. Cards on the table, this was a great flavor. I was only somewhat hesitant, as I have tasted some Kiwis that were very (sorry) “cat pissy”, hehe. This one had NONE of that. The SB presented as a really juice, ripe, red Strawberry, and with the Kiwi, it had a sparkly, bright finish. The pairing of the two was very smartly done, as it let the red juicy-ness of the SB shine in the beginning and middle, and the Kiwi sparked it up on the finish. Depending on your tastes/needs, you could be WELL on your way to making a Kanzi with minimal tweaking. At 4% it was fairly strong, but felt like you might be able to push it a little higher, possibly 1%. At the testing weight, there were no off notes, and it was about mid-level sweet. No jams, candies, or overripes here, just a great (repeating) juicy red SB, paired (or Fuzed) with a nice, bright Kiwi. Smartly done, and the sparkling of bright notes on the finish really did (trust me, 3 testers so far), kept you coming back for more. Nothing to mark down on this one, and the only thing of note would be a possible increase in percentage. Freshly placing this one at a nice high of 9.5/10.
Strawberry Lemonade (CAP) 4% (2-11-23) – “Big Badda Boom” !! The LAST one of these NEW Capella flavors is on deck, and in the tank. As I’ve previously stated, sometimes on the FIRST taste, you get an impression, and it sticks with you (or me) from beginning to end, and that WAS the case here. The words of the day here are “Perfect Pairing”. Capella did an incredible job of perfectly pairing both the BS and the Lemonade here. I don’t know the actual compound ratios, but when tasting it, they both were DEAD EVEN. Not 49% / 51%, but 50% / 50%, meaning that both of the main profiles were completely, evenly matched. Now we can all probably agree, there’s NO perfect ratio for everyone, and some will prefer more Lemonade, while others, more Strawberry. But if you’re one of the ones, RIGHT in the middle, you can “gas and go” with this one. Need to pull it either way, towards the SB, or Lemonade, it won’t take much. The SB was hard to completely nail down BECAUSE of the PP (perfect pairing), and I did get some great hints of a juicy red strawberry that leaned natural, and was tempered by the Lemonade which gave it somewhat of a brighter, white (green) strawberry-ish taste, but there were plenty of juicy red undertones still in there. The Lemonade was nice and bright, almost sharp, and punchy, and it as well, leaned natural. This one WAS a couple of ticks above mid-level sweet, and while higher on the scale, it wasn’t fatiguing to my tastes, BUT, it did lean on the sweeter side. I can’t suppose to say what the perfect SB/LA ratio is for you guys, but this one was as an EVEN pairing as you could hope to get, and what YOUR tastes will require, will determine whether or not it needed to be pushed or pulled. As I sometimes do with lemons/lemonades is I taste it RIGHT on the heels of one of my rich custard/creamery ADV’s JUST to see if it can punch through. Meaning, I run two tanks side by side, test, test, test, the heavy creamery, then RIGHT over to the lemons/lemonades, and this one PUNCHED through, so it’s got some punch to it. At 4% it was very full on my SteamCrave RDTA, and it MIGHT be able to be run a smidge higher, but I didn’t feel the need to. Nothing off-putting, or squirrel-ly, and rather hard to mark down. In closing for this flavor, it was a perfectly evenly paired red, juicy SB, and a fresh, bright, and punchy Lemonade that leaned heavily natural. Not to distract FROM the flavor, but the smack dab, 50/50 pairing could not be understated. Easily a 9.3/10.
Thanks for hanging in there, for the duration of this series, as some of these new Capella flavors were VERY interesting, and required some additional time to really flush out. Because I hand picked the flavors I wanted to test, either I got lucky, or most of these were just plain great flavors, as I didn’t really get any “stinkers”, with only the Cookie Crumble low scoring. It was an INSANELY good flavor, but just not true to it’s name.
Thanks again out to Allen from Capella for not only letting me pick all of these, but sending them out for this review.
Also for the FIRST TIME in history, Lukeloop awarded me the Flavor Testing Trophy. Every one of his works of art is a “One Of a Kind”.
Thanks Luke.
looking forward to it though.