Hehe, I hear you @Gazza7. They’ve all been sitting for just under a week, and Darren just told me that most of their flavors won’t take long to steep, which means, either tonight when I get home, or tomorrow, we START the run !!!
Eagerly waiting also….of course it starts with ‘p’ must be a typo. Actually spelt aportello
ACAI on deck, loading into the trusty SteamCrave !!!
It is a unusual flavour and have not seen another around, it is an old school flavour from the 70’s and 80’s. Still popular in the vodka industry as a flavour additive. More of a carbonated Grape, aged PORT flavour. Port is a fortified red wine basically.
Acai (FLAVRZ) 5% / 7.5% (4-6-23) – Welcome to the FIRST flavor from FLVRZ, and a brand new flavor house for me. Let’s get it on !!! Did you know that the Acai berries grow on a palm tree ?? I didn’t. I’ve had acai juice a few times, and this flavor was pretty spot on for it. A darker berry flavor, with earthy undertones. And the earthy tones were good. Sweetness was authentically below mid-level sweet, and even when testing at two different levels, I got NO off-notes, florals, uglies. At 5% it was fairly full, but felt like it needed a little boost, so I upped it to 7.5% and it started to really come alive, with a much richer, darker, fuller profile. The berry notes were similar to a medley of a blueberry, with maybe some dark raspberry in there, but only similar, not identical, and it was a very unique fruit flavor. I don’t typically use acai often, BUT, I think that might change. There was a really “smooth” tartness to this one, and it really added some great authenticity, and a really nice finish to this flavor. Many times when I test darker berries, I can sometimes detect “florals” JUST lurking around the corner, but not here, so you might even be able to go a little higher if needed. You could boost the sweetness if needed, but as it stood, the lower than average sweetness, just plain worked. For a very unique, fresh, darker berry, with below average sweetness, with a super tarty finish, you WILL like this one. GREAT way to start off this series, and with no nit-pickings here, leaving this one high @ 9.7/10.
Sorry, smart arse sense of humour, I merely hoped to move it to the top of the pile.
PS Watch out for Drop Bears.
OH SHIT, hehe, I thought you were SERIOUS !!!
Aniseed (FLAVRZ) 2% (4-7-23) – Throughout the ENTIRE test on this one, I kept thinking, “Man, this is RIGHT in the sweet spot”. While I cannot claim to be a huge anise seed / black licorice user, this one presented as a really accurate flavor. I really did get the fennel-ish notes, as well as the black licorice, and it stayed very accurate to the end. After talking to @Jetz, I decided to test this one lower (relatively), and at 2% it was very good, AND, it felt like you could maybe push it a little higher if needed, to maybe 3.0% as a single. Even at 2% I had no issues, no off notes, and sweetness was about mid-level. What has turned me off from some similar flavors in the past, were dry, or bitter notes, especially on the finish, and they were NOT here with this one. At times I felt like I could almost taste the “kernel”. If you are one of the ones who loves a great anise (fennel / black licorice) this one will do it for you, with no issues. Hard to nitpick and nothing to mark down on, leaving this one high @ 9/10.
Apple (FLAVRZ) 5% / 7.5% (4-7-23) – I’m always interested when I see an “Apple” flavor listed, but without any “Red”, “Green”, or “Fuji” included in the name. This one was on of those “Just Apple”'s. Out of the gate, I could tell it was not a strong flavor, and tested at both 5", and 7.5%, with only minor saturation increases at the higher rate. It was a VERY interesting mix OF apples, and to my tastes, I clearly got some red, and yellow apples, with MAYBE just a hint of Fuji in there. No sour green apple here. Because it was a lighter flavor, it wandered around, and sometimes favored one or another apple type, but it stayed very fresh, and almost juicy throughout. Sweetness was below mid level, and there was a nice little tarty finish at the end. Even while light(er) I didn’t get any overt artificial notes, and that left it leaning heavily to the natural. Care would have to be used when mixing so as to not overpower this one. With that said, it was a nice red/yellow apple medley, that was just sweet enough, and a slightly tart finish. With no off-notes, the only take-offs would be for it’s fairly relaxed nature. 7.5/10.
Apricot (FLAVRZ) 5% / 7.5% (4-7-23) – As SOON as I loaded this into the SteamCrave, the new PATTERN was becoming obvious, and after only a FEW of these New (to me) FLAVRZ flavors. Clean, clean, clean. Like a few of the previous flavors, I did test this one at 5% and 7.5% as it was not as saturated as I felt it could have been at 5%, and increasing it to 7.5% it did really seem to open up. “Clean and Accurate” were the two big immediate take-aways on this one. At both percentages it presented as a deliciously orange, almost CHEWY apricot. Clean, accurate, and just about spot on, and as close as I think I’ve ever tasted. It presented as VERY natural tasting with no artificial notes, and no OFF notes to speak of either. Real apricots, can have an almost slight funky-ness to them, and it was IN this one. NOW, I know funky-ness often times is a negative, but NOT here, as it just sealed the deal on it’s authenticity. At the higher testing weight, it didn’t really leave much out, and was a few ticks below mid-level sweet. Not dry, but not juicy, but just almost CHEWY if that makes sense. I clouded up the lab with the delicious Apricot Fog, TRYING to find something to nit-pick, and I couldn’t. Clean, accurate, chewy, and delicious WERE the only things that needed to be said, with the only take-offs being somewhat relaxed at the lower weight, but is that even really a take-off ?? I don’t apricot all the time, but when I do, this one will stay high up on the list. Easily a 9.5/10.
Banana (FLAVRZ) 5% / 7.5% (4-7-23) – The nana crowd can be a PICKY bunch, and I’m no different. Green, yellow, Runtz, mashed. Everyone seems to have their OWN wants when it comes to nanas. My tastes lean toward a more greener banana, as once they get mushy and brown, I just can’t eat them anymore. I always review, geared towards my tastes, so yours may vary or differ. This one really HIT the nail on the head for me on the first taste ? Why ?? It seemed to be just the PERFECT mix of some yellow, and some green for me. NOW, just like some of the preceding flavors, it was NOT the strongest, and at 5% while good, I felt it needed a bump up to 7.5%, and it DID improve. For MY tastes, it really was the perfect ratio of green and yellow, which was almost evenly paired as far as I could tell. At both the lower and higher testing weights it was a great full bodied banana flavor with no off-notes, and almost mid-level sweet. I got NONE of the over-ripened, or mushy-ness that some nana flavors had, and just enough of the green to cater to my tastes. Not candied or Runtz profiled, nor creamed, just a simple, very natural tasting pairing of green and yellow bananas, with no dry notes, and an almost starchy finish. Even at the higher weight, it felt like it could even go stronger if needed, but at 7.5% it was fairly full and present. Depending on your nana needs, this green/yellow combo just might work out for you. About the only take-off (again), would be the slight lack of presence, but even that, was a nit-pick. Leaving it solidly at a 9.2/10.
Bavarian Cream (FLAVRZ) 5% / 8% (4-8-23) – After talking to Darren from FLAVRZ he explained that their flavors were not only DAAP free, but also free of other “Not Safe For Vaping” compounds as well. Most of my other Bavarian Creams can’t say that, so let’s see what’s what. I tested this one at 5%, and it tasted like a smooth, clean (repeating here) Bavarian Cream, but it needed some more, so I increased it to 8%, and it did indeed take shape. I’m repeating here, but the further I get into these FLAVRZ, the “clean” trend just continues. It presented as a natural tasting BC, with good mouthfeel, creamy-ness, and and almost light graham undertone. There were also subtle caramel, and light bakery undertones as well, and they all just worked in concert to complex-ify the flavor to the good. Some of my BC’s were similarly rich, but had an almost burnt aftertaste, and this one did not, lending to it’s creamy and rich, but clean finish. At both weights I couldn’t find any off-notes, and at the higher weight, there were no signs of bending, just a richer, fuller taste. All in, this one WOULD make a great addition to any Bav Cream heads stash, as it was pretty unique with it’s subtle caramel, graham, bakery undertones, and noticeably clean finish. Not the strongest, but once you got it into it’s “range”, it was ON. Minor take-offs for a slightly dry finish, and leaving it solidly at a 9.3/10.
So you won’t believe me when I say musk sticks are best dipped in Vegemite
Portello is another one I tried to make but never found the right concentrates to get it right, so that interests me. It is an old school flavour that you don’t see much anymore.
Hehe, I’m not sure what to say.
It’s going to be another NEW one for me, so I’m anxious to try it.
Blackcurrant (FLAVRZ) 5% / 7.5% (4-9-23) – I could tell this one was different than all of the other Blackcurrants I’d tested to date, and in an interesting way. This presented as a very complex darker berry-ish flavor, with multiple berries, and a nice, slightly boozy grape undertone. When I say berry-ish, it’s for lack of better words, as it did have the very expected tart finish which screamed “currant”. It ranged from modest darker notes, followed up by a very generous helping of mid notes, and some modest bright, and tarty notes on the finish. It centered around the mid notes, but had just enough of the low and highs to help it into complex-if-ication. After two full testers, it still wandered around with sometimes more berries, other times, more of the grape, but it was always finished by the tartness. At 5% it was good, but (repeating), felt like it needed a little push, and 7.5% did just that. It was about 2 ticks above mid level sweet, but the tart finish kept that in check, and there were not off-notes, OR florals to be found. After struggling to try and figure out what made it so unique, I had to settle on the mid-level notes, which were higher in the mix, and kept it fully centered. A very good darker berry-ish medley with grape-y undertones, and a nice tart finish that kept it squarely in the “currant” camp. VERY hard to nit-pick this one, and leaving it at 9.5/10.
Black Tea (FLAVRZ) 5% (4-9-23) – Having never tested a straight black tea before, but only sweet teas, I was curious how this one would unfold. Smelled very black tea-like in the bottle, and vaping it, continued that, BUT, only about 70% of the way there. It smelled like a black tea, and had SOME aspects of it, and it even had the almost dryness that you got after actually drinking some, BUT, there was just something missing. It was actually far sweeter than I had expected, at just below mid-level sweet, and because it was not billed AS a sweet tea, that surprised me. The dryness on the finish was what really tried to push this one to authentic, and despite the nuances OF a black tea, it was almost more of a Black Tea Soda, with reduced sweetness from what sodas normally are. It wasn’t sweet enough to be a sweet tea, and there WERE really good black tea notes coming from it, but two testers in, I just couldn’t define it, as “All The Way There”. No off notes, and nothing out of place, it just needed to get that LAST 30% of the way there. It was a hard one to define, judge, and articulate for sure, and it MAY just get you that little Black Tea push you were looking for. It felt fair @ 7/10.
Blueberry (FLAVRZ) 5% / 8% (4-9-23) – This flavor presented me with a pair of profiles on the first taste, and it stayed with me throughout. I got a fairly natural Blueberry, tempered with equal parts, Sweet, and Tart. I noticed this on the first taste @ 5%, and after half a tank I decided to increase it to 8%, and the delicious, natural blueberry increased, BUT, so did the S&T. It was a few ticks above mid-level sweet, yet it still didn’t taste “candied”. At the higher percentage, I did get a nice increase OF the blueberry, and at times I could almost get some of the skin (tart), and the white fleshy part of the fruit. I got the desired slight funky-ness, and a slight fermented punch from the BB, and it was really good. At times however, I wished the S&T were less pronounced, so I could better enjoy the natural BB. For a test, I went even HIGHER, JUST to see if it would get floral, or squirrel-y, to about 12% and it did NOT. No soap, no perfume, just MORE of the same. No off-notes could be found, and about the only take-offs would be for the fairly present Sweet and Tart notes, that at times I felt overshadowed the really good BB. Scoring this was complex because I DO love a sweet and tart blueberry, but this felt solidly placed at 7.0/10.
Blue Raspberry (FLAVRZ) 3% / 6% / 7.5% (4-9-23) – Every time I review a Blue Raspberry, I always link to the same where did it come from story and it’s STILL interesting. Darren from FLAVRZ warned me this one was a little stronger so I started out at 3%, and it had ALL of what you needed in a blue raspberry, but it felt like (you guessed it), it needed some BAMM. Pushed it up to 6% and it started to fill out nicely, and I only bumped to 7.5% just to see if it got squirrel-y, and it didn’t. I spent most of the test on 6%, and it had the almost perfect (does anyone even REALLY know what it is ??) flavor. I never can tell if there is/was actually RB in there or not, but the flavor, when done right, is unmistakable. Full, tarty, and just sweet enough without being overpowering, and non-fatiguing. After 2 full testers, my opinion(s) hadn’t changed, as this was a good BRB, and it just might bring you back to your Icee days. It was CLEAR in the bottle, JUST to be clear, hehe. The finish was more than just tart-y, it almost had a twang to it, and it really sealed the deal at the end. It tasted “blue” if that’s really a thing, and it tasted good doing it. Even when pushed higher, it showed no signs of folding, no florals, soaps, perfumes, etc. All in, it was a great representation of a BRB. After I get through these 80 flavors AND 11 one-shots, I may mix this up with some fairy floss to see if it helps or hurts. As it stood at 6%, with no real nitpicks, it felt solid @ 9.0/10.