As you no doubt guessed, I am new here, and I gotta say, so far I’m loving it here. Great community, large influx of new ideas, updated in very short intervals, and for the most part, well meaning individuals here…oh yeah and I adore the recipe tool… so much so that I wish there was a standalone app or program made by ELR.
One question though, how long does it generally take after releasing a few recipes to actually get good and thorough feedback and ratings? I’m new, but a quick learner, heavy researcher, but in order to refine and tweak successfully, I need input from a diverse pool of palates. So far, I’ve been cranking out formulas and even leaving thoughtful, insightful, or even philosophic (sophomoric at best) words to encourage people to take the plunge and discuss the journey if you will. It’s been a little slow going, so I was just wondering.
I am currently vaping in lieu of quitting the big T, so as to mitigate the probability of the big C later in life. I find however that I’m loving vaping, how raw and undeveloped it is, and how open it is to meaningful and creative expression in certain areas, so I may stick with it even after quitting.
Ratings and feedback are elusive creatures. I’ve come to the conclusion that they are not important to me because I rarely mix for others and I only have to please myself.
Mixing other peoples recipes is a good way to qualify your own juice. If you enjoy your own creations as much or more than highly regarded recipes, then your doing well.
Same here, altough as a newbie myself I’m still looking for some confirmation that I’m on th right track. But what is “the right track”? Taste is a very subjective thing and what tastes good and strong for me, might be too weak for others. What I do now is test my flavorings in 10ml of 70/30 VG/PG whitout nicotine at percentages of 1, 3, and finally 5%. I test them right away after mixing, then a few days later and finally a few weeks later. Doing so gives me an idea of how concentrated a flavor is and what it does over time. Sorry to be derailing as this wass not your question. So, back on track: - do you mix for yourself ( only care about how it tastes to you) - you mix for others ( give some test batches to people you trust and ask for their opinion)
I’m a noob myself so feel free to disregard anything I say
I wish you good luck on your DIY journey
Actually, it’s a mixture if you’ll pardon the pun. I mix for myself, start out complex, then over a few days, find ways to simplify by removing redundancy or increasing/decreasing a certain flavoring until it’s “right” for me. I do try to fill up the flavor allotment as much as I can though, as I’d rather have more flavor than less. This is probably normal, as everyone conjures imagery, emotion, and sentiment when testing certain familiar and exotic flavors. I think where its next level for me is just how deep, vivid, and accurate my longterm is…to the point of eating butterscotch candy and smoking menthols reminds me of the first time I watched Monty Python and the quest for the holy grail as a teen. To me, I’m not so much building flavors as I am taking a journey down memory lane or eliciting emotional responses. One of my formulas in particular is beginning to remind me of when relatives were still alive and we all sat and ate breakfast at a large round table every morning.
I do the smaller test batches, but I’m only receiving good feedback, so I’m trying to discern bias from honesty by including the opinions of strangers…to a realistic extent.
I aim to build these flavors for myself, but I may consider a little side business, selling liquids locally if enough of them are good and my stable is large enough.
You have already been given some really good advice here, and as @Pro_Vapes said, the concentrates you are using are not some that I have ever seen being used before, not that they aren’t good, just that they aren’t well-known. Also, as you will come to know, if you have a flavor, such as strawberry from the brand you are using, it can be nearly guaranteed that it will not taste like strawberry flavorings from other brands like Flavor Art (FA), Medicine Flower (MF), The Perfumer’s Apprentice (TPA), Real Flavors (RF), Flavorah (FLV), etc. This is why you will see in many recipes that there are a sometimes more than one Strawberry (or any other flavor) being used in unison to create the flavor the author of the recipe is looking for. But as others have stated, taste is subjective, and if you are mixing for yourself, and you are satisfied, then who cares what everyone else thinks!
this is especially good advice:
People here are very willing to help, but it may be difficult to find people who have the types of concentrates you are using…
Absolutely, glad you noticed. There are mainly two reasons for the flavoring I use, competitive pricing where I shop, and availability of stock. They claim on their website that their flavorings are a mixture of both TFA and CAP, so it’s a crapshoot which is which. The SKU does give the TF or CA to let you know, but their flavorings might have different names so I include the flavor number to make it easy to find and confirm the flavorings I use. So far I’m using EJuicy and Rocking Drops, both offer TFA and CAP, so there is equivalence to consider.
I understand what you mean, however it should be noted that the brand I use, basically either re-brands or clones existing flavorings from both TFA and Capella, they even say this on their listing. Not sure how accurate they are in reproduction, but I suspect there is some internal recipe treachery afoot, so they might just be spot on.
You will find that all brands have some flavors that are must-haves and others that you wouldn’t want to vape with someone else’s setup!!! My advice to you, if you really want advice and feedback on your recipes, is that you will need to expand your concentrates stash to include more favored brands like the ones I mentioned in my previous post…This is to give yourself a better chance that someone will have all of the concentrates you are using in your recipe so they can mix your exact recipe as you intend it to be mixed…But again, if you are satisfied with your mixes, then that is all that really matters…
“All our flavors use TFA, Capella, or a combination of both. All our flavoring is Diacetyl Free.”
Here is their actual website… they seem legit, but I’m really only saying that because none of the flavors I’ve received were weak, incorrect, or nasty.
Personally, I would not use these, and I understand that sometimes $ is a big issue, believe me, I know, but I would recommend ordering from known and trusted vendors that can provide quality concentrates at a decent price…here are the places that I order from the most…these places offer many brands including TFA/TPA and Capella and you will know exactly which one you are getting…
If you are really into Flavor Apprentice (TFA) concentrates, Nic River has 60 ml (2 oz) for a very good price…this is one of those flavors that I really really like from TFA and a 60 ml is only $4.50, whereas, where you ordered from is $4.28 for 30 ml and it could very well be the same concentrate…
It takes time to build a good flavor stash, but eventually, you will get to a point where you only need to buy replacements for the one’s you run out of…until a new awesome flavor comes out and you just have to have it because everyone here just raves about it!!! Believe me, it happens!!! However, the group of people here are very smart and generous, and most know what they are doing, so ask questions when you have them, and remember that the search function is your friend! You can find a plethora of information inside this forum, and some of the best recipes known to the vape world on the recipe side of the site!
Good luck and good mixing to you! Welcome to the beginning of your journey down the rabbit hole, and fair warning, you may never want to leave!!!
Lol. I’ve been here two years. No comments on the recipie side. But I rarely post and what I post is odd and requires a deep flavor stash and folks would still be missing flavors. But that’s ok.
What I care is that I provide advice from time to time that helps at least one person, one mix, and that’s all I need.
Welcome @Qdoggus you definitely came to the right place! So many awesome people here for sure! You’ll become a great mixer in no time with all the knowledge you’ll pick up from ELR! Happy mixing!
Thank you much. I like how thinking in flavors allows me to organize the chaos of an overactive mind. I still have a load of recipes I haven’t converted to ELR yet.
