Help, not getting any flavor from my mixes!

E-liquids General
1

Hi,

For about 6 month I have been mixing some flavors for me and some friends and family members. I have been reading a lot over the pass 6 month and some of my mixes have come out good, but many have come out flat.

So what am I using? Essential depot VP and PG, mixing ration 60/40. TFA for flavors. For nicotine I use strength 100mg 100% PG from my freedom smoke and all recipes we mix them in 0, 3 and 6 mg.

The nicotine so far has not been a problem, the problem is actually not getting many of the flavors right, they taste weak, you can taste something there but it is not strong enough, I make 3 version when I try a flavor for the first time, 10% flavor, 15% flavor and 10% flavor plus 1% EM (cotton candy) all in 60 VG/ 40 PG ratio. I leave them all 1 month for the stepping, shaking them form time to time during the month.

Flavors like, Grape, Apricot, Fruit circles, Philippine mango, regular mango and vanilla came out with a really weak flavor. I have many other flavors that I made that I still need to try, but so far only lemon lime and Hawaiian are actually good.

how do I make them? I do 10ml mixes, I got 1ml and 5ml Syringes for all ingredients so I wont contaminate one with the other and so that I could get the mixes as precises as possible, so I get a 15ml glass bottle, and mix the following way:

For 10% flavor:
6ml VG, 3ml PG and 1ml flavor

For 15% flavor:
6ml VG, 2.5ml PG and 1.5ml flavor

For 10% flavor plus 1% EM:
6ml VG, 2.4ml PG, 1ml flavor and 0.1ml EM

This is what I do when I don’t put any nicotine in the mix.

So as I said before, after stepping for a month or longer and shaking from time to time, I get really weak flavors.

When I open the bottles, they smell great, awesome actually and I think, “this is it”, but then I vape them and get disappointed.

Could anyone help me out please?

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Hi welcome to ELR I am going to say your problem is the Ethyl Malto ( EM) 1% stop putting it in your mixes and you will have the flavor you want.

If your using 15-20% flavor and you’ve been mixing for 6+ months then you’ve built enough recipes that are good, try those recipes w/o the EM and you will see.

Also if you need some SnVs( shake n vapes ) to get you through until your batches have steeped look at this thread

If I had to put $ on it I’d say that’s the top problem I see with what your doing.

Also are you using the ELR calculator to mix with ? Your system doesn’t sound logical enough d/t each flavor requires a different usage ratio…meaning Capella’s Sweet SB vs Strawberry ripe TFA are both great SB but both can be used at different %s to achieve different profiles. Sweet SB at 3% is just ok it’s in the back ground and it has flavor but at 4.5-5% it’s a popping sweet SB see what I mean you’ll need to load your recipe on the calculator and once your there and have it saved click on the flavor it will link you to the suggested usage ratio and then you will know if your in the right ballpark for that flavor…if your using syringes you will see how many mls you’ll need to add per batch. I recommend switching to mixing by weight it sounds scary at first but it is the easiest fastest and easiest clean up ( there is none just drop into your bottle or beaker ) so check this thread out too bc I also will say outside of the EM your system isn’t working.

take this recipe of mine for example

FLV Crazzelberry

Ingredient%
Boysenberry (Flavorah)0.75
Cranberry (Flavorah)1.9
grape (Flavorah)1
Lemonade (Flavorah)2.5
Raspberry (Flavorah)1.75

Flavor total: 7.9%

Remember to rate it at e-liquid-recipes.com!

See the total of flavoring in this batch is 7.9% yet that is only 0.63 mls the flavors are proportionate to each other and make the depth you want you may be on single mixes still Idk …post a few of your recipes here so we can get an idea of what one of your recipes look like.

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Without seeing the recipes it’s hard to say your problem, however, never add EM to a mix unless your intention is to weaken a sharp/tangy kinda flavor. EM will weaken flavors rather than enhance. The longer you steep, the weaker the flavor will get. Also, be aware some TPA flavors are weak to begin with. Some are strong enough to curl the hair on your toes. Do your homework and learn your flavors. There’s plenty of info here on ELR so dig in and stay awhile…

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1% Vodka in your premixed liquid!

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My first question is are you making single flavor juices or mixes? Second it seems to me that I have the best luck when I use a combination of brands in a mixed juice. I experiment to find out which brand and flavors work best to bring out the best in each other.

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Yes, it would REALLY help if you posted a recipe or two of yours…to see your mix style.

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Might I suggest mixing mango tpa at 6%. There is a possiblility that for your tasting abilities on a single flavor flavor 10% is reaulting in over flavoring. Remember, sometime in ejuice mixing too much isn’t a good thing.

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Tfa are rarely stand alone good and are best suited as mere additions to a flavor profile. As has been said already research is your friend as tfa percentages vary all over the map. You will find every flavor has its own goldilox zone. Keep in mind the right amount for Shakenvape will not necessary be the right amount after a month steep. To make a single flavor mix like say blueberry will require blending several brands of flavoring eg…

Blueberry
7% Flavor west Blueberry (acts as a base somewhat candy flavor
3% TFA blueberry extra (adds real berry nuance)
3% Olive Nation blueberry (a pg free extract that adds earthy depth)
.5% Flavorah blueberry (sweetens)
.15 FA bilberry (adds depth)( 2-3 drops ina 30ml)

From this point you can push the mix in any direction you want adding say
2% molinberry Blueberry or
.5% Inewera Blueberry
Will yield a more european blueberry profile

Or half the percentages and add maybe some cream(s) or raspberry(s) or vanilla(s) :grinning:

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Thanks @Amy2 I will look into mixing by weight, I am buying the recommended scale today.

@ringling I don’t put EM on all of my eLiquids, I create 3 version of each flavor I make and in only one I put EM to see which one of the 3 comes out better, so far none have come out good so I need to keep on trying.

I will start using the recommended usage ratio by flavor and company that I find here, although there are some flavors that nobody have commented about their single usage ratio, I guess for those I will keep on trying and post recommendations if I find a good ratio.

@GPC2012 @ozo I am trying to make single flavor juices right now, at the end I will write how I make them.

@Chrispdx thanks, yes I have been reading about this problem, I will try mixing using the recommended usage ratio for each flavor, my question is, if I am really close to that ratio, shouldn’t the flavor come out kind of good?, i have seen in some cases that the recommended usage ratio is 8.9% and I am using 10% and it doesn’t taste like anything, and I read other people in the comments saying that with 10% or even 15% it taste great.

@mixologist13 I guess what you are saying is true, I have some other capella flavors and the mixes made with their flavor have come out better than with TPA, but just better, not good enough.

So, I got a bunch of flavors from TPA, mango, Philippine mango, strawberry, blueberry, energy drink, horchata, lychee, french vanilla II, vanilla bean gelato, vanilla swirl, mojito, orange cream, peach, pina colada, pomegranate, tutti frutti, watermelon and others.

for the recipes this is how I make each version of all my single flavors.

Version 1. (10% flavor. 60vg / 40pg)
6ml VG
3ml PG
1ml Flavor
Total: 10ml

Version 2. (15% flavor 60vg / 40pg)
6ml VG
2.5ml PG
1.5ml flavor
Total: 10ml

Version 3. (10% flavor + 1% EM 60vg / 40pg)
6ml VG
2.9ml PG
1ml Flavor
0.1ml EM
Total: 10ml

I decided to make all my eliquids for now 60vg / 40pg, trying to get more flavor in my mixes, but I will like to get to 70/30.

Have anyone tried the VG and PG from essential depot? I also got some from liquid barn but I don’t see any difference.

Thanks to everyone for their response, I wasn’t expecting so many replies in such a short time, is nice to know there are people out there willing to help.

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We don’t mind… @daath pays us $100 per reply. :smile_cat:

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:grinning::joy:

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As for kinda good. Well yes. All of our tasting abilities are different and the ceiling for how much you could put in can be different for people. And unfortunately the user comments can sometimes be alittle off or just wacky. That’s why it’s important to read as many individual user notes and not just look at the averages.

Here is an example. Most people like billberry FA. The recommended percent is 0.5%. I believe that number to be true. But for me, I won’t add my notes to the system because I know my tasting ability is different on billberry FA. I like it at 1-3%. 3% for most people is way to high. They will be blown away by a “perfume” affect…which I don’t get. So if someone where to ask I would say start with 0.5-1% and be willing to go higher.

All in all. Imo, once you hit the ceiling for a flavor you will get nothing. If you still have your mixes sitting around that didn’t work. There is no harm in adding some more pg/vg to see what happens. Just give it a day to mix/distribute.

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Hi

Each flavor has their own suggested ratio like I was trying to explain about the strawberry differences ^ there in my post ( hope it isn’t too confusing )

sb ripe TFA - is way different than sweet sb by capella’s. Meaning you can’t say for all flavors a blanket % mark. For some flavors it will be too high and taste really gross or not at all over flavoring most of the time results in tasteless juice believe it or not weird huh…and underflavoring is of a similar sort kinda taste something but not enough.

When you start out making a mix research what the starting ratios are for that flavor on ELR it is programmed once you click on a flavor it links you to that page and it states what it’s best at % wise for in a mix use and for stand alone ( single flavor mixes like you are doing )

why I go into so much detail is …every flavor is different you can try to blanketly say 10% on all my 10 ml batches until the cow’s come home and it will not matter majority of them will not be desirable. ( some will be good as certain flavors you have to use more )

Learning what each flavor’s potential ratio is paramount / get into the habit of checking the flavor link after writing your recipes and double checking that you are within the desired ratio for that flavor that way you can insure that your mix isn’t going to be bad…now it could still need tweaking that’s kinda the fun part, but that becomes more fun when you start to incorporate more flavors within a batch.

There is a TON of info on here the search bar is quite friendly !

Here’s some good info thou

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I get my VG from either essential depot or nicotine river. Best product/best price IMHO

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Thank you all for all the Help!!!

@Amy2 I got my scale yesterday, will start mixing by weight tomorrow. I got one question, when I see a recipe someone made, sometimes I see that instead of the grams for each ingredient there is drops per ingredient, is there a way to change it to grams?

Sorry to tag a few of you here, i just want to see what you guys think about these two things @Amy2 @ringling @Maureeenie @ozo @GPC2012 @Chrispdx

I have a TPA strawberry ripe flavor that I made 3 month ago, I haven’t tried it yet, it is 60 vg / 40 pg and I used 10% of flavor, which is exactly the recommended ratio for TPA strawberry ripe stated in here, no nicotine in it. It smells really really good, just like freshly cut strawberries, my question is, should the eliquid taste as good as it smells when u vape it? Or the smell of the eliquid I make does not have anything to do with the flavor you get when you vape it?

My other question is, I got an eleaf TC60W, would the way I set the vaporizer up play a role on the flavor I get when vaping? I am fairly new at this type of vaporizer, before this I had one that didn’t need any set up, it was a small vaporize. I found some tutorials on how to set my eleaf up on YouTube, but they just give you general settings information, it doesn’t tell you which set up to use to achieve more flavor or more clouds, would I be missing the flavor of my mixes because the way I set my eleaf up?

Thanks again to everyone here!!!

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Don’t expect smell, or taste (Drop on your finger) to be exactly the same as the vape. It is usually stronger in taste and smell than when vaped. Consider it giving you a idea what it will be like…[quote=“alexferfa, post:15, topic:63717”]
I got an eleaf TC60W, would the way I set the vaporizer up play a role on the flavor
[/quote]

Yes, it will. In wattage mode you can possibly get a different taste per each setting of the wattage though probably only noticeable at increments of at least 10 watts difference per step. Same with temperature I imagine as well…

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Glad you got your scale. Under the preference tab on ELR there is a setting you want to choose show in grams. Ppl who are using syringes will want the drops/ Mls

The smell of a batch can be tricky it doesn’t always taste as good as it smells and vice versa.

With your new set up depending on what coils ( stock or self made ) you’ll want to try a few wattages up or below your ohm level meaning if your vaping on a 1.8 ohm coil try what it’s like in the 11-14 watt range it’s a pretty decent range with warmer being higher cooler being lower of course. I am not sure of your set up tank / coil wise type of vaping your preference is for instance I MTL which is mouth to Lung inhale always have prob always will. Then there is DLH where the vapor directly hits your lungs you don’t hold it in your mouth first. This will give us some clues as to help you out.

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As for drops. In general. If you found a recpie only listing drops, in theory you can convert to percents then plug into a recipie calculator. There are a few sites from the EU that just lists drops.

Example
10 drops of flavor = 10%
30 drops pg = 30%
60dropsvg = 60%

But when I have done the math I go back to my research. I have found recipies that only list drops can be inconsistent. So I look at every ingredient and ask myself does that really look right.

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Although I have never tried it I have read in many places that 20 drops of PG based flavor equals one ML+/-. I have always measured, someday I’ll get scales but not right now.

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@alexferfa What scales did you get and where. Pics maybe?