@Gazza7 LOVED that series. Maybe one of the best I have ever seen. Although Portwenn doesn’t exist, Port Isaac sure does. I wonder how life really is in Cornwall.
5 Likes
If I’m not mistaken @Lucas_James_Holden lives there. And I tagged him because I haven’t seen him in ages and am wondering 
???
4 Likes
@SessionDrummer I’d like to think we aren’t quite as dense as the series portrays! 
although based on my mixes that’s debatable 
. Its very sort of slow going down here in Cornwall, is a way to describe it. No one is in a hurry to do anything or go anywhere etc! And about a decade behind London in regards to everything! I have visited Cape Cod and the coastline and scenery is very similar to the North Coast of Cornwall. And no matter how late you are running for an appointment… a tractor will always be on the road in front of u!!
6 Likes
Am I right in thinking Cornwall traditionally gets slightly better weather than the rest of England due to its southern location?
The reason I ask is that when watching Doc Martin I noticed some palm trees which I don’t associate with English weather.
4 Likes
By the way I just thought I’ve been very rude and not actually welcomed you, so hello and glad you’re here.
I’ve just asked silly questions!
4 Likes
@Gazza7 thanks for the welcome! Am pleased to report that today I tried my vanilla swirl with bavarian cream and its darn nice! Thats the second mix that didnt go down the drain!!
Yes Cornwall does have it warmer than the north of england usually because southern england is warmer, but the west is prone to getting everything coming in from the Atlantic so its wet and windy a lot during the winter! No palm trees in my home town but some holiday resort type places do have them!! Ive lived in the same town my entire 50 years and yes there are more houses now but we dont have much more than we did 5 decades ago! But beaches are only half hour away and Looe isnt far from me which is very picturesque. It is a beautiful county. I always loved the states for my holidays!
7 Likes
Try FA cookie, SSA shortbread cookie, CAP cookie crumble, All great cookie flavours with no off putting flavours/notes in there. You can get them all at nomnomz, FA cookie is cheaper if you buy it from nomz under “Craft Flavour - cookie”.
For vanillas try SSA ice cream vanilla, INW shisha vanilla, DIYFS holy vanilla v2, CAP french vanilla. Again all great vanillas, i cant get enough of ssa ice cream vanilla its soo good.
& with custards i imagine you would be having the same issue i was having, being none of them actually taste like custard, more like egg custard tarts, thats because usa custard is not like custard we have here. For a UK style custard try MB legendary custard, CAP custard cream & CAP smooth custard, best custards available imo, especially if you’re from uk & want familiar tasting custard.
Honestly though i would shop at nomnomz over darkstar, you have a much better selection with better prices, plus you get 15% off your entire order with code “noted15” at the checkout. & the last few weekends fri-mon they have been doing 20% discounts with code “nomzws”, so maybe they will carry on? They also have their own supercharged range which has some incredible flavours that you cant get anywhere else, always remember before you make a purchase to cross-check notes on flavours that interest you over on the calculator side of elr to check ratings/read what others say about them. Also remember, at nomz anything under “craft flavour” is just flavour art, but they costs half the usual fa price.
Another thing i found was mixing for pods is a bit harder with flavours like tfa,cap,fw etc, i always had much better results with inawera, ssa, FA & flv for pod recipes. Not saying you cant mix for pods with them, i just found better/easier with super concentrates. SSA are probably the best overall brand to mix with imo, especially for beginners, they are very forgiving(dont turn funky if pushed too high etc), the cheapest & one of the strongest, so you get the most bang for buck with them.
5 Likes
I should clarify @Cornish_Holly that I live in Western Australia. We’ve got slightly better weather than you but 
percent worse vaping laws and a few native insects,reptiles and fish that you probably wouldn’t want over there. However don’t believe the old chestnut that a spider is going to bite your bum under the toilet seat! That came from the days when a toilet (dunny) was outside and the Redback spider liking protected and shady areas. Perfectly safe to use your own internal dunny!
4 Likes
@Cornish_Holly I thought the series depicted people there as actually quite good, friendly, etc.
3 Likes
Apart from the teenage girls who call him a tosser every time they walk past him. That still makes me giggle every time I watch it.
That probably shows what a juvenile I am!
4 Likes
With Australia vaping laws I feel so sorry for everyone that vapes. I dont think I would have managed with flavour bans and feel anxious at the thought of the possibility! Can you still obtain the diy flavour concentrates and the actual mod or vape devices? I have never understood the stigmatising of vaping and the bad press …its infuriating! The spider comment did make me laugh. And I do remember the tosser comments on Doc Martin!!
@RicklePick-Eddie1z you’ve been so helpful thanks so much for all the info and advice . I’ve made numerous notes. Have had a quick look at Nom Nomz and they definitely have a wider selection. I’ll have a proper look on the laptop tonight. I dont want to sound dense… is ssa the same brand as super aromas? And is shortbread cookie better for a general buttery biscuit flavour then the one just called shortbread? With the percentages given for super aroma concentrate I imagine for pod device I would need to increase them? Basically when darkstar listed say 5% for mixing a tfa one I found I needed double that for a pod recipe to really taste it That’s where I went very wrong to begin with. I’d also like to try some of their one shots too given I might vape slightly more than I ditch that way! I have a terrible sweet tooth so am also using tfa sweetener which is working well.
For custards I remember being asked initially in this post if I preferred eggy or vanilla pudding type. I didnt know the difference but now I realise after trying a few that I don’t like the eggy type flavour and just prefer a nice creamy vanilla flavour!
I shall order some mentioned from Nom nomz next . Don’t get me wrong Darkstar have been brilliant and excellent customer service etc but the selection is far less as a comparison.
Thanks so so much for the advice. Its so nice of you all and I have felt very welcomed and never felt intimidated coming onto a forum where I am a total newbie!! Cheers
4 Likes
Some flavour concentrates are still available but considering the very vast majority of businesses selling just flavours have closed down that window appears to be quickly closing. Concentrates were/are getting stopped at the border so with nothing to sell obviously the doors have to close.
In regards to vaping merchandise since July 1st it is illegal to sell anything whatsoever vape related unless it’s through a pharmacy. Up until October 1st a prescription was required but that particular law was relaxed apart from in Tasmania and Western Australia where you would still require a prescription. It’s a complete nonsense anyway as very very few pharmacies are stocking anything at all but some will order in for you. I’ve not tried but from what I understand it’s a very limited choice that one would have and extremely expensive. Only tobacco,mint or menthol flavoured juice is allowed too.
As you can see it’s a complete mess that will fail. Criminal gangs are running the black market and cleaning up. Tobacco shops are getting firebombed if they refuse to sell chop chop (blackmarket tobacco) and what are now illegal vapes. I think I’ve read that three people have died due to what’s been labeled The tobacco wars’.
Cigarettes and tobacco are extremely expensive here due to the tax imposed so smokers and now vapers look for a much cheaper alternative. It’s all an unnecessary madness.
4 Likes
Dr.Colin Mendelsohn explains it much better than me. From what I read your new Prime Minister is looking at Australia in regards to reforms in the UK. I sincerely hope they don’t follow the same path although I doubt they could given the amount of adult vapers.
4 Likes
@Gazza7 I had read quite a lot about the restrictions over there and the pharmacy situation. Its an absolute nightmare and must be horrendous for everyone who vapes and has managed to quit smoking to then have their tool which has enabled them to give up to be taken away. I do remember Kier Starmer being asked about his views on what was back then the government ( Conservative party) new smoking and vapes bill and he did say at the time he liked the Australian law and could see any future restrictions being mirrored on that. I am hoping that the government will see that its not worked! Countries that have brought in vape bans I have read their smoking rates have increased dramatically which totally defeats the object. When flavour bans were mentioned I panicked and stocked up on my 2 favourite commercial flavours and have a year’s worth. The expiry dates would be a factor too. But i am hopeful to have mastered a recipe or 2 by then also!!
Am just so sorry you have the awful vape situation there that you have.
5 Likes
yes ssa is super aromas, most of their range you use between 1-2% for high wattage sub-tanks, so i would say yeah around 3-4% for pod/mtl recipes, depending on the flavour of course, some are stronger than others. Their shortbread cookie is just a straight up cookie, i have a hard time picking up buttery notes from anything so im not sure if some would say its buttery? & im even worse at explaining/describing things,lol, its a lighter type cookie though, not as in light flavour, like lighter cookie as opposed to a dark/grainy type, nice though. I havent tried any just called shortbread to compare, i had a shortbread biscuit that was nice i believe it was nomz? But for cookies FA cookie(or craft flavour at nomz) is still my favourite cookie, & cap cookie crumble is up there aswell. Nomz SC biscuits/cookies are all very good too, all of them, they also sell one-shots, & their customer service is also top notch.
If you go over to the calculator/recipe side & click “user” you will see an option that says “flavor list” click that & search the name of the flavour that interests you(include brand to make it easier to find) - example “biscuit nomz”. So have a look through some ssa & nomz supercharged flavours, find ones that sound interesting to you & cross check them using the flavor lists to see peoples notes & ratings on them, gives you a better idea on what to expect.
4 Likes
I went on the calculator side and managed to find the page you explained and am just reading up the notes on the flavours I’ve pencilled in to get next!! Cookie is definitely on the list as am looking forward to trying to make a vanilla Biscuit minus any coconut! Thank you 
5 Likes
I use the awesome reviews/testing by @SessionDrummer here:
They’re a great aid when researching new flavours as well as an excellent read!
4 Likes
Thanks for these links. When I’ve googled reviews before finding this website the searches often brought up flavour reviews by @SessionDrummer !!. I often thought “that is one heck of a lot of vaping”!! 
. And very excellent thoroughly written reviews gotta say. Impressive. With my pod device I been waiting 4 weeks at a time to test mine !! Thanks I’ll have plenty to read again now 
6 Likes