So who’s a big fan of Shisha Strawberry and Shisha Vanilla? I just picked those up off a sale notification and have little experience with INW, having only had their Biscuit (unimpressed). So those who’ve used them extensively…
How to they stand against common ones like FW, TFA, and how do they compare to excellent versions like Medicine Flower?
Stand in terms of perecentages? More similar fa’s offerings.
In terms of flavor. Well that’s a whole different story. I like both. I think @SthrnMixer has recipe called queen of the cookie jar that is pretty good and used shisha strawberry. As for vanilla is good, I use it a fair amount. It’s more of a thick vanilla vs a bakers vanilla (thin) when comparing to like a vanilla from fa.
Flavor really. I’ve tried a lot of vanillas and strawberries but haven’t been too impressed except for the MF’s. Thanks!
I’m trying to get back into strawberry because the wife really likes it and I don’t make many recipes with it. I also picked up OSDIY’s Pink Lemonade because PL is another of the wife’s favorites and I’m looking to build a better one than I make now. I’m also new to OSDIY if anyone has any thoughts on that one.
I have never tried MF Strawberry and have limited experience with MF Vanilla. I have a ton of experience with INW Shisha Strawberry and Shisha Vanilla, they are both excellent IMO. Keep them both at 2% or less if blending with other similar flavors. I like to mix Shisha strawberry with RFSC strawberry but it works well with just about any strawberry combo out there.
Shisha Vanilla reminds me of a vanilla pudding. I like to use it at around 1% with other vanilla or creams and up to 2% if it is going to be the star of the mix.
I buy both of those flavor from e-aromashop in Poland to get OEM 100ml bottles, not re-bottled. That is how much they get used for me.
How is the MF Strawberry anyway? I heard it wasn’t one of there strong flavors so never considered it.
Edit: not a fan of INW Biscuit too, JF makes a better biscuit for me
Well, my experience is pre-reformulations so I don’t know the current one. The original was really good, but to me it needed a little higher % than their others so maybe that’s why people panned it a bit. Gets a bit pricey when you have to use twice the average amount compared to their others. It was a natural one compared to a candy flavor, which I guess isn’t surprising.
Shisha Strawberry is like the fresh strawberries on top of a strawberry shortcake with the glaze on top. Leans more towards a candied strawberry than a natural one but I dont recall anyone ever saying they hated it, just the opposite, it is one of the top strawberries on the market
IIRC both shisha strawberry and vanilla was leaning towards sweet / candy like. But not all the way.
Time to put my money where my mouth is:
Across the board, and IME, Inawera is usually very true to the name, flavors are well pronounced as well as mix well with other brands, and the percentages are usually used in the 0.5% to 3% range (3% being the absolute upper limit IMO).
IMO, they’re head and shoulders above (again, generally speaking).
In the case of strawberry, even as good as MF is, Ina Shisha is a FAR BETTER value. It gets me 90% of the way there, and with MF SB having to be used at 1%, I just can’t justify it.
Cant really speak to the vanilla as I haven’t used it a lot (sadly/surprisingly). But I think Chrispdx is pretty on point from what I remember.
Still a huge fan of Inawera overall (Shisha or not). They are a good value, used low, and play well with others.
Are you asking about the osdiy blends or the pink lemonade in particular?
Thanks, just that one in particular since it’s all I have.
FLV Lemonade is usually very well received, and you could always “pink it up”. chuckles
If I had it, anyway.
Sorry to slightly derail from the thread, here’s a WIP Pink Lemonade you can try and play around with if/once you have ingredients.
Pink Lemonade v1.1
If I had INW Shisha Strawberry I would add it about 1% and play around from there. I dont have Strawberry in here at the mo because I go through a lot of SB on other flavours and this one is for my Caliburn Koko Pods so i try not add too many flavours, it’s not perfect but definitely does the job. Needs the Cactus otherwise it does taste quite dry but other than that it’s quite yummy. Haven’t tried a DTL variant yet but I’d definitely include SB of some kind in that. Am currently trying to make a remix of this that tastes closer to mountain dew, think it’s just missing the lime and maybe more sweetener. Ofc I’ll have to drop the Raspberry for the initial mix.
Wait, what??? So @anon70102222 how did you try INW Biscuit, stand alone or in a mix? It’s really bland stand alone but works great for me in creams, custards,cereals and dessert recipes/pie crust. You are the first mixer I have ever heard say they are unimpressed with INW Biscuit. Myself I like it over FA Cookie in some places and FA Cookie and INW biscuit together works well for me in desserts. For me Inawera’s flavorings are a bit above FW in quality, blending ability,usefulness,and strength but hangs right with TFA. Some of their flavorings are not that good to me but the ones that are work very well and cannot be substituted. So like many brands in other words. But a few of my favorites I must have are,
Vanilla Cream
Shisha Vanilla
Cherry for Pipe
Cherries (Not Cherry or Cherry Liquor)
Custard
Peach
White Grapefruit
Creme Brulee
Cactus
Pineapple
Pear
Two Apples
Yes We Cheesecake
AMA4
and
Biscuit
Ok, sorry! I’ll give biscuit another chance! 
@anon70102222 I don’t have the number of Shisha flavors or experience as some of the above posters but I do have and used Shisha SB and Vanilla. They are two of my go tos. I also love INW Custard. It wasn’t until I tried RF SB (Raw Extract) that I moved Shisha SB to 2nd place. But it’s my understanding that RF changed that recipe. With Shisha I taste the top part of the SB (with leaves) that goes away with steeping. I know, weird.
If I had to have only one shisha flavour, probably would be orange, A nice italian style orangeade base.