NEW Capella 2026 Flavors and XS Line Reviewed by SessionDrummer

Thanks again out to @Allan from Capella Flavors for sending out not only some NEW Capella flavors, but also the entire XS Line for testing. Finalizing the percentages now.

As always (well most times) all flavors tested at the listed percentages, in a 70v/30p/3mg carrier, steeped 1.5 weeks, and tested at 65 watt. Tested on the SteamCrave RDTA Aromamizer v.1 running dual Kanthal vertical 14 ga. coils, with fresh or dry burned coils before every test, using KGD cotton.

Banana Cream (CAP) 4% (7-13-26) – Alright, I tasted something UNEXPECTED in this Banana Cream, and that was a BAKERY element !!! Wait, what ?? YES, a bakery undertone, and I didn’t see that one coming. Alright, everyone has probably tasted or used LA’s, and TPA’s Nana Creams at this point, very widely used flavors. Maybe Capella was trying to break new ground with this one. It was very much Banana’d and Creamy. The banana notes were a mix of artificial and natural, leaning artificial, but there were some nice almost puree notes in there that helped fatten up the banana profile. The cream, was actually more of a creamy overtone (not undertone) which smoothed the banana out.

Now what was interesting, was below the nanas and cream was a very persistant bakery note. Not off-putting, and strangly enough, didn’t taste out of place, which is/was unexpected. I couldn’t tell if it was a light graham cracker or not. It was interesting because it added some “weight” to the entire mix, gave it some heft, and helped thicken it up a bit. Again, not distracting, and strangely it didn’t seem out of place. At 4% it was great strength wise, no off-notes, and sweetness was just about mid-level. I don’t nana cream as much as I should LOL, but I couldn’t come up with any shoulda, coulda, woulda’s here. An interesting approach to a Banana Cream, with artificial and natural (puree) notes, smoothed nicely by a fairly rich neutral cream, with a surprisingly interesting bakery undertone. Because I deemed the “bakery” (possibly a light graham cracker) as a pro, not a con, I rated this one higher at a 9.2/10.

Berry Blast (CAP) 4% (7-15-26) – Alright, this one surprised me, literally. Thought it was going to be some blah, blah, blah berry combo/mashup, BUT, I was WRONG. Wow, it was damned good and strong at 4%, and it slammed me with a Juicy Red Cherry, and Raspberry combo brick to the face !!! Now, I completely did NOT see this coming, and missed this when mixing these up. With the exception of a handful of great cherries, there just aren’t very many at all. Well add THIS ONE to your list right now. Now, it wasn’t JUST a cherry, and Red and Juicy were how it presented, so yes, I guess you could put it in the maraschino camp. It wasn’t a pure cherry though because CAP somehow SLID IN a raspberry beneath it, and did it in such a skilled fashion that it perfectly blended in just below the cherry notes.

I loved the Cherry profile from the start, so it was hard to NOT keep focusing on it. Even at 4%, there were NO: Medicinals, Florals, or Soapyness, none, nadda zip. It was somewhat candied, BUT, not a full on cherry candy. The raspberry/raspberries didn’t lean dark, but not fully red either, so it was a damned zippy little complex flavor to test. Could have been very light juicy strawberry notes, and maybe (just maybe) a smidge of tart apple in there, but hard to tell. Basically if you love cherries, and didn’t need a strict, purely natural cherry this one would work. At 4% it was about a 9.5/10 on the strength scale. YES, for a cherry !!! TBH, for my tastes, I could solo this all day no complaints. Somewhat candied, and a tick or two above mid-level, but still not cloyingly sweet. Very well done, no complaints, AND, no off-notes. A very nicely done Juicy Red Cherry, Raspberry combo with possible very light SB and bright apple undertones. A great, punchy “Red” summertime flavor. It wow’d me too much to NOT release the Kraken !!! 10/10. They should have called it Cherry Blast instead. :slight_smile:

Carolina Blend (CAP) 4% (7-17-26) – While admittedly being the WORST tobacco flavor reviewer, I WILL try LOL. OK, I couldn’t tell a Virginia, from a Carolina, or a Kentucky if you paid me. This one presented as a medium dark, fairly sweet tobacco with some nutty undertones, and light caramel notes. Not an RY4, but fairly sweet. It was fairly complex and kept wandering around while testing. I did get some lighter earthy tones, with a hint of “dirty” which kept it interesting. While tasting good at 4%, it felt a little “thin” and I’d give it about a 6/10 on the strength scale.

Because of that, I don’t think it could be the primary driver in a bacco mix, but would easily work in a lot of mixes. Sweetness was a few ticks above mid-level, so be advised. So, from this non-bacco review guy, it summed up as a fairly sweet, mid-dark tobacco, with some nice leaf, and earthy undertones, with a slight nutty-ess, and caramel, with a hint of some dirty ash thrown in. No off-notes that I could find, and the only complaint would be wanting a bit more saturation. “Pretty good” felt right for this one, and I finalized it at 8.5/10.

Carrot Cake (CAP) 4% (7-12-26) – Alright peeps, FIRST one on deck for these NEW Capella Flavors. I had to burn through the entire 10ml tester, trying to isolate what this one was. I actually finger tested this one for clarity, and I never finger test. This was DEF. a spiced cake, and I struggled to determine exactly which spices CAP threw in, but I settled on ginger, nutmeg, and maybe a hint of cinnamon. I also got some nice brown sugar undertones, along with some cream cheese icing, and with a somewhat creamy, surprising finish. WOWZER, because there was a lot going on, and all of it good. There was a fairly accurate vanilla throughout, with some light sweetened carrot. I think it could have used a bit more carrot TBH.

This was a complex flavor with a lot of elements, but it DID pull together into a fairly convincing Carrot Cake. Finger testing I got some light walnut ?? but that didn’t translate when atomizing. With the exception of VTA’s Carrot Cake which I have used, but never solo’d I have no other Carrot Cakes to compare this to, so keep that in mind. At 4% it was very full with no strength issues, and sweetness was just below mid-level. As a whole it worked, BUT, felt like it could use a little help. With such a complex flavor, that was almost expected. It felt like it was 85% of the way there. What would I add hehe, well carrot, and maybe some yellow cake to just slightly dilute just a hair of the spice. Not overspiced, but felt like just a bit more cake (and carrot) would finish it off. This one took a while to really dissect, and nail down, but, after rolling through a full 10mls it was fairly focused, and not a mish-mosh. Leaving it higher at an 8.5/10. Add a touch of cake, some carrot, and you’re good to go.

Cheesecake Graham Crust (CAP) 4% (7-22-26) – Alright, testing Cheesecake Graham Crust flavors it not exciting, BUT, hehe, I do it for you guys. Out of the gate I could tell Capella did use Gamma-octalactone in this flavor, which has a very distinctive creamy, coconut overtone, and it used in quite a few Graham Crust flavors. It was very similar to TPA’s CGC, with very light and slight Cheesecake notes, with much more predominant Graham Crust notes. No sour, or cheesy cheesecakes here, just hints of a creamy cheesecake. The graham crust profile was good, and accurate, and for my tastes, I’ve never really been a fan of the coconut notes, BUT, they’re more common than not in a lot of similar flavors.

At 4% it was about a 7/10 on the strength scale, and tasted good, with sweetness a few ticks below mid-level. There was a slight dryness on the finish, which could easily be covered up in mixes, so it was really a non-issue. My personal preferences may not be yours, but for mine, I knocked it down just a bit for the coconut notes, again, very common in graham crust llavors. All in a good accurate Graham Crust with light hints of a creamy cheesecake. If you really wanted a full on cheesecake and crust, you would have to step up the cheesecake profile. Leaving this one at a 8.25/10.

Chocolate Dubai (CAP) 4% (7-19-26) – A slight delay in finishing this one due to the World Cup !!! Luckily for you guys I would live on Chocolate Dubai if I could. Having eaten quite a bit of it, I was really looking forward to seeing how Capella would pull this one off, because it was a complex profile to pull off. Out of the gate, the chocolate was almost perfectly suited for a CD with it’s creamy, and smooth texture. Not a dark chocolate, or a milk chocolate, but more of a smooth Belgian. No dryness or bitterness in this one. Next was the superbly delicious pistachio cream. I wish it atomized like it smelled in the bottle as it was more present when smelling, but in the mix, it sat below the chocolate, and added a very good extra layer of complexity. The pastry element was lowest in the mix, and while present and accurate, seemed like it was overshadowed a bit by the choco and pistaschio notes.

At 4% it was perfectly strong and at about a 9/10 on the strength scale, with sweetness being just below mid-level, which was accurate to the real thing. Zero off-notes, or complaints with the exception of wanting just a bit more of the shredded phyllo dough (pastry), but even that, was a small want. Increasing it, might have thrown off the delicate choco/pistachio balance. All in, a deliciously accurate Chocolate Dubai, that managed to pull off a complex profile with a smooth Belgian choco creamy pistachio, and light phyllo dough pastry, with only minor markdowns for a light(er) pastry note. Leaving this one at a higher 9.5/10.

Island Mango (CAP) 4%

Kaya (CAP) 4% (7-18-26) – OK, I have never Kaya’d before, so I cannot do a flavor vs. real food comparison here, but I CAN tell you what it tasted like. Researching it, everything pointed to a “Coconut Jam” !!! It looked like the most common ingredients were coconut, egg, and sugar, with Pandan very often as well. It presented like a Coconut with smooth, almost custard like undertones. There was also a nice vanilla undertone throughout. Now, while Capella billed it as having “rich buttery notes”, and while I didn’t exactly get those, overall it had a nice “weight” to it, and a great, dense mouthfeel. Assuming DAAP, it was damned fine as it was.

At 4% it was very full, and the nice, almost thick-ish mouthfeel really gave it some weight. Sweetness was just below mid-level, and I could only pick up on one (kinda) off-note. There was a slight astringent dryness on the finish, but TBH, almost all coconuts have it, so keep that in mind. Not off-putting, not overbearing, but still there. All in, a very good coconut, which seemed to straddle shredded, and sweetened, with a creamy, dense mouthfeel, along with some very nice vanilla undertones. Not a coconut custard, not a creamed coconut, but the aforementioned. I could see a LOT of uses for this one, and with only the slight dryness to complain about, I left this one fairly high at a 9.2/10. Tasty, and unique enough to pick it up, even IF you already had a few coconuts.

Pandan (CAP) 4%

XS Alpine Strawberry (CAP) 1.25%
XS Fresh Watermelon (CAP) 1.25%
XS Golden Pineapple (CAP) 1.25%
XS Italian Lemon Sicily (CAP) 1.25%
XS Lemon Carioca (CAP) 1.25%
XS Luscious Peach (CAP) 1.25%
XS Mango Ice (CAP) 1.25%
XS Mango Top (CAP) 1.25%
XS Mango Top Rio (CAP) 1.25%
XS Peach Nectarious (CAP) 1.25%
XS Raspberry (CAP) 1.25%
XS Ripe Watermelon (CAP) 1.25%
XS Spearmint (CAP) 1.25%
XS Strawberry Carioca (CAP) 1.25%
XS Sweet Guava (CAP) 1.25%
XS Sweet Mango (CAP) 1.25%
XS Sweet Strawberry (CAP) 1.25%
XS Vanilla Custard (CAP) 1.25%

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I can’t believe in my months of research looking back at your old flavour reviews from YEARS ago, and you’re still here doing it. These are so immeasurably valuable to the community. Thanks for all the thousands of anonymous people your posts have helped @SessionDrummer

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Wow @RandomlyAssigned thanks a lot for your kind words. They really mean a lot to hear, and TBH, I never really considered how many people they reached. Thank you very much.

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I just kept googling certain flavour names + review and your posts always come up pretty high on the results and yours seem to be some of the most thorough yet concise.
Not to mention the cross community posting you so helpfully do. I would hazard to guess the majority of new DIYers in 2026 are using your info.

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I am looking at your huge 4 oz bottles and I am shocked! When I look at the partial list of new Capella’s on Nomz, they only offer 10 ml’s, LOL! The only new release I have is a 10 ml bottle of Kaya. Island Mango (Cap) is always out of stock so I (along with hundreds of others) am looking forward to your notes when they are ready! You know how much I love Mango. I’m hoping BCF will carry these new flavorings soon. We need to clone you, ya know???

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I bet Capella labeled it the XS line because @SessionDrummer is just too “XtraSexy” when it comes to delivering all this valuable information to the community!

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Awesome stuff D-man :call_me_hand:. I really hope these XS capella come to the uk.
It also sucks that imgur blocked uk access, all we see is -


:sweat_smile:.

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Just when I thought it was safe to come up for air, Capella releases new flavors. What can I say @SessionDrummer Here we go again. I do wish @Lynda_Marie would make an entrance again and join in on the fun. It’s been too long since she’s graced our pages.

Btw, I’m very curious how Pandan will turn out. It’s one of my favorite flavors in RL.

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Me too Muth, me too :pensive:.

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@SessionDrummer
XS Alpine Strawberry (CAP)
XS Italian Lemon Sicily (CAP)
XS Strawberry Carioca (CAP)

All sound interesting to me. :face_in_clouds: I’ll wait patiently…

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When do capella release these flavours as i have not seen any online yet

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@stickynigel I’ve only seen the XS line from one reseller currently…

And more from Insta …

https://www.instagram.com/p/DZJ8_F6PJOH/

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The work, the work, the WORK !!! LOL. Things are steeping now, and I finalized the standard CAP @ 4%, and the XS Line (stated as 4x-5x stronger than the OG’s) @ 1.25%.

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So the theory is that the XS should have the same taste, they are just more concentrated? Or are they slight rejigs of the recipes?

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According to everything i can find, same flavors, but 4x-5x stronger @RandomlyAssigned.

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I’m interested in the carrot cake. I’ve been looking for a plain carrot flavor for carrot cake but haven’t found one.

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That makes two of us @Mixmaster_Mike. I didn’t even know they had one.

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Flavorah’s got one. Plain raw carrot.

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Yeah, hehe, sorry about that @KC111. Allan at Capella, has sneaky super powers, and I don’t know where he got these from hehe, I mean, they are from the CAP Mothership. Unsure, but I’m thinking Nomz and BCF would be the best to ask about who will be carrying what. I can ask Allan, but not sure if he can predict who will buy/carry what …

Hehe, YES. That way, current SessionDrummer can get a break, while future/clone SessionDrummer can start picking up the slack !!!

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@big_vape have you tried/used it ?? How does it taste ?

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