New here, feeling a bit discouraged šŸ˜«

Lol
I sub constantly.

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Same here, but if several people go through over 50 versions and spend over a year to perfect it, I really want to know what itā€™s like as intended :wink:

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I just canā€™t make myself order a flavor I know Iā€™ll pif in the end.

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A lesson I learned really long time after I started mixing is ā€œwhat kind of flavors do you like?ā€

once you find that, look for recipes.

Like chocolate ice cream?

Use the recipe requests if you are trying to find something of interest but the best way to find recipes is to search by flavor and then recipes and then ratings so youā€™ll find the best recipes that flavor is used in.

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I see you use and RDA so that will allow you to mix small batches for trail with just some cotton change. Iā€™d say start with 1-2 flavor recipes that have a high number of people who have put it on the 1-5 star scale. The old KISS kinda idea.
We joke about why buy it for 30 when you can make it yourself for 100. It does take some time to get all your equipment together as well. I like to use both syringe and jewellerā€™s scales for the most accurate I can mix. This doesnā€™t mean the recipe here on the form is not too strong or too weak for your personal taste. Take notes, keep track of each trial and see if there are adjustments you can make, or just scrap it and try something else. Itā€™s easier to handle when your dumping 10ml instead of 60ml.
Hope this helps in anyway. All the best and good luck on your mixes.

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Have you had a look at this thread?

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I did have the same issue, but to make things worse, I donā€™t and still donā€™t like any recipe here. That doesnā€™t mean they are bad (high rated or not, sometimes you can be luckier with none rated recipes lol), I am just that picky and the fact that most ā€œpopularā€ flavors I hate. Example ( cap) vanilla custard, most of not all high rated strawberries, creams etc that are the main ingredient in the majority of recipes.

I had to buy flavors over flavors, before I found brands and strengths of specific flavors that I liked and not whatever other people liked. I tested every single one of them and yes spend in the first years nearly a fortune. Before someone says itā€™s cheaper than cigarette, it wasnā€™t in my case lol.

Took a break many times etc, till I finally realized that I only like stuff that I made. My recipes are not amazing probably, but they are too me, because everything is personalized. I have recipes my husband wonā€™t even vape, and then thereā€™s recipes that I make only for him, because I canā€™t stand them.

We can recommend recipes of course, but taste is subjective and if you are not sitting in the boat of people that can enjoy the ā€œmajorityā€ of flavors, you will have to buy flavors, test them and build from scratch. It might take some time and lots of frustration, but totally worth it, at least in my opinion.

So donā€™t give up and find/create something you like! Donā€™t be shy and think flavor a and b wonā€™t go together, experiment.

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Oh wow is that good stuff, been a bit addicted and trying to clone. The Nectarine used in it is easy, TFA for sure, not FLV. FA Fuji Apple I am sure is in it as well, just not sure on the strawberry part. It is a Fuji dominated mix but of so good.

Like you and a bunch of others I struggled out of the gate with DIY but now I love it. I generally donā€™t follow posted recipes aside from mixers who I feel share my flavor palate. That is the most important thing, to find your flavor palate. Also donā€™t be afraid to use sweeteners at first, 0.50% CAP Super Sweet can make a big difference. Later you may drop the sweetener or continue using it but when starting out that sweetener will be the missing ingredient that you feel is lacking compared to store bought juice.

Start simple, if you have INW Shisha Strawberry mix 2.5% with 0.50% CAP Super Sweet. If that is not enough try adding another 0.50% of both. If that works out you can try adding a cream or custard to it, again simple, 3 to 6%.

Would be good if you let us know what flavors you have

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As everyone else has said less is more. Simple 2 or 3 flavor recipes are much easier to build and under flavoured recipes are more enjoyable than ones that are over done.

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Also, lots of the top rated recipes are from long, long ago when we were vaping at 20W. They donā€™t work well with more modern, higher wattage gear.

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Thanks! Haha yeah I was trying to make sure I got them all right so I could find recipes I could make. Good thing I probably wonā€™t be using Koolada or whatever again. I canā€™t stand menthol but went against my better Judgement cuz everyone said this particular juice was amazing and it was necessary. Iā€™ve had some juices with a slight cooling effect to them that I didnā€™t mind but noā€¦ This one was far beyond that. No more for me :joy:

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Thanks! Yes good point. I have been using the scale method as well I just found it easier for me than the syringe. But like a dunce Iā€™ve been making 30ml samples so itā€™s even more disappointing when I find I donā€™t like one. Iā€™ll switch to 10ml from now on. Thanks for the advice!

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True good point I was wondering if that might be the case. I tried to avoid recipes that werent higher VG even though the adapt option is there I donā€™t know if it would translate well. Makes sense though some recipes taste better in tanks even for me although I donā€™t use them anymore. I used to really like Jam Monster Strawberry, always had it in a tank. Then I tried it in an RDA and havenā€™t vaped it since :rofl: So I understand the overall experience can rely heavily on what itā€™s in, at what wattage etc. Maybe if I get to be a decent mixer Iā€™ll clarify my recipes are at least for me intended for RDAs at higher wattages. Maybe I should get myself a decent tank for now so I donā€™t have to dump out all this juice :tired_face::joy:

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Wow! Thank you everyone! Tons of great advice here. I really appreciate it! I suppose itā€™s time I ditch the top rated recipes, stop being a wuss and try making some of my own creations and digging a bit deeper into the forum rather than the clinging to the recipes page. Hopefully Iā€™ll find someone with a similar palate as me to learn from! Iā€™m definitely going to make some of these recipes (in smaller bottles this time lol) Wasnā€™t expecting this much feedback you guys! What an awesome community. :slightly_smiling_face:

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Yeah me too.
I just scrolled through every single flavor and ordered all of them from Nicriv.
That back story really got my attention and Iā€™m just good and ready to make one and do a victory dance. Tired of saying, ā€œhmmm, not badā€.

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It is a good idea to not follow just ratings.
You get a mental idea on recipes, poorly to start with but it gets better, just reading it. Also, find mixers who have similar tastes, it really helps a lot.
For example, the only top recipe that worked for me was cinnapple fritter. And then, I would not use the same apple if I did it again. There are a lot of recipes down the list which are a lot more interesting to me than the top ones. As for exploring the recipe database, do it by flavour. Say you fancy working with cinnamon Danish, looks a what is around, soon enough youā€™ll find stuff by mixers you recognise, or combinations that appeal to you. Then you can keep working on it after steeping.

As said above, keep it simple and donā€™t feel bad about doing so. Sub if you need, using the database statistics and your own gut feel, rather than buying all the flavours in the world. Use a flavour you like rather than one you donā€™t if you think it will work in a recipe.
Finally, keep your recipes in the database privately until you get something you like, and then make it public when you have tasted it. Wonā€™t make you famous overnight but will help others a lot.

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Found something that might help for ideas on flavor combinations.https://www.thespruceeats.com/fruit-flavor-combinations-for-cocktails-760298

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Just a quick one here Dan. Iā€™m not an experienced mixer by any stretch of the imagination and I continue to have my fair share of failures. Both with so called top raters and my own concoctions but I never throw away those failures.

Instead, all these ā€œfailuresā€ go into a ā€œsuicide juiceā€ bottle for future use (I just use an empty 250ml VG bottle I had laying around). Every now and then Iā€™ll give it a bit of a shake and when itā€™s nearly full (that will take a while if youā€™re only making 10ml testers) Iā€™ll give it a wazz with a coffee frother. Decant into some 30ml bottles, add 1 or 2 drops of FLV Sweetness and sometimes a few drops of something else (usually Flavorah fruits).

Then itā€™s time to gift it to friends. Saves them a few bucks not having to buy it and helps the lazy ones who leave it too late to buy more (commercial) juice. Anything to keep them vaping and not smoking has to be good eh? And in case youā€™re wondering ā€¦ not once have I had any complaints about it tasting crap. Truth be told Iā€™ve tried some ā€œbrewsā€ myself on occasions and while not being stellar, itā€™d be quite vapable if I ever ran out of juice (which will never happen) :pray: Anyway, as usual, just my 2c worth. My advice would be to do what everyone has suggested so far. Best of luck mateā€¦:+1:

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Imagine it turned out to be a stellar concoction, which is always possible.
Try to clone that suckers!! :wink:

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Ha-Ha! That thought crosses my mind every single time Iā€™m getting those 30ml bottles ready to go. It is a risk we take mon frĆØre :smirk:

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