Hi! So I have an issue with most vape juices I make.
I find them to be prickly/spicy/harsh (hard to explain) kinda like when you have too much nicotine.
I’m making cakey fruity flavours. Sometimes, after a steep it diminishes. But a lot are still there after a month or more steep.
I’m using 3mg nicotine, from dark star vapes I think, it’s the 72mg one. So I don’t believe it’s the nic.
I’m also using 70/30 mix so I don’t believe it’s the pg (plus that tastes and feels different if I do too much pg)
I’m following recipes and also only using the recommended percent when making my own, and reading notes to see what’s best for each concentrate.
Any ideas? Thanks in advance!
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Welcome @Emzie I’d bet on the bad nicotine, but it’s hard to tell. You can try without nicotine. And if it’s not that, you can test Vg and Pg individually, see if it’s any of these three. If all is well, it may be some flavor, or the use of them. Can you share a recipe that tastes bad?
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@Emzie Welcome to the community. I’ve got to agree with @Gus6 on this one. We really need to take a look at a couple of those recipes.
Some that are harsh. A lot of fruit concentrates tend to have a bit of a punch and some people can’t vape certain manufacturers. I used to keep track of the harsh concentrates because the harder the throat hit the better I like it.
You should try Inawera’s CultCumber. It is smoootthhh. So smooth infact that I don’t mix it offten
Good luck
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Thanks guys! Perhaps it is the nic then? I’ll share my recipes and you might spot something! These are the worst right now. All 3mg nic, 30/70 mix and steeped for around 3 weeks (been trying them every now and then)
Shake n vape fruits v4 :
5.00% Berry Mix (TPA)
3.00% Blue Raspberry Cotton Candy (CAP)
1.00% Raspberry (INAWERA)
1.00% Sour (FA)
3.00% Strawberry Lemonade (TPA)
1.00% Sweetness (Flavorah)
1.00% Vanilla (TFCC)
Flavor total: 15%
Citrus strawberry soda :
2.00% Citrus Soda (Flavorah)
0.75% lemon v2 (TPA)
3.00% Raspberry v2 (CAP)
4.00% Strawberry (Ripe) (TPA)
5.00% Strawberry Lemonade (TPA)
Flavor total: 14.75%
Lemon cheesecake :
3.00% Cheesecake (Graham Crust) (TPA)
1.00% Citrus Soda (Flavorah)
4.00% Lemon Meringue Pie (CAP)
0.75% lemon v2 (TPA)
3.00% New York Cheesecake (CAP)
1.00% Powerful Sour (CAP)
2.00% Vanilla Bean Ice Cream (CAP)
Flavor total: 14.75%
try 70/30 with nic and w/o flavor
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I’ll give it a go! Thankyou 
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I think that’s a good place to start, really. Eliminate all the flavorings and see how it acts on your throat. If it’s still harsh at least you’d know the recipes may not be to blame.
You could also just do 70/30 with no nic and no flavorings as a quick test to see if the PG is causing you trouble.
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So a trial and error would be best. I’ll start with just the nic on it’s own(in the vg pg of course!), and also try one with higher vg to see if the pg is doing anything first.
I’ve never actually done any single flavour tests ( I know it’s naughty!) as I got excited!
Thanks for the advice! I’ll let you all know tomorrow if I’ve found anything that makes a difference 
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Also, could someone name some good nicotine brands that are known to be high quality? I’ve heard liquid bard but as I’m in the uk I’m not sure if it’s as easy to get hold of!
Thanks again
No, don’t get the impression that you are less skilled as a mixer if you do not SFT. It is helpful, sure, but not a set-in-stone requirement. Don’t feel bad about skipping it.
So, here’s the order of testing for you trying to hunt down the throat harshness-
- VG/PG only
- VG/PG/nic only
If neither of those result in the throat harshness, then it’s going to be a longer process to figure out what’s going on. So do those first and let us know!
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I used heartlandvapes.com when I was a nic user. Both their freebase and salts were very good. I know a lot of folks here like @Nicotine_River as well. Others will be along soon.
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Curious what gear you’re using.
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No need to import a nic from over the pond since you have pretty good nic in the UK (and all Europe is buying nic in the UK; no to mention import taxes, shipping costs). DarkStar nic doesn’t have bad reviews.
Test it without flavorings like others said. i would also make a test and dilute recipes with 50% more base in your recipes (to make flavor total 10% instead of 15%) to see if you like it better. Looking at recipes you may have problems with lemons/citruses (i have this issue as well). If nothing else works you’ll have to do your homework (solo testing of all flavors)
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Hi Emzie,
Just to add to the wise comments you’ve already had, Dark Star stopped selling 72mg nic when the TPD hit, so your nicotine must be over 3 years old, and that’s if it was made shortly before then; it could be older. Depending on how it’s been stored, I’d bet it’s that causing the issue.
If you need to get some fresh nic, I’ve bought 72mg nic via ebay from nic hub before and it’s been fine.
Good luck
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Hmm, it looks DarkStar is still selling it (but i definitely wouldn’t buy so large quantities without testing it first)? Never bought it there so i can’t really comment, but i saw people talking nice about nic hub too.
Ah! It’s definitely not dark star then! My sister bought it a few months ago and it’s been stored in the freezer. I’ve just check with her and it’s nic hub 
I don’t think I’d touch it if it were that old 
But thankyou! Yes I’ve got some more vg coming in the post tomorrow so I’ll give all these ideas a go tomorrow evening.
It’s not so much on the throat, it seems to be an actual flavour or texture on my tongue! And it lingers after the inhale, again, similar to when the nicotine is too high (but of course this may be different for some people)
I might just be extra sensitive to it.
I’m really hoping it’s not the citrus as that’s what I really want (my ultimate goal would be a Perfect lemon cake!)
Thank you again, I will definitely be testing the pg vg either way just to start with eliminating everything from the base up.
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I’m using the horizon tech falcon king it’s a pretty good tank! I’ve tried both the dual coil and the hemp(?) fibre mesh coils, Flavour is amazing normally. I’ve tested the liquids in a few other cheap tanks I have lying around, but that seems to be even harsher, or the flavours don’t come through at all
I’m familiar with those coils. Your citrus and sour percentages would be bit high for me in that atty. Might try adding a bit of vg and a smooth cream to soften those notes a touch. Test the nic first though.
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Another thought is soda concentrates might not be your thing. FLV citrus orange is good and no fizzy.
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