Proper single flavor testing

I’ve been doing alot especially over this past month or 2 now. You know how many I’ve vaped 10ml tanks of and still am not a inch farther ahead than I was in the first place!!! More than I have learned from. I still have to look at notes and try to figure it out. I don’t understand that…if you don’t know all your flavors how are you going to be able to properly do a SFT? Right now im testing hibiscus (cap) 3% i taste …nothing its sweet thats about it. Idk…I just don’t know…that’s what most test this flav at…what am I even supposed to be tasting? I don’t think I’ve ever even ate a hibiscus…I’m so confused and its like that with some regular flavors…like apple and strawberry…not just exotic ones…

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Drop it down to 0.75% for a SFT. Hibiscus is almost always used as an accent in tea and floral blends but makes a mean iced tea if you blend it with Natural Green Tea (Molinberry).

You’ll be better able to compare it to flavours you already know and find which percentage it suits. It is much easier to do this with SFT than after you’ve blended with an unknown concentrate.

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@ladycrooks Single Flavor Testing is HOW you learn your flavors. The thing that many people miss is it’s only important what THEY taste.

Isn’t THAT, the million dollar question. I hate to say it, but I’ve thought that question before, but then I figured it out. It’s not what you are SUPPOSED to taste, it’s what you DO taste that matters.

I just ran through a series of NEW FA flavors, many of which had no notes available, and flavors I wasn’t familiar with. Didn’t matter. Nailed down some percentages, and started testing, and don’t forget, TASTE testing.

It sounds like you ARE researching before testing, and getting an idea of testing percentages is wise. Remember however, those are from OTHER people, and their tastes, not yours. I don’t use hibiscus, so I cannot offer direct help on that one flavor, but it’s much bigger than one, or even a handful of flavors.

I’ve had COUNTLESS flavors where they just tasted like burnt tires, and assholes. 1/10 bad. Looked up and saw RAVE reviews for them. You’d be surprised what people rate what they do. Don’t let THAT, or precentages slow you down. Dialing in correct percentages can make or break any flavor, so that sometimes needs work, and testing at different weights.

I don’t know your process, or your equipment, but I cannot recommend highly enough, to make SURE you have a testing rig that DOES flavors, and does them well. Don’t overlook that.

I have tested countless flavors over the years, and luckily for me, SteamCrave made one (and many more) of the BEST, most accurate flavor reproduction tanks, that I use still today.

Give me more specific details of your process, equipment, etc. so I can better help you. If it’s better served in a PM, then PM me.

Above all, never forget not everyone tastes the same things in flavors, recipes, etc. It can be frustrating in the beginning, and taking notes can be a chore, but it is the key.

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If you don’t mind me asking, what Steam Crave Atty do you use? I’m a SC person myself. I never thought to SFT in a tank before,

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All kinds​:rofl:…LMAO!.. Na I think Dman ususally uses the v1… could be wrong tho… my memory is shitty :crazy_face:@SessionDrummer ??

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Fun flavor and can be used in different ways…Test the flavors to see what you get then go see what others do with that flavor …Many people use the flavor for mouthfeel like to make and Icy this explains it best …

Lingering sticky sweet mouthfeel, again more pronounced with higher wattages. Almost like the way the syrup in a slurpee sticks to your mouth long after you take a sip."

1% to 2% as an accent and emulsifier

HERE IS A GREAT EXAMPLE OF HOW YOU CAN USE THIS …

when you sft you looking for more than what it says on the bottle ,you want to know how it feels in the mouth etc

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@Lynda_Marie, @St3v0 is right. I use a SteamCrave RDTA v.1, with the velocity deck, and dual kanthal, vertical coils.

Yes, SFT with a tank is a little more work than an RDA, but, I have tested all orders of setups, and the one that gave me the best, most accurate, and across every spectrum of flavor reproduction has been the v.1.

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I’m only 3 years in vaping-2 rebuilable and about a year Steam Crave. My oldest SC is a small 6ml velocity deck you have to fill on the bottom. So my dailies are plus v2, the supreme v3 and the plus. I’m not good at velocity decks.

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Same same.

That’s what I USED to say.

:slight_smile:

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As I continued testing setups, and comparing them, I was actually very surprised to see how MANY did SOME flavors good, and others not so much. Deliberated over fancy multi multi wire coils, and just kept coming back to the simple flavor chucker.

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I’m a simple guy, but I learned quickly that my taste buds are different than everyone else’s. When I try out a flavor or a recipe I focus on one thing…does it taste good. So many profiles miss the mark they’re aiming at but they can still taste good. I’m pretty sure I’ve yet to taste a single flavor that I thought was crappy and then it turned out to be good because I mixed it with something else.

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This is me too mate, coupled with the fact I only vape MTL. Almost nothing tastes the way others say for me so I just find stuff I like and go with that. :grinning_face_with_smiling_eyes:

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We can definitely relate to your frustration so allow me to inject a bit a humor on the subject of taste and some peoples perception of flavors…
It tastes like WHAT?

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I’m doing a flavor order right now so far I only need the blue Raspberry and the cap juicy peach. I have everything else. So I am going to mix this up and see what your talking about. Just like this “pink fruit” (flavourah) I’ve looked at pplz notes and first there aren’t any and what I have found is bad but I tried this one and it isn’t bad at all its actually pretty good. I don’t understand it but mabye ppl are getting turned off because of the shitty notes. I may have been but I purchased it before I read those. …you got me thinking @fidalgo_vapes …thinking I is…

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I try not to read notes …Ill look at median pcts as SF then do it a little lower do if median says 3 ill do a 1.5 and 3 pct …Other times ill look at what flavor it is so day MF Wild Raspberry Median was 2 I would know thats too high so I would Say at .5 to 1 pct but thsts bc I know MF so well …Always start lower when SFT since you can add more…Take a 10ml bottle and remeber each drip you add is apprx .2 pct so if you are at 1 pct in a 10ml and yiur not getting anything add 3 drops and you will be at apprx 1.5 - 1 6 pct…Reading other peolles notes has often mafe me expect alot so im often disappointed with SF

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Yeah I mean I don’t do that anymore its too time consuming and I can get an idea from a sniff and a tip of the tongue taste…the flavor profile is what it is and u only really need to know Does this Cohesively work with this.I use my little baking n cooking experience to carry me to the finish.If the concentrate is any damn good at all your just lookin for a correct percentage to use it at and whether u want it up front or an accent note.Unless your entering an ejuice contest you can make very awesome ejuice by jotting down exactly what your tryna achieve whether its a dessert, beverage,Fruit ice, Fruit mashup etc I guarantee these people that go in for all that at the end of the day eliquid is no better or worse than mine.I learned more from youtube mixing channels to get the percentage of something I’m unsure of in combination with the recommended percentage is.I mean I’ve been mixing tons of recipies for three years n sometimes the one I whip up in a rush with a little of this and that turns out better than the one I spent so much time on.You can do all the single tests u want but if you don’t know where or how u want to even use it its pointless for me n I’ve strayed too deep down that rabbit hole lol.Know what u want, Keep it simple and make it.Ive even seen people use those tiny paper ketchup cups each with a set amount of water and put exactly 2-3 drops of concentrate in it-swish it around in his mouth and spit it out.He proceeded to do this for every new flavor he acquired to get its true flavor on his taste buds :grinning:its actually a very clever idea for single flav tests but you know what about ones that need steeping? That’s where single flav testing gets a little tricky but u do get to taste close to what it is i guess.But custards, cheesecakes etc stack the best ones they make and dance around it with fruits and or a bakery.Fruits are the easiest u just need to know what works together or what creams u like if u even like fruits with cream but keep the recipes simple and to your liking.It doesn’t always have to be these delicate Honneysuckle violet rose with a dash of raisen lol you know what I’m saying.Im making it sound a bit harsh n don’t know what I’m doing or whatever but I do and I went thru all that trial n error with people tryna over complicate it when it doesn’t need to be.When I look at these supposed great ejuice off the shelf and people who’ve cloned it till they got it close u should be able to kinda guess how they made it cause these juice companies use the same concentrate companies we do. Good luck happy mixing n if u need help hit me up my page on Elf only has a fraction of my stash n my recipies.I have tons in my DIY journal.You want to make a thick shake,Cream cheese Doughnut, Fruit custards n cheesecakes whatever it is I can probably make it and simplify this for you by giving you % amounts or whatever I’m here to help anyone I can and DIY is extremely fun n challenging but doesn’t have to be a struggle either :yum:

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Thanks for thisb@Mike_card I appreciate this good advice. I have over 200 flavors so its hard alot to do SFT everyday.

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Oh your welcome I hope it helps a little.Im in a few FB DIY groups and there’s basically 3 types of mixers
1- People who are over the top im the best precise mixer and all my juices rule n everyone should listen to me
2- People who bought all these flavors but have no clue how to bake a potato or know what should or could Work and their recipes are a confusing mess with no main profile
3- People who Take it serious but not get too sucked into the abyss of flavors but have 100 or under concentrates n can live out their days with but will try some new n interesting flavs when we get the hear about it and I obviously fall in the last category :grinning: but even this morning I’m still ordering stuff cause jungle flavors has 50% off using code July 50 for a few more days.I ordered some white choc and a better coconut to try in the cappuccino froth im working on.I also grabbed more Staple Fruits n some cinnamon candy cause I never tried it but been wanting to.I normally go to bull city but good deal at jungle n the other place who has awesome authentic concentrates and I could probably shop their exclusively is VSO flavors but their a bit pricer but so worth it.They have their own one shot types n very good fruits :+1:

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Simplification and routine is the key to SFT. I assume that @Mike_card gave great advice (long walls of text I skip).

If you test with a routine, then you can assess and pinpoint issues with ease: I have got to the point when a lack of vitamin C or light for vitamin D affects notes I make.

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