Real Flavors Super Concentrates. Really?

E-liquids Flavors
1

After I discovered being PG sensitive, I sold all my PG concentrates and bought a small stash of Real Flavors SC to test. Was really excited about both the fact they are PG free and super concentrates, so small amount needed.

As I always do, I first tried mixing a small amount (like 5ml) of single flavors. They say to use 1-2.5%, so for good measure I used 3% with max VG and about 10% of distilled water.

To my great surprise, the flavors are incredibly weak! :confused:
I left them to steep for a week to taste again and after that nothing changed. Some are even weaker. I taste mostly VG and very subtle flavor. I feel itā€™s there, but barely noticeable.

So I started again, now with 5% flavor, again max VG and 10% DW.
Again, very weak flavor! :confused:

Tried with different atomizers and, being an MTL vaper, my best setup used to be with 0.75 Ohm Vandy Vape Superfine MTL fused clapton, which provide very nice taste, at low power as needed for MTL.

Now, I came to the conclusion to get some taste from these flavors I should probably go to 10% or even more. Not far as many does with PG flavors, with some exceptions for very strong flavors.

Additionally, I found these flavors to be on the sweet side. Sometimes too sweet.
Some are richer in taste, but most of them are really really weak.

So, now I wonder if Iā€™m doing something wrong or simply why the hype about these flavors Iā€™ve read on many topics in this forum.

Can someone confirm my findings or maybe give some hints on how to better use them?

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I would suggest try lower not higher.

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I donā€™t follow sorry :thinking:
Can you elaborate on this?

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Which flavors have you tested?

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Some flavours saturate and actually taste less when in greater quantity.
Also the feel for the same flavour can vary a lot depending on concentration.

How long have you steeped, RFSC tends to need quite a bit more than most other suppliers. As a SNV some are just vile (Banana, I am looking at you).

That being said, you are working with only VG and DW, neither of them being great flavour carriers.
While I am by no mean a mixologist, if I were cooking, I would add some fat (which is obvioulsy something you should not do in juices). The equivalent would be PG in mixes, as far as I understand. I am unaware of other good flavours carriers but some good people around might be able to help.

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Yumberry, Lemon, Strawberry Lemonade, Hazelnut, Blueberry Acai Pomegranate, Blood Orange, Lemon Tea and Milk, so far. I have some other to test.

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I found the same thing, but I have a medical condition that limits my sense of taste/smell. I chalked my difficulty up to that and stopped trying the real flavors concentrates after I mixed fruit punch at 6% and could not taste it. I felt too embarrassed to put notes for fear of peer pressure, and because I just did not have time to mess with those flavors when I am more comfortable with the other flavors in my stash.

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As I said, I tried with 1 week. Then some are even 2 or 3 weeks, but nothing changed.

I know that, but the whole point here is not using PG. I was very happy with Flavourart concentrates but unfortunately I canā€™t use anymore.

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Please post notes and SF %, I might revisit those flavors over the summer.

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Sorry had to take off and was rushing but Superfrog covered it

Well of those flavours I only really use one of them often and that is yumberry which holds up very nicely at .9% in

Simple Yumberry Custard

Ingredient%
Sweet Cream (TPA)2.00
Vanilla Custard v1 (CAP)5.00
Yumberry (SC) (Real Flavors)0.90

Flavor total: 7.9%

Remember to rate it at e-liquid-recipes.com!
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Just to get a feel for the strength of a flavor:
1 heat up a little bit of VG (e.g. 5 to 10ml) so it gets less viscous
2 add a drop of flavor concentrate in it
3 use a frother or a really good shake for it all to blend
4 immediately put it on a (wickless?) coil, test
5 take notes

repeat steps 2-5 until you get to the point where flavor is getting off notes or weakening again.
Now you should have a reasonable way to work out what strength you should use the concentrate at, you can start a few different tests to see how they steep out, and then take notes again.

Itā€™s a fun exercise, doesnā€™t take all that long and youā€™ll have a much better understanding of the concentrates.

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Just to clarify for folks that may not understand this. I use a fused Clapton set up with no wick installed for flavor testing. 2 or 3 drops and a quick puff. Just donā€™t try to take a second puff without more drops on the coil.

I will have to try your method the next time sounds like a great way to do quick testing. :+1:

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I wonā€™t take credit for it. Something Iā€™ve picked up from DIY Vapor channel

check out his channel on how to make a quick coil for wickless coils, he doesnā€™t use a fused clapton (but you could use that as well)

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I can not be a lot of help for you because I have not tried very many and none of the ones you have already mentioned.

I do like the RF SC as a single flavor mix
Melon Medley 3% to 4%
Cookies and Cream 4% to 6%
Butter crisp candy bar 5% to 6%
Deep fried cookies and cream 5% to 6%

I also try to avoid PG but I add way less DW than you do. I have found anything over 3% DW does not work for me. The difference may be I do direct lung style vaping.

Something else you could try is 1 drop per 30ml of saline solution. It will enhance many flavors.

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So ok, seems many people suggest to try lower percentages to avoid over saturation.
I just mixed Yumberry at 1% plus 12%DW and VG.
As shake and vape taste ofā€¦ almost nothing! :frowning:

Will try again on next days, even if I think Yumberry alone needs not a long steep.

Not sure where to go from hereā€¦

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Wowā€¦ try lowering that down a bit too :slight_smile:
thatā€™s a lot of DW, try something around 3-4%

and keep increasing your flavor % until it hits the spot

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I agree as I posted above.

I think the 10% to 12% DW may be a big part of the issue.

That said 100% VG can be hard to get many tanks to wick in. That is why when I found Squonking I have never went back to tanks.

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I also thought about the DW, so I also made a 5% DW mix (Still Yumberry at 1%).
A bit better but stillā€¦ very weak. Unvapable.

Btw, in past I used to put 12-15% DW with RY4 Double (TPA) and worked very well. But this is a PG flavor.

As a side note, using 100% VG for MTL with 10-12 Watt is not that easy. Maybe it works better at higher power for DL vaping, but this is not my case.

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I can see the problem nowā€¦ MTL does most times require a bit thinner liquid (50/50 or 60/40).

Maybe you should check @Maureeenieā€™s thread about using distilled water + vodka (used as flavor carrier), she might be able to help you out a bit better.
When I tried it, i didnā€™t like the throat hit (very harsh) but that may be due to the quality of vodka I used. DW is only going to dilute your liquid, its not really going to act as a flavor carrier.

I donā€™t know exactly what problem you have with PG, different people have different levels of sensitivity, but it might be worth trying tiny amounts of PG in your liquids as well to see what levels your body can cope with. Iā€™ve heard from a few people returning to low level PG liquids for flavor with success, it might work for you too.

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Well I donā€™t mtl nor have I mixed much for mtl or low wattage devices but you will need more flavour as a result. I wouldnā€™t push yumberry much past 1.5% - 2% . The one thing I have found when using RF is the window between too much and not enough is quite small and using either too much or too little will have much the same result - no flavour or flavour fade.

I hope you find the right spot for you it may take some patience.

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