@Hexcaliber I don’t run a dripper, but having tested quite a few of the RF SC’s @ 2.5%, and having not had your particular issues, it leads me to question your setup, and/or the concentrates shipped to you. I’m sure if there were an issue with your setup, you’d know it. I have a few of the ones you mentioned steeped and ready for testing, and the only one you mentioned that I’ve personally tested was the GC.
Graham Cracker SC 2.5% (4-16-17) – I’m going to quote another reviewer as saying, “Top Shelf Graham Cracker”. WOW, this one is good. Have been using Cap GC v.2 forever, and this one’s a different take on it. Very good body, mouthfeel, and full graham. Not getting cinnamon, very slight spicyness (very slight), but still there. Could this improve after more steeping ?? Pretty damn good @ 2 weeks. Have to go 10/10 on this one.
@ 2.5%/2 weeks in my Steam Crave RDTA v.1 it was astoundingly good. NO lack of flavor by any means. I have not finger tested any of the RF SC’s so I can’t add anything in that department, but unless you received old/stale/diluted flavors, I can’t help you in that regard. Before using the RF SC’s I typically mixed much higher %'s and assumed that I would have to do the same with the RF’s but that was not the case. Whether or not they are “Super” concentrates is open for debate, but even with the flavors I didn’t care for, most were useable @ 2.5% in my setup. I’m anxious to hear other thoughts on this.
Thank you for taking the time to read the post and reply.
Had I been the only person to test the mixes with those results after three weeks I would have tried with an alternate setup, but I had a couple of folks try on their mods and they reported the same. Typically I only use the dripper for testing, as it is the most convenient method for testing multiple flavours in one go. I simply need burn off the old juice and replace the cotton. Day to day vaping I use pre-made coils in one of a range of sub ohm tanks, the dripper I save for use at home as it is a pita to use on the go. I did go on to test a couple of the mixes with my usual vaping setups with the same results.
Personally, after the reply from the vendor, I suspect the samples I received were diluted. I have used a number of other manufacturers over the last 2 years mixing, and have a reasonable idea of how strong a concentrate will taste neat based on the percentage I needed in my mix, and these were some of the weakest flavours I have tried. Certainly not what I had expected given all the reviews of this brand online, but after the vendors reply I did start to question my results regardless.
@Hexcaliber sorry, I DID test another you mentioned:
Raspberry SC 2.5% (5-19-17) – 2 weeks steeping to dare to try another Raspberry as I’ve had quite a few that always had some perfumey/chemically aftertaste. This one SHOCKED me, as there were NONE of them present. The first few initial vapes I swore I could taste the little seeds. WOW, don’t get that often. It became less prominent throughout the tank, but interesting none the less. Tastes very ripe, but not too ripe, sweet, but not too sweet, and just plain good. Might not quite have the KICK that INW Raspberry has, but not bad as some people find that off putting. Simply a very good, natural tasting tart/sweet raspberry. 9/10 because it might need a booster punch.
Drippers are really good for flavor, so I think you must be correct that what they shipped you must have been diluted.
@Lolly Naughty Kitty is right !!! We love them like our kids, so it was a stressful 10 days for sure. Thank you.
@Hexcaliber
Keep an eye out for the weekly flavor giveaways from Real Flavors. It’ll give you 3 flavors at a time direct from Walt for just the shipping cost and they’ll be fresh and no chance of dilution and give that a test.
I’ve acquired a dozen of their flavors that way so far and I’m testing at 3% and have some top shelf winners and a dud or two like most companies.
Rhubarb (SC)(RF) 5 of 5 stars and I don’t usually like Rhubarb at all.
Sweet Potato (SC)(RF) is there a flavor in here?
Taste is always subjective what I find excellent others think is Automotive Carburetor Cleaner.
Your mileage may vary.
Melon Melody SC @ 2.5% (6-2-17) – 2 weeks steeping to see if a Melon joy could be brought. Long ago watched a random Phil Busardo video review on a setup wherein he was using a Cucumber Melon from CravinVapes and he really seemed to like it. I got some, and was blown away. Have NOT been able to reproduce that vape, so I’m ALWAYS on the lookout for another great melon vape. This one didn’t let me down. Chain vaping it to see if I can nail down exactly WHICH melons are in it. Def. getting some honeydew melon, with maybe some watermelon, and maybe another. Evenly mixed, no one star of the show here. Sweetness is good, and mouthfeel albeit not a cream, is about what you’d expect for a fruity/melon vape. Sweet melon on the inhale, and more of the same on the exhale, with MAYBE a pinch of rind. No chemical/artificial notes that I could pick up on, and it feels very well blended and even. Very good summertime vape, or as break from my normal heavier creameries. I think as it’s billed as a “melody” of melons, can easily go with a 8.5/10 on this one.
I did the same thing myself. I am going with a mix of cantaloupe, honeydew combined with a ever so slight hint of watermelon. It is so well balanced it is very hard to pick out any individual flavor in this blend.
I can also tell you, this is the first Melon ANYTHING I have liked enough to continue mixing more of it.
I am finding that I prefer most RF SC flavors at 3-4% for a soild single flavor mix. I am not sure that 1-2.5% as the suggested mix is always valid for vaping. We have to remember that these concentrates are not designed for us. What may be a perfect amount for beverages or deserts may not translate well for vaping.
I think that going from 1-2% to 6-8% is a mistake. 1-2% may be weak but 6-8% is probably at the point where muting occurs. I would suggest trying 3-4%.
I found out very early on in testing stand alone flavors from the RF SC line that 3% to 5% was what I seemed to enjoy for most of the ones I have tried.
@louiesquared and @wvsanta I think you’re probably right. Although I found them plenty good (the good ones that is) @ 2.5%, I could have pushed it up to 3.5%. I couldn’t do that (for my own sanity) as I started testing these awhile ago, and @ 2.5%, and wanted to keep consistent for my own sanity, and/or anyone who reads my notes. Dittos on jumping from 1-2 to 6-8. From what I read he did that out of desperation not knowing why they were so weak, and it would appear that his vendor diluted them ??
Ordinarily I would agree that that taking a jump from 1%-2% to 6%-8% might be a mistake. But when using a new brand for the first time I start off by testing a small sample neat, so I have an idea of the concentration and flavour I am working with, why I did not this time I do not know. Then start with a single flavour mix as I did with these. A test of the concentrate on its own in PG/VG to gauge where it needed to be in future mixes.
However, after the first test at two weeks there was so little flavour, just the barest hint in the best of them that I thought a larger increase was needed to get anywhere with them. Even now at 6%-8% there is next to nothing, even the mix in the bottles has barely any scent, you wouldn’t know that two of them had any concentrate at all.
As you say, figures quoted by the manufacturer are simply a starting point and many need to be increased based on the complexity of the mix, pg/vg, any additives, the coils being used, and even personal preference. One of the reasons I tend to stay away from complex mixes online as they often end up disappointing or needing a major re tweak.
In this case I must admit I was thrown for a loop; I had expected at least something I could use as a starting point to build on. I suppose I started off with certain level of expectation based on others reviews online as to what to expect from the brand in general.
I am however certain that the samples I was sold are not representative of the product offered elsewhere. Either the company I purchased them from are not agitating the bulk stock before breaking it down, using it well past the sell by, or simply diluting them to increase profit.
Mocha SC @ 2.5% (6-2-17) – Because I am a heavy cappuccino, espresso, mocha drinker, ANY coffee type drink is going to have a hard time going to impress me. Waited 2 weeks on this one, and had no clue what it had in store for me, as I didn’t really get much coffee from the RF SC Coffee (tested @ 2.5% and after many recommendations re-mixed, will re-test @ 1.5%). First impressions are sometimes THE impressions you are left with, and same here. I didn’t really get any “mocha” from this one. When I think Mocha, I’m thinking a rich chocolate/cocoa with strong coffee or espresso and some cream. Please take my coffee-snob-ed-ness into consideration on this review. Oddly enough, this didn’t make this a BAD flavor, it was actually pretty good, just couldn’t nail down what the hell it was. Sweet, creamy, with some other unidentifiable flavors thrown in. A very full, nice vape, just not what I think of as a Mocha, and didn’t really get any chocolate notes from it. I’ve tasted enough of the RF SC’s now, where I could detect some of the other flavorings present in this (as flavorists often do), maybe the coffee, maybe the condensed milk, maybe others. Guess I’m 0 for 2 regarding the RF SC Coffee type flavors. Again, please try this, and YOU review it, maybe you can decide what it is, but I can’t. Very good overall package, just not a Mocha package to me. This will be hard to quantify with a numerical value as it is a pretty good flavor, but when vaping and comparing to it’s name, I can’t go higher than a 3/10 strictly as a Mocha. Every one can’t be a winner I guess, but you try, and you decide.
Kiwi was alittle low on flavor at 2.5%. It really didn’t sing to me. The concentrate out of the bottle on a sniff test was very harsh and chemically/alcohol
Watermellon at 2.5 was alittle week. Better at 3ish. Sniff test from the bottle was pretty good…nice and full of red. The vape ended with less red and more green flavor. Still good…better than kiwi, orange, blood orange, and a few others.
Overall I havnt been impressed with my purchases. Some is user error and other is just the flavor for sure. Because everything is still new and not formulated for vaping user experiances are all over the board.
For me…I’ve stopped my purchasing until I can reduce the user error and bettter determine other aspects like flavor drop offs at week 4-6.
@Chrispdx I haven’t tried the Kiwi or WM so I can’t offer any comparison for you. Not all of the flavors are great, or at least what their name says. I’m sure because there is alcohol in there, if their not steeped long enough that could make for some off sniffing for sure. As an example, I got the deep fried twinkie (spongecake) and let it go 2 weeks before trying, and wow was it great. Vaped the whole damn tester up without getting out of my chair LOL. Got a sudden urge for some more, fresh mixed, vaped, and I could tell it was harsher than steeped. Didn’t stop me, as it was just too damned good. Not sure if the above helps or not.
The shortest steep I have for everything normally is 4 weeks on average. For example…I just cracked the cap on a mango icecream bottle that was mixed 5/6.
The only time I vape at 1-2 weeks if I am more than confident I will get what I need from testing. Like when I tried royal orange & blood orange FA. I knew I could dream where the high and low points would be at week 1. Buts still 1 full week for a single/one dimensional fruit vape.
Blueberry Lemonade Slushe SC @ 2.5% (6-2-17) – Waited 2 weeks pondering, wondering to myself, who in the hell puts blueberries in lemonade ?? THIS GUY !!! For clarity, I already vaped the RF SC Blueberry and it was mind blowing so I kinda knew what to expect. This one is a 2 week steeper keeper. I’ll have to check and see if RF has a lemonade and could experiment more with other fruits, but this one, doesn’t need any help at all. Very good AND even blueberry and lemonade. I forget who makes the current best lemonade (FlavorWest ??) but this ones pretty darn good. Some sweet, a little tart, nice even lemon with NO “pledge”-iness at all. Tastes pretty natural to me, and the blueberry seamlessly blends in. Not on the top or the side, but all around it. Like a lemonade wrapped up in a nice blueberry blanket. This is a very nice summer vape. Clean, sweet, but not too sweet, sharp enough to keep you interested, and encased in blueberry just in case you get bored. My ADV’s are typically heavier, creamier, custards, bakeries, etc., so I don’t typically vape lemonades, but I could see myself starting to do that now, and that IS saying something. True to the name, nothing off putting, very well crafted IMO. If you like BB and you like Lemonade, I think this will be a 10/10 for you.
I could not agree more @SessionDrummer the Blueberry Lemonade Slushie (SC) is by far my favorite concentrate I have received from Real Flavors. It is simply put the best single flavor mix I have had. I have dedicated one of my Steam Crave Aromamizer Supremes to this Eliquid.
