Hi,
I started just a few days ago but I’m not really a patient one. So waiting weeks to try my recipe will be really hard.
I read about putting the mix in a warm water bath for a while to at least speed the steeping process up a little.
What do you guys think about this and how should I apply it? How hot should the water be and for how long should the mix be in it?
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Don’t do it. Mix enough… some liquids you can vape from the shake, vape that while you’re waiting on the rest.
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@Ammertos wouldn’t do it most fruit recipes are Shake n vape make a fruit vape then you can let juice steep that’s what i do i know you just want it there and then I made juice when i first started made a deep fried icecream vaped it and was horrible put it in a draw for got about it then found it the other day must been in the draw for 5 weeks i filled my tank up and i was like wow then i understood how and why steeping changes the flavour.
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Young Grasshopper is learning fast 
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You can warm the VG a little if you want prior to mixing which will make things blend a little better. Some folks consider that speeding up the steep as part of steeping is allowing time for blending. Mixes will continue to change flavor over time regardless.
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Ditto, Don’t Do It! You’re losing your Volitile Favor Molecules and degrading your Nicotine when you apply heat. Some still do it though, but most I’ve read started this way and quickly abandoned the practice.
Some tips (ramblings) from my experience and research:
A good mix is usually “good” right from minute zero, it just isn’t fully developed. They get better and better with age, but if you have your percentages dialed in at least close to “right,” you should be able to enjoy it right away.
A bad mix will not become good with age, so if it’s a stinker from the beginning, you may be out of luck on that mix anyway. Give it a few extra days to a week and try it again before you toss it if it is unvapeable… Mixing small bottles for testing is less risky
Some caveats:
- Citrus might be a bit harsh and need some time to mellow, same for some Cinnamons
- Heavy Custards may just taste sweet at first before getting thick and rich
I use a method that encourages early testing and throughout the steep to see when it hits the “Good Flavor and Texture Zone.” Fresh, Next Morning, then day 2, then a few days apart and at 2 and 3 weeks, loosely.
Some hit the zone in a few days, some 4 weeks. Simple fruits are the quickest. BUT, even those continue to improve with age. AND, all of them are enjoyable from the first minute. Unless I messed up and made a stinker, usually when I get lazy with a new, or strange, flavor, like Fig or Blackcurrant. Or, underestimate a highly potent flavor like Coffee (MF) or Black Raspberry (NF)
Solo testing flavors would avoid most of my failures, but I, too, am impatient! Or, arrogant, thinking I can just wing it without putting in the work needed to test.
That’s all I got! Happy mixing!
Edit: None of this may be true for anyone else but me! You can read from @Englishguy above that to him, 5 weeks did actually turn a bad mix into a good mix. I have not experienced the same phenomenon, though, and I’ve let some bad mixes sit for months.
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You have a couple of options if you’re the impatient type. You can settle for shake n vape recipes which, in my opinion, taste like crap and don’t present all that well.
Or you can learn the traditional tried and true method which is pretty easy. Waiting.
But if you insist on trying some speed-steeping tricks, and you probably will “just to see for yourself”, chances are you’ll end up less than satisfied.
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I have another related question.
Does it make sense (if I put the mix in the warm water bath) to add the nicotine later because I read heat degrades Nicotine?
Also what about adding the nicotine later? I am using 6mg in RDA/Sub-Ohm tanks but like 12mg in pod devices like Smok Trinity. Would it be better to make 30ml with 6mg and 30ml with 12mg or to make 60ml with 0mg, let it steep and then divide it into 30ml bottles and add the nicotine?
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Heat will indeed degrade nicotine, but it also affects your flavors. Your flavors too should be stored in a cool, dark and dry place. Heat, UV and moisture are real killers. Not all flavors contain the same chemicals, so it’ll affect some flavors more than others, but the general rule is don’t use heat. A lot of flavors are volatile and escape even at room temperature. Don’t you smell that strawberry or banana the moment you open your concentrate bottle? Those are all flavor molecules escaping. Heat will increase the rate and degrade your final product.
Learn to be patient and mix enough so you don’t need to be patient / always have some juice to vape.
Adding nic after a steep will allow you to keep your juice longer though, so that’s not a bad idea. It also allows you to mix 1 recipe and make different nic strengths of juices with the same liquid.
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Aye this is an interesting idea! My wife likes 2mg, I like 3 in my drippers but 6 or 7mg in the dot aio. So making a big batch of our favorite profile, and adding the nic later accordingly, is just an awesome idea.
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Your juice will steep without nic, but once you add the nic you are back to steeping again.
Best to do it all in one go, shake well and put in a dark spot.
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If I’m wanting an unusually long steep I put the mix in amber glass until ready to vape.
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That is debatable … I haven’t come across a lot where it makes a big difference.
I live in a country where they sell mostly nic free juices and nic boosters (if you want anything commercial over 10ml bottles, thank you TPD). Most people shake and vape, I’ve done it too and there’s not too much to steep anymore.
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Not to me… Unless you mix your nic totally up with the other contents, it will have to steep, to meld… If I was doing it that way, no way would I just add nic, shake and vape… that is #1 on how hot spots happen, and I want to know it is totally mixed into all of my juice… I dont need a surprised 100mg nic hit. Some might say this is not steeping, but it is… to make sure of an immersion of nicotine into not steeped or pre-steeped that timer at least for me, is reset.
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I 2nd that when i used to buy 60ml I’d get a 10ml 18mg nic shot I’d shake it and vape it right away because the juice has already been steeped
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Agreed, the nic has to be mixed well… and it helps if you have PG nic and lower nic concentrations too. Maybe if you dilute your nic to smaller strengths (like with the 20mg nic shots people usually use here but even double that won’t give you any big surprises), you’re not going to get in trouble 
Besides that, flavor wise there’s no steeping to be done anymore.
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No… trying to step away from nic altogether…
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I use warmed VG when I mix, but only so that it’s easier to mix my juices. I keep my VG in a warm water bath that I keep below 100 degrees F, and use a small wand mixer to blend. If a juice I’m making needs to be steeped, then into a cool,dark box it goes for 3 to 5 weeks.
I’ve got nerve damage in my neck that affects my hands, so I find warmer VG is easier for me to accurately pour and shake or blend and I haven’t noticed any appreciable difference between cold VG and a shake versus warm VG and a blast from the blender in terms of taste. YMMV, as everybody’s taste buds are different.
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I do this, also because VG is a nightmare when your decanting 25+ litres of it in the winter.
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