Depends on what your usual amount of sweetener is and also where you mention you do not want to make it too sweet comes into play. When I just started mixing about 6yrs ago, I actually released a juice into the market using TFA Strawberry and it did not contain any sweetener and it sold and I also thought it was a decent juice. I have since learned a lot and personally I would have added sweetener (among other changes), but not much.
Alpine is good, but it's really strong, as in very. One needs to use it like you would Medicine Flower concentrates, by the drop almost, definitely under 1%.
A number of people do single flavour testing once they get new flavours. I did as well at one stage but I found it very tedious and also how a profile tastes on its own is not necessarily how it will perform in a mix. Now I smell a profile and based on what I read about it I use it at a certain percentage in a mix. Then once I test the mix I determine my own levels. I don't have the most refined palate, at all by far, but I seem to have luck on my side and my mixes usually come out like I want them to.
Thank you for the help!
Your reply regarding TFA Strawberry is great, gives me an idea for sweetener percentage!
Thanks for the alpine advise! I will be sure to use only a tiny amount next time!
As for single flavour testing, I always test with other flavours or just a second flavour added, small batch of something I feel I’d like. When I said “on it’s own” I just meant without a second strawberry concentrate lol. I agree with you totally, how a flavour tastes on its own won’t always equate to how it will taste along with others in a mix. I also don’t have a very refined palate, but I do pick up on background flavours most of the time, enough to decide if I enjoy it or not
I like when I can taste each of the flavours in a mix, it’s more appealing to me than say, flavours like SNLV that mix 100 different fruits and I can’t pick them apart from another.
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I have a lot of FA in my arsenal of juices. Like any other flavour house, they have hits and misses. Over and above the ones you mentioned, check out Wonder Flavors (WF), Sobucky Super Aromas (SSA), Vape Train (VT), Frandy (only available at Blck) and Cloud Burst (Flavorworld and Vape Hyper). FlavorWest (FW) also has a few nice ones (their Yellow Cake is second to none and Strawberry Shortcake is a very overlooked flavour and their Salted Caramel, though niche, has some nice uses). The rest have more misses than hits in my humble opinion (DIYFS, REKA, YY, LA, LB, RAW, etc.) but they each have one, maybe two flavours that are worth it.
This is the thing with DIY, and hence the rabbit hole. Finding the flavour you want that will fir the profile you want to make between all there is, is what drives initial costs up. DIY in the beginning cost me a helluva lot and I still buy flavours which I think may work, use them and then realise during testing that it's not what it's cut out to be (here's looking at you VT Creme Caramel
) but it's all part of the learning process. And it's also kinda what makes it fun. Experimenting. I have a lot of FA in my arsenal of juices. Like any other flavour house, they have hits and misses. Over and above the ones you mentioned, check out Wonder Flavors (WF), Sobucky Super Aromas (SSA), Vape Train (VT), Frandy (only available at Blck) and Cloud Burst (Flavorworld and Vape Hyper). FlavorWest (FW) also has a few nice ones (their Yellow Cake is second to none and Strawberry Shortcake is a very overlooked flavour and their Salted Caramel, though niche, has some nice uses). The rest have more misses than hits in my humble opinion (DIYFS, REKA, YY, LA, LB, RAW, etc.) but they each have one, maybe two flavours that are worth it.
This is the thing with DIY, and hence the rabbit hole. Finding the flavour you want that will fir the profile you want to make between all there is, is what drives initial costs up. DIY in the beginning cost me a helluva lot and I still buy flavours which I think may work, use them and then realise during testing that it's not what it's cut out to be (here's looking at you VT Creme Caramel
Thanks IVC!!! I will go exploring (aka deeper into the rabbit hole
)I am enjoying the learning process, it is definitely fun
Especially as I find other peoples SFT notes not of much help as everyone has different tastes and interpretations so the only real way of knowing for yourself what works with what and mixed with what and how to get exactly what you are looking for means personal SFT tests and recording your own notes on each flavour, one hell of a rabbit hole!
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I would say 3 of the main flavour is common for me, usually 2 minimum, I have a couple of recipes where I use 5 of the same flavour at different percentages to get what I am looking for!Awesome to read you actually use 3 different blackcurrants to achieve an end result. Inspiring, I’ll get there
As @ivc_mixer said all brands have hits and misses but personally Wonder flavors impress me more and more and also many top flavours from Vape train although they also have a few that are kak and give an off note! Other brands have gems amongst the not so good, there are a few OOO flavours that I find really useful such as pie crust but then others are not good at all! As mentioned before MF fruits are awesome and definitely the most authentic flavourings, haven't used a bad one yet but they are about 5 times more expensive than the average priced concentrates! I also have loads of Flavorah flavourings and very few are duds! It's a rabbit hole alright even with sweetener (although I use sparingly) I have about 8 different ones and the one i use in a recipe depends on what the profile is! Although gathering as much info off others is useful nothing substitutes experimenting, some times it's the mixes that you had low expectations of that turn out to be work of arts!Thanks IVC!!! I will go exploring (aka deeper into the rabbit hole
I am enjoying the learning process, it is definitely fun
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