Normally I dump my entire testing run after it's completed, but since there is a LIMITED STOCK on these Duomei flavors, and they are hard to come by, I wanted to make an exception, and post these AS I am running through them. The run is approx. half way done now......
***PLACE HOLDER -- (12-17-22) Still sorting out testing percentages ......***
Thanks out to James from https://LiquidDIY.com.au for sending these out free of charge. Although not specifically for the purposes of this review, I always provide 100% transparency. These appear to be HELLA strong, so I'm working out the percentages now. I think at LEAST a 2 week steep will be required, and testing on the tried and true SteamCrave RDTA v.1, running dual 24 ga. kanthal vertical coils, @ 65 watts.
**Banana (Duomei) 0.4%/0.8% (1-3-23)** -- FIRST of these new flavors on deck, and IN the tester !!!!!!! I wanted to make sure to give them a solid 2 week steep as many of them smelled HELLA strong. I tested the Banana at both 0.4% and 0.8%, as it imparted no fear in me at the lower weight. At BOTH weights, this one presented as a very natural yellow, and almost "mushy" banana. I typically prefer a "Lean to the Green", at least when eating them, and this one stayed fairly OUT of the "green" realm. It was ripe/ripened, BUT, just short of being OVER ripe. I had almost thought it has aspects of a Flambe, BUT that wasn't entirely accurate, as there weren't any butter, sugar, or flaming liquor notes present. It was almost like a perfectly ripened banana was heated up in a pan, smoothing it, and almost caramelizing it JUST a bit to give you a sense. It tasted super delicious at both testing weights, and it did NOT double in strength when going from 0.4% to 0.8%. It's strength increased somewhat, but not linearly, so probably a 0.65%-0.8% weight would be fine. Natural, yellow, and mushy were the three things that stuck with me throughout the entire test. No off notes, and VERY impressed for this, the first in this series. Sweetness was just below mid level, and there was an almost "creamy" aspect to it, BUT, it was NOT a nana cream to be clear. All in, a great first showing from Duomei with this one, and as long as you didn't need a "green-ish" nana, this one will push your ripened yellow banana boundaries. **9.8/10**.
**Blackberry (Duomei) 0.2%/0.4% (1-4-23)** -- STRONG, STRONG, STRONG is the word of the day with this one. My initial tests at 0.4% had a very clear soapy, almost perfumey aftertaste. Fine, BACK to the drawing board, fully reduced to 0.2%, and re-tested. The flavor strength overall did reduce, and SOME of the soap and perfume reduced as well, but it was still somewhat present. This was fairly odd, as I have rolled with some of the strongest MF flavors with little to no issues, so this MAY be a flavor issue, and not a "strength" issue per se. There did seem to be a oddly different blackberry hiding behind the soapy overtones, and it's possible, if you were to go even LOWER, you might be able to resolve it, but at that point, it would be so far reduced, it may just be unusable. I did not reduce any further below 0.2%, which in a 10ml tester, is 1d. I've come across AND overflavored plenty, so I'm very well versed in reducing my way back to sanity. This one, may not be ready for prime time. Fully reduced it smelled ok, but tasting it re-yielded the soapy-ness. Going to plant this one @ **2.0/10**.
**Black Currant (Duomei) 0.4%/0.8%/1.0% (1-4-23)** -- This one, like many of these Duomei's smelled very strong, and I started testing @ 0.4%, which was good, but it felt like it needed more, so I re-tested and increased first to 0.8%, and then 1.0%. This one presented at EVERY testing weight, as a really good, dark-ish, barely sweetened, black currant. I FOUGHT the urge to try it with some sweetener, to see if it would open up even MORE, but altering test samples, goes down a long, and treacherous road, that I won't go down. Sweetness was a FEW clicks below mid level sweet, and the dark berry-ish, notes to really swirl around, AND with some almost dark grape wine notes to boot !!!! Because of the below average sweetness, there was a slight dryness to the finish, but wasn't off-putting at all. There was a certain, delicious tarty, almost sharp overtone, that rode throughout that really made it interesting, and a stand out. In the absence of any overt artificial notes, it leaned smartly to the authentic and natural. The only minor takeoff would be the slightly dry finish, which I'm SURE could be eliminated with a smidge of sweetener. Nicely done, and easily a **9.7/10**.
**Blueberry (Duomei) 0.5%/1.0% (1-5-23)** -- Wow, this one was good, and different that most, if not all of my current BB rotation. I tested it at both 0.5%, and increased to 1.0% and both worked perfectly, with about a 25% increase in flavor when doubling, so 1.0% may be near the top of the usable range on this one. Very natural tasting, and even after three testers, I couldn't think of a close match, so that's great, breaking new ground. The word of the day with this one was "smooth". It wasn't recessed, but not overtly forward during the testing. No candy here, but more of an almost baked blueberry. It wasn't a bright, super juicy BB, but seemed to excel in more of the mid, to mid-lower notes of a great blueberry. Duomei saw fit to add just enough of the tart-ish high end notes, to keep it interesting. No musky-ness, and nothing out of place with this one, at either testing weight. It was very usable at both weights, and just below mid-level sweet. Despite looking, I was unable to find any faults with this, with only minor takeoffs for the relaxed nature. If I had to change it, I would have made it a SMIDGE more forward. As it stood, a damned fine, natural blueberry the was incredibly smooth, excelling in the low and mid notes, with just enough tarty high end notes. Easily a **9.2/10**.
**Caramel (Duomei) 0.4%/0.8%/1.0% (1-5-23)** -- In a few words, "Get this one" !!!!! Wow. This Caramel, wowwed RIGHT out of the gate, and didn't stop. This one was SO good @ 0.4%, I had to see, if it improved by doubling to 0.8%, and then, up to 1.0%, and it DID. Rich, creamy, buttery, and just hands down, delicious. Having quite a few caramels in use, and to compare to, it's safe to say this one, has NO equal(s) or direct comparisons on my racks, and that's saying something. What made this super unique, was the almost equal pairing of milky/creamy notes, and smooth buttery notes. Just perfectly paired, where neither took the lead, and each fully supported the overall Caramel-ly effect. For an "artificial" flavor, this might be one of, if not the best "natural" tasting Caramel's I've tried. Across all three testing weights, it was rich, present, and was hard to put down, hehe. It increased when doubling, and when finalizing at 1.0%, and had literally NO off-putting notes, or any signs of topping out. It was just above mid-level sweet which worked perfectly, and I'm fighting the urge to order a jumbo bottle, before it's OOS @ diyliquid.com.au. Without belaboring the point, if you are looking to order a few (or more), this one SHOULD be on your list. The buttery/milky/creamy-ness of this one, could simply NOT be overstated. Rich, delicious, and can be solo'd all day long (trust me, I did). With it's unique status, lack of any off notes, and velvety smooth creamy, buttery-ness, I could think of ZERO issues with this one. Handily a **10/10**.
**Chocolate (Duomei) 0.4%/0.8% (1-5-23)** -- Here are the MOST common questions I get about testing chocolates, as there are some BAD choco's out there. Is it: Dry, Bandaids, Tootsie Roll, Dark/Coil Gunking ?? Most of the BAD ones, have one or more of the aforementioned. Luckily for you AND me, this one had NONE of them. Wait, Bandaids ?? Yes, think of the Inawera Milk Chocolate (New Version). As with others, I tested this at 0.4%, then doubled to 0.8%. At both weights it tasted good, with no off notes, or anything offensive. It increased in strength when doubling, but wasn't linear (i.e. stronger, but not twice as strong). It presented as a fairly natural tasting chocolate, without any artificial-ness screaming through. The chocolate itself, was almost a mid, to mid dark chocolate blend, which was good, because it left it RIGHT in the middle of the light (milk chocolate), and dark (dark chocolate) spectrum. It was very full and present at both weights, but not what I would call creamy or rich. No overt creamery notes, but still a nice full on chocolate. Sweetness was a few ticks below mid-level, which would allow you to sweeten if needed. Continued testing honestly didn't really reveal any shortcomings, or artificial notes, so it was an impressive showing, simply because it tasted like a true, accurate chocolate. As an admitted S'mores junkie I WILL inject this into a few of my mixes to see, but solo'd it was pretty good. I tested it at 65 watts, and did try cranking the watts up, and I got NO scorching, so it didn't appear to be temp sensitive, and being fairly clear, I didn't get any excess coil gunking. If you are a choco lover, and placing a Duomei order, throw this one in your cart as well. Impressive as an artificial choco that didn't taste artificial. **9.4/10**.
**Chocolate Hazelnut (Duomei) 0.4%/0.8% (1-6-23)** -- FRESH off the heels of the Duomei Chocolate test, I got to directly compare THIS one. The chocolate notes in this one were identical (duh) to the above tested Chocolate, but with some minor differences. The hazelnut was present in this one, BUT, it was very light for my tastes, and sometimes hard to notice. Testing this at both 0.4%, and 0.8% yielded about the same results, with some minor muting (or softening) at the higher weight. Nothing off-putting, or out of place, but it was like the Hazelnut's effect could be tasted, more than tasting the Hazelnut itself ?? Confused ?? Good, me too. It was like by adding it to the chocolate, it slightly sweetened, softened, and creamed up the chocolate a bit, so again, it didn't scream hazelnut, but presented as almost more of a "tempered" chocolate. Not bad by any means, and at just below mid level sweet it wasn't fatiguing, but throughout both testers, I just wanted some more hazelnut. It felt fair to place this at a **7.0/10.**
**Coconut (Duomei) 0.4% (1-7-23)** -- I took a little extra time with this one, and did not increase the testing weight from my original 0.4%, as it felt perfectly situated, right there. This one was hard to nail down as exactly WHICH type of Coconut it was, and it was an interesting search, even if I couldn't fully nail it down. I think what made it so hard to nail down, was it was almost a medley of different coconuts, including a coconut flake, coconut milk, and a cream of coconut. There you go, that's it people !!!! The negatives that I've gotten from other coco's that I was on the lookout for were the typical dry/astringent, oily/greasy notes that some of the NOT so good coco's have, and this one had NONE of them, AND, no suntan lotion here either. It was about mid level sweet, and fully present at the testing weight, and I didn't find the need to increase, or decrease the strength. Not oily, or greasy, and it had just a little "twang" on the finish, and that added to the experience, and authenticity of it. Despite being mid level sweet, it was NOT a candied coconut, which was great, as that would open up it's uses. I'd give it a 50/50 natural/artificial split, and that seemed to really work. It was JUST rich, creamy, and sweet enough, but without having too much of any. I looked hard across two testers trying to find faults/gaps and could not. Your coconut needs/tastes could be different than mine, but this one really bridged the gap and combined three different types of coconuts, in one package. I could see this being a workhorse in coconut creams, custards, etc. The only possible take off COULD be the slight "twang" at the finish, but IMO, it added to the complexity, and authenticity. Felt great @ a **9.3/10**.
**Cream Vanilla (Duomei) 0.4%/0.8%/1.0% (1-7-23)** -- I love Vanillas and Creams, so I ALWAYS sign up to test them. This one presented lighter than some of the other Duomei flavors, so I decided to test @ 0.4%, 0.8%, and 1.0%. At the lowest weight it presented as a nice (duh), Vanilla Cream. The vanilla wasn't spicy, and was almost similar to FA's Classic Vanilla (Madagascar), which by nature has great creamy undertones. It was fairly relaxed, and neither the vanilla or cream/creamy-ness dominated, so it was a very even pairing of the two. Increasing to 0.8% seemed to really allow it to open up to it's fullest potential, and pushing to 1.0% had minor signs of curling, so that seemed to be PAST it's comfortable limit. I kind of like when I actually have the time to more fully flush out flavors across multiple weights, which I don't always have the time to do. I think solo'd the sweet spot for this one would be at about 0.65%-0.80%, and clearly you could go lower if simple support was the only need. The cream/creamy elements were always present, but without any in your face cream, dairy, or milk notes, meaning the overall mouthfeel and effect was greater than any distinct TASTING nuances. Was is similar to INW Shisha Vanilla ?? Kind of, but quite a bit creamier, and the vanilla notes were more subtle. I could see TONS of uses for this one, from the obvious creams, custards, to pancakes, deserts, and more, so if you pick this up, you'll get a lot of use out of it. Nothing off-putting, and only minor curling (where the saturation starts to fold over on itself), at the 1.0% level. Below that, it was smooth, creamy, vanilla sailing, all day long. Because both the vanilla and creamy elements were fairly neutral, pushing/pulling in any direction would be easy, and I could even see this working well with some berries. It was just ALMOST great enough, and complex enough to excite as a solo one-shot-ish, but felt JUST shy of that. Cream Vanilla, Creamy Vanilla, Vanilla Cream ?? ALL of the above. With only minor issues when pushed past it's top usage, I couldn't find any faults with it. I think I'll add this one to the "If you pick up some Duomei's add this one to your list" list. Deliciously placing this @ **9.6/10** for doing exactly what it was supposed to do.
**Fresh Strawberry (Duomei) 0.5%/1.0% (1-7-23)** -- This, the Fresh Strawberry proved once again, that Duomei really knows how to make artificial flavors that DON"T taste artificial. I started testing this one @ 0.5% and it landed squarely AS a Fresh Strawberry, which was nice and red, somewhat juicy, and had all of the telltale fresh and tart notes. It felt somewhat relaxed, so I doubled it to 1.0%, and now it seemed to open up more fully, with an increased experience, still fully red, fresh, and tart-ish. I didn't get any white, or greens from this, so it stayed squarely in the nice and juicy red camp throughout. It shared some qualities with other "Ripe" and "Juicy" SB's out there, but still somehow felt somewhat unique in it's pairings. Just below mid level sweet, and with no real off notes, it proved to be a good solo experience. I did try and push it even HIGHER, up to about 1.2%, and it DID start to curl, and some artificial jammy, and almost cotton candy notes started to appear, so I'm confident in recommending solo'ing @ 0.5%-0.95%. Even with no real take offs at normal usage rates, the strawberry field is crowded, and it's HARD to stand out. For a surprisingly "real" tasting artificial strawberry with authentically "fresh" and "tart" notes, this one was good. Not 100% sure if it was a super stand out or not but felt fairly placed @ **8.75/10**.
**Golden Pineapple (Duomei) 0.4%/0.8% (1-8-23)** -- Currently my goto, top shelf Pineapple is hands down VTA Sugarloaf, and I've wondered if any other could knock it from it's perch. This Golden Pineapple had a lot of the similar nuances, with a juicy, bright yellow mid level sweet pineapple. It was not candied, baked, or raw, but almost like canned, sweet pineapple chunks. To better clarify, it didn't have a syrupy finish, but was just sweet enough. It def. lived more in the brighter, punchy, high end region of the pineapple, which led to a more juicy, bright, and fresh pineapple. I think with the surplus of the "yellow" I got from this, I think "golden" is pretty accurate. My only issue (I know, I know), was that despite being a great juicy yellow pineapple, it seemed to lack a little punch. When testing it @ 0.4%, it was great, but felt like it just needed MORE of it, so I doubled it to 0.8%. It increased slightly, but still left me wanting more. When tasting directly out of the bottle it was fairly strong, but for some reason, it didn't translate directly when vaping. Interesting, and confusing at the same time. Hard to score this one perfectly as the flavor itself was GREAT, I just wanted to get a little more of it (saturation). I briefly tested above 0.8%, but it didn't change, and with some possible muting, so it was, what it was. Flavor/accuracy wise, I'd rate it at a stellar 9.8/10, but with the minor takeoffs for JUST the lack of punch and saturation, I'll leave it @ **8.8/10**. Let YOUR tastes decide whether or not the punch/saturation is good enough or not. Nothing off-putting at any of the testing weights, so you can go crazy with it (within limits) and experiment. I know @lukeloop was really looking forward to, and already mixing with this one, so I'm curious to hear what he thought about it.
**Grapes (Duomei) 0.2%/0.4% (1-8-23)** -- This one was one of the stronger smelling ones in the bottle, and because of that, I decided to start it out @ 0.2%. At this weight, it was clearly a "purple" grape. Not a deep, rich, dark concord, but still a purple grape. Not candied, not jammed, and it was actually a few ticks below mid level sweet. It felt like it needed a boost, so I doubled it to 0.4%. It increased, but still tasted a little restrained, and I'm not sure if increasing it any further would yield any real increase in flavor or saturation. Because it was less sweet than expected, and had an almost dry-ness at the very end of the finish I wondered if some sweetener would help wetten that up, and maybe make it pop a little more. Despite my normal, "Don't Alter The Flavors" rule, I did add a couple of drops of TPA Sweetener, and sure enough, the slight dryness at the end was eliminated, AND, it did help out, as it started to pop JUST a bit more. So, your tastes will dictate whether or not to boost this one or not. Having it below mid level sweet was actually nice, as then you could CHOOSE to sweeten, or leave it as is, as opposed to a heavily artificial and sweet grape like FW Grape Soda. It presented as fairly natural, and had no off notes, with the exception of the slight dryness on the tail end, AND, the somewhat relaxed nature of it. All in, it was a mostly natural tasting, purple grape, that was somewhat relaxed in it's presentation. It felt good @ **8.5/10**.
**Green Grape (Duomei) 0.4% (1-8-23)** -- Fresh off of the Grapes which did indeed impart a "purple"-ness, this one was VERY similar, minus the "purple". You could INFER that it was a green grape, but the best way to describe it, was just a grape, missing the "purple" if that makes sense, not because of any true "green" notes, or aspects. Like the Grapes flavor before it, it was not candied, or soda-like, and favored a natural green/white grape. Unlike the Grapes flavor, this one did not have a dry finish, nor did it seem like it needed any sweetener to help it pop. While still not a forward flavor, it worked pretty nicely @ 0.4%, and didn't seem like it was lacking, or needing increased flavor levels. At almost about mid-level sweet, there weren't any off notes, and like so many other Duomei flavors, it actually tasted, authentic, and natural with no artificially overt notes. While admitedly not using Grape(s) very much, this one would work nicely if you were in need of a green or white grape, and/or NOT a concord or purple grape. Scoring it slightly higher than the Grapes, due to the lack of any dryness on the finish @ **8.75/10**.
**Juicy Peach (Duomei) 0.4%/0.8%/1.2% (1-8-23)** -- Probably my most used Juicy Peach, is still TPA's DX Juicy Peach for comparison. Right out of the gate, I could tell this one was NOT a sweetened, yellow, or canned peach, but an almost white peach WITH some juicy juiciness to it. Paler, and drier than a succulent yellow peach, but still a pretty good peach none the less. I mentioned a dryness, and it wasn't off-putting, and it did seem to work with the "juicy" aspects of it, so it wasn't really a negative in this case. Without altering this one, I DO think that a smidge of sweetener might help it "pop" a little more, as it was a few ticks below mid-level sweet. Starting out at 0.4% it was fairly present, but felt like it needed more, so I doubled it to 0.8%, and this seemed to be the sweet spot for this one, with increased presence, but with no aftertastes, or folding. Increasing again to 1.2% it was obvious that the flavor was folding, and I do not recommend going above around 0.85%. At the 0.8% sweet spot, it worked really well, with plenty of fruity flesh, with some skin, and you could almost taste the "fuzz", hehe, but not quite. Very convincing, and without anything standing out, it tasted really natural. I have to give credit to Duomei, as they seem to have really nailed down the "natural" replication. All in, for a mostly white peach, with some minor yellow peach aspect, that was juicy, and slightly dry, this one worked really well, and stayed convincing to the end. Giving this one a **9.1/10** for @fidalgo_vapes.
**Kiwi Fruit (Duomei) 0.2%/0.4% (1-8-23)** -- Right out of the gate, I could tell something was wrong with this one. YES, it happens, believe it or not. A muted Kiwi-ish, with a citrusy oil and bandaids ?? Uh Oh. OK, maybe the initial 0.4% was too high, so I reduced to 0.2%, and it was about the same, with less intensity. I could pick out the Kiwi, but there is/were fairly substantial off notes, some of which were def. band aid-ish. The kiwi that was in there was actually pretty good, BUT, it was fairly heavily shrouded in the back/off notes, so it really put a damper on the party with this one. Sadly, I cannot recommend this one, or at least @ 0.2%-0.4%. As always, I strongly encourage you guys to try it, and base your OWN opinions, as they are the ones that really matter. Sadly, no Kiwi party here today, and leaving this one substantially down @ **1.5/10**.
**Lemon Lime Sprite (Duomei) 0.6% (1-9-23)** -- I remember when I first got these flavors wondering how they could get away with using the name "Sprite", but they did it. I can see why they chose it, because this wasn't JUST a Lemon Lime, but it did kind of favor that WITH some Sprite mixed in. I wouldn't call it a soda per se, but it did have an almost low level fizzy-ness. The lemon and lime were paired nicely without the lime taking over as can often be the case. It was great at 0.6%, and I didn't have to urge to increase it at all. It was surprisingly a little below mid level sweet, and it felt just a little bit lackluster, AND, maybe it could benefit from a little sweetener. Breaking my cardinal rule (again), I added 3 drops of TPA's sweetener, and SURE enough, it started to pop. Your mileage may very on the sweetener induced pop, but it was pretty evident to me. Both the lemon and lime tasted fairly natural, and I got no candied, or other artificial-ness from them, which left this fairly refreshing, and easy to vape. I was also surprised after two tanks, it wasn't fatiguing or boring. For a really nice lemon/lime combo with an almost fizzy (but not entirely) Sprite-like finish, this one gets it done. Solidly a **9.5/10**.
**Luzon Mango (Duomei) 0.2% (1-10-23)** -- Never have I been reminded of how IMPORTANT it is to use flavors at the correct strength, MORE than I have with THIS one. Now, when test smelling these, and mixing them up, this one REALLY seemed like it was going to be a TRAIN WRECK. As mentioned above ...
Fear not @Gazza7, I've got your back. OK, I can't stress this enough here guys, 0.2% is where you should start with this one. YES, that's 1 drop in a 10ml bottle !!!! ONE. Ok, regardless of how toxic this smelled undiluted in the shipping bottle, at 0.2%, it was a damned fine, and interesting flavor. Now I've never heard of a Luzon Mango, and as far as I know, [Luzon is a group of islands in the north of the Philippines.](https://www.onsecrethunt.com/where-is-luzon-located/), so not sure exactly what this name references, so we'll settle on mangos from the Luzon islands. I'll bore you with some details, but this one presented as a pretty delicious mango, paired with a honeydew, with a smattering of "green" notes beyond that. Pretty cool huh ?? You probably DON'T have anything on your racks like that do you ? The mango was nicely tempered by literally an almost green honeydew melon, but then at the finish there were some very light, earthy, almost "green-ish" undertones. WHAT an interesting flavor. Now, it wasn't the jucy-est, or yellow-est mangos I've tried, and somehow, once I tamed it, and diluted it all the way down to 0.2% it didn't seem to matter. Completely surprising that this turned out to be a real show stopping keeper, I did NOT see that coming. At 0.2% (I have to keep repeating this), it was damned fine, full, almost juicy (but not quite), and nothing off-putting, and below mid level sweet. I do think a couple drops of sweetener would boost this up as I have tried with a few other flavors. The honeydew (or green) melon notes really worked here, paired with the yellow mango, and the ever so slightly earthy finish. It just works, and I still can't believe it. It's not perfect, but it's damned good, and I have NOTHING like it on my racks. **9.85/10**.
**Milk Tea (Duomei) 0.2% (1-12-23)** -- I've never had Milk Tea before, and had no idea [how many different types of it there were](https://www.thespruceeats.com/what-is-milk-tea-765143). This is/was one of the stronger flavors in this run, and it smelled pretty squirely in the shipping bottle, and I wasn't sure if it was going to work out or not. Because of this, I tested it back ALL the way down to 0.2% (1d per 10ml), and dammit, it just WORKED. After scouring the interwebs for every kind of Milk Tea, and burning through two full testers of this, not only was it a KEEPER, but it was again, like nothing else on my racks. The tea was just perfectly paired with what I believe was a milk/condensed milk combination that was slightly sweetened, and a few ticks below mid level sweet. At this ultra low testing weight, it was a very unique pairing, and was interesting from start to finish with no off notes to be had. Although the tea notes stayed fairly consistent, the milk/condensed milk combo swayed and shifted around, and almost "toyed" with the tea, where sometimes more or less was revealed. VERY interesting. If you HAVE had Milk Tea before, I think you'll love this one, and if you haven't (like me), I think you might be surprised by it. By name alone, it's not one that I would have typically chosen, but I'm glad I added it to the list, as it was rather hard to put down. I cannot stress enough (like a few others) to start LOW, and I strongly recommend 1d per 10ml (0.2%) starting on this one. Black tea elements, swirling aorund a very good milk, condensed milk combo that was not fatiguing, very interesting, and tasty is what this one delivered. It impressed this NON-Milk Tea drinker. Even outside my typical wheelhouse, I couldn't go below **9.8/10** on it. A really different, and unique flavor for me, and probably for you guys as well.
**Mixed Berries (Duomei) 0.4% (1-12-23)** -- I was looking forward to this one, as you never know what you'll get with a "mixed" fruit flavor. This one seemed centered around a dark berry medley, with some strawberry, and maybe a red currant. It was actually so well proportioned it was sometimes hard to really pick out the individual players, and they kept it interesting. Like quite a few others of the Duomei flavors in this series, this one just plain worked, and it tasted quite natural with no telltale artificial signs. Sweetness was just below mid level, and it had a great tartness the you didn't really get in the beginning and middle, but really hit home at the end, for an extra POP. Two testers in, and I was still somewhat guessing as to EXACTLY what was in here, but I kept coming back to my original assessment of a great dark(er) berry blend, with some strawberries peeking through, and a great tart-ish finishing flavor, that just seemed like a red currant to my tastes. Clean, natural tasting, not overly sweet, and had just a GREAT tarty finish to it. At 0.4% it worked really well, and felt present enough, and I tried hard to find something, anything to nit-pick about it, but I couldn't. I did add a few drops of TPA sweetener (as before), just to see if it would pop more, and it did. I didn't add enough to really impact the overall sweetness much, but it sweetened it up just a bit, and it seemed to give the tarty/tartish finish even more impact. Didn't get bored with this one all the way to the end, and I could see ordering another BIGGER bottle of this one. Hard to fault, but easy to enjoy. Simply placing it at **9.5/10.**
**Pear (Duomei) 0.4%/0.8% (1-14-23)** -- With only FIVE flavors left in this mega series, I did want to see how this Pear fared. Smelled GREAT and tasted great in the bottle, and it somewhat carried over to the vape, but not ALL of it. It just never seemed to really open up and bloom. I tested at both 0.4%, and 0.8% and it was just slightly better at 0.8%. The pear that DID translate to the vape was fresh, green, mostly ripe, and very natural tasting. I never got the "sugar sand" effect from it, and it stayed just below mid level sweet. I kept finger testing it from the bottle and comparing to the vaping translation, and vaping just felt like it was about 80% of the way there. Doubling didn't do it, and neither did a few drops of sweetener, SO, this may just be how this one presents in a vape. Again, not bad at ALL with what did translate, and present, and it really DID make you want MORE, which is NEVER a bad thing with flavors. Fresh, green, juicy, and natural tasting were the 4 attributes that just kept sticking in my head. Because it didn't really increase much when doubling to 0.8%, the sweet spot might just be 0.75%. Great pear, just needed to bloom and little bit, and more closely replicate how it tasted in the bottle. Not bad, not bad at all. After much consideration, with all of it's great pear aspects, and some minor take-offs for presence, it felt fair at **8.0/10**.
**Rose Milk (Duomei) 0.2% (1-14-23)** -- I can safely say I own NO Rose flavors, nor have I ever vaped one, so, hehe, another FIRST. It smelled pretty strong in the bottle so I chose to mix it low @ 0.2%. At that weight, I worked out perfectly, and dammit, it tasted like Rose Milk. I don't know how else to put it. It did have a floral nature to it, but, in a good way. Most [rose milk](https://veggiedesserts.com/rose-milk/) recipes that I could find all centered around milk, sugar, rose syrup and sometimes vanilla. I didn't get any vanilla from this one, but it really did present, as a sugar, milk, rose syrup combo. Now, if you are very sensitive to florals, this one may not be for you. They are here, but on purpose, and by design. It is a very strong flavor, and testing it at this weight would be about as high as I would go, or it COULD turn on you. Use caution, and start very low. Because the florals are intentional, if pushed too high, they could get overwhelming fast. Take a ride on the rosey wild side, and you might be surprised, I know I was. For accuracy and profile, it would have to be a **9.0/10**.
**Soda Ice Cream (Duomei) 0.2% (1-14-23)** -- All cards on the table. This one plain scared me in it's undiluted strength in the shipping bottle. It just smelled like unadulterated vinyl shower curtains. OK, I thought maybe it would tone down, and shift like a few of the other Duomei flavors did. Mixed it up @ 0.2% (1d/10ml) and steeped it. It DID tone down fairly well, and MOST (not all) of the shower curtain notes almost shifted into more of a fizzy effervescence, BUT, some of the shower curtain remained. Honestly, it was fairly off-putting LOL. Behind the "fizz" and effervescence, I really didn't get much, if any ice cream. I think the singular best aspect of this flavor was an almost unmatched fizzy-ness that it conveyed. It may be the MOST fizzy-est flavor I have ever tried. The problem was, the shower curtain(s) never left the room. Unless you LIKE the shower curtains, OR, are in dire need of some pretty convincing fizz, this one may NOT be for you. For science and shit, I decided to reduce even further, to 0.1% (1d/20ml), and although weaker, my original assessment stayed true. Sadly, even despite the world class fizzy-ness, the shower curtains stole the show, and the ice cream could not be found. **1.0/10**.
**Sour Lemon (Duomei) 0.2%/0.4%/0.8% (1-15-23)** -- Many lemons can be HELLA strong, and with some of the SUPER concentrated Duomei's I've tested so far, I had to start this one at 0.2%. It was good, but surprisingly relaxed, so I increased to 0.4%, than 0.8%. Across all testing weights, it never got squirrel-y or went sideways. It presented as a really good, natural lemon with SOME tart and sour. At just below mid level sweet, it had a clean, and fresh taste. The only shortcomings were it's relaxed nature, even after increasing the strength. It was not candied or bitter, and being billed as a "sour" I was surprised it wasn't MORE sour. This is one of the more "forgiving" flavors in this Duomei series, in so much that it wasn't as strong, and could be easier to mix with. Fresh, bright lemon notes that stayed very natural tasting with no real off notes is what you got with this one, but I wish I could have pushed it a little more forward. It's possible that going above 1.0% (and possibly higher) MIGHT saturate it more, but unlikely. Great addition to any lemonade, tart, meringue, and I'm not 100% it could pull the FULL Lemon freight or not. Def. as an additive/booster. Because of the somewhat relaxed-ed-ness, I'll leave it at a solid **8.5/10**.
**Tropical Fruit (Duomei) 0.4% (1-15-23)** -- Only ONE Duomei remaining after this one. I know what I personally think of when I hear "Tropical Fruit", but everyone's expectations may vary. I got SOME of what I expected, but not ALL. At 0.4% it was pretty solid, with at about mid-level sweetness, and nothing off-putting. The main note that I got from this was a Mango. There may have been a more subdued Strawberry in there, maybe even a touch of Lime, but the supporting flavors were lower in the mix, and overshadowed by the Mango. Now, with THAT said, it was actually very good, but not truly what I would think of regarding a tropical fruit medley. While chuffing through multiple tester tanks trying to find fault(s) with this one, I kept digging to try and better assess the suporting flavors, but they just defied identification. What I also found interesting was I got no coconut from this one, which is another which I had assumed would be in there. Once again, I don't mean to report these "missing" profiles to detract from how good it was, just reporting what I got. You'll have to decide what constitutes a "Tropical Fruit" to your tastes. All in, I didn't find the need to increase the strength as it felt really good at 0.4%. I found no off notes despite looking hard, and may experiment after this series is complete, by adding some banana, and coconut just to see if that pushes it over the edge. Rating this one was slightly tricky, as it was STILL a tropi fruit, but not what I expected. With that said, I think it's fair to leave it at an **8.8/10**, with the only takeoffs being, the missing "expected" tropi fruits that would have solidly landed it under it's namesake. Still, pretty damned good.
**Yellow Mango (Duomei) 0.5%/1.0% (1-15-23)** -- Sorry @lukeloop, as I saved this one for last. I can NOW see why this one has been raved about in the little amount of info I could scour up on it. It could be JUST short of a Mango Nectar of the Gods !!! OK, maybe JUST short of that, but it IS damned good. Currently one of my MOST used Mangos is SC's, and I was constantly trying to compare the two, but not having an A/B tank running it was complicated. This one simply knocked it out of the park, and nailed the Yellow Mango profile perfectly. You got a huge helping of juicy fruit flesh with this one, and some very subtle almost "green" notes on the finish. The main fleshy body notes were fairly complex, and at times, I almost got a Mango Gel if that makes sense. Plenty full @ 0.5%, and I increased it to 1.0% and it did increase somewhat, but not linearly. Sweetness was almost at mid-level, and this had no off notes at either testing weight. Juicy, fleshy, and pretty damned natural tasting were my big takeaways on this one. Surely you could mix with it, but even solo'd it was just complex enough to hold your interest. Not fatiguing or cloying, and let's just say, I'm glad I picked up the BIG bottle of it. If you're looking for a great, natural tasting, yellow mango, with incredible fleshy, main body notes, with just a slight kick of green on the way out, you TOO may want to pick up a BIG bottle of this one. Really hard to fault, and it just tasted almost perfect. For that, and just to piss @fidalgo_vapes off, I'll leave this one @ **9.99/10**.
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***PLACE HOLDER -- (12-17-22) Still sorting out testing percentages ......***
Thanks out to James from https://LiquidDIY.com.au for sending these out free of charge. Although not specifically for the purposes of this review, I always provide 100% transparency. These appear to be HELLA strong, so I'm working out the percentages now. I think at LEAST a 2 week steep will be required, and testing on the tried and true SteamCrave RDTA v.1, running dual 24 ga. kanthal vertical coils, @ 65 watts.
**Banana (Duomei) 0.4%/0.8% (1-3-23)** -- FIRST of these new flavors on deck, and IN the tester !!!!!!! I wanted to make sure to give them a solid 2 week steep as many of them smelled HELLA strong. I tested the Banana at both 0.4% and 0.8%, as it imparted no fear in me at the lower weight. At BOTH weights, this one presented as a very natural yellow, and almost "mushy" banana. I typically prefer a "Lean to the Green", at least when eating them, and this one stayed fairly OUT of the "green" realm. It was ripe/ripened, BUT, just short of being OVER ripe. I had almost thought it has aspects of a Flambe, BUT that wasn't entirely accurate, as there weren't any butter, sugar, or flaming liquor notes present. It was almost like a perfectly ripened banana was heated up in a pan, smoothing it, and almost caramelizing it JUST a bit to give you a sense. It tasted super delicious at both testing weights, and it did NOT double in strength when going from 0.4% to 0.8%. It's strength increased somewhat, but not linearly, so probably a 0.65%-0.8% weight would be fine. Natural, yellow, and mushy were the three things that stuck with me throughout the entire test. No off notes, and VERY impressed for this, the first in this series. Sweetness was just below mid level, and there was an almost "creamy" aspect to it, BUT, it was NOT a nana cream to be clear. All in, a great first showing from Duomei with this one, and as long as you didn't need a "green-ish" nana, this one will push your ripened yellow banana boundaries. **9.8/10**.
**Blackberry (Duomei) 0.2%/0.4% (1-4-23)** -- STRONG, STRONG, STRONG is the word of the day with this one. My initial tests at 0.4% had a very clear soapy, almost perfumey aftertaste. Fine, BACK to the drawing board, fully reduced to 0.2%, and re-tested. The flavor strength overall did reduce, and SOME of the soap and perfume reduced as well, but it was still somewhat present. This was fairly odd, as I have rolled with some of the strongest MF flavors with little to no issues, so this MAY be a flavor issue, and not a "strength" issue per se. There did seem to be a oddly different blackberry hiding behind the soapy overtones, and it's possible, if you were to go even LOWER, you might be able to resolve it, but at that point, it would be so far reduced, it may just be unusable. I did not reduce any further below 0.2%, which in a 10ml tester, is 1d. I've come across AND overflavored plenty, so I'm very well versed in reducing my way back to sanity. This one, may not be ready for prime time. Fully reduced it smelled ok, but tasting it re-yielded the soapy-ness. Going to plant this one @ **2.0/10**.
**Black Currant (Duomei) 0.4%/0.8%/1.0% (1-4-23)** -- This one, like many of these Duomei's smelled very strong, and I started testing @ 0.4%, which was good, but it felt like it needed more, so I re-tested and increased first to 0.8%, and then 1.0%. This one presented at EVERY testing weight, as a really good, dark-ish, barely sweetened, black currant. I FOUGHT the urge to try it with some sweetener, to see if it would open up even MORE, but altering test samples, goes down a long, and treacherous road, that I won't go down. Sweetness was a FEW clicks below mid level sweet, and the dark berry-ish, notes to really swirl around, AND with some almost dark grape wine notes to boot !!!! Because of the below average sweetness, there was a slight dryness to the finish, but wasn't off-putting at all. There was a certain, delicious tarty, almost sharp overtone, that rode throughout that really made it interesting, and a stand out. In the absence of any overt artificial notes, it leaned smartly to the authentic and natural. The only minor takeoff would be the slightly dry finish, which I'm SURE could be eliminated with a smidge of sweetener. Nicely done, and easily a **9.7/10**.
**Blueberry (Duomei) 0.5%/1.0% (1-5-23)** -- Wow, this one was good, and different that most, if not all of my current BB rotation. I tested it at both 0.5%, and increased to 1.0% and both worked perfectly, with about a 25% increase in flavor when doubling, so 1.0% may be near the top of the usable range on this one. Very natural tasting, and even after three testers, I couldn't think of a close match, so that's great, breaking new ground. The word of the day with this one was "smooth". It wasn't recessed, but not overtly forward during the testing. No candy here, but more of an almost baked blueberry. It wasn't a bright, super juicy BB, but seemed to excel in more of the mid, to mid-lower notes of a great blueberry. Duomei saw fit to add just enough of the tart-ish high end notes, to keep it interesting. No musky-ness, and nothing out of place with this one, at either testing weight. It was very usable at both weights, and just below mid-level sweet. Despite looking, I was unable to find any faults with this, with only minor takeoffs for the relaxed nature. If I had to change it, I would have made it a SMIDGE more forward. As it stood, a damned fine, natural blueberry the was incredibly smooth, excelling in the low and mid notes, with just enough tarty high end notes. Easily a **9.2/10**.
**Caramel (Duomei) 0.4%/0.8%/1.0% (1-5-23)** -- In a few words, "Get this one" !!!!! Wow. This Caramel, wowwed RIGHT out of the gate, and didn't stop. This one was SO good @ 0.4%, I had to see, if it improved by doubling to 0.8%, and then, up to 1.0%, and it DID. Rich, creamy, buttery, and just hands down, delicious. Having quite a few caramels in use, and to compare to, it's safe to say this one, has NO equal(s) or direct comparisons on my racks, and that's saying something. What made this super unique, was the almost equal pairing of milky/creamy notes, and smooth buttery notes. Just perfectly paired, where neither took the lead, and each fully supported the overall Caramel-ly effect. For an "artificial" flavor, this might be one of, if not the best "natural" tasting Caramel's I've tried. Across all three testing weights, it was rich, present, and was hard to put down, hehe. It increased when doubling, and when finalizing at 1.0%, and had literally NO off-putting notes, or any signs of topping out. It was just above mid-level sweet which worked perfectly, and I'm fighting the urge to order a jumbo bottle, before it's OOS @ diyliquid.com.au. Without belaboring the point, if you are looking to order a few (or more), this one SHOULD be on your list. The buttery/milky/creamy-ness of this one, could simply NOT be overstated. Rich, delicious, and can be solo'd all day long (trust me, I did). With it's unique status, lack of any off notes, and velvety smooth creamy, buttery-ness, I could think of ZERO issues with this one. Handily a **10/10**.
**Chocolate (Duomei) 0.4%/0.8% (1-5-23)** -- Here are the MOST common questions I get about testing chocolates, as there are some BAD choco's out there. Is it: Dry, Bandaids, Tootsie Roll, Dark/Coil Gunking ?? Most of the BAD ones, have one or more of the aforementioned. Luckily for you AND me, this one had NONE of them. Wait, Bandaids ?? Yes, think of the Inawera Milk Chocolate (New Version). As with others, I tested this at 0.4%, then doubled to 0.8%. At both weights it tasted good, with no off notes, or anything offensive. It increased in strength when doubling, but wasn't linear (i.e. stronger, but not twice as strong). It presented as a fairly natural tasting chocolate, without any artificial-ness screaming through. The chocolate itself, was almost a mid, to mid dark chocolate blend, which was good, because it left it RIGHT in the middle of the light (milk chocolate), and dark (dark chocolate) spectrum. It was very full and present at both weights, but not what I would call creamy or rich. No overt creamery notes, but still a nice full on chocolate. Sweetness was a few ticks below mid-level, which would allow you to sweeten if needed. Continued testing honestly didn't really reveal any shortcomings, or artificial notes, so it was an impressive showing, simply because it tasted like a true, accurate chocolate. As an admitted S'mores junkie I WILL inject this into a few of my mixes to see, but solo'd it was pretty good. I tested it at 65 watts, and did try cranking the watts up, and I got NO scorching, so it didn't appear to be temp sensitive, and being fairly clear, I didn't get any excess coil gunking. If you are a choco lover, and placing a Duomei order, throw this one in your cart as well. Impressive as an artificial choco that didn't taste artificial. **9.4/10**.
**Chocolate Hazelnut (Duomei) 0.4%/0.8% (1-6-23)** -- FRESH off the heels of the Duomei Chocolate test, I got to directly compare THIS one. The chocolate notes in this one were identical (duh) to the above tested Chocolate, but with some minor differences. The hazelnut was present in this one, BUT, it was very light for my tastes, and sometimes hard to notice. Testing this at both 0.4%, and 0.8% yielded about the same results, with some minor muting (or softening) at the higher weight. Nothing off-putting, or out of place, but it was like the Hazelnut's effect could be tasted, more than tasting the Hazelnut itself ?? Confused ?? Good, me too. It was like by adding it to the chocolate, it slightly sweetened, softened, and creamed up the chocolate a bit, so again, it didn't scream hazelnut, but presented as almost more of a "tempered" chocolate. Not bad by any means, and at just below mid level sweet it wasn't fatiguing, but throughout both testers, I just wanted some more hazelnut. It felt fair to place this at a **7.0/10.**
**Coconut (Duomei) 0.4% (1-7-23)** -- I took a little extra time with this one, and did not increase the testing weight from my original 0.4%, as it felt perfectly situated, right there. This one was hard to nail down as exactly WHICH type of Coconut it was, and it was an interesting search, even if I couldn't fully nail it down. I think what made it so hard to nail down, was it was almost a medley of different coconuts, including a coconut flake, coconut milk, and a cream of coconut. There you go, that's it people !!!! The negatives that I've gotten from other coco's that I was on the lookout for were the typical dry/astringent, oily/greasy notes that some of the NOT so good coco's have, and this one had NONE of them, AND, no suntan lotion here either. It was about mid level sweet, and fully present at the testing weight, and I didn't find the need to increase, or decrease the strength. Not oily, or greasy, and it had just a little "twang" on the finish, and that added to the experience, and authenticity of it. Despite being mid level sweet, it was NOT a candied coconut, which was great, as that would open up it's uses. I'd give it a 50/50 natural/artificial split, and that seemed to really work. It was JUST rich, creamy, and sweet enough, but without having too much of any. I looked hard across two testers trying to find faults/gaps and could not. Your coconut needs/tastes could be different than mine, but this one really bridged the gap and combined three different types of coconuts, in one package. I could see this being a workhorse in coconut creams, custards, etc. The only possible take off COULD be the slight "twang" at the finish, but IMO, it added to the complexity, and authenticity. Felt great @ a **9.3/10**.
**Cream Vanilla (Duomei) 0.4%/0.8%/1.0% (1-7-23)** -- I love Vanillas and Creams, so I ALWAYS sign up to test them. This one presented lighter than some of the other Duomei flavors, so I decided to test @ 0.4%, 0.8%, and 1.0%. At the lowest weight it presented as a nice (duh), Vanilla Cream. The vanilla wasn't spicy, and was almost similar to FA's Classic Vanilla (Madagascar), which by nature has great creamy undertones. It was fairly relaxed, and neither the vanilla or cream/creamy-ness dominated, so it was a very even pairing of the two. Increasing to 0.8% seemed to really allow it to open up to it's fullest potential, and pushing to 1.0% had minor signs of curling, so that seemed to be PAST it's comfortable limit. I kind of like when I actually have the time to more fully flush out flavors across multiple weights, which I don't always have the time to do. I think solo'd the sweet spot for this one would be at about 0.65%-0.80%, and clearly you could go lower if simple support was the only need. The cream/creamy elements were always present, but without any in your face cream, dairy, or milk notes, meaning the overall mouthfeel and effect was greater than any distinct TASTING nuances. Was is similar to INW Shisha Vanilla ?? Kind of, but quite a bit creamier, and the vanilla notes were more subtle. I could see TONS of uses for this one, from the obvious creams, custards, to pancakes, deserts, and more, so if you pick this up, you'll get a lot of use out of it. Nothing off-putting, and only minor curling (where the saturation starts to fold over on itself), at the 1.0% level. Below that, it was smooth, creamy, vanilla sailing, all day long. Because both the vanilla and creamy elements were fairly neutral, pushing/pulling in any direction would be easy, and I could even see this working well with some berries. It was just ALMOST great enough, and complex enough to excite as a solo one-shot-ish, but felt JUST shy of that. Cream Vanilla, Creamy Vanilla, Vanilla Cream ?? ALL of the above. With only minor issues when pushed past it's top usage, I couldn't find any faults with it. I think I'll add this one to the "If you pick up some Duomei's add this one to your list" list. Deliciously placing this @ **9.6/10** for doing exactly what it was supposed to do.
**Fresh Strawberry (Duomei) 0.5%/1.0% (1-7-23)** -- This, the Fresh Strawberry proved once again, that Duomei really knows how to make artificial flavors that DON"T taste artificial. I started testing this one @ 0.5% and it landed squarely AS a Fresh Strawberry, which was nice and red, somewhat juicy, and had all of the telltale fresh and tart notes. It felt somewhat relaxed, so I doubled it to 1.0%, and now it seemed to open up more fully, with an increased experience, still fully red, fresh, and tart-ish. I didn't get any white, or greens from this, so it stayed squarely in the nice and juicy red camp throughout. It shared some qualities with other "Ripe" and "Juicy" SB's out there, but still somehow felt somewhat unique in it's pairings. Just below mid level sweet, and with no real off notes, it proved to be a good solo experience. I did try and push it even HIGHER, up to about 1.2%, and it DID start to curl, and some artificial jammy, and almost cotton candy notes started to appear, so I'm confident in recommending solo'ing @ 0.5%-0.95%. Even with no real take offs at normal usage rates, the strawberry field is crowded, and it's HARD to stand out. For a surprisingly "real" tasting artificial strawberry with authentically "fresh" and "tart" notes, this one was good. Not 100% sure if it was a super stand out or not but felt fairly placed @ **8.75/10**.
**Golden Pineapple (Duomei) 0.4%/0.8% (1-8-23)** -- Currently my goto, top shelf Pineapple is hands down VTA Sugarloaf, and I've wondered if any other could knock it from it's perch. This Golden Pineapple had a lot of the similar nuances, with a juicy, bright yellow mid level sweet pineapple. It was not candied, baked, or raw, but almost like canned, sweet pineapple chunks. To better clarify, it didn't have a syrupy finish, but was just sweet enough. It def. lived more in the brighter, punchy, high end region of the pineapple, which led to a more juicy, bright, and fresh pineapple. I think with the surplus of the "yellow" I got from this, I think "golden" is pretty accurate. My only issue (I know, I know), was that despite being a great juicy yellow pineapple, it seemed to lack a little punch. When testing it @ 0.4%, it was great, but felt like it just needed MORE of it, so I doubled it to 0.8%. It increased slightly, but still left me wanting more. When tasting directly out of the bottle it was fairly strong, but for some reason, it didn't translate directly when vaping. Interesting, and confusing at the same time. Hard to score this one perfectly as the flavor itself was GREAT, I just wanted to get a little more of it (saturation). I briefly tested above 0.8%, but it didn't change, and with some possible muting, so it was, what it was. Flavor/accuracy wise, I'd rate it at a stellar 9.8/10, but with the minor takeoffs for JUST the lack of punch and saturation, I'll leave it @ **8.8/10**. Let YOUR tastes decide whether or not the punch/saturation is good enough or not. Nothing off-putting at any of the testing weights, so you can go crazy with it (within limits) and experiment. I know @lukeloop was really looking forward to, and already mixing with this one, so I'm curious to hear what he thought about it.
**Grapes (Duomei) 0.2%/0.4% (1-8-23)** -- This one was one of the stronger smelling ones in the bottle, and because of that, I decided to start it out @ 0.2%. At this weight, it was clearly a "purple" grape. Not a deep, rich, dark concord, but still a purple grape. Not candied, not jammed, and it was actually a few ticks below mid level sweet. It felt like it needed a boost, so I doubled it to 0.4%. It increased, but still tasted a little restrained, and I'm not sure if increasing it any further would yield any real increase in flavor or saturation. Because it was less sweet than expected, and had an almost dry-ness at the very end of the finish I wondered if some sweetener would help wetten that up, and maybe make it pop a little more. Despite my normal, "Don't Alter The Flavors" rule, I did add a couple of drops of TPA Sweetener, and sure enough, the slight dryness at the end was eliminated, AND, it did help out, as it started to pop JUST a bit more. So, your tastes will dictate whether or not to boost this one or not. Having it below mid level sweet was actually nice, as then you could CHOOSE to sweeten, or leave it as is, as opposed to a heavily artificial and sweet grape like FW Grape Soda. It presented as fairly natural, and had no off notes, with the exception of the slight dryness on the tail end, AND, the somewhat relaxed nature of it. All in, it was a mostly natural tasting, purple grape, that was somewhat relaxed in it's presentation. It felt good @ **8.5/10**.
**Green Grape (Duomei) 0.4% (1-8-23)** -- Fresh off of the Grapes which did indeed impart a "purple"-ness, this one was VERY similar, minus the "purple". You could INFER that it was a green grape, but the best way to describe it, was just a grape, missing the "purple" if that makes sense, not because of any true "green" notes, or aspects. Like the Grapes flavor before it, it was not candied, or soda-like, and favored a natural green/white grape. Unlike the Grapes flavor, this one did not have a dry finish, nor did it seem like it needed any sweetener to help it pop. While still not a forward flavor, it worked pretty nicely @ 0.4%, and didn't seem like it was lacking, or needing increased flavor levels. At almost about mid-level sweet, there weren't any off notes, and like so many other Duomei flavors, it actually tasted, authentic, and natural with no artificially overt notes. While admitedly not using Grape(s) very much, this one would work nicely if you were in need of a green or white grape, and/or NOT a concord or purple grape. Scoring it slightly higher than the Grapes, due to the lack of any dryness on the finish @ **8.75/10**.
**Juicy Peach (Duomei) 0.4%/0.8%/1.2% (1-8-23)** -- Probably my most used Juicy Peach, is still TPA's DX Juicy Peach for comparison. Right out of the gate, I could tell this one was NOT a sweetened, yellow, or canned peach, but an almost white peach WITH some juicy juiciness to it. Paler, and drier than a succulent yellow peach, but still a pretty good peach none the less. I mentioned a dryness, and it wasn't off-putting, and it did seem to work with the "juicy" aspects of it, so it wasn't really a negative in this case. Without altering this one, I DO think that a smidge of sweetener might help it "pop" a little more, as it was a few ticks below mid-level sweet. Starting out at 0.4% it was fairly present, but felt like it needed more, so I doubled it to 0.8%, and this seemed to be the sweet spot for this one, with increased presence, but with no aftertastes, or folding. Increasing again to 1.2% it was obvious that the flavor was folding, and I do not recommend going above around 0.85%. At the 0.8% sweet spot, it worked really well, with plenty of fruity flesh, with some skin, and you could almost taste the "fuzz", hehe, but not quite. Very convincing, and without anything standing out, it tasted really natural. I have to give credit to Duomei, as they seem to have really nailed down the "natural" replication. All in, for a mostly white peach, with some minor yellow peach aspect, that was juicy, and slightly dry, this one worked really well, and stayed convincing to the end. Giving this one a **9.1/10** for @fidalgo_vapes.
**Kiwi Fruit (Duomei) 0.2%/0.4% (1-8-23)** -- Right out of the gate, I could tell something was wrong with this one. YES, it happens, believe it or not. A muted Kiwi-ish, with a citrusy oil and bandaids ?? Uh Oh. OK, maybe the initial 0.4% was too high, so I reduced to 0.2%, and it was about the same, with less intensity. I could pick out the Kiwi, but there is/were fairly substantial off notes, some of which were def. band aid-ish. The kiwi that was in there was actually pretty good, BUT, it was fairly heavily shrouded in the back/off notes, so it really put a damper on the party with this one. Sadly, I cannot recommend this one, or at least @ 0.2%-0.4%. As always, I strongly encourage you guys to try it, and base your OWN opinions, as they are the ones that really matter. Sadly, no Kiwi party here today, and leaving this one substantially down @ **1.5/10**.
**Lemon Lime Sprite (Duomei) 0.6% (1-9-23)** -- I remember when I first got these flavors wondering how they could get away with using the name "Sprite", but they did it. I can see why they chose it, because this wasn't JUST a Lemon Lime, but it did kind of favor that WITH some Sprite mixed in. I wouldn't call it a soda per se, but it did have an almost low level fizzy-ness. The lemon and lime were paired nicely without the lime taking over as can often be the case. It was great at 0.6%, and I didn't have to urge to increase it at all. It was surprisingly a little below mid level sweet, and it felt just a little bit lackluster, AND, maybe it could benefit from a little sweetener. Breaking my cardinal rule (again), I added 3 drops of TPA's sweetener, and SURE enough, it started to pop. Your mileage may very on the sweetener induced pop, but it was pretty evident to me. Both the lemon and lime tasted fairly natural, and I got no candied, or other artificial-ness from them, which left this fairly refreshing, and easy to vape. I was also surprised after two tanks, it wasn't fatiguing or boring. For a really nice lemon/lime combo with an almost fizzy (but not entirely) Sprite-like finish, this one gets it done. Solidly a **9.5/10**.
**Luzon Mango (Duomei) 0.2% (1-10-23)** -- Never have I been reminded of how IMPORTANT it is to use flavors at the correct strength, MORE than I have with THIS one. Now, when test smelling these, and mixing them up, this one REALLY seemed like it was going to be a TRAIN WRECK. As mentioned above ...
Gazza7 said:
Fear not @Gazza7, I've got your back. OK, I can't stress this enough here guys, 0.2% is where you should start with this one. YES, that's 1 drop in a 10ml bottle !!!! ONE. Ok, regardless of how toxic this smelled undiluted in the shipping bottle, at 0.2%, it was a damned fine, and interesting flavor. Now I've never heard of a Luzon Mango, and as far as I know, [Luzon is a group of islands in the north of the Philippines.](https://www.onsecrethunt.com/where-is-luzon-located/), so not sure exactly what this name references, so we'll settle on mangos from the Luzon islands. I'll bore you with some details, but this one presented as a pretty delicious mango, paired with a honeydew, with a smattering of "green" notes beyond that. Pretty cool huh ?? You probably DON'T have anything on your racks like that do you ? The mango was nicely tempered by literally an almost green honeydew melon, but then at the finish there were some very light, earthy, almost "green-ish" undertones. WHAT an interesting flavor. Now, it wasn't the jucy-est, or yellow-est mangos I've tried, and somehow, once I tamed it, and diluted it all the way down to 0.2% it didn't seem to matter. Completely surprising that this turned out to be a real show stopping keeper, I did NOT see that coming. At 0.2% (I have to keep repeating this), it was damned fine, full, almost juicy (but not quite), and nothing off-putting, and below mid level sweet. I do think a couple drops of sweetener would boost this up as I have tried with a few other flavors. The honeydew (or green) melon notes really worked here, paired with the yellow mango, and the ever so slightly earthy finish. It just works, and I still can't believe it. It's not perfect, but it's damned good, and I have NOTHING like it on my racks. **9.85/10**.
**Milk Tea (Duomei) 0.2% (1-12-23)** -- I've never had Milk Tea before, and had no idea [how many different types of it there were](https://www.thespruceeats.com/what-is-milk-tea-765143). This is/was one of the stronger flavors in this run, and it smelled pretty squirely in the shipping bottle, and I wasn't sure if it was going to work out or not. Because of this, I tested it back ALL the way down to 0.2% (1d per 10ml), and dammit, it just WORKED. After scouring the interwebs for every kind of Milk Tea, and burning through two full testers of this, not only was it a KEEPER, but it was again, like nothing else on my racks. The tea was just perfectly paired with what I believe was a milk/condensed milk combination that was slightly sweetened, and a few ticks below mid level sweet. At this ultra low testing weight, it was a very unique pairing, and was interesting from start to finish with no off notes to be had. Although the tea notes stayed fairly consistent, the milk/condensed milk combo swayed and shifted around, and almost "toyed" with the tea, where sometimes more or less was revealed. VERY interesting. If you HAVE had Milk Tea before, I think you'll love this one, and if you haven't (like me), I think you might be surprised by it. By name alone, it's not one that I would have typically chosen, but I'm glad I added it to the list, as it was rather hard to put down. I cannot stress enough (like a few others) to start LOW, and I strongly recommend 1d per 10ml (0.2%) starting on this one. Black tea elements, swirling aorund a very good milk, condensed milk combo that was not fatiguing, very interesting, and tasty is what this one delivered. It impressed this NON-Milk Tea drinker. Even outside my typical wheelhouse, I couldn't go below **9.8/10** on it. A really different, and unique flavor for me, and probably for you guys as well.
**Mixed Berries (Duomei) 0.4% (1-12-23)** -- I was looking forward to this one, as you never know what you'll get with a "mixed" fruit flavor. This one seemed centered around a dark berry medley, with some strawberry, and maybe a red currant. It was actually so well proportioned it was sometimes hard to really pick out the individual players, and they kept it interesting. Like quite a few others of the Duomei flavors in this series, this one just plain worked, and it tasted quite natural with no telltale artificial signs. Sweetness was just below mid level, and it had a great tartness the you didn't really get in the beginning and middle, but really hit home at the end, for an extra POP. Two testers in, and I was still somewhat guessing as to EXACTLY what was in here, but I kept coming back to my original assessment of a great dark(er) berry blend, with some strawberries peeking through, and a great tart-ish finishing flavor, that just seemed like a red currant to my tastes. Clean, natural tasting, not overly sweet, and had just a GREAT tarty finish to it. At 0.4% it worked really well, and felt present enough, and I tried hard to find something, anything to nit-pick about it, but I couldn't. I did add a few drops of TPA sweetener (as before), just to see if it would pop more, and it did. I didn't add enough to really impact the overall sweetness much, but it sweetened it up just a bit, and it seemed to give the tarty/tartish finish even more impact. Didn't get bored with this one all the way to the end, and I could see ordering another BIGGER bottle of this one. Hard to fault, but easy to enjoy. Simply placing it at **9.5/10.**
**Pear (Duomei) 0.4%/0.8% (1-14-23)** -- With only FIVE flavors left in this mega series, I did want to see how this Pear fared. Smelled GREAT and tasted great in the bottle, and it somewhat carried over to the vape, but not ALL of it. It just never seemed to really open up and bloom. I tested at both 0.4%, and 0.8% and it was just slightly better at 0.8%. The pear that DID translate to the vape was fresh, green, mostly ripe, and very natural tasting. I never got the "sugar sand" effect from it, and it stayed just below mid level sweet. I kept finger testing it from the bottle and comparing to the vaping translation, and vaping just felt like it was about 80% of the way there. Doubling didn't do it, and neither did a few drops of sweetener, SO, this may just be how this one presents in a vape. Again, not bad at ALL with what did translate, and present, and it really DID make you want MORE, which is NEVER a bad thing with flavors. Fresh, green, juicy, and natural tasting were the 4 attributes that just kept sticking in my head. Because it didn't really increase much when doubling to 0.8%, the sweet spot might just be 0.75%. Great pear, just needed to bloom and little bit, and more closely replicate how it tasted in the bottle. Not bad, not bad at all. After much consideration, with all of it's great pear aspects, and some minor take-offs for presence, it felt fair at **8.0/10**.
**Rose Milk (Duomei) 0.2% (1-14-23)** -- I can safely say I own NO Rose flavors, nor have I ever vaped one, so, hehe, another FIRST. It smelled pretty strong in the bottle so I chose to mix it low @ 0.2%. At that weight, I worked out perfectly, and dammit, it tasted like Rose Milk. I don't know how else to put it. It did have a floral nature to it, but, in a good way. Most [rose milk](https://veggiedesserts.com/rose-milk/) recipes that I could find all centered around milk, sugar, rose syrup and sometimes vanilla. I didn't get any vanilla from this one, but it really did present, as a sugar, milk, rose syrup combo. Now, if you are very sensitive to florals, this one may not be for you. They are here, but on purpose, and by design. It is a very strong flavor, and testing it at this weight would be about as high as I would go, or it COULD turn on you. Use caution, and start very low. Because the florals are intentional, if pushed too high, they could get overwhelming fast. Take a ride on the rosey wild side, and you might be surprised, I know I was. For accuracy and profile, it would have to be a **9.0/10**.
**Soda Ice Cream (Duomei) 0.2% (1-14-23)** -- All cards on the table. This one plain scared me in it's undiluted strength in the shipping bottle. It just smelled like unadulterated vinyl shower curtains. OK, I thought maybe it would tone down, and shift like a few of the other Duomei flavors did. Mixed it up @ 0.2% (1d/10ml) and steeped it. It DID tone down fairly well, and MOST (not all) of the shower curtain notes almost shifted into more of a fizzy effervescence, BUT, some of the shower curtain remained. Honestly, it was fairly off-putting LOL. Behind the "fizz" and effervescence, I really didn't get much, if any ice cream. I think the singular best aspect of this flavor was an almost unmatched fizzy-ness that it conveyed. It may be the MOST fizzy-est flavor I have ever tried. The problem was, the shower curtain(s) never left the room. Unless you LIKE the shower curtains, OR, are in dire need of some pretty convincing fizz, this one may NOT be for you. For science and shit, I decided to reduce even further, to 0.1% (1d/20ml), and although weaker, my original assessment stayed true. Sadly, even despite the world class fizzy-ness, the shower curtains stole the show, and the ice cream could not be found. **1.0/10**.
**Sour Lemon (Duomei) 0.2%/0.4%/0.8% (1-15-23)** -- Many lemons can be HELLA strong, and with some of the SUPER concentrated Duomei's I've tested so far, I had to start this one at 0.2%. It was good, but surprisingly relaxed, so I increased to 0.4%, than 0.8%. Across all testing weights, it never got squirrel-y or went sideways. It presented as a really good, natural lemon with SOME tart and sour. At just below mid level sweet, it had a clean, and fresh taste. The only shortcomings were it's relaxed nature, even after increasing the strength. It was not candied or bitter, and being billed as a "sour" I was surprised it wasn't MORE sour. This is one of the more "forgiving" flavors in this Duomei series, in so much that it wasn't as strong, and could be easier to mix with. Fresh, bright lemon notes that stayed very natural tasting with no real off notes is what you got with this one, but I wish I could have pushed it a little more forward. It's possible that going above 1.0% (and possibly higher) MIGHT saturate it more, but unlikely. Great addition to any lemonade, tart, meringue, and I'm not 100% it could pull the FULL Lemon freight or not. Def. as an additive/booster. Because of the somewhat relaxed-ed-ness, I'll leave it at a solid **8.5/10**.
**Tropical Fruit (Duomei) 0.4% (1-15-23)** -- Only ONE Duomei remaining after this one. I know what I personally think of when I hear "Tropical Fruit", but everyone's expectations may vary. I got SOME of what I expected, but not ALL. At 0.4% it was pretty solid, with at about mid-level sweetness, and nothing off-putting. The main note that I got from this was a Mango. There may have been a more subdued Strawberry in there, maybe even a touch of Lime, but the supporting flavors were lower in the mix, and overshadowed by the Mango. Now, with THAT said, it was actually very good, but not truly what I would think of regarding a tropical fruit medley. While chuffing through multiple tester tanks trying to find fault(s) with this one, I kept digging to try and better assess the suporting flavors, but they just defied identification. What I also found interesting was I got no coconut from this one, which is another which I had assumed would be in there. Once again, I don't mean to report these "missing" profiles to detract from how good it was, just reporting what I got. You'll have to decide what constitutes a "Tropical Fruit" to your tastes. All in, I didn't find the need to increase the strength as it felt really good at 0.4%. I found no off notes despite looking hard, and may experiment after this series is complete, by adding some banana, and coconut just to see if that pushes it over the edge. Rating this one was slightly tricky, as it was STILL a tropi fruit, but not what I expected. With that said, I think it's fair to leave it at an **8.8/10**, with the only takeoffs being, the missing "expected" tropi fruits that would have solidly landed it under it's namesake. Still, pretty damned good.
**Yellow Mango (Duomei) 0.5%/1.0% (1-15-23)** -- Sorry @lukeloop, as I saved this one for last. I can NOW see why this one has been raved about in the little amount of info I could scour up on it. It could be JUST short of a Mango Nectar of the Gods !!! OK, maybe JUST short of that, but it IS damned good. Currently one of my MOST used Mangos is SC's, and I was constantly trying to compare the two, but not having an A/B tank running it was complicated. This one simply knocked it out of the park, and nailed the Yellow Mango profile perfectly. You got a huge helping of juicy fruit flesh with this one, and some very subtle almost "green" notes on the finish. The main fleshy body notes were fairly complex, and at times, I almost got a Mango Gel if that makes sense. Plenty full @ 0.5%, and I increased it to 1.0% and it did increase somewhat, but not linearly. Sweetness was almost at mid-level, and this had no off notes at either testing weight. Juicy, fleshy, and pretty damned natural tasting were my big takeaways on this one. Surely you could mix with it, but even solo'd it was just complex enough to hold your interest. Not fatiguing or cloying, and let's just say, I'm glad I picked up the BIG bottle of it. If you're looking for a great, natural tasting, yellow mango, with incredible fleshy, main body notes, with just a slight kick of green on the way out, you TOO may want to pick up a BIG bottle of this one. Really hard to fault, and it just tasted almost perfect. For that, and just to piss @fidalgo_vapes off, I'll leave this one @ **9.99/10**.
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