Is oversteeping a problem?

[Schnappie]

I have believed for quite a while now that the longer a liquid steeps, the better it gets.

I have hit a code red this week, my xxx has run out. As I rummaged through my vape liquids container I found an old bottle with still a bit of liquid left and popped it into one of my ceramic tanks. It still tastes amazing but it is almost as if the litchi has dissapated well into the backround now and I am getting a more prominent taste of what I suspect could be the elderflower? It is almost as if the sweetness has almost completely gone..I reckon this bottle to be older than 6 months. Usually with XXX I find it to taste at its best after about 2 weeks of steeping so I cant say over how long a period the profile changes more over time.

I have had this with other bottles of XXX as well before. Anyone else found that leaving a bottle too long it doesnt quite taste at its best? It may only apply to certain flavours. Usually my xxx only lasts me a few weeks because its so good so it was interesting to taste this an from old bottle again

 

[Rob Fisher]

Yip I agree @Schnappie... I always have a bottle of XXX in my car and it steeps rather quickly... me no likey.

 

[Schnappie]

Yip I agree @Schnappie... I always have a bottle of XXX in my car and it steeps rather quickly... me no likey.

Glad to hear its not just me @Rob Fisher .
It might be a thing with complex fruity flavours. Sincerely hope the xxx bottles on the vendor shelves arent there for too long, XXX deserves to enjoyed at its best

 

[Vinay]

I've had a bottle which I mixed with 2 name branded flavours of local vendors which was a custard with a hint of mint and I lost in a friends car. He returned it to me close to a year later. When I've tasted it, the custard taste that I remembered has dissappeared and the mint was overpowering which I couldn't vape. It didn't only taste like mint but something happened to custard which gave a horrid taste which I can't explain. I chucked the bottle. Couldn't vape it

 

[stevie g]

Some flavors mutate over time.

Something to do with PH levels. A juice created to the correct PH shouldn't change much in taste over time.

Disclaimer* this is just my opinion based on what I have researched on eliquid making and chemistry.

 

[Spydro]

I've proved to myself over and over for years doing DIY (and far too many premades) that all mixed eliquids have a shorter shelf life if not kept in cold storage out of the light AND if there is any trapped air in a bottle not filled all the way up to the cap and sealed tight. The quality of the ingredients, temperature, sunlight, trapped air cause oxidation that degrades the ingredients, and especially quickly nicotine (which I do not use in my DIY's). Even bottles being used to refill tanks, etc with more and more trapped air in them as they are being used up hold up better if kept in cold storage.

Since you brought up XXX... brother @Rob Fisher kindly sent me some SA liquids to try out last year, small samples first followed by larger bottles of most of them. With larger bottles in hand I intentionally strung out trying them in many different atty's with many different builds for 2+ months while just sitting on my desk at room temperature (out of direct sunlight) to see if/how their flavor profiles would change as they aged naturally. The 50ml/60ml bottles held up quite well to the last drop, even the one in a clear glass bottle. The 100ml XXX bottle changed a lot over what turned out to be nearly 3 months before it was gone. It was still a pleasant vape, but it lost all of it's brightness first, and the darker it got the more the flavor profile degraded. However, with my normal high daily joose usage if I was to vape XXX in most of my gear rotations even a 100ml bottle would be well used up before it lost it's brightness. What I don't know is how well it would stand up to cold storage, how long until I got it would it still have the brightness. Important to me since buying/shipping one bottle at a time over the pond would be a PITA.

As someone what hates menthol and doesn't do fruit vapes at all the XXX was a huge surprise. It was the easy winner out of all of them. But also very worthy of note were the 3 from Paulies that were a strong nearby second that only suffering from having quite mild flavors.

 

[Schnappie]

I've proved to myself over and over for years doing DIY (and far too many premades) that all mixed eliquids have a shorter shelf life if not kept in cold storage out of the light AND if there is any trapped air in a bottle not filled all the way up to the cap and sealed tight. The quality of the ingredients, temperature, sunlight, trapped air cause oxidation that degrades the ingredients, and especially quickly nicotine (which I do not use in my DIY's). Even bottles being used to refill tanks, etc with more and more trapped air in them as they are being used up hold up better if kept in cold storage.

Since you brought up XXX... brother @Rob Fisher kindly sent me some SA liquids to try out last year, small samples first followed by larger bottles of most of them. With larger bottles in hand I intentionally strung out trying them in many different atty's with many different builds for 2+ months while just sitting on my desk at room temperature (out of direct sunlight) to see if/how their flavor profiles would change as they aged naturally. The 50ml/60ml bottles held up quite well to the last drop, even the one in a clear glass bottle. The 100ml XXX bottle changed a lot over what turned out to be nearly 3 months before it was gone. It was still a pleasant vape, but it lost all of it's brightness first, and the darker it got the more the flavor profile degraded. However, with my normal high daily joose usage if I was to vape XXX in most of my gear rotations even a 100ml bottle would be well used up before it lost it's brightness. What I don't know is how well it would stand up to cold storage, how long until I got it would it still have the brightness. Important to me since buying/shipping one bottle at a time over the pond would be a PITA.

As someone what hates menthol and doesn't do fruit vapes at all the XXX was a huge surprise. It was the easy winner out of all of them. But also very worthy of note were the 3 from Paulies that were a strong nearby second that only suffering from having quite mild flavors.

Thanks @Spydro that really clears up a lot for me

 

[PsyCLown]

Certain flavours seem to fade quickly and need to be vaped sooner, some flavours just taste better the longer you steep them.

XXX is one commercial juice which I find the fruit flavours fade leaving you with just menthol. At least that is what has happened to my bottle.
I now use the XXX to add a bit of menthol to some juices other juices.

If you are into DIY then I find that Cinnamon Danish Swirl, the Cinnamon fades quickly unfortunately.

Custards, the longer the better generally.

 

[shabs]

I've had the same issue where I the litchi taste was almost nonexistent, I suspect that it could have been older stock.

Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk

 

[spiv]

So do you guys think that there is merit in juice mixers to add the date mixed on the bottle? Or even a "Best Before" date?

 

[incredible_hullk]

So do you guys think that there is merit in juice mixers to add the date mixed on the bottle? Or even a "Best Before" date?

@spiv absolutely imho...i have bought some fruity vapes in the past that had very little flavoured as it passed the point of no return

 

[Oupa]

Just a note, not specific to xxx, as it applies to all juices. A new, sealed, full bottle of juice will have a much longer shelf life as there is very little air in the bottle and the juice was bottled at the righ time. Once opened and its allowed to start breathing, with multiple open/close/refilling actions and the bottle is filled with more air when the juice level drops, the juice will start steeping faster and eventually over steep rather quickly.

For long term storage (3 months plus) it is advised to keep bottle sealed and in a cool dark place. Shelf life of more than 1 year can be achieved this way.

Disclaimer: Again this is a general note that applies to most if not all juices. But different flavours will react differently to various conditions.

 

[Ashley A]

When I saw the heading, I immediately clicked to tell you about my litchi only to find it was XXX and you specifically mentioned litchi.

I mixed up a straight litchi flavour which smelled divine and just like litchi from the get go. Let it steep about a week since it was a single flavour. It was a surefire winner as it smelt and tasted like real litchi bout about a month in, it developed a very chemical/synthetic taste. It then started seeming like it had hints of litchi instead of litchi and tastes a lot more like when you add too much synthetic flavours like blueberry in a mix.

This post now makes me think that litchi can't be kept/steeped too long so next time I'll make much smaller batches that I get through sooner.

 

[PsyCLown]

When I saw the heading, I immediately clicked to tell you about my litchi only to find it was XXX and you specifically mentioned litchi.

I mixed up a straight litchi flavour which smelled divine and just like litchi from the get go. Let it steep about a week since it was a single flavour. It was a surefire winner as it smelt and tasted like real litchi bout about a month in, it developed a very chemical/synthetic taste. It then started seeming like it had hints of litchi instead of litchi and tastes a lot more like when you add too much synthetic flavours like blueberry in a mix.

This post now makes me think that litchi can't be kept/steeped too long so next time I'll make much smaller batches that I get through sooner.

Which concentrate did you use and have you tried others?

I know one of the strawberries (I think TFA Strawberry Ripe) is also known to fade quickly, yet some of the others are fine. So if you mix them you often get a more complete strawberry flavour and it does not fade off as quickly and completely.

Perhaps @RichJB can just confirm this. I find strawberry vapes overrated so don't take too much note on strawberry DIY stuff.

 

[RichJB]

I haven't suffered from strawberry fade yet, I vape them soon after mixing. Cap Sweet Strawberry is apparently the worst for fading, although Ripe is often cited for this too. Strawberries in general can be problematic: fade, some people not tasting strawberry, no single strawberry flavour providing a 'complete' taste. Combining strawberries does help with the profile but I haven't found a combo yet that hits the spot for me. I'm looking forward to JF Strawberry Sweet as I hope that will work some magic for me. But then, the concentrate you don't have is always the one that is going to be the shizzle.