1. Over Flavored

This is usually the main reason why. Beginners get into mixing, and they want something with tons of flavor. So they see some people using flavors at 3% and they think “well I want a lot of flavor so I’ll use 15%”. It makes sense, it’s but actually counterintuitive. More Flavoring =/= More Flavor. If you use too much of a flavoring, olfactory fatigue (vapors tongue) sets in almost immediately and you won’t be able to taste your e-liquid. So if you find your recipe doesn’t taste like anything except sweet air, look at your percentages and see if any are over 8-10%. If they are drop them down to their recommended concentrations. My FlavorBook gives recommended percentages for tons of ingredients so that’s a good place to start.

Keep It Simple

K.I.S.S. That’s always the best way to mix when you’re learning the ropes. There’s no need to strive for Rhodonites when you don’t fully understand the intricacies of each ingredient. What happens when you make an overly complex recipe that isn’t refined, is that you lose a lot of each flavorings main components. Things blend in weird ways and the full potential of each ingredient isn’t revealed. So simple recipes like FW Fruity Flakes 4% + TFA Vanilla Bean IceCream 5% allow each of these flavoring to stretch their legs and maximize flavor output. Once you’ve mastered the art of the simple recipe, then you can move to multi-dimensional recipes with layers and textures. But until then, keep it SIMPLE.

3. Vapors Tongue

Vapors Tongue (or what it’s really known as Olfactory Fatigue) is when you have prolonged exposure to an aroma to the point where your nose adapts to it no longer allowing you to smell that specific aroma. Think of it like this, when you goto a barn, and it smells like horse shit everywhere, after a while, you get used to the smell to the point where you don’t even notice it. That’s exactly what happens with vaping. And in DIY, you’re testing aromas that are extremely potent and concentrated. This brings about vapors tongue so much more quickly and much more frequently. While you can’t completely avoid it, switching up flavors and vapes (vaping menthol helps a bit), allows you to keep your nose fresh and guessing. Staying hydrated is also a great way to ensure your vapors tongue doesn’t last too long. And finally, taking a break from vaping all together, helps immensely. I can safely say, the longer you DIY, the better your nose gets with olfactory fatigue. Just gotta power through it.

4. You’re Not Steeping

Steeping (aka curing, aging, blooming) often is required to get the best experience from many online DIY recipes. What steeping does is allow the compounds within the flavorings to mend and distribute fully throughout the VG. That saturation is where the magic happens. Unfortunately, it takes a while for some flavorings to fully steep. And us as vapors get impatient. We want a vape and we want it now! Well with DIY, you need to be a bit more patient. Commercial e-liquid has the luxury of sitting in warehouses and on shelves for periods of time to fully allow a steep to occur. That’s why you’ll find many commercial e-liquids with a vibrant, saturated, flavor. We need to do the same in DIY to get the most from our recipes. So put your mix away for a week or so. Once it’s fully aged, you’ll notice a much bigger boost in flavor and vibrancy. So don’t skip that vital step. Also, make sure you always have a juice steeping. When you mix up your ADV, have one to vape, and put one away to steep. Keep doing this o ensure you always have a fully cured e-liquid ready for your wicks.

Article Written By

Wayne Walker

Owner / Operator of DIYorDIE Vaping + ENYAWREKLAW Concentrates