How to rescue: Peaches & Cream

Folks, we have a dilemma. Peaches & Cream is 1 week steeped, and the taste test can best be described as a medieval torture session combined with the sensation of swallowing a hive of extremely pissed-off bees.

As a background, the original recipe was:

• Peach (TPA) - 10%
• Sweet Cream (TPA) - 5%
• Vanilla B-IC (TPA) - 5%

This was mixed in 70vg / 30pg with 3.5mg nic.

As you can see, the total flavour percentage is pretty high. However, the problem is not that the peach is overbearing, it's that it's HARSH. I know there are alternative peach flavours out there with a sweeter note, but I want to see if I can make TPA's one a little more vapeable.

I'm toying around with adding Cream Fresh (FA) at 2%, and the Smooth (TPA) additive at 0.5%. This will bump the total flavours up to 22.5% which is already pretty extreme, but it's a risk I'm willing to take for a v2. I'm a bit apprehensive about adding TPA Smooth, as it can really kill a mix.. but at 0.5% it equates to roughly 1 drop per 5ml. (I hate the concept of measuring drops as it's the least accurate way imaginable of measuring anything, but just for context.. that's roundabout what you're looking at).

So version 2 will be mixed soon. It'll have to wait a bit, though - I have a full mixing schedule for the next week.

Today's mix: Strawmelontopia v2

Today we're adapting the excellent Strawmelontopia (I don't have the name of the original mixologist for this recipe, but credit to you, sir). Strawmelontopia was a massive surprise to the taste buds: a refreshing, soft fruity vape that keeps you coming back for more.

The original Strawmelontopia had the following ingredients:

• Cantaloupe (TPA) - 4%
• Mango (TPA) - 4%
• Papaya (TPA) - 3%
• Strawberry Ripe (TPA) - 1.5%
• Strawberry (TPA) - 2.5%

I could not find very much wrong with it (the Strawberry Ripe is low, but the normal Strawberry flavour makes up for it with the Ripe just softening it up a little). However, since I love the more mellow/creamy vapes, I wanted to soften this up just a tad more. I decided to add Cream Fresh (FA) and Vienna Cream (FA) to the next batch. The only tricky part was deciding on the percentages. I didn't want the cream to overpower the fruit, but I also didn't want it to be indiscernible.

So after getting some opinions from the brilliant guys over at ECIGSSA (including which creams to add), I settled on 1.5% Cream Fresh, and 1% Vienna Cream. The new recipe for today is then:

• Cantaloupe (TPA) - 4%
• Mango (TPA) - 4%
• Papaya (TPA) - 3%
• Strawberry Ripe (TPA) - 1.5%
• Strawberry (TPA) - 2.5%
• Cream Fresh (FA)) - 1.5%
• Vienna Cream (FA) - 1%

70vg / 30pg / 3.5mg

Since we're adding creams to this batch, I'm upping the steeping time to 1 week just to be safe.

Today's mix: Mango Cream

I'm really optimistic about this one. I love mango, and always wanted to try a mango juice with a creamy texture. After digging through ELR I decided to merge a few ideas from there and adapt it to the following:

• Mango (TPA) - 5%
• Bavarian Cream (TPA) - 2%
• Vanilla Custard (TPA) - 2%

70vg / 30pg / 3.75mg

To be fair, this might be a bit too simple, and I might have to haul in some backup in the form of Sweet Mango from CAP. But a 1-week steep will allow us to have a taste and decide then.

Today's mix: Raspberry Cheesecake

Kept it simple for today's experiment:

• Raspberry (TPA) - 9%
• Cheesecake Graham Crust (TPA) - 5%

70vg / 30pg / 3.75mg

The original recipe was for NY Cheesecake and a sweeter Raspberry, but I found it to be a bit overly sweet in the end. I decided to rather mix it simple (as above) and add sucralose or ethyl maltol if it really needs a bit of a kick (although I strongly doubt it).

Due to the cheesecake I'll let this steep for about 5 days before the first test.

My nic% and why it's full of decimals

You'll have noticed (or will notice) that my nic percentage is all over the place sometimes. There is actually a rather simple reason, though. When I first started out with subohm, I tried the 3mg commercial juices and found that I just couldn't stop vaping them - there was enough flavour satisfaction but almost absolutely no nic satisfaction.

So when I started DIY'ing, I mixed at 4.5mg. I quickly found this to be too heavy for me (subjectively, of course) as I couldn't take any puff longer than 1s with it. I also really started to taste the nic, and that's not something I want in a juice.

For my latest round of mixes, I went down to 3.75mg, and we'll see how it goes. Note that this only applies to my subohm mixes, as my MTL mixes are all between 12mg and 16mg.

Today's mix: Blackberry Custard

Mixed a fairly simple one today (credit not mine):

• Blackberry (CAP) - 6%
• Vanilla Custard (TPA) - 7%
• Sweet Cream (TPA) - 2%
• Bavarian Cream (TPA) - 0.5%
• Vanilla BIC (TPA) - 0.5%

70vg / 30pg / 3.75mg

Currently on steep, will let it sit for a week before doing the first taste test.

Today's mix: Blueberry Yogurt

A simple Blueberry Yogurt recipe (I took this one straight from ELR, credit to freshepies for this one). We're relying on the fruit and the Bavarian Cream to give some sweetness to this mix, as we'll be using a Greek Yogurt base which can be slightly tart if not complemented with a sweet tone or three.

• Bavarian Cream (TPA) - 1.3%
• Blackcurrant (FA) - 2%
• Blueberry Extra (TPA) - 6.6%
• Greek Yogurt (TPA) - 8%

70vg / 30pg / 4mg

This isn't a shake&vape; the Bavarian Cream needs some time, especially coupled with the Greek Yogurt. I can say, however, that it smells tart as hell but the initial post-mix taste was actually quite pleasant. Just sweet enough, but steeping will bring out the creamy notes and will tell whether it's enough.