Still new to this and need help with juice (EC Blends)

[georgeisabamf]

So about 1-2 months ago, I placed an order for some juice from EC Blends. I ordered some Choco Mint Chip, some Dragon's Dream (an orange creamsicle flavor), and some Dragon's Milk (a horchata flavor). When I received the juices, the only one that I tried was the choco mint. Which I loved for maybe a day, but literally about 30 minutes into vaping it, I could not taste anything from it. So I let the other 2 steep for a while and just tried them a couple days ago.

Both the Dragon's Dream and Milk, have the SAME flavor. They both taste like vanilla/cream with cinnamon in them. In fact, I am almost convinced that they gave me two bottles of the same juice, they are that similar. and they don't even taste good at that. They also lose there flavor after just a minute or two of vaping.

Anyhow, the juices I got are all reduced PG with 18mg nicotine.

I just received another order from them as well which includes Choco Chai, RY4 with menthol, and RY7 with menthol. All three of these flavors smell about the same (which they shouldn't...) I am vaping the Choco Chai right now while I let the RY's steep for a week or two. The Choco Chai tastes almost exactly like the Dragon juices I had (it is slightly different, but not by much.) BUT, like the others, it has ZERO taste after a minute or two of vaping.

Needless to say, I am disappointed. I am quitting (or attempting to quit) analog cigarettes right now. But I can't if the juice I am puffing on tastes like air after only a minute or so.

Does anyone know if EC Blends just has weak flavored juice? Are there any good juice manufacturers that you all would suggest I try? Do you think flavor might be contributed to the fact that I always order reduced PG juice? Does PG contribute to flavor at all?

My set up is a viva nova tank with an ego-c twist battery. I have only had this e-cig for a month or so now, and so far I have been rather disappointed, I really hope it's the juice and not just vaping in general that is letting me down.

thanks for the help in advance!

Edit: and oh yeah, I shake and steep my juice at all times pretty much, So I don't think that has much to do with it.

Edited September 8, 2013 by georgeisabamf

[Bebop]

First opinion - it's the juice. EC Blends may not be for you even though others will like them

We all go through this. It's VERY subjective. You really have no other choice but to experiment.

Pg carries more flavor generally than Vg as a guiding rule.

I have experienced the same thing with other vendors.

The best solution is to find a local juice maker that you can try out juices before you buy. Other than that it's hit or miss.

MY favorites after a LOT of experimenting are:

Lush Vapor

The Vaping Monkey

Fuzion Vapes

Vape dudes

But even then, it's hit or miss. For ME those companies have the highest percentage of good strong juice flavors.

I cannot help you beyond that

[georgeisabamf]

First opinion - it's the juice. EC Blends may not be for you even though others will like them

We all go through this. It's VERY subjective. You really have no other choice but to experiment.

Pg carries more flavor generally than Vg as a guiding rule.

I have experienced the same thing with other vendors.

The best solution is to find a local juice maker that you can try out juices before you buy. Other than that it's hit or miss.

MY favorites after a LOT of experimenting are:

Lush Vapor

The Vaping Monkey

Fuzion Vapes

Vape dudes

But even then, it's hit or miss. For ME those companies have the highest percentage of good strong juice flavors.

I cannot help you beyond that

Honestly it may be the PG thing then. The only reason I get reduced PG compared to others is because I tried a juice made by a company called Totally Wicked and it was PG based, and it was very harsh on my throat. If I'm not mistaken "reduced PG" is essentially a 90/10 or an 80/20 VG/PG ratio. I never knew PG carried flavor, so I really think you're on to something.

Maybe I'll try a 60/40 or 70/30 VG/PG mix.

But when I get new juice, I am going to try a different place. Though I like EC Blends because they are affordable, and their shipping always gets to my place within 3 days.

Edited September 8, 2013 by georgeisabamf

[Tam]

Juices are all very subjective, BUT if you've just started vaping then your taste buds are going through a radical change as well. When I first started vaping I had to have all of my juices at extra flavor and some double extra flavor so I could taste them.

Reduced PG also means reduced flavor because PG is a flavor carrier. You might want to go with 80 PG/20 VG or 70 PG/30 VG instead.

Although I love EC Blends and have way too many of their juices, it's not for everyone. You might do better with another vendor like Vape Dudes.

For everyone, vaping is a very personal experience. As much as I liked the Vivi Nova tanks I found that it muted the flavors of my juices too much. For me these days, when I'm not direct dripping, I use the Anyvape Davide mini tanks. They have a Pyrex glass tank, the coil is on the bottom, and for me, it gives the best flavor of the juices of all the different delivery systems I've tried -- other than direct dripping.

With an eGo Twist you can turn up the volts -- some juices need a little extra, it also depends on what ohm coil you're using in your Vivi Nova as well. The higher the ohm (number), the more volts you might need to use.

YMMV.

[georgeisabamf]

Juices are all very subjective, BUT if you've just started vaping then your taste buds are going through a radical change as well. When I first started vaping I had to have all of my juices at extra flavor and some double extra flavor so I could taste them.

Reduced PG also means reduced flavor because PG is a flavor carrier. You might want to go with 80 PG/20 VG or 70 PG/30 VG instead.

Although I love EC Blends and have way too many of their juices, it's not for everyone. You might do better with another vendor like Vape Dudes.

For everyone, vaping is a very personal experience. As much as I liked the Vivi Nova tanks I found that it muted the flavors of my juices too much. For me these days, when I'm not direct dripping, I use the Anyvape Davide mini tanks. They have a Pyrex glass tank, the coil is on the bottom, and for me, it gives the best flavor of the juices of all the different delivery systems I've tried -- other than direct dripping.

With an eGo Twist you can turn up the volts -- some juices need a little extra, it also depends on what ohm coil you're using in your Vivi Nova as well. The higher the ohm (number), the more volts you might need to use.

YMMV.

But wouldn't 80 PG/20 VG be really harsh? Maybe it was just Totally Wicked's juice that hurt my throat, but I could not smoke it at all and it was PG based. I don't mind throat it, I feel it's necessary, but not a lot of it.

and also, I have been contemplating getting into direct dripping, I may need to make that transition even though it is more work.

ALSO, I am trying to vape some juice right now and it's really giving me basically a peppery/spicy feeling in my throat. I've experienced this with some of the other juices as well, is this normal?

Edited September 8, 2013 by georgeisabamf

[Tam]

But wouldn't 80 PG/20 VG be really harsh? Maybe it was just Totally Wicked's juice that hurt my throat, but I could not smoke it at all and it was PG based. I don't mind throat it, I feel it's necessary, but not a lot of it.

and also, I have been contemplating getting into direct dripping, I may need to make that transition even though it is more work.

ALSO, I am trying to vape some juice right now and it's really giving me basically a peppery/spicy feeling in my throat. I've experienced this with some of the other juices as well, is this normal?

If I were you I'd go with a 50/50 or a 60 PG/40 VG ratio and see how that works for you. With 18 mg of nic the 50/50 should give a decent throat hit without being too harsh.

The peppery/spicy feeling shouldn't be there, it's probably your juice ratio but I can't be sure. How high do you have your Twist set at? It might be too high, try dialing that down a bit.

Personally, I prefer direct dripping to anything else but there is a learning curve. Since you're just starting out I'd recommend staying with clearomizers/tanks at first until you get that down. Then, I'd go with direct dripping after. Just my opinion, though.

[spydre]

First opinion - it's the juice. EC Blends may not be for you even though others will like them

We all go through this. It's VERY subjective. You really have no other choice but to experiment.

Pg carries more flavor generally than Vg as a guiding rule.

I have experienced the same thing with other vendors.

The best solution is to find a local juice maker that you can try out juices before you buy. Other than that it's hit or miss.

MY favorites after a LOT of experimenting are:

Lush Vapor

The Vaping Monkey

Fuzion Vapes

Vape dudes

But even then, it's hit or miss. For ME those companies have the highest percentage of good strong juice flavors.

I cannot help you beyond that

There have been a couple of Vape Dudes flavors that I absolutely LOVE. I've never tried EC Blends. My buds are still recovering, so there is that, too, and this last week ALL of my flavors have been hit or miss, and some of the things I've tasted my tongue has totally confused. I haven't seen anyone here using them, but there are a couple of flavors out of Chi-Town Vapers that I like - one enough that I order REGULARLY, and some from Better Vapes - smallish online store, but they also have a storefront a couple towns over from us. The main one we get from them, that we BOTH vape, after the first bottle, after we found out that THEY made the juice the other store carried, we decided to get an extra flavor shot on the 618.

Definitely go into a storefront that has a large sample size for you to taste from (the samples SHOULD have a lowered nic content on them, so you don't get sick from sampling too much - you know how you feel when you've smoked too much; that's how it feels when you vape too much nic) to get an idea what you might like, at least of what they carry, and go forth from there.

Honestly it may be the PG thing then. The only reason I get reduced PG compared to others is because I tried a juice made by a company called Totally Wicked and it was PG based, and it was very harsh on my throat. If I'm not mistaken "reduced PG" is essentially a 90/10 or an 80/20 VG/PG ratio. I never knew PG carried flavor, so I really think you're on to something.

Maybe I'll try a 60/40 or 70/30 VG/PG mix.

But when I get new juice, I am going to try a different place. Though I like EC Blends because they are affordable, and their shipping always gets to my place within 3 days.

Yeah, the higher PG can be pretty harsh. I've always started out on 50/50 mix unless the manufacturer recommends differently for that particular juice. That way you get equal parts throat hit/flavor and vapor. And then work up or down as you see fit. I myself wouldn't want to go below 50 on PG, though, because you lose flavor, but running 90, even 80 pg newly, and you are still smoking analogs, I can see it being a bit harsh.

But wouldn't 80 PG/20 VG be really harsh? Maybe it was just Totally Wicked's juice that hurt my throat, but I could not smoke it at all and it was PG based. I don't mind throat it, I feel it's necessary, but not a lot of it.

and also, I have been contemplating getting into direct dripping, I may need to make that transition even though it is more work.

ALSO, I am trying to vape some juice right now and it's really giving me basically a peppery/spicy feeling in my throat. I've experienced this with some of the other juices as well, is this normal?

The peppery feeling could be you actually inhaling some juice that got into your feeder tube - at least, that's what I've heard it described as. What flavor juice was this?

And like Tam said, the FIRST thing to try, if it feels too harsh, it try to dial down the voltage in your twist. Been finding that out by trial and error since my variable voltage came in at the end of last week, well, a week ago Friday, I guess.

And I would recommend switching to glass tanks as well - I like both Davide and Kanger Pro Tank 2's (and pro tank mini's), but I still have some evods on hand for sampling (but some kanger mini protank 2's with replaceable drip tips are going on my christmas list to replace the evods). The taste you get out of a glass tank is so much - well, it tastes so much better. And for me, bottom coils (like evods) taste better than top coils (like I THINK the Vivi Nova), IMHO, plus, you don't have to worry about storing them on their sides to make sure the wicks stay wet, and you can let the levels get farther down before topping off, since the coil/wick assembly is on the bottom.

But one thing....especially once you find a COUPLE of flavors at least that like, try not to run the same flavor all day every day. It's supposed to make it easier for your tongue to, I guess, adjust?

[georgeisabamf]

If I were you I'd go with a 50/50 or a 60 PG/40 VG ratio and see how that works for you. With 18 mg of nic the 50/50 should give a decent throat hit without being too harsh.

The peppery/spicy feeling shouldn't be there, it's probably your juice ratio but I can't be sure. How high do you have your Twist set at? It might be too high, try dialing that down a bit.

Personally, I prefer direct dripping to anything else but there is a learning curve. Since you're just starting out I'd recommend staying with clearomizers/tanks at first until you get that down. Then, I'd go with direct dripping after. Just my opinion, though.

I don't know exact ratio, but it is 18mg nicotine, reduced PG (by EC Blend's standards), and my twist is set at its lowest setting which is 3.2. I don't know what it is. It's like a dry/peppery/rough feeling in the throat when I smoke certain juices. Maybe it's just me. I am just contemplating where to order both a good atomizer (for direct dripping) and quality ejuice from one site. I don't like placing multiple orders and paying for shipping from multiple vendors. I am going to try a 50/50 PG/VG mix and see if I like the results. I really do think it will help with the lack of flavor that I am experiencing.

[georgeisabamf]

There have been a couple of Vape Dudes flavors that I absolutely LOVE. I've never tried EC Blends. My buds are still recovering, so there is that, too, and this last week ALL of my flavors have been hit or miss, and some of the things I've tasted my tongue has totally confused. I haven't seen anyone here using them, but there are a couple of flavors out of Chi-Town Vapers that I like - one enough that I order REGULARLY, and some from Better Vapes - smallish online store, but they also have a storefront a couple towns over from us. The main one we get from them, that we BOTH vape, after the first bottle, after we found out that THEY made the juice the other store carried, we decided to get an extra flavor shot on the 618.

Definitely go into a storefront that has a large sample size for you to taste from (the samples SHOULD have a lowered nic content on them, so you don't get sick from sampling too much - you know how you feel when you've smoked too much; that's how it feels when you vape too much nic) to get an idea what you might like, at least of what they carry, and go forth from there.

Yeah, the higher PG can be pretty harsh. I've always started out on 50/50 mix unless the manufacturer recommends differently for that particular juice. That way you get equal parts throat hit/flavor and vapor. And then work up or down as you see fit. I myself wouldn't want to go below 50 on PG, though, because you lose flavor, but running 90, even 80 pg newly, and you are still smoking analogs, I can see it being a bit harsh.

The peppery feeling could be you actually inhaling some juice that got into your feeder tube - at least, that's what I've heard it described as. What flavor juice was this?

And like Tam said, the FIRST thing to try, if it feels too harsh, it try to dial down the voltage in your twist. Been finding that out by trial and error since my variable voltage came in at the end of last week, well, a week ago Friday, I guess.

And I would recommend switching to glass tanks as well - I like both Davide and Kanger Pro Tank 2's (and pro tank mini's), but I still have some evods on hand for sampling (but some kanger mini protank 2's with replaceable drip tips are going on my christmas list to replace the evods). The taste you get out of a glass tank is so much - well, it tastes so much better. And for me, bottom coils (like evods) taste better than top coils (like I THINK the Vivi Nova), IMHO, plus, you don't have to worry about storing them on their sides to make sure the wicks stay wet, and you can let the levels get farther down before topping off, since the coil/wick assembly is on the bottom.

But one thing....especially once you find a COUPLE of flavors at least that like, try not to run the same flavor all day every day. It's supposed to make it easier for your tongue to, I guess, adjust?

You just gave me some great info, things i never knew. I really appreciate it! I will take all of the things you said into consideration before making a new purchase.

But honestly, I was vaping an EC Blend chocolate mint mixed with chocolate chai when I experienced the harshness in the throat. I had set my Ego Twist to the lowest setting. I received the chocolate chai about 2 days ago in the mail and have been vaping it since. I think I need to switch up flavors more often. I always smoke rich and dark flavors more so than fruity ones. I should make it routine to at least cleanse my palette in some way.

Sadly, these next 2 months are extremely stressful for me since it's the last term before I graduate. I feel like it will be extremely hard to quit smoking during this time with all the stress, but I shall do my best.

Again, thanks for the info and help. I really do appreciate it!

edit: sorry for the double post

Edited September 8, 2013 by georgeisabamf

[Tam]

I don't know exact ratio, but it is 18mg nicotine, reduced PG (by EC Blend's standards), and my twist is set at its lowest setting which is 3.2. I don't know what it is. It's like a dry/peppery/rough feeling in the throat when I smoke certain juices. Maybe it's just me. I am just contemplating where to order both a good atomizer (for direct dripping) and quality ejuice from one site. I don't like placing multiple orders and paying for shipping from multiple vendors. I am going to try a 50/50 PG/VG mix and see if I like the results. I really do think it will help with the lack of flavor that I am experiencing.

Another thing you might try is to change out your coil in your Vivi Nova. That might be the culprit. Do you know what ohm your coil is currently? Personally, I find 1.5 and 1.8 ohm coils to be too harsh. Others like it but, for me, it doesn't do it for me. I prefer 2.0 to 2.2 ohm.

Since you've already done business with EC Blends you can order a Smoktech atomizer from that site. Before I bought and tried a custom HH.357 Spec Hybrid atomizer I used to use the Smoktech 510 all the time and liked it very well. The HH.357 is probably pricier than you'd want to start with (it's $24.99). You'll also want a couple of drip tips with your atomizer, you can't use it without one.

http://www.ecblendflavors.com/atomizer-smoktech-510/

When you order the 50/50 juice, try it with extra flavor.

Everyone goes through the not tasting a flavor if they stay with one for too long. We go to a different flavor for a bit, usually a very different flavor like going from a chocolate to a fruit or a bakery or beverage and then back. When you change it up and go back, you can usually taste the flavor again. Another thing, do you drink a lot of water when you vape? Vaping will dehydrate you so you'll want to keep that in mind. Water is the best thing to help with that.

Edited September 8, 2013 by Tameiki

[georgeisabamf]

Another thing you might try is to change out your coil in your Vivi Nova. That might be the culprit. Do you know what ohm your coil is currently? Personally, I find 1.5 and 1.8 ohm coils to be too harsh. Others like it but, for me, it doesn't do it for me. I prefer 2.0 to 2.2 ohm.

Since you've already done business with EC Blends you can order a Smoktech atomizer from that site. Before I bought and tried a custom HH.357 Spec Hybrid atomizer I used to use the Smoktech 510 all the time and liked it very well. The HH.357 is probably pricier than you'd want to start with (it's $24.99). You'll also want a couple of drip tips with your atomizer, you can't use it without one.

http://www.ecblendflavors.com/atomizer-smoktech-510/

When you order the 50/50 juice, try it with extra flavor.

Everyone goes through the not tasting a flavor if they stay with one for too long. We go to a different flavor for a bit, usually a very different flavor like going from a chocolate to a fruit or a bakery or beverage and then back. When you change it up and go back, you can usually taste the flavor again. Another thing, do you drink a lot of water when you vape? Vaping will dehydrate you so you'll want to keep that in mind. Water is the best thing to help with that.

Honestly, I'm not quite sure what ohm my coil is. I ordered the tank with 3 coils, and got two coils in a higher ohm (can't remember exactly, but I think it's 2.2) and one coil with a lower ohm. Honestly, I can't even tell which ones are which, but have not experienced a difference either way that I have noticed yet. I do change/clean my coils regularly though, but I'm not 100% sure what ohm they are.

By the way, I just ordered 3 juices from Vape dudes, all at 50/50 VG/PG, all with 11mg nicotine, and all of them have extra strength flavoring. I ordered Strawberry Fields, Classic Menthol (for something similar to the analogs I smoke), and some coffee like flavor that got good reviews.

But, I also ordered a Boge 2.0 ohm cartomizer, and from what I hear, you can modify them to become basically atomizers and use them for direct drip. Unfortunately Vape Dudes doesn't sell any form of a cheap atomizer, so I decided to try this out. I really hope I like these juices. I also really hope that if I modify my cartomizer for direct drip that it will make a difference in flavor.

If all juices still taste like nothing after this, then I don't know what to do! In fact, I just smoked my RY4 juice from EC Blends tonight after 3-4 days steeping, and it had ZERO taste.

Then again that juice was reduced PG, and I have read that EC Blends waters down their juices. So maybe I will have better results this time around!

Edited September 11, 2013 by georgeisabamf

[Tam]

I don't know about EC Blends watering down their juices. I've never experienced this myself and I order from them a LOT. It's probably more that it's your taste buds. When I order from different vendors there are some juices I can taste and others I can't. That's why you need to try to find the right vendor for the juices that work for you.

[georgeisabamf]

I don't know about EC Blends watering down their juices. I've never experienced this myself and I order from them a LOT. It's probably more that it's your taste buds. When I order from different vendors there are some juices I can taste and others I can't. That's why you need to try to find the right vendor for the juices that work for you.

I may be wrong about that, and it's bad for me to say it since i have no factual evidence to support that claim, just something I heard from a random person on the internet, which has zero credibility probably.

[Thesheepdog]

I hate ECB. To me it all tastes like chemicals that never gets better. Try another vendor.

I love Vape Dudes as everything they make is perfect. You can find some flavors you dont care for as I do, but the juices themselves are never weak, never chemical, and never nasty. I always order them with "extra flavor" and 70/30 (pg/vg)

Like Tam said "Everything is subjective". What she likes I may not. I always trust Tam in all things except what juices I will like. I dont even know what I like how could anyone else?

Edited September 14, 2013 by Thesheepdog

[Tam]

Juices are all subjective and it's very trial and error. There are some vendors where I like only one of their flavors and other vendors where most of their juices work for me. Unfortunately, you won't know what you like until you try it for yourself. No one else can tell you how your taste buds will like a flavor.

The good news is that many vendors sell small bottles like 5 ml so you can try flavors to see if you like them. Then, try buying a larger bottle once you find something that tastes good to you.

Half the fun (and frustration) in vaping is trying new things and finding something that's perfect for you. Good luck!