Thanks again out to @Allan from Capella Flavors for sending out not only some NEW Capella flavors, but also the entire XS Line for testing. Finalizing the percentages now. Stay tuned …
Banana Cream (CAP) 4% (7-13-26) – Alright, I tasted something UNEXPECTED in this Banana Cream, and that was a BAKERY element !!! Wait, what ?? YES, a bakery undertone, and I didn’t see that one coming. Alright, everyone has probably tasted or used LA’s, and TPA’s Nana Creams at this point, very widely used flavors. Maybe Capella was trying to break new ground with this one. It was very much Banana’d and Creamy. The banana notes were a mix of artificial and natural, leaning artificial, but there were some nice almost puree notes in there that helped fatten up the banana profile. The cream, was actually more of a creamy overtone (not undertone) which smoothed the banana out.
Now what was interesting, was below the nanas and cream was a very persistant bakery note. Not off-putting, and strangly enough, didn’t taste out of place, which is/was unexpected. I couldn’t tell if it was a light graham cracker or not. It was interesting because it added some “weight” to the entire mix, gave it some heft, and helped thicken it up a bit. Again, not distracting, and strangely it didn’t seem out of place. At 4% it was great strength wise, no off-notes, and sweetness was just about mid-level. I don’t nana cream as much as I should LOL, but I couldn’t come up with any shoulda, coulda, woulda’s here. An interesting approach to a Banana Cream, with artificial and natural (puree) notes, smoothed nicely by a fairly rich neutral cream, with a surprisingly interesting bakery undertone. Because I deemed the “bakery” (possibly a light graham cracker) as a pro, not a con, I rated this one higher at a 9.2/10.
Berry Blast (CAP) 4% (7-15-26) – Alright, this one surprised me, literally. Thought it was going to be some blah, blah, blah berry combo/mashup, BUT, I was WRONG. Wow, it was damned good and strong at 4%, and it slammed me with a Juicy Red Cherry, and Raspberry combo brick to the face !!! Now, I completely did NOT see this coming, and missed this when mixing these up. With the exception of a handful of great cherries, there just aren’t very many at all. Well add THIS ONE to your list right now. Now, it wasn’t JUST a cherry, and Red and Juicy were how it presented, so yes, I guess you could put it in the maraschino camp. It wasn’t a pure cherry though because CAP somehow SLID IN a raspberry beneath it, and did it in such a skilled fashion that it perfectly blended in just below the cherry notes.
I loved the Cherry profile from the start, so it was hard to NOT keep focusing on it. Even at 4%, there were NO: Medicinals, Florals, or Soapyness, none, nadda zip. It was somewhat candied, BUT, not a full on cherry candy. The raspberry/raspberries didn’t lean dark, but not fully red either, so it was a damned zippy little complex flavor to test. Could have been very light juicy strawberry notes, and maybe (just maybe) a smidge of tart apple in there, but hard to tell. Basically if you love cherries, and didn’t need a strict, purely natural cherry this one would work. At 4% it was about a 9.5/10 on the strength scale. YES, for a cherry !!! TBH, for my tastes, I could solo this all day no complaints. Somewhat candied, and a tick or two above mid-level, but still not cloyingly sweet. Very well done, no complaints, AND, no off-notes. A very nicely done Juicy Red Cherry, Raspberry combo with possible very light SB and bright apple undertones. A great, punchy “Red” summertime flavor. It wow’d me too much to NOT release the Kraken !!! 10/10. They should have called it Cherry Blast instead. 
Carolina Blend (CAP) 4% (7-17-26) – While admittedly being the WORST tobacco flavor reviewer, I WILL try LOL. OK, I couldn’t tell a Virginia, from a Carolina, or a Kentucky if you paid me. This one presented as a medium dark, fairly sweet tobacco with some nutty undertones, and light caramel notes. Not an RY4, but fairly sweet. It was fairly complex and kept wandering around while testing. I did get some lighter earthy tones, with a hint of “dirty” which kept it interesting. While tasting good at 4%, it felt a little “thin” and I’d give it about a 6/10 on the strength scale.
Because of that, I don’t think it could be the primary driver in a bacco mix, but would easily work in a lot of mixes. Sweetness was a few ticks above mid-level, so be advised. So, from this non-bacco review guy, it summed up as a fairly sweet, mid-dark tobacco, with some nice leaf, and earthy undertones, with a slight nutty-ess, and caramel, with a hint of some dirty ash thrown in. No off-notes that I could find, and the only complaint would be wanting a bit more saturation. “Pretty good” felt right for this one, and I finalized it at 8.5/10.
Carrot Cake (CAP) 4% (7-12-26) – Alright peeps, FIRST one on deck for these NEW Capella Flavors. I had to burn through the entire 10ml tester, trying to isolate what this one was. I actually finger tested this one for clarity, and I never finger test. This was DEF. a spiced cake, and I struggled to determine exactly which spices CAP threw in, but I settled on ginger, nutmeg, and maybe a hint of cinnamon. I also got some nice brown sugar undertones, along with some cream cheese icing, and with a somewhat creamy, surprising finish. WOWZER, because there was a lot going on, and all of it good. There was a fairly accurate vanilla throughout, with some light sweetened carrot. I think it could have used a bit more carrot TBH.
This was a complex flavor with a lot of elements, but it DID pull together into a fairly convincing Carrot Cake. Finger testing I got some light walnut ?? but that didn’t translate when atomizing. With the exception of VTA’s Carrot Cake which I have used, but never solo’d I have no other Carrot Cakes to compare this to, so keep that in mind. At 4% it was very full with no strength issues, and sweetness was just below mid-level. As a whole it worked, BUT, felt like it could use a little help. With such a complex flavor, that was almost expected. It felt like it was 85% of the way there. What would I add hehe, well carrot, and maybe some yellow cake to just slightly dilute just a hair of the spice. Not overspiced, but felt like just a bit more cake (and carrot) would finish it off. This one took a while to really dissect, and nail down, but, after rolling through a full 10mls it was fairly focused, and not a mish-mosh. Leaving it higher at an 8.5/10. Add a touch of cake, some carrot, and you’re good to go.
Cheesecake Graham Crust (CAP) 4% (7-22-26) – Alright, testing Cheesecake Graham Crust flavors it not exciting, BUT, hehe, I do it for you guys. Out of the gate I could tell Capella did use Gamma-octalactone in this flavor, which has a very distinctive creamy, coconut overtone, and it used in quite a few Graham Crust flavors. It was very similar to TPA’s CGC, with very light and slight Cheesecake notes, with much more predominant Graham Crust notes. No sour, or cheesy cheesecakes here, just hints of a creamy cheesecake. The graham crust profile was good, and accurate, and for my tastes, I’ve never really been a fan of the coconut notes, BUT, they’re more common than not in a lot of similar flavors.
At 4% it was about a 7/10 on the strength scale, and tasted good, with sweetness a few ticks below mid-level. There was a slight dryness on the finish, which could easily be covered up in mixes, so it was really a non-issue. My personal preferences may not be yours, but for mine, I knocked it down just a bit for the coconut notes, again, very common in graham crust llavors. All in a good accurate Graham Crust with light hints of a creamy cheesecake. If you really wanted a full on cheesecake and crust, you would have to step up the cheesecake profile. Leaving this one at a 8.25/10.
Chocolate Dubai (CAP) 4% (7-19-26) – A slight delay in finishing this one due to the World Cup !!! Luckily for you guys I would live on Chocolate Dubai if I could. Having eaten quite a bit of it, I was really looking forward to seeing how Capella would pull this one off, because it was a complex profile to pull off. Out of the gate, the chocolate was almost perfectly suited for a CD with it’s creamy, and smooth texture. Not a dark chocolate, or a milk chocolate, but more of a smooth Belgian. No dryness or bitterness in this one. Next was the superbly delicious pistachio cream. I wish it atomized like it smelled in the bottle as it was more present when smelling, but in the mix, it sat below the chocolate, and added a very good extra layer of complexity. The pastry element was lowest in the mix, and while present and accurate, seemed like it was overshadowed a bit by the choco and pistaschio notes.
At 4% it was perfectly strong and at about a 9/10 on the strength scale, with sweetness being just below mid-level, which was accurate to the real thing. Zero off-notes, or complaints with the exception of wanting just a bit more of the shredded phyllo dough (pastry), but even that, was a small want. Increasing it, might have thrown off the delicate choco/pistachio balance. All in, a deliciously accurate Chocolate Dubai, that managed to pull off a complex profile with a smooth Belgian choco creamy pistachio, and light phyllo dough pastry, with only minor markdowns for a light(er) pastry note. Leaving this one at a higher 9.5/10.
Island Mango (CAP) 4% (7-28-26) – After a little TDB (Too Damned Busy) break, hehe, back into these with the Island Mango. My experience with mangos has varied quite a bit, some are just bright, others darker, even funkier, and this one kind of straddled TWO types. It has some nice juicy, punchy bright notes, but it also had some of the mid, and mid-darker notes. Overall, it did taste very accurate, fresh, and somewhat juicy. It presented at fairly natural, with no real off-notes or complaints. At 4% it was nicely strong and at about an 8.5/10 on the strength scale. Sweetness was just below mid-level, which actually benefited it, and allowed more of the notes to shine through.
One of my current fav Mangos is a SUPER bright, and puchy Mango, and you’d almost swear it had some Sprite or 7up in it, as it was a zinger. While great, bright, and punchy, it didn’t work in all of my Mango recipes. This one while sharing some of those same bright punchy notes, would work in more recipes with it’s mid, and darker notes. With the below mid-level sweetness you could spike it with a little sweetener if you needed a little more POP, but, very nicely, they didn’t bake it in, and you could decide. All in, a good, fresh, multi-layered, natural mango that will/would work in a lot of different recipes. My only “ehhh” was a slight dryness on the finish, but very slight, so minor deductions for that. 3 tanks in, I finally decided on a 9/10 for this juicy little gem.
Kaya (CAP) 4% (7-18-26) – OK, I have never Kaya’d before, so I cannot do a flavor vs. real food comparison here, but I CAN tell you what it tasted like. Researching it, everything pointed to a “Coconut Jam” !!! It looked like the most common ingredients were coconut, egg, and sugar, with Pandan very often as well. It presented like a Coconut with smooth, almost custard like undertones. There was also a nice vanilla undertone throughout. Now, while Capella billed it as having “rich buttery notes”, and while I didn’t exactly get those, overall it had a nice “weight” to it, and a great, dense mouthfeel. Assuming DAAP, it was damned fine as it was.
At 4% it was very full, and the nice, almost thick-ish mouthfeel really gave it some weight. Sweetness was just below mid-level, and I could only pick up on one (kinda) off-note. There was a slight astringent dryness on the finish, but TBH, almost all coconuts have it, so keep that in mind. Not off-putting, not overbearing, but still there. All in, a very good coconut, which seemed to straddle shredded, and sweetened, with a creamy, dense mouthfeel, along with some very nice vanilla undertones. Not a coconut custard, not a creamed coconut, but the aforementioned. I could see a LOT of uses for this one, and with only the slight dryness to complain about, I left this one fairly high at a 9.2/10. Tasty, and unique enough to pick it up, even IF you already had a few coconuts.
Pandan (CAP) 4% (7-30-26) – I spent some extra time with this one, as it had me stumped lol. I have never actually tasted Pandan, so I could not directly compare. It was reported to be vanilla-like with grassy undertones, hints of coconut and nuttiness. I didn’t really get that, from this flavor. Throughout the first tank, it just didn’t seem to be in my wheelhouse, but I didn’t put it down. The two main notes I got were a very prominent earthy-ness, followed by a strong nutty-ness. There COULD have been a light grassy undertone in there, but if so, it was very low in the mix. Slight hints of vanilla, and somewhat creamy.
At 4% it was very forward, and left an earthy lingering aftertaste. I’d rate it at a 9.5/10 on the strength scale, and sweetness was a few ticks below mid-level. Off-notes will be hard to quantify here, as it was a fairly dark, earthy, nutty, slightly bitter flavor with some vanilla and creamy-ness, so which of those would be off-notes, hehe, you decide. I love matcha, which can be grassy, but I just didn’t get much of that here. It WAS an interesting vape, and I’m not personally sure where it would fit best in mixes, but a very interestingly different flavor than I was used to. Squarely NOT in my wheelhouse, so keep that in mind. I felt like I had to push it down somewhat due to the very prominent earthy/nutty (slightly bitter) profile, but the slight creaminess and light vanilla did save it somewhat. I finally gave up, and slapped a 6/10. on this one.
XS Alpine Strawberry (CAP) 1.25% (8-9-26) – With the XS line being stronger than the normal CAP flavors, I gave these some extra steep time, just to let them settle out. This one had a surprise in store for me, as it actually had some jam, and light butter notes in it ? Yes, I changed out the cotton JUST to make sure. The expected bright top end, almost sparkly notes were present, along with, some unexpected jammy undertones, and I’d swear I got just a hint of buttery richness in there. It actually tasted more like a juicy strawberry jam, with nice Alpine highlights. Overall it was very red, WITH the brighter Alpine notes on top.
While not as super concentrates as FLV’s, this one was spot on strength wise @ 1.25% and was about a 9.5/10 on the strength scale. Sweetness was just at about mid-level, and no real off-notes or complaints. NOW, with that said, it was NOT a pure Alpine SB, BUT, having those notes paired with some nice red jammy notes, really worked well. Your uses may vary because of the included jam notes. I think a better name would have been Alpine Strawberry Jam. Can’t really deduct FOR the jam, so be advised, it’s IN there. Tasted very good, authentic, and with the darker, jammier notes on the bottom, and the brighter Alpine notes on the top, it widened the spectrum it covered. All in, it felt good at a 9/10.
XS Fresh Watermelon (CAP) 1.25%
XS Golden Pineapple (CAP) 1.25%
XS Italian Lemon Sicily (CAP) 1.25%
XS Lemon Carioca (CAP) 1.25%
XS Luscious Peach (CAP) 1.25%
XS Mango Ice (CAP) 1.25%
XS Mango Top (CAP) 1.25%
XS Mango Top Rio (CAP) 1.25%
XS Peach Nectarious (CAP) 1.25%
XS Raspberry (CAP) 1.25%
XS Ripe Watermelon (CAP) 1.25%
XS Spearmint (CAP) 1.25%
XS Strawberry Carioca (CAP) 1.25%
XS Sweet Guava (CAP) 1.25%
XS Sweet Mango (CAP) 1.25%
XS Sweet Strawberry (CAP) 1.25%
XS Vanilla Custard (CAP) 1.25%
