Well, I think @Dan_the_Man is fairly well versed in flavour usage and his complaint is he doesn’t want to spend the dollars on a concentrate that he has to use at 5% + and to be quite honest I am exactly the same.
Importing flavours that I have to use at a higher rate makes me extremely conscious of the % usage. As a litre of xyz that I have to use at 5% costs me the same in shipping as a litre of abc that I use at 0.5%.
Believe me the shipping is not trivial for me I just paid 140 euro to ship 8kg of flavours it was still cheaper than buying them in Australia where some places sell a 10ml of say LB VIC for $5 (a better example is $35 for 100 ml of FA)
I am not sure why you directed the post to Dan cause as far as I can see he totally agrees.
Trying to help him, and free him to some degree, as he had his percentages backwards regarding SFT vs. mixing. The funny thing for me, is when I compare my stronger/more expensive flavor mixes with weaker/cheaper flavor mixes, the costs about even out.
Yes Dan. If you look at (another site) for flavor use rates, you will see the SFT value is always much higher, than the level the flavor is actually used at in recipes. The reason is, when you are testing it solo, you spike it to almost it’s max value for testing. In recipes however, it’s dropped way down, as it is now PART of a recipe, NOT a solo note.
From my example above, for FA Pear. Think of it this way Dan, in a SOLO test it is the ONLY flavor, but in a mix, it is one of MANY flavors, that ALL need to be blended, and balanced, hence the much lower usage rates.
Sorry to hijack I know this is a coconut topic
But do you do this with all flavours @woftam or do you have exceptions?
I’m thinking about custard mainly because it is usually a flavour people push quite high. Or do you have a favourite sc custard that I clearly might definitely need
Ya know… when doing your sft… I think solos… nothing but that one flavor…
I am to go as low as possible, to find the start of where I can start to taste that flavor… so it could be 1 drop in 30 ml… or 15 drops… but I build up to where I can say… ohhh this might be blue razz I taste… and I make a “mark” or note… at 3 drops in 30ml… the flavor starts here…
Then I move it up… if it’s a 1 drop… I find out what 3 drops is like… or if it is a 6 drop start… then I move it to an 18 drop…
(I am sooo anal… I will find out how many drops I make… makes 1 ml… and then I know based on drops, how to “conform” it into percentages. ) Def side topic!
then I push that flavor, taking notes where it will morph and mute… to where it is too much… so then I have the averages… of low, tastes good, and oh my gosh do not push it past the “X” mark…
I rarely pay attention to others and how they taste… I mix for what tastes good for and to me… I matter… I want to be happy with my mixes so focusing on what I taste and where… is a biggie for me.
I know I know… Time… not many have the time or the need to focus on 3 spots, much less 1 spot.
It is a fine line, or art… into knowing what it is you want to taste vs everyone else and the assumed collection of ohh I like it here…
Take flv nuts and chocolates… I have proved to a few… 1-3 drops is just as tasty at 1.5%
yeps I derailed… but I love the bizwitch out of some coconuts and coconut milk and cocoa and …lolol
btw… @Spyce I love both the custards from FLV… but custard (plain!) to me, tastes just like my mom’s… she has been gone now 10 yrs… and the day I tasted the custard… It had me sitting on the floor balling like a baby… just wishing my mom could be here to taste the gorgeous mess custard made in my mouth and in my heart… Reminded me of the times my mom drilled into my head on how to make her custard… <3 Hope this helps haha!!
Yeah @SmokyBlue i read your method in your pdf I got when I first joined here. it makes total sense to me and you’ve clearly put a phenomenal amount of work into it.
I’m totally mixing for me and my taste but it’s nice to cheat… oops I mean have help with ballpark %’s as a starting block
I know I’ve been using the flv recipe book along with the pdfs to get an idea of ball park numbers, it’s turned what I’ve been learning about flavours on its head a bit but it’s all good
And goes without saying the FLV custards are on my list along with a ton of others.
Awww sorry to hear about your mum
I lost my dad about the same time, Just before Xmas 10yrs ago, it seems like forever and yesterday all at the same time. He taught me lots. And I miss him tons. Diabetes and emphysema took him. I wish I could’ve got him vaping recon he’d have loved the bakery’s
I did get my mom to try out a cigalike and we laughed so hard… it was so nasty back then and she really wanted to get me to “fix the taste” and I hope if she looks down… she’d be proud of me… Fatal heart attack and sclerosis of the liver… My dad… he just could not wrap his head around vaping and I really want to believe… if he had… he might still have been around. He quit cold turkey with smoking… and 3 years later died from stage 4 cancer of the lungs… Never thought to be an orphan… but yeah… all the shoulda wouldas xoxo
I guess it’s why I have pushed myself, @Spyce as life is never easy or as we wish… but we can make a difference
It is a very good coconut it is authentic, however it is in the higher range usage for an MF around 1%. Not super sweet but has a little creaminess to it. A touch of a TH which didn’t steep out but that can be sorted with addition of a smidge of TPA malted milk (.25).
As it is not an overly sweet coconut you may find you need a flavour/sweetener to sweeten it up a little. FLV sweet coconut just tops it for me in the versatility/cost/usage % departments. Still a great coconut to have in your stash.
I want to be happy with my mixes so focusing on what I taste and where… is a biggie for me.
Hope this helps haha!! 
xoxo