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So if it’s going to be two week steep is this a premature speculation 
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Don’t do yellow mango last though please.
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@lukeloop, finally locked in the mixing/testing weights for now, and ALL just mixed, and steeping. Better to start a little lower, and can always increase if needed. Some smell really, really good, like the Choco, Choco Hazel, Golden Pineapple, and Yellow Mango, and a couple are ???, like Grapes, Soda Ice Cream, and Luzon Mango, but could be because they’re so strong that they have to be fully diluted to avoid complete saturation, like they are in the OG bottles.
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I think Luzon has cooling in it. Not sure , On another hand Dave raves about Yellow Mango here. Mango ft Dragon Lady & Skittersmurf | Noted: 196 - YouTube
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Banana (Duomei) 0.4%/0.8% (1-3-23) – FIRST of these new flavors on deck, and IN the tester !!! I wanted to make sure to give them a solid 2 week steep as many of them smelled HELLA strong. I tested the Banana at both 0.4% and 0.8%, as it imparted no fear in me at the lower weight. At BOTH weights, this one presented as a very natural yellow, and almost “mushy” banana. I typically prefer a “Lean to the Green”, at least when eating them, and this one stayed fairly OUT of the “green” realm. It was ripe/ripened, BUT, just short of being OVER ripe. I had almost thought it has aspects of a Flambe, BUT that wasn’t entirely accurate, as there weren’t any butter, sugar, or flaming liquor notes present. It was almost like a perfectly ripened banana was heated up in a pan, smoothing it, and almost caramelizing it JUST a bit to give you a sense. It tasted super delicious at both testing weights, and it did NOT double in strength when going from 0.4% to 0.8%. It’s strength increased somewhat, but not linearly, so probably a 0.65%-0.8% weight would be fine. Natural, yellow, and mushy were the three things that stuck with me throughout the entire test. No off notes, and VERY impressed for this, the first in this series. Sweetness was just below mid level, and there was an almost “creamy” aspect to it, BUT, it was NOT a nana cream to be clear. All in, a great first showing from Duomei with this one, and as long as you didn’t need a “green-ish” nana, this one will push your ripened yellow banana boundaries. 9.8/10.
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Blackberry (Duomei) 0.2%/0.4% (1-4-23) – STRONG, STRONG, STRONG is the word of the day with this one. My initial tests at 0.4% had a very clear soapy, almost perfumey aftertaste. Fine, BACK to the drawing board, fully reduced to 0.2%, and re-tested. The flavor strength overall did reduce, and SOME of the soap and perfume reduced as well, but it was still somewhat present. This was fairly odd, as I have rolled with some of the strongest MF flavors with little to no issues, so this MAY be a flavor issue, and not a “strength” issue per se. There did seem to be a oddly different blackberry hiding behind the soapy overtones, and it’s possible, if you were to go even LOWER, you might be able to resolve it, but at that point, it would be so far reduced, it may just be unusable. I did not reduce any further below 0.2%, which in a 10ml tester, is 1d. I’ve come across AND overflavored plenty, so I’m very well versed in reducing my way back to sanity. This one, may not be ready for prime time. Fully reduced it smelled ok, but tasting it re-yielded the soapy-ness. Going to plant this one @ 2.0/10.
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Black Currant (Duomei) 0.4%/0.8%/1.0% (1-4-23) – This one, like many of these Duomei’s smelled very strong, and I started testing @ 0.4%, which was good, but it felt like it needed more, so I re-tested and increased first to 0.8%, and then 1.0%. This one presented at EVERY testing weight, as a really good, dark-ish, barely sweetened, black currant. I FOUGHT the urge to try it with some sweetener, to see if it would open up even MORE, but altering test samples, goes down a long, and treacherous road, that I won’t go down. Sweetness was a FEW clicks below mid level sweet, and the dark berry-ish, notes to really swirl around, AND with some almost dark grape wine notes to boot !!! Because of the below average sweetness, there was a slight dryness to the finish, but wasn’t off-putting at all. There was a certain, delicious tarty, almost sharp overtone, that rode throughout that really made it interesting, and a stand out. In the absence of any overt artificial notes, it leaned smartly to the authentic and natural. The only minor takeoff would be the slightly dry finish, which I’m SURE could be eliminated with a smidge of sweetener. Nicely done, and easily a 9.7/10.
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Blueberry (Duomei) 0.5%/1.0% (1-5-23) – Wow, this one was good, and different that most, if not all of my current BB rotation. I tested it at both 0.5%, and increased to 1.0% and both worked perfectly, with about a 25% increase in flavor when doubling, so 1.0% may be near the top of the usable range on this one. Very natural tasting, and even after three testers, I couldn’t think of a close match, so that’s great, breaking new ground. The word of the day with this one was “smooth”. It wasn’t recessed, but not overtly forward during the testing. No candy here, but more of an almost baked blueberry. It wasn’t a bright, super juicy BB, but seemed to excel in more of the mid, to mid-lower notes of a great blueberry. Duomei saw fit to add just enough of the tart-ish high end notes, to keep it interesting. No musky-ness, and nothing out of place with this one, at either testing weight. It was very usable at both weights, and just below mid-level sweet. Despite looking, I was unable to find any faults with this, with only minor takeoffs for the relaxed nature. If I had to change it, I would have made it a SMIDGE more forward. As it stood, a damned fine, natural blueberry the was incredibly smooth, excelling in the low and mid notes, with just enough tarty high end notes. Easily a 9.2/10.
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Caramel (Duomei) 0.4%/0.8%/1.0% (1-5-23) – In a few words, “Get this one” !!! Wow. This Caramel, wowwed RIGHT out of the gate, and didn’t stop. This one was SO good @ 0.4%, I had to see, if it improved by doubling to 0.8%, and then, up to 1.0%, and it DID. Rich, creamy, buttery, and just hands down, delicious. Having quite a few caramels in use, and to compare to, it’s safe to say this one, has NO equal(s) or direct comparisons on my racks, and that’s saying something. What made this super unique, was the almost equal pairing of milky/creamy notes, and smooth buttery notes. Just perfectly paired, where neither took the lead, and each fully supported the overall Caramel-ly effect. For an “artificial” flavor, this might be one of, if not the best “natural” tasting Caramel’s I’ve tried. Across all three testing weights, it was rich, present, and was hard to put down, hehe. It increased when doubling, and when finalizing at 1.0%, and had literally NO off-putting notes, or any signs of topping out. It was just above mid-level sweet which worked perfectly, and I’m fighting the urge to order a jumbo bottle, before it’s OOS @ diyliquid.com.au. Without belaboring the point, if you are looking to order a few (or more), this one SHOULD be on your list. The buttery/milky/creamy-ness of this one, could simply NOT be overstated. Rich, delicious, and can be solo’d all day long (trust me, I did). With it’s unique status, lack of any off notes, and velvety smooth creamy, buttery-ness, I could think of ZERO issues with this one. Handily a 10/10.
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I smeared 2 small drops on my hand and I could smell caramel for days. I don’t usually do caramel as I find them “dirty” but this one smells smooth.
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@lukeloop I think you are spot on with this one, and I think your “dirty” analogy is PERFECT.
And …
Is also spot on !!!
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Chocolate (Duomei) 0.4%/0.8% (1-5-23) – Here are the MOST common questions I get about testing chocolates, as there are some BAD choco’s out there. Is it: Dry, Bandaids, Tootsie Roll, Dark/Coil Gunking ?? Most of the BAD ones, have one or more of the aforementioned. Luckily for you AND me, this one had NONE of them. Wait, Bandaids ?? Yes, think of the Inawera Milk Chocolate (New Version). As with others, I tested this at 0.4%, then doubled to 0.8%. At both weights it tasted good, with no off notes, or anything offensive. It increased in strength when doubling, but wasn’t linear (i.e. stronger, but not twice as strong). It presented as a fairly natural tasting chocolate, without any artificial-ness screaming through. The chocolate itself, was almost a mid, to mid dark chocolate blend, which was good, because it left it RIGHT in the middle of the light (milk chocolate), and dark (dark chocolate) spectrum. It was very full and present at both weights, but not what I would call creamy or rich. No overt creamery notes, but still a nice full on chocolate. Sweetness was a few ticks below mid-level, which would allow you to sweeten if needed. Continued testing honestly didn’t really reveal any shortcomings, or artificial notes, so it was an impressive showing, simply because it tasted like a true, accurate chocolate. As an admitted S’mores junkie I WILL inject this into a few of my mixes to see, but solo’d it was pretty good. I tested it at 65 watts, and did try cranking the watts up, and I got NO scorching, so it didn’t appear to be temp sensitive, and being fairly clear, I didn’t get any excess coil gunking. If you are a choco lover, and placing a Duomei order, throw this one in your cart as well. Impressive as an artificial choco that didn’t taste artificial. 9.4/10.
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Chocolate Hazelnut (Duomei) 0.4%/0.8% (1-6-23) – FRESH off the heels of the Duomei Chocolate test, I got to directly compare THIS one. The chocolate notes in this one were identical (duh) to the above tested Chocolate, but with some minor differences. The hazelnut was present in this one, BUT, it was very light for my tastes, and sometimes hard to notice. Testing this at both 0.4%, and 0.8% yielded about the same results, with some minor muting (or softening) at the higher weight. Nothing off-putting, or out of place, but it was like the Hazelnut’s effect could be tasted, more than tasting the Hazelnut itself ?? Confused ?? Good, me too. It was like by adding it to the chocolate, it slightly sweetened, softened, and creamed up the chocolate a bit, so again, it didn’t scream hazelnut, but presented as almost more of a “tempered” chocolate. Not bad by any means, and at just below mid level sweet it wasn’t fatiguing, but throughout both testers, I just wanted some more hazelnut. It felt fair to place this at a 7.0/10.
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Is it a "better: chocolate to you than the chocolate though?
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@lukeloop all I can offer is MY opinion. the hazel choco was softer, and maybe somewhat creamier, but I personally still prefer the regular Choco.
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Coconut (Duomei) 0.4% (1-7-23) – I took a little extra time with this one, and did not increase the testing weight from my original 0.4%, as it felt perfectly situated, right there. This one was hard to nail down as exactly WHICH type of Coconut it was, and it was an interesting search, even if I couldn’t fully nail it down. I think what made it so hard to nail down, was it was almost a medley of different coconuts, including a coconut flake, coconut milk, and a cream of coconut. There you go, that’s it people !!! The negatives that I’ve gotten from other coco’s that I was on the lookout for were the typical dry/astringent, oily/greasy notes that some of the NOT so good coco’s have, and this one had NONE of them, AND, no suntan lotion here either. It was about mid level sweet, and fully present at the testing weight, and I didn’t find the need to increase, or decrease the strength. Not oily, or greasy, and it had just a little “twang” on the finish, and that added to the experience, and authenticity of it. Despite being mid level sweet, it was NOT a candied coconut, which was great, as that would open up it’s uses. I’d give it a 50/50 natural/artificial split, and that seemed to really work. It was JUST rich, creamy, and sweet enough, but without having too much of any. I looked hard across two testers trying to find faults/gaps and could not. Your coconut needs/tastes could be different than mine, but this one really bridged the gap and combined three different types of coconuts, in one package. I could see this being a workhorse in coconut creams, custards, etc. The only possible take off COULD be the slight “twang” at the finish, but IMO, it added to the complexity, and authenticity. Felt great @ a 9.3/10.
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Cream Vanilla (Duomei) 0.4%/0.8%/1.0% (1-7-23) – I love Vanillas and Creams, so I ALWAYS sign up to test them. This one presented lighter than some of the other Duomei flavors, so I decided to test @ 0.4%, 0.8%, and 1.0%. At the lowest weight it presented as a nice (duh), Vanilla Cream. The vanilla wasn’t spicy, and was almost similar to FA’s Classic Vanilla (Madagascar), which by nature has great creamy undertones. It was fairly relaxed, and neither the vanilla or cream/creamy-ness dominated, so it was a very even pairing of the two. Increasing to 0.8% seemed to really allow it to open up to it’s fullest potential, and pushing to 1.0% had minor signs of curling, so that seemed to be PAST it’s comfortable limit. I kind of like when I actually have the time to more fully flush out flavors across multiple weights, which I don’t always have the time to do. I think solo’d the sweet spot for this one would be at about 0.65%-0.80%, and clearly you could go lower if simple support was the only need. The cream/creamy elements were always present, but without any in your face cream, dairy, or milk notes, meaning the overall mouthfeel and effect was greater than any distinct TASTING nuances. Was is similar to INW Shisha Vanilla ?? Kind of, but quite a bit creamier, and the vanilla notes were more subtle. I could see TONS of uses for this one, from the obvious creams, custards, to pancakes, deserts, and more, so if you pick this up, you’ll get a lot of use out of it. Nothing off-putting, and only minor curling (where the saturation starts to fold over on itself), at the 1.0% level. Below that, it was smooth, creamy, vanilla sailing, all day long. Because both the vanilla and creamy elements were fairly neutral, pushing/pulling in any direction would be easy, and I could even see this working well with some berries. It was just ALMOST great enough, and complex enough to excite as a solo one-shot-ish, but felt JUST shy of that. Cream Vanilla, Creamy Vanilla, Vanilla Cream ?? ALL of the above. With only minor issues when pushed past it’s top usage, I couldn’t find any faults with it. I think I’ll add this one to the “If you pick up some Duomei’s add this one to your list” list. Deliciously placing this @ 9.6/10 for doing exactly what it was supposed to do.
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