Sweet Crunch (Flavorah) 1% (11-1-23) – The moment I started testing this one, it reminded me of OSDIY Lucky Shot. Now not because they were close, because they actually weren’t, but a very similar concept. A little bit of this, that, and the other thing, all summed up, into a HELL of a flavor profile !!! Yes, it was good. I think Flavorah billed it as Cereal Flakes, Brown Sugar, and Meringue, and that’s EXACTLY what I got. The cereal flakes were QUITE interesting, as they were NOT “corn flakes” but had a lot of similarities TO them, but without the “corny” push. They actually had some nice crunch, and almost grain to them. The brown sugar seemed to be a bit lower in the mix, and added a light sweetness, and some darker notes TO the cereal flakes. The meringue was a perfect accent and seemed to help carry the other two profiles together. It started with more of the cereal flakes, with the brown sugar undertones, and finished with more of the meringue. Quite a tasty, and interesting pairing. To re-state, the cereal flakes were somewhat like corn flakes, but not completely, and there were no overt corn, or AP notes, but it clearly WAS (or were) cereal flakes.
The uses for this, will span far beyond the obvious of cereals, but also bakeries, and even more. You COULD call this a blend, and because of that, it’s uses will be far greater than a simple cereal flake flavor. I couldn’t even guess the exact ratios between the three profiles, but they were smartly done, and I got no off-notes from it. With the brown sugar being lower in the mix, sweetness was a bit below mid-level, and 3 testers in, I could find no off-notes to complain about. A very unique, cereal flake, brown sugar, and meringue pairing, that will probably get a lot of mileage. Leaving it at a high 9.5/10.
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As always, thanks for your work. I’d thought I’d make it public, if it wasn’t assumed as being an obvious tacit fact between us. Although, one query jumped to mind: Did Flavorah fear a copywrite case with Weird Al?
Or, has conversing with @JoelSq made me conspiratorial?
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Thank you @SquirrelSmash, and you are welcome.
Hehe, I"m not sure what to comment on that one.
I think I now know what you meant. You were referring to the lack of pure, simple, single flavor profiles.
And if so, yes, there would have been TWO out of the ones I’ve tested thus far, being Donut, and Saturn Peach. I don’t have issues using blends, blended flavors, or even one-shots in mixes, as it CAN really liven things up. Producing them for sales however, CAN be risky. If the blends suck, well they won’t sell. If they’re TOO specific, then sales will be down, due to limited uses/usage. If you can combine profiles that DO work, taste great, AND either are completely finished, and ready to go, OR, are more of a solid “base” or foundation which can/could be used in numerous applications, they can sell really well.
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Indeed, they do need to release things that appeal to a wide market to run a profit. Though, it was very obvious this time. It felt like they looked at the flavours of others and panicked. Some rather established FA ones and new members to the market, with the same profile, making it beyond credulity.
Obviously, I know that my own style is against the grain in all regards: I haven’t seen another who prefers 80% PG and happily layers up to 17 concentrates in a recipe.
Sorry for the delay: In a few chats about my return to the Church, so all needed schooling on every confidence trick used by others from homeopathy to faith healing - things which I despise with every fibre of my being.
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Tart Blast (Flavorah) 1% (11-5-23) – Out of the gate, this one was Lemons, and it stayed that way to the end of the testers. Gave it some extra time, as I wanted to make sure to get it right. Now, this one could, and would boost up fruits, but going too high, would inject Lemons. NOW, this was NOT a typical Lemon flavor, as it seemed to have a lot of the very bright higher notes, and when finger testing, had an almost lemon oil, fresh from the rhind. I got a fairly even 50/50 natural/artificial split, with the artificial notes being somewhat “Lemonhead”-ish. It is, and was billed as an enhancer, which is accurate, and testing it AS a solo can’t fully flush out it’s effect(s) in mixes. Sweetness was a few ticks below mid-level, and no off-notes could be found. Although Flavorah stated it would boost “fizzyness” that is unclear, but boosting fruits, especially citruses, would be 100% guaranteed. All in, an interesting “enhancer” that solo’d, was a 50/50 mix of natural and artificial lemon top/bright notes, with a genuine lemon/citrus oil undertone. Judging this solely as an “enhancer” I would rate it higher, with the only take-off being the no “fizzy enhancements”, BUT, again, this was tested solo. Leaving it at a 9.1/10.
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Very keen to hear how this would work alongside MF Lemon , FE Lemon ,VT Sour Lemon and JF Juicy Lemon for examples. I am hoping it is something to use at 0.5% and it works some kind of magic.
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Using it up to 0.5% as an enhancer sounds good @lukeloop. As far as enhancing particular Lemons/Citruses, I think the BETTER the OG Lemon, like MF Lemon, the less it will enhance, and vice versa.
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Torrone (Flavorah) 1% (11-11-23) – Closing out this series of NEW Flavorah flavors with the Torrone. Many of the other torrones I’ve tested, were fairly dark and bitter, and this one, while fairly clear in the bottle did have some bitter overtones when smelling it. The great news was, it didn’t present that way. It had a very nice, but somewhat light nougat main note, which was tempered by a very nice almond note, with a light cherry overtone. Very nice. Flavorah described this one as not bullying flavors in mixes, and that would seem to be accurate, given that it was somewhat relaxed at my 1% testing weight. Not thin, or light, but relaxed. I know some T’s have lemon accents, and I didn’t pick up on any here. That was perfectly ok because the almond/cherry combo, DID work here. Tasty, nougat-y, and would appear to NOT run ripshod over mixes. No off-notes, including no bitterness, and sweetness was actually a few ticks below mid-level. All in, an impressive Torrone, that was slightly relaxed, but with some very nice almond, and cherry notes. Closing out the series with this one, and leaving it fairly high due to it’s accuracy, and lack of heavy handed-ness. 9.0/10.
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Thanks again out to @Bryson over at Flavorah for sending these out. There were a LOT of winners in this series.
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I applaud your efforts SD as do many others. I may not agree with you on those containing BA which I loathe and can taste like a bloodhound. I am aslo a harsher marker than you as I use a different marking scheme BUT your notes are an outstanding world class resource for thousands.
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Hehe, thank you very much @lukeloop.
Understood. I can’t remember which exact flavor I reviewed in the past, but there was one, where I FAILED to mention the BA, and some people commented on it, so I possibly increased my sens to it because of that. Thank you again mate.
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@lukeloop I’d love to hear your thoughts on them as very few, can mold recipes like you do.
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I only did those Duomei ones , it is just that others seem to beat me to the notes so unless I have something else to say about them I usually just keep quiet. With the Duomei ones there was no notes on them so did my bit for what it was worth.
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Understood, but I still encourage you to, as you have great taste, a unique style, and a different perspective. 
It’s never too late for Luke’s Notes !!!
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