Steeping E Liquid

Some people buy a new e liquid or e juice and want to use it straight away while others, often those who have been enjoying e cigarettes for a while may be looking at ways to enhance the way that their vape juices tastes.

Much the same way that Christmas pudding chefs steep their Christmas puddings over a period of time to allow the alcohol to mature and enhance their flavour, vapers are now taking steps to enhance the flavour of the e juices in a similar way.

There is nothing “wrong” with using an e liquid just as it is when it arrives. Most manufacturers you will know that what you get through the post or in store is the real deal and bound to taste great and be ready for immediate use. Steeping is purely a way for people to enhance the experience, dependant on their individual tastes. Steeping allows flavours to blend together and become mature, whilst rounding off any harsh flavours. The PG and VG and flavourings needs time to fuse together to release a fuller more smoother flavour.

The general rule of thumb for steeping is to find a cool and dark place, to leave the lid off and to allow the e juice time to mature as the air causes oxidation of the liquid. Between three and ten days initially is what is suggested although seven days is the popular choice.

Once you’ve tested your e juice, which may have changed colour (interaction of liquids with nicotine causes this) as part of the process which is entirely normal, you may be satisfied or you may wish to leave it a little longer. Frequently squeezing the air out of the bottle and allowing fresh air to go into the bottle, will aid the process. This method of time delay steeping, is natural and the most popular around but does have its disadvantage of taking a while to reach optimum results(user dependent).

A second method that some vapers seem to favour, especially when they are looking to slightly reduce the time it takes for the e juice to mature or steep is to use warm water.

Some recommend leaving the e juice bottle in warm water (no hotter than body temperature), giving it a shake from time to time and then repeating, renewing the water obviously for anything from a few hours to a few days. This method is trial and error however the idea behind it is that the heat helps to quicken the reactions. Again the e juice may darken in colour which is simply a by-product of the reaction.

There are also other methods such as using microwaves to increase the molecular particle infusion of the liquid and also methods using ultrasonic, but we do advise using only the above for best steeping results.

There is no hard and fast rule which governs steeping and while some swear by it others remain sceptical. The only way to know if this process does indeed enhance the e juice flavour is to give it a go.