Having the right kind of e-juice is very important to a vaper. There are so many different aspects that go into selecting the right one to make sure that your money is well spent. Steeping is a process that allows your liquid to reach a state in which it has reacted with the air just enough to give you a better flavour hit.
Many vapers believe it is a waste of time while the other side believes that it makes a world of difference to the experience. Below we are going to explore the world of steeping a little more to help all levels of experienced vapers understand the process.
What is it?
Similar to letting the air react with a fine wine, steeping is a process that is done to improve the overall flavour of the e-juice. The method itself can be done a number of ways all in which aim to speed up the process so you can start vaping it as soon as possible. As these e-juices are made up of a number of different things, it is recommended that you shake them before use. Steeping is like shaking the cartridge but in a whole new way to make it better.
What is streathing?
Steeping and streathing go hand in hand as the method of streathing is used to determine the optimal amount of time that you should steep your e-juice. This method involves testing the e-juice at different points in its steeping life cycle. For optimal results it is recommended that you keep a notes page to identify the optimal amount of time you should let your e-juice steep for.
Why should you steep your e-liquid?
Many people debate what the main purpose of steeping their e-liquid actually is. Some claim that the oxygen in the air allows the flavours to reach new heights and become far greater than the unsteeped counterpart. Some people also agree that steeped e-liquids provide less of a throat hit that the regular variant. While a lot of this data is based off opinions of the general public it is still something to take into consideration.
Think of it as a review for a hotel. You don’t know if it is true but if there are multiple sources saying the same thing it is generally correct. So with that in mind the people who would benefit from steeping the most would be flavour chases. If you are all about the flavour hits and want to experience your e-juice on a different level you should at least give steeping a go.
For those who only vape for the nicotine aspect, steeping may not be the best choice to go with due to the reduction in throat hit that it provides.
Methods for steeping
So we’ve talked about it a lot and you’re probably wondering how you can actually steep your e-juice. The best method for steeping DIY mixes is to store them in a dry and dark place with the caps of the cartridges off. As e-liquid is a chemical it is important that you take extra care when doing especially if you have children or pets. You should aim to agitate the uncapped mixture 2 to 3 times a day. The mixture interacting with the air should give a very significant improvement to your e-liquid after approximately 5 to 7 days.
As there are many different blends the steep time will differ for each brand and flavour. You can also speed up the process via a hot bath method as liquids tend to react faster when they are hotter. This is not recommended though as heating the liquids can alter the equilibrium of all the chemicals.