As e-cigarettes become increasingly popular for all their many benefits over traditional tobacco smoking[1], it is important for those who enjoy vaping to understand exactly how to get the most out of their e-cigarette experience. This includes learning how to steep their e-juice prior to use.
How to Steep E-Juice
Steeping is a word used to describe how one can essentially “age” their e-liquid in order to get the most flavor out of it. While steeping e-juice is not exactly like aging wine, the truth is that just like wine, e-juice benefits from being prepared prior to consumption. Freshly mixed, raw e-juice actually has virtually no flavor at all because its main ingredients–propylene glycol, vegetable glycerin, nicotine and flavoring concentrates–haven’t had sufficient time to actually bond to one another immediately after manufacture. E-juices that contain distilled water, alcohol or other additional ingredients must also have time to properly activate. Generally speaking, all e-juices must be steeped before they are able to realize their full potential because many vendors seek to sell the freshest e-juice they possibly can. This can seem like a wonderfully appealing thing, but the fact is that freshly made e-juice, like freshly made wine, hasn’t had time to mature and therefore may not live up to expectations. Furthermore, on its trip through the mail it has experienced a variety of temperatures, air pressures, altitudes, barometric differences, and much more. Even where vendors promise that their e-juices are completely matured and ready for use, it’s important to be extra sure and go ahead and steep them at home. Doing this is very simple:
● Shake your e-juice really well, and then open it.
● Put the cap back on and shake your e-juice really well again.
● Place your e-juice in a dark area, such as a medicine cabinet, a closet or a shoebox.
● Leave your e-juice alone for a week.
● Open and try your e-juice. If you feel like the flavor is still flat, try shaking the bottle very vigorously again and placing it in the dark for another week. If it still fails to meet your expectations, perhaps you need to consider purchasing higher-quality e-juice from a different vendor.
It is very important to bear in mind that while careful selection can ensure the best quality e-juices, some e-juice manufacturers do use cheap ingredients, creating poor quality products that will never rise to your expectations no matter how hard you try to prepare them through steeping.
[1] http://www.ecigalternative.com/electronic-cigarette-benefits.htm