How To Steep E-Juice
You know the phrase ‘there’s always room for improvement.’ Well, you can now apply that to your favourite e-liquids and vape juices. You might have found a flavour you absolutely love, but it would be much better if the taste were more robust. That’s where steeping comes in.
This new trend in the vaping world is set to improve your vaping experience and open up a world of possibilities for your favourite flavours. We’ve compiled all the information needed to start steeping and levelling up your vape juices. Read on to see how.
What Is Steeping?
While you might not have heard of steeping in vaping terms, you may be familiar with the word. That’s because it’s a method of increasing a product's strength that has been used for many centuries. It is most commonly associated with tea, and as such, steeping has its origins going back to ancient times.
Steeping is so common, in fact, that it’s likely you steep things daily - especially if you're a tea drinker. When you make a cup of tea and leave the teabag in the water for a while to get the most of the flavour, you are steeping. Technically, the process is taking a product and leaving it (often in water) to soften it and then extracting the flavours (and sometimes nutrients).
How does that relate to vaping? It turns out it’s possible to steep e-liquid. And much like with tea, if you steep your e-liquid, you can get more flavour from it.
Why Should I Steep E-Juice?
The main reason you should try steeping your vape juice is to get more flavour from it. If you love a flavour of e-liquid but wish it were stronger, you can now make that happen.
While it's possible to get more flavour from store-bought vape juice by steeping it, the real effects of steeping come when you do so on made-to-order or DIY e-liquids. Store-bought juices have likely been through some method of steeping already. But that’s not to say there’s no chance you can get more from it.
Why not give it a try? We’ve got all the steps needed to make it happen, so see what you can do by steeping your juices.
What Is Streathing?
Before you get serious with steeping all of your vape juices, first, you need to find out exactly how long you should be steeping them for. As with most science experiments (because that’s what this is), there is an optimum period. Not all e-liquids will require the same amount of time, so make sure you test each one.
That’s where streathing comes in. Streathing is testing how long each juice needs to be steeped. You take a juice, start steeping it, track the progress, and then see how strong the flavour is over time. You’ll find that it tastes best after being steeping for an optimal period and, after that, will cease to improve. Streathing is all about finding that perfect time.
The optimum time could be weeks or months, so be patient in your streathing. Remember, you are streathing to find the ideal time for your flavour preference; others might prefer more or less than you.
How Long Does Steeping Take?
Method of Steeping
As with any scientific process, there are variables to consider. In this case, the method you use to steep juice for your vaping device will indicate how long your steeping will take. There are three main methods you can use to steep your vape juice.
These are resting, using an ultrasonic cleaner, and using a hot bath. These options range from simplest to most involved and slowest to fastest. It depends entirely on your situation, timescales, and sense of urgency.
While they all do the same task, each uses different methods to encourage the steeping process. Resting allows the steeping by simply letting time do its job and ageing the e-liquid - much like with cheese or whisky. Breathing can be likened to opening a bottle of wine beforehand to allow the flavours to settle, while the hot bath method uses heat chemistry to speed up the process.
VG, PG and Nicotine Ratio
Another aspect that affects how long you’ll need to steep your vape juice is the ingredients. E-liquids are usually made of vegetable glycerin, propylene glycol, or a mixture of the two. What you need to concentrate on is if your e-liquid has VG in it, and if so, how much. If it has a mix of both, this applies when there is more VG in it than PG (propylene glycol).
The thing about VG is that it is much thicker than PG, meaning it will take longer for the flavour(s) to become an equal strength across the whole product. With that being the case, VG juices will take longer to steep than VG ones.
Another thing to consider is if there is nicotine in the e-liquid. Similarly to VG, nicotine-based vape juices will take longer to steep than those without.
The Amount of Concentrates Used
But it’s not just the base ingredients to consider when deciding on steeping time. It’s the flavours and concentrates, too. If your vape juice is a straightforward one-flavour e-liquid, you’ll likely find that the steeping time is much lower than if you have a mix of flavours.
When you mix many concentrates to create a super-flavour, the steeping time will be longer. That’s because you must wait for all the concentrates to homogenise instead of just one. You have to be careful that the flavour you wanted is the one you get, and if you steep for too little time, you might find it’s not what you were hoping for.
That’s not to put you off using multiple concentrates if you make your own e-liquid; it’s just something to consider.
The Flavour
It might surprise you to know, but the flavour of your vape juice will directly relate to how long you need to steep. This is all down to the chemicals used to create the flavours in the first place.
The steeping process will take much longer when the components are more dense. So which flavours have the most dense components? Look out for creamy, dessert, or custard-like flavours. These options will take longer to steep, so prepare for that eventuality.
If you’re looking for a quick-steep and a fast turnaround time, go for the fruity flavours. These seem the least dense and are the best option if you simply can’t wait to get vaping.
Flavours such as tobacco, tea, other drinks, and spices fall somewhere in between the two. These flavours will require some streathing to figure out their optimum steeping time.
What Is the Best Steeping Method for E-Liquid?
Water Bath
So, let’s examine the water bath method in more detail. In this method, you’ll place your vape juice container in a bowl of hot water around once every 72 hours. You’ll need to leave it in the bath for about an hour each time. This will significantly increase the flavour strength, and the steeping will be completed in a much quicker time of one day to two weeks.
The reason the water bath method is the fastest of all the options on this list is due to the use of heat. Heat is used in many chemical reactions because it changes the makeup of the heated components. In this instance, the heat in the water helps to evaporate the unwanted chemicals that dilute the vape juice's flavour.
Ultrasonic Cleaner
For an equally quick steeping time, you can use an ultrasonic cleaner. While these machines might be better known for removing dirt from hard-to-clean objects, such as metals, glass, and rubber, it turns out they're a fantastic way to steep your vape juice.
This option might be a bit out there and only relevant if you already have one on hand, but if you're planning on steeping a lot of juice - especially if you’re creating big batches - this could be a game changer.
To steep your e-liquids using this method, fill the cleaner with water, put the juice containers inside, and then turn it on and let it do its magic. Leave the bottles inside for around 30 minutes before uncapping the containers, letting them breathe for a short while, and then testing how they taste. If you’d like a stronger taste, put them back in and repeat until perfect.
The way this works is because the cleaner uses high-frequency sound waves to disrupt the fluids inside, in turn mixing the juice to get it to homogenisation.
Resting
The final method is resting. This is the simplest method and takes genuinely no effort to do. It’s quite simply leaving your e-liquid in a cool, dark place. When you choose the resting method, you will leave the cap on the container. That means once you’ve bought (or finished creating) your juice, you merely put it to one side and leave it. While this is the easiest method, it’s also the longest and can take between one week and three months, depending on your preferences.
This method mainly uses homogenisation to improve the flavours. Basically, it allows the flavours to become equally strong throughout the whole product and not just in those first few puffs. It's a perfect option if you just want to leave it to do its thing and come back to delicious flavour.
Frequently Asked Questions
How Do You Steep Vape Juice Quickly?
The quickest method of steeping vape juice is to use a water bath. To do this, soak your e-liquid container in a bath of warm-to-hot water for an hour once every 72 hours. It should take between one day to two weeks to reach optimum flavour.
How Long To Steep After Adding Nicotine?
Due to the fact that nicotine is a thick product, it adds some time to your steeping process. The length of time you should steep your vape juice depends on various factors, including the level of VG, nicotine, and the method you choose.
Final Thoughts
Whether you've bought your vape juice from a store or created it DIY, why settle for less flavour? Steeping your vape juices will significantly improve your vaping experience, and it's so easy to do. Try it out for yourself and see how you get on.
To find the best flavours to steep, shop the RELX collection now.
Also in Vape Knowledge
How Long Until I Can Vape After Wisdom Teeth Removal?
Vaping after wisdom tooth removal is not recommended, as it can cause complications like dry sockets. Patients should wait at least three days before vaping to ensure proper healing and minimize risks associated with the extraction site.
Does Vaping Break a Fast?
