Capella Blackcurrant SL
ConcreteRiver
Setup: Recoil w/ flavor barrel, Dual 15 wrap 26g 3mm Nifethal 70 coils @.14 ohms. 60w power, 450F temp limit. Full Cotton Wicks.
Testing: SilverLine Blackcurrant, 2 and 5%, 60/40 VG/PG, Steeped 3 days.
Flavor Description: Candy blackcurrant, similar to FA Blackcurrant but a bit more tart, much less concentrated, and without that interesting mouthfeel.
The blackcurrant here is really familiar from FA Blackcurrant. It's a deeply sweet, dark berry candy flavor without tasting like a generic "mixed berry." There's a really light kind of floral sharpness at the percentages where this tastes saturated, but it's not overbearing. Has that similar blackberry mixed with swedish fish thing going that FA has, but this tastes a little bit less like a gummy candy and has a pretty pleasant tartness that kind of cuts through some of that sugary sweetness.
Moderately full base but the top notes feel a little dry and thin. There's some warmth here, but I'd probably call less warm than the FA Blackcurrant. The primary difference seems to be actual texture of the the vape. Where FA is thick, kind of juicy, and very much a gummy candy mouthfeel, this is a bit less saturated, and quite a bit less full and round. I'm admittedly a pretty big fan of FA Blackcurrant, but this doesn't seem to nearly as much of that thick, dense mouthfeel.
Off-flavors: Still haven't had a real blackcurrant, but I'm pretty convinced I'm not missing much. Very much a ribena type candy blackcurrant. Nothing tastes off or unpleasant though.
Throat Hit: Light to moderate. Not terrible for a fruit, but I'm getting some harshness from the drier top notes.
Percentage testing: I'm not getting much of anything out of this at 2%. That's usually low for capella, but there isn't much flavor here that low. Lighter, dry blackcurrant sweetness without a real solid base. Pretty subtle overall. A bit tarter than at higher percentages, but the thinness overall is a drag.
At 5% this is fuller, but still feels a bit light for a normal capella fruit. There's some still thin dryness hovering around that more solid base. Not completely out of line with capella fruits, but seems to be a weaker flavor overall.
Not steeped, at 8% I'm starting to push into something I'd consider full flavored. The top notes are starting to fill in a bit although this is still a bit dry overall. Also becoming pretty aggressively sweet, but that's balanced somewhat by the tartness.
Just based on these tests, I'd probably mix with this around 4% as an accent and up to about 8% as a primary note. This just doesn't have much punch down low and seems to require a pretty heavy hand.
**Uses & Pairings:**If you're in the market for a substantially weaker and less fun version of FA Blackcurrant, knock yourself out. Sounds flippant, but FA Blackcurrant is a fairly aggressive flavor, and this should be a lot more mellow in a mix letting some other stuff shine through. I've seen blackcurrant in lemonade and other beverage type mixes and this may work a bit better if you want to avoid turning the mix into something warmer and stickier.
I'd probably stick with FA Blackcurrant for most of my candy-type mixes, but this might do a better job of preserving textures in bakeries.
Second Opinions: Still fairly new.
User "Spacolie16" ATF has a recipe up using this flavor. Their recipes note include: "CAP Silverline Black Currant - There isn't a ton of Black Currants on the market, so I was curious about this one in particular. It had a artificial smell and taste as a standalone, so I thought this could be used in a candy recipe. And it does. At 3%, it's rather flavorful, and I think was a perfect amount used for a simple recipe like this." Maybe my taste buds are just a bit fried, but I wouldn't call this particularly saturated even at 5%.
Here's the product page from Capella. Their description: "This European favorite has a sweet earthy taste unlike other berries. Fresh gooseberry and passion-fruit-raspberry, mix with the floral aromatic notes of carnations and roses. This sharp, refreshing, berry bite - is the international berry sensation!" Seems like a bit an oversell in terms of complexity, but now that they mention it I could totally see the passionfruit in here.