Capella Lime
ConcreteRiver
Setup: Recoil w/ flavor barrel, Dual 15 wrap 26g 3mm Nifethal 70 coils @.19 ohms. 60w power, 450F temp limit. Full Cotton Wicks.
Testing: CAP Lime @ %3, 60/40 VG/PG, Steeped 8 days.
This concentrate was provided by bullcityflavors.com, for the sole and express purpose of publishing an honest review for r/DIY_eJuice.
Flavor Description: Seems about halfway between An actual lime and margarita mix. I could see this as a key lime flavor if the pitch was convincing. Lots of fairly realistic lime zest top notes, with a funky lime juice bordering on "green" candy type of body. Above 2%, tastes a lot like a fruity pebbles/fruit loops kind of lime. Not just the lime half of CAP Lemon-Lime, has a much more prominent lime zest flavor.
Inhale is pretty clean. Lime candy sweetness and not a lot else. Small hint of a tart zest flavor. Flat and deep sweetness, interesting for a citrus. Exhale has a sweet lime juice base with some pretty heavy bitter realistic lime zest top notes. Lingering bitter lime zest finish with just a bit of that sugary sweet mouthfeel. Sweetness overall is noticeable but not distracting. Almost pushes into a slightly oversweetened limeade. Maybe a slight hit of carbonation, but nothing like FA Aurora or FA Distilled Lime. Mouthfeel is a bit thin, but not too sharp or chemical to push into straight astringency.
Off-flavors: Lime juice taste on the exhale tastes just a bit oxidized or fermented. Like when you get lazy and buy the bottled lime juice, use some and then promptly Forget about if for 6 months and rediscover it when making a desperation margarita.
Throat Hit: Light, a noticeable throat tightness instead of a real harshness.
Uses & Pairings: A good, straight ahead lime flavor. I'd say this would work just about anywhere you'd want a lime, except in situations where you want the carbonation from something like FA Aurora or FA Lime Distilled.
Really good for fruit mixes, seems to pair really well with other fruit flavors without getting too astringent or distracting. Quick S&V testing with FA Raspberry, FLV Mango, and FA Apricot and I'm not getting any weird off-notes or strange interactions. Tastes a lot like adding lime to those concentrates, which is a good thing.
Decent lime for bakeries, giving you a heavy zest flavor without skewing the entire thing too lime-jello.
My brain my have been invaded by the capella marketing copy, but seems like a good fit for a margarita-mix kind of effect in a cocktail mix especially with that vaguely fermented note.
Not sure if this is what you want for a candy lime, just because FLV Lime does the tarter "green" flavor so well and INW Lime does a fuller, sweeter lime flavor really well.
Notes:
S&V concentration testing, at .5% I get mostly sweet and warm oxidized/ lightly fermented lime juice. Zest flavor is pretty subdued. 1% brings in some lighter hints of zest and fills out the profile a bit. 1.5% and above just ramps up that zest, with the zest reading as pretty bitter and full by 2.5%. By 4% you have a more candy lime and the sweetness just takes off. I'd mix with this at 1% in fruit mixes, and bump it up to 2.5% if you want to go zest heavy for either a cocktail recipe or a bakery.
Another fundamentally decent lime option, although it's hard to pick out a situation where this is going to shine. A lime for fruit mixes and umbrella drinks.
Second Opinions:
I can't find much, so not really.
FWIW, here's the Capella website copy:
"Zesty and Zingy.
Capella Flavors new Lime Flavor has the perfect "zing" you are looking for. It's the kick in a margarita, the spark that ignites many cream flavors, an amazing mix to almost anything!"