Capella Smokey Tobacco
ConcreteRiver
Setup: Recoil w/ flavor barrel, Dual 12 wrap 24g 3.5mm SS316 @.32 ohms. 60w power, 450F temp limit. Full Cotton Wicks.
Testing: Capella Smokey Tobacco, 4% and 8%, 60/40 VG/PG base, Steeped 40 days.
Flavor Description: A sweet base, light leathery tobacco, and a moderate cigarette smoke type finish.
Much like their Original Blend, this still feels fairly sweet. Same kind of slightly fluffy FA Oba Oba body to this. Sweetness seems more concentrated in the front of the vape, with all the more traditional tobacco parts of the vape coming out on the back half of the exhale.
More smoke than tobacco here. I do get something slightly leathery here, but doesn't really seem to have much of an herbal leaf flavor. I could see something like that sour hay from the original blend hiding out in here, but with all that sweetness and the smoke it's hard to really pick up clearly.
The smoke here is really interesting. It has some of that more neutral campfire smoke vibe of FA Black FIre, but with those leathery notes it's doing a pretty good job of coming across like actual burning cigarette paper. There's also just a bit of that that dirtier, ashier, and slightly grassy INW Dirty Neutral Base kind of base to it as well. Seems like basically the middle point of those types of smokier flavors and works pretty well.
Off-Flavors: Still seems pretty sweet for a tobacco flavor, with a slightly fluffy texture.
Throat Hit: Light, nothing major. Smoke can get a bit overbearing solo, but not really all that harsh.
Percentage testing: At 4% this is pretty solidly sweet. Not quite fluffy, but the sweetness comes across as a bit candied. Tobacco is showing up but feels a bit swamped by that sweetness. Smoke here seems pretty limited to the finish.
At 8% this is dryer and fluffier. Doesn't seem all that much more sweet. Tobacco is actually maybe a bit less prominent than at 4%, but the smoke is a lot more prominent. It's kind of taken over some of the tobacco's space here. Getting both that sweeter campfire type smoke and that slightly dirty, ashy backend. Sour character from the tobacco really punches it in at the end.
Just based on these tests, this is on the weaker side. I'd be up around 5% for an accent in a tobacco mix, or up to 10% as a solo flavor.
Uses & Pairings: Seems a bit sweet for a solo tobacco vape, but if that's your thing this has a bit of nuance past all that sweetness.
I'd primarily be using this an additive or secondary tobacco in a tobacco profile that needs both sweetness and texture, and that middle of the road cigarette smoke vibe. I don't think you'll be able to get either the smoke or sweetness out of this without the other parts tagging along.
Seems to need a bolder, less sweet non-aromatic tobacco flavor to accent. I'd pick something darker and leafy, and let this sweeten it up and add a smoke note. I'm not sure that cigarette profiles are really sweet, but at least the smoke here really seems cigarette-like.
Could work well for a cheaper flavored cigar kind of recipe.
Second Opinions: Nah, not seeing anything out there.