Flavour Art Bountiful
ConcreteRiver
Setup: Recoil w/ flavor barrel, Dual 15 wrap 26g 3mm Nifethal 70 coils @.13 ohms. 60w power, 450F temp limit. Full Cotton Wicks.
Testing: FA Bountiful @ 1 and 2.5%, 60/40 VG/PG, Steeped 15 days.
Flavor Description: Another Flavourart UK blend that I picked up from Chef's. This is supposed to be milk chocolate and coconut candy bar, so my mind goes straight to a Mounds Bar. This doesn't really taste like a mounds bar so much as dried, sweetened coconut tossed in (an admittedly better than straight hershey's) chocolate syrup. I think expecting something that pulls off a perfect candy bar is probably a little bit of wishful thinking, but this feels like the balance is way off and I'm not sure exactly what I'd add to layer this to get that elusive candy bar texture. Coconut note isn't straight suntan lotion, but it does seem to have some coconut candy artificial taste to it. The chocolate needs something, whether it's a bit more wax to pull off a cheap candy bar coating or maybe a bit more grain and body. I'd probably use this as a component in a bakery where you want some chocolate and coconut, or even better this seems like it would go really well with desert tobaccos, especially something that already has a bit of a chocolate note like FLV Red Burley. I'd use around 2%.
Inhale is pretty coconut heavy, lighter chocolate top notes. Sweeter, slightly fruity artificial coconut base with a non cloying level of sweetness. More of a chocolate aroma to it, then a tangible chocolate component to the mix. Moderately dense, with a bit a harshness. Exhale is fairly similar to the exhale. Sort of a chocolate scented dried coconut flakes. I get a little bit of the richness that I'd want from the chocolate, and it manages to avoid coming across like a tootsie-roll. More chocolate syrup than anything else. Coconut has a pretty pleasant level of artificial going on, in addition to the more realistic dry coconut flake. Relatively clean finish overall, some lingering chocolate notes and a bit of harshness.
FWIW, no real coil or wick devastation from the chocolate here. Seems relatively clean.
Off-flavors: I feel like the flavor components are all here and pretty acceptable given how weird chocolate and coconut flavors are. If there is something off, it's more in the coconut heavy balance and sort of wonky texture if you want a candy bar.
Throat Hit: Moderate, throughout the entire vape. Not killer, but not quite as smooth as I'd like for something involving a milk chocolate.
Uses & Pairings: I have no earthly clue to make an actual candy bar vape. I can cram the right-ish flavors in there, but how to work in the right texture mystifies me. With this, some AP would help give some definition to the chocolate but it would dry out the coconut in there even further. Alternatively, you could get some wax and richness in there with TPA Vanilla Bean Gelato, but it would push the suntan lotion thing that coconut can do. I don't know, more power to you if candy bars are your thing, but I remain fairly skeptical that a satisfying chocolate coating and a filling can really be pulled off at the same time.
I think this would be a pretty good ingredient in a bakery that somehow involves both coconut and chocolate. A bakery with some AP will help to boost that chocolate, and with the drier bakery expectation the coconut could probably be managed.
Really, I just want to mix this with tobacco. I could see the RY4 / Soho / Tatanka route, but I've got a tester of this and FLV Red Burley and it's pretty awesome. The cocoa notes from the burley are boosted a bit by the chocolate and the coconut actually works surprisingly well.
Notes: Concentration testing, this feels pretty disjointed and missing the chocolate entirely at 1% and under. It's a relatively light flavor, but it's a light version of eating coconut flakes while smelling chocolate. At 1.5%, the chocolate is a little more present. Still not a full chocolate flavor, but it's recognizable enough and adds some interest to that coconut. 2% is my sweet spot, a little harsh but the chocolate seems about as good as it's going to get. 2.5% has that coconut getting a bit more artificial and harsh. 3% is kind of a mess, chocolate doesn't really blend well with how harsh and sweet that coconut is at this percentage.
Also, on a surreal note, I was vaping this when I passed a highway exit sign for Bountiful, Utah today. Life is weird.
Second Opinions:
Nothing useful I can find.