Flavour Art Mango Indian Special
ConcreteRiver
Setup: OG Recoil w/ flavor barrel, n80 Dual fused claptons @.30 ohms. 55 watts. Full Cotton Wicks.
Testing: Flavourart Mango Indian Special @ 1 and 3%, 60/40 VG/PG base, Steeped 1 week.
Profile: Bright mango, leaning toward candy. Good balance of brighter almost citrus notes up top with a sweet and robust middle. Lingering pineapple gummy exhale. Brighter and less juicy than an “authentic” mango. Artificial, but in a good candy mango way. Bottom end seems a bit lacking, and couple probably stand some bolstering or other misdirection for a “full” mango.
Off-Flavors: Remarkably few? At 3%, some bitter astringency sort of approaching a “peel” note. Closer to a grassy, rather than typical pine note. Slightly dry.
Throat Hit: Nothing too crazy for a fruit, at least for me. Not wholly smooth, but the brighter citrus-y notes are relatively manageable. I could see having a slight issue if your throat has particularly delicate sensibilities.
Percentage Recommendation: 1% seems a bit soft overall. The flavor there is good, but It doesn’t feel all that fleshed out. Seems pretty linear up to 3%, where those slightly grassy peel notes pick up. So maybe 2% for something DTL? Preferably with something deep and juicy to pick up the bottom end.
Other Resources:
I paid for this.
Thought experiment: Imagine that TPA Philippine Mango was good, actually?
A steaming hot flavor take. For you. The aggrieved flavor dork.
TPA Philippine Mango is… underwhelming. A flat, plastic candy flavor. I say candy not to slander, especially not in the case of mango candy. Mango candy is delicious! As someone located far away from the production of mangoes, they can be profoundly disappointing. Sublime occasionally, garbage more frequently. Mango candy produces a reliable flavor, which is beyond the grasp of modern supply chain management.
This flavor reminds me of a quality mango candy flavor. Bright and just a little tart with a deep sweetness to it. The top end has a nice pop of lemon and tangerine tartness. I can see it being a bit harsh if you’re especially sensitive to throat hit, but overall it’s manageable. The mango flavor is fairly saturated to the point of tasting a bit artificial, with some papaya type overtones and a lingering pineapple gummy candy on the exhale.
I give Flavourart full credit here, because the mango taste is definitely closer to an alphonso mango than the more typical underwhelming green/red hard as rock mangoes I’m used to finding in an american grocery store.
The more remarkable thing about this flavor is the relative lack of the unpleasant notes common in other mango flavors.
I’m not getting anything that shouts “pine” here, and that is good! We have mango flavors that offer pine. I’m good without more pine. There are some grassier, drier peel notes at higher percentages, but I wouldn’t expect them to be an issue with judicious use. 1% was too weak for me, and 3% was too aggressive. Mixing those samples, thereby netting 2%, was very pleasant. This also doesn’t taste overripe for me, which is good!
My one big structural critique here would be relative lack of bottom end to it. I feel like it could be deeper and juicier for a full mango flavor. Some backing FLV Mango compliments this really well. If you’re creating a recipe with a creamier base, this is probably about all the mango you’d need.
I enjoyed this! And it beats the prior FA Mango (Costarica Special) heartily.