Flavorah Black Currant

Summary:

If you’re not familiar with the black currant, think of it as cranberry’s sweeter, more attractive culinary cousin (no botanical relation.) Picture a small berry with the sweetness and tartness of a grape, having a unique characteristic flavor similar to cooked cranberries but deeper and fuller.

Flavorah did an outstanding job of imitating this fruit’s unique flavor. Use at 1.5% for fresh, ripe berries; 3.0-3.5% for a cooked berry flavor.

Setup: Inde Duo with SS clapton coils, TC set at 435 F, power capped at 80W.

Testing: FLV Black Currant, 0.5% - 4.0%, 70/30 VG/PG, tasted at 1, 3, 7 and 14 days steep.

Off-flavors: none up to 3.5%

Throat Hit: none

Percentage testing:

• At 0.5%, it's very faint. Nothing to see here, move along.

• At 1.0%, there’s a recognizable berry flavor. Kinda like fruit punch with 10% juice. Too faint to make out much detail

• At 1.5% it’s unmistakably black currant, albeit lacking the tartness of the actual fruit. The unique musky flavor found in ripe black currants is center stage.

• At 2.0%, it gets a tad jammy. All the same flavors are still present, but now give the impression of cooked berries.

• At 2.5%, as before, but more so. Not quite jam, more like cooked-down berry puree with little (if any) added sweetness. Also developing a pleasantly thick mouthfeel at this level.

• At 3.0%, sweeter, and starting to lose some of the nuances. Incredibly thick mouthfeel. This is black currant jelly, spot-on.

• At 3.5%, it’s definitely black currant jam now. Very full flavor, syrupy mouthfeel. I so want to pair this with some ripe cheese right now!

• At 4.0%, the musky notes get oversaturated and turn funky. Not entirely unpleasant, but not at all fruity anymore. Earthy and fermented, overripe.

• Effect of steeping beyond 1 day was not noticeable at 1.5% and below. At higher concentrations, the cooked notes grew stronger while the fruitiness waned a bit with additional steeping.

Suggested uses/pairings:

At 3-3.5%: pie crust, heavy dairy, cheesecakes, cheeses. At lower levels, it should fit in anywhere its paler, tarter culinary cousins—the cranberry and the lingonberry—do.