Flavorah Granola
ConcreteRiver
This a a pre-release flavor, which was provided to me solely for the purposes of review.
Setup: Recoil w/ flavor barrel, Dual 15 wrap 26g 3mm Nifethal 70 coils @.14 ohms. 60w power, 450F temp limit. Full Cotton Wicks.
Testing: FLV Granola, .25, 1, and 3%, others noted, 60/40 VG/PG, Steeped 7 days.
Flavor Description: Darker granola top note, with some light fruitiness.
Darker cook on the granola. More of a darker, drier, homemade hippie-grade granola instead of a sticky, blonde, sweet commercial granola. Toasted oat flavor, doesn't really feel like a cookie or cereal note. Recognizably granola, if a bit dark.
Sweetness level fits in with that hippie-grade granola theme. Not particulary sweet. I'm not picking up anything like honey, but there is a bit of a darker caramel effect on the sweetness here but that may just be bleeding through from the darker cook.
There's something fruity in here, feels like a moderate cherry note. As you start to crank up percentage it picks up more of an almond edge to it although you still get a hit of that bright fruitiness. I also pick up some darker bakery vanilla in here.
I'm not finding much nuttiness here beyond that cherry / almond note at higher percentages.
I'm picking up just a bit of a darker chocolate or cocoa note on the tail end of the exhale. Not super prominent, but it really starts to show up as you increase percentage.
Texture doesn't quite sell a crispy granola. Certainly tastes like granola, but the mouthfeel is a little soft and all of the granola is up top in the flavor. Another bring your own AP flavorah bakery. The mouthfeel is dry like a granola, but not really crispy.
Off-flavors: At lower percentages, not too bad. Cook is a bit aggressive. Texture feels the most off here. At higher percentages I'm running into some bitterness and an almost chemical edge to that darker cooked note.
Throat Hit: Light, nothing major. Feels more attached to that fruityness than anything else.
Percentage testing: At .25%, I'm getting a pretty clear flavor. Medium dark roasted oats with some fruit presence if not a really defined fruit note. A bit dry on mouthfeel, but not crispy. Flavor seems a bit top heavy, and I'm not getting a heavier, warm, roasted kind of base.
At 1%, this feels quite a bit darker, like it's been cooked quite a bit longer. Darkness is just pushing the weird, burnt level to me. Fruitiness is a bit more defined, and I'm picking up some more clear red fruit along with a dark bakery vanilla note. Also starting to pick up some of that cocoa. Still feels top heavy, a bit more of a base but it's subtle next to how aggressive that top note is coming across.
At 3%, this feels a fairly burnt. Too dark and a bit bitter. Cherries pushing toward almonds. Still looking for some of that crunch and base. Cocoa is more prominent up here.
Just to test some separation, mixing this at .5% FLV Granola and 3% CAP Vanilla Whipped Cream, I am getting a clear layering in the flavor. Doesn't taste crispy to me, but does give a clear granola topping vibe.
Just based on these tests, I'd keep this relatively low, as an accent flavor for a granola top note. I'd probably mix between .25-.75%.
Uses & Pairings: Since this ends up being a bit top heavy, should actually show up well layered with yogurts and creams. I still think it needs a bit more texture, so maybe hitting with a bit of FA Cookie or CAP Cereal 27 would help make it taste a bit crispier in the mix. It would also work well with some nuttiness, which would also scratch that AP itch.
The light fruitiness here shouldn't clash with any fruit flavors you wanted to bring in.
Outside of just straight granola use, I could see this being used as an accent in a cookie recipe involving oatmeal. I think this is probably a bit dark to use as a primary cookie note, but a smaller accent could help sell the "oatiness" of said cookie.