Flavorah Hibiscus
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: FLV Hibiscus @ 1% and 1 drop per 10 ml (about .25%), 60/40 VG/PG, Steeped 9 days.
Flavor Description: This is interesting. Green leafy base with a lighter floral edge to it. Not even a passing resemblance to CAP Hibiscus, much closer to FA Jasmine with the mouthfeel of FA Violet Solid, slightly powdery mouthfeel. Heavily concentrated, and not really a flavor you want as a main note. I'd use this as a realistic fruit floral accent with some bonus solid mouthfeel, at maybe .1-.2%.
Inhale has a sharper floral note with a sweet powdery base. Floral note is hard to nail down exactly, but it's close to a jasmine where it's brighter and lighter than something like a heavier rose or geranium. Somewhere between fresh rain and warm spring air (I promise that isn't unduly trying to talk up the flavor, I'm just not a horticulturist here.) Pretty solid, powdery base with a solid but not cloying sweetness. Exhale has some pretty heavy green leaf notes right up front. It's more a bright green, so more in line with something like a cucumber rind than a swampy vegetal flavor. Higher floral top notes, same as the inhale. Gets a little herbal shampoo-ish as low as .25%. Sweet, solid base with a dryer mouthfeel. A bit of lingering dryness and jasmine perfume.
Off-flavors: So this is more of a hibiscus flower than a hibiscus tea kind of flavor. Leaves and all.
Throat Hit: Maybe a bit dry but nothing harsh.
Uses & Pairings: I'd use it like FA Jasmine. So it's mostly teas, and an additive to add some realism back to fruits. I've used FA Jasmine to add a bit of pith back to citruses, and I think it will still work like that. I'd also use it for apples and pears to get that lightly floral edge back to a juicier base.
Notes: This is strong stuff. At .1%, I get mostly the floral part of this. The base is a bit thin but there is some lightly tart green leafiness to it. Maybe a tiny bit of citrus sourness. .2% is a whole lot more solid, with that powdery base coming through pretty clearly. .5% seems a bit too floral and dry, like actually eating leaves instead of smelling them. 1% is not a good thing to do. Don't do that. I'd use this an accent at .1-.15% or as a stronger flavor in a tea at .2-.3%.
Second Opinions:
Nah, not really.