Inawera Shisha Coconut
ConcreteRiver
Setup: Recoil w/ flavor barrel, Dual 15 wrap 26g 3mm Nifethal 70 coils @.14 ohms. 60w power, 450F temp limit. Full Cotton Wicks.
Testing: INW Shisha Coconut, 1 and 2.5%, 60/40 VG/PG, Steeped 6 days.
Flavor Description: A fairly well balanced, fluffy artificial coconut flavor.
The coconut seems a bit artificial in a good way. This is a sweeter candy coconut, somewhere between TPA Coconut Candy and TPA Coconut Extra. I don't get too much in the way of suntan lotion, but I do tend to like just a little bit of that to set off artificial coconut flavors so, as always, YMMV. This has less of an astringency than the the coconut candy, and isn't as sharp and overwhelming as the coconut extra. Definitely in the same coconut universe as the filling from a mounds bar.
Texture here is interesting. It's a bit dry, and a bit fluffy. Kind of feels like a coconut flavored marshmallow. The artificial coconut flavor is a bit stronger on the inhale, and the exhale has most of that fluffier, drier texture. Sweetness here isn't cloying, but it's definitely on the candy side of things.
I have a recipe that uses TPA Coconut Candy, TPA Coconut Extra, FA Coconut, and FA Oba Oba. I have a sneaking suspicion this flavor could mostly replace all of those in one bottle. You've got candy sweet coconut, some intense artificial coconut notes, some flaked coconut dryness, and a marshmallow texture all from the same concentrate. FLV Sweet Coconut is kind of my go to for a one concentrate realistic-ish coconut. This may be a good single concentrate artificial coconut flavor.
Theres some really fun warnings about this flavor on one of Inawera's storefronts. "ATTENTION! FLAVOUR CONTAINS NATURAL COMPONENTS. SEDIMENTS ARE POSSIBLE, PRECIPITATION OF COMPONENTS. SHAKE BOTTLE BEFORE USE OF THIS MIX PRODUCED OF THIS FLAVOUR" and "Contains dihydrocoumarin. May cause an allergic skin reaction Causes serious eye irritation. Keep out of reach of children. Wear protective gloves/protective clothing/eye protection/face protection. IF IN EYES: Rinse cautiously with water for several minutes. Remove contact lenses, if present and easy to do. Continue rinsing. If eye irritation persists: Get medical advice/attention. If skin irritation or rash occurs: Get medical advice/attention." So that's a thing. FWIW, I picked this up rebottled from Chef's and didn't notice any sediment and I'm not at all sure if I should be freaked out about dihydrocoumarin.
Off-flavors: Right on the very beginning of the inhale I get just a tiny bit of a basil or anise note. I don't feel like it's especially prominent, but it's nestled between some relatively aggressive artificial coconut on the inhale and a fluffier coconut marshmallow on the exhale.
I've also got my temperature control fairly well dialed in by this point, and this seems to work a bit better with lower heat. I'm getting some slightly astringent weirdness at 450F.
Throat Hit: Light to moderate, more from the dryness here than anything else.
Percentage testing: At 1%, I've got a pretty full flavor here. Strong artificial coconut, with that dry mouthfeel. Sweetness level is good, if not full on coconut candy. Not too much really aggressive fake coconut.
At 2.5% this is feeling quite a bit dryer and fluffier. Some of that suntan lotion taste coming in, and the candy coconut doesn't feel that much stronger.
Just based on these tests, I'd probably start with this around .5% as an accent flavor, and go up to about 1-1.5% as a primary note.
Uses & Pairings: I generally like to play big bright fruit flavors against artificial coconut. In general, I'd pair with heavy, syrupy fruits like JF Strawberry Sweet, INW Shisha Strawberry, or INW Lime. Goes well with tropical fruits in general, bright stuff like Strawberries and Kiwis, and melons. I'd stay away from flavors that lean more artificial like bananas, unless that's the kind of thing you're going for.
Should be a pretty solid bakery for coconut accents. I could see this standing in as a more heavily flavored version of coconut flakes in a bakery, and would work well with cream or custard bases in a coconut cream pie type recipe.
Should also pair well with tobaccos if you did want an artificial coconut. The texture and mouthfeel here isn't going to ruin a drier tobacco, and the fake coconut is aggressive enough it should show up fairly easily.
Second Opinions: I'm really not finding much substantive out there. Couple of mentions that it's good or okay, that's about it.
Here's the ELR Page. User "Kotsos" has the only note on here: "Less oily and sweeter than the regular INW Coconut, it mixes better in recipes as it doesn't get lost in the mix, but there are some sunscreen notes here and there."