Inawera Shisha Orange
ID10-T
Setup: Recoil RDA. Dual kanthal clapton coils @ 0.397 ohms. 45 to 60w power, Cotton Bacon wicks.
Testing: INW Shisha Orange @ 0.5%, 1%, and 2% 70/30 VG/PG, Steeped 6 to 7 days.
Flavor Description: Orange Italian soda syrup. Shout-out /u/ExclusiveGirl for that one, I was struggling to describe it on my new flavor review podcast and coming up with "some kind of imaginary orange pancake syrup" until she chimed in on the live chat and asked if it tastes like orange Italian soda syrup. I've had, and yes, it does. Inhale gets you some of the bitterness of a natural orange oil taste but on the way out and to the finish, it's a sweet, syrupy-textured orange very much like that soda syrup, which tastes like it was made from actual oranges. Valencia oranges, if I had to be precise. But definitely not OJ. Not biting into an orange. Also not the same as the more fake-tasting orange flavor in something like Sunkist. Orange Italian soda syrup is the best I can do for this one. For a comparison that might be more relatable to more mixers, it somewhat reminds me of the orange note in TFA Orange Cream, minus the cream.
Off-flavors: I don't think so. One thing most of these Shisha flavors seem to have in common is a syrupy character. It's orange, it's syrupy, it's what you should expect. For another comparison to a more common flavor, think INW Shisha Strawberry, but with orange.
Throat Hit: Nada. Pretty cool for a citrus, right?
Notes: It's pretty weak at 0.5% but also seems a bit more bitter and orange-oily; what I think is happening is that that note is staying the same and carrying into the exhale a bit down low. At 2%, the sweet syrupy aspect becomes more pronounced and takes over the exhale and lingers in the aftertaste. 1% falls somewhere between. I would use this at 2% or maybe even higher. This is not a bit of orange zest to add as a flourish. You're gonna want to build your recipe knowing this is going in there.
Uses & Pairings: Not sure how well this syrupy stuff would do with heavy creams, but it seems dying to be mixed with lighter vanilla creams. If vaping flat orange cream soda sounds as good to you as it does to me, go for it. Also, orange creamsicle and orange Creamsaver. Adding candy texturizers and sweetener could easy take this into an orange slice candy direction though I very much appreciate that as a standalone flavor, it doesn't taste like those things. I hate them.
Cocktails. DO NOT attempt to use this like OJ in a cocktail vape. It doesn't taste like OJ and you will ruin your cocktail recipe doing that. However, if you want to use it like Curaçao liqueur, I think it would absolutely work perfectly for that.
Substitute/improvement for TFA Orange Cream. I'm a fan of TFA Orange Cream, but it needs two weeks or more to reach its potential, and even then, there's something missing from it. Mix this with a lighter cream with a good mouthfeel, you can probably make a quicker-steeping orange cream flavor that tastes like orange syrup flavored with Valencia orange oil rather than generic artificial orange.
Second Opinions:
ELR notes suggest 2 to 2.5% preferred single flavor. Someone complains that "it doesn't blend (with other flavors) in high VG juices and creates an 'oil-like' surface if too much is added to the recipe." Someone else really likes it, but finds it to be very strong: "I used 0,5% in a tobacco recipe and it completely killed the tobaccos."
ELR user Kotsos writes, "I find INW Orange and FW Blood Orange to be tiring after a few puffs and I don't think they play well with other flavours. This one is far better and stands strong in a mix at 1%. It starts off as sweet orange juice and after two weeks it becomes smooth orange cream :) Preferred single flavor mix: 1.5%"
I did not get anything even hinting at cream, but I'll put my samples away and try them again in a week
There are no reviews on Gremlin DIY, where I got mine, or at BCF, which also has it in stock.
Be sure to check out all of the other great reviews at
Except the one about FA Cookie, that one's just stupid.
Video Review: In this video, the first episode of NOTED, I try this flavor for the first time and talk about it and other Shisha flavors with my co-host /u/CheebaSteeba and temporary co-host /u/Skiddlzninja (/u/mlNikon will be taking Skiddlz's place when she gets back from vacation week after next). This weekly hour-long podcast tied to this subreddit's Flavor of the Week posts will be live on Monday nights at 10 p.m. Central and available after the fact on the DIYorDIE Youtube channel.