Real Flavors Soda Base VG Version
ConcreteRiver
Setup: Recoil w/ flavor barrel, Dual 15 wrap 26g 3mm Nifethal 70 coils @.17 ohms. 60w power, 450F temp limit. Full Cotton Wicks.
Testing: RF Soda Base, Various %'s, 60/40 VG/PG, steeped 14 days.
Flavor Description: So, I've thought a lot about carbonation. My basic conclusion from my testing so far is that some flavors do at least sort of emulate carbonation, but you'll always be working around their flavor profiles.
Wouldn't it be fantastic if there was a neutral additive that did a decent job of imparting a fizzy taste to your juice? The answer is, of course, "yes." That would be great. I didn't find that in my preliminary testing. Short of ordering some research grade carbonic anhydrase, I didn't have any possible solutions.
/u/exclusivegirl turned me on to this, as a possible solution to the neutral carbonation dilemma. RF Soda Base promises to do just that, per their marketing copy: "There is an ancient proverb that says: “Everything is better with bubbles.” We agree! Now you can use this base to create a fun, fizzy soda flavor out of anything." I wanted to test this, because as we've previously established... that would be great.
Testing this solo, at 8%, I get a really light vanilla flavor. Almost a lightly astringent cream soda. Testing this side by side with an unflavored mix at the same VG%, you do notice that there is a fluffyness to the soda base along with a overall dryness. It definitely has more volume than than the unflavored. I get a little bit of bitter carbonation kind of tang on the tongue too. It's subtle. like really subtle. It doesn't really mimic the mechanical effect of carbonation, but it does sort of taste carbonated. It almost tastes like flat club soda, where you lose the bubbles but you can still taste that vaguely mineral tang to it.
Tasting this, it actually reminds me a bit of FA Oba Oba, but even more lightly flavored. Just for laughs, I have a tester of Oba Oba. The taste of the Oba Oba, while weak, is still quite a bit stronger than the Soda Base... but the textural effect is fairly similar. it's like a marshmallow mouthfeel effect with a ton of the actual flavor you'd expect from a marshmallow. I honestly think these may be related in some way.
Off-flavors: That light vanilla taste. Not objectionable in any way, but it's still there and not really included in the whole "magic bubbles in a bottle" description.
Throat Hit: Definitely adds a light throat hit. I'm guessing its mostly from the dryness.
Notes: So in testing this, I wanted to take a single flavor and see if I could carbonate it, testing those marketing claims. I chose FA Raspberry because (just slightly controversially) I like the stuff quite a bit and use a good deal of it. I have a reference tester of FA Raspberry at 2%, and mixes with 3,5, and 10% of soda base. All of these have been steeped for the same two weeks. Tasting the reference, I get florals, deep berry sweetness, and a little bit of tartness. I want to see how this stuff effects those kind of notes, in addition to how it alters texture and mouthfeel.
At 3% soda base, the fruit flavor certainly seems lighter. The florals aren't necessarily more pronounced, but I feel like the balance of the flavor is thrown off with some of the deeper sweetness muted and the tartness almost entirely reduced to a tiny bit of background noise. It has a lighter volume to it, but the flavor is less saturated. It's almost like that same marshmallow without the actual marshmallow flavor. I'm getting something that could kind of be read as carbonation. Not really a tingling, but a bit of dryness that's making my mouth water. It's an interesting texture, but I don't hink it's quite like a soda. It drys the vape out too much to be a wetter, juicier flavor like I'd want from a soda.
At 5% soda base, It's thinning out the flavor a bit more. Still not really messing with the florals but it seems like it's keeping that flavor from really coating my palate. Like it's cleaning up the exhale of the flavor substantially. The tartness is basically gone and the deeper sweetness has been pushed up in the exhale quite a bit. Still feels fairly dry, but that volume is taking on more of that carbon-dioxide tang. Honestly, this is pretty nice. I'm still not sure it's reminding me of a soda but it definitely is working as a texturizer to give me light, fluffy mouthfeel. I'm going to double down on the marshmallow without the attendant vanilla and sweetness comparison.
At 10% soda base, I'm getting a hint of the vanilla here. Still not a super clear flavor, but it's definitely adding something. Florals are getting a bit bitter, clinging onto to some of carbon dioxide tang from the soda base. It's getting a bit metallic overall, especially on the exhale. The deeper sweetness is pretty much gone on the exhale, although it's sticking around on the inhale. It's thinned out the flavor substantially, but it really has added a ton of volume while drying out the vape considerably.
After testing all this out, I'm fairly confident in saying that this stuff doesn't really work as just carbonation. It can get a bit tingly, but I feel like that's mostly from the dryness. It's not a bad additive though. The closest thing I really compare it to is a marshmallow without any of the flavor. It's interesting. When using this, I'd probably start low-ish at like 3% and work up. I don't really like what it's doing to the flavor underneath the soda base, especially between 5 and 10%.
Second Opinions:
Still relatively new, and largely undocumented.
The only other mention I've seen of this from /u/Lulzorr in this thread, where in addition to admitting to buying RF Fried Chicken, they gave a quick take on this solo as a S&V:
"initial thoughts: I don't really know what to say about it, I can't place the exact taste. my taste buds may be garbage. There's definitely something.. soda-y to it with no steep. almost like a stale lemon lime soda.. it almost reminds me of cream soda. there is a light tingle on my tongue.
dunno what else to add, it'll definitely add a soda-like quality to a mix. 5% might be too light for testing.
E: a few minutes after stopping all I can taste is stale club soda. stale is a theme here."