Real Flavors Taffy Base SC
ConcreteRiver
Setup: Recoil w/ flavor barrel, Dual 15 wrap 26g 3mm Nifethal 70 coils @.15 ohms. 60w power, 450F temp limit. Full Cotton Wicks.
Testing: RF SC Taffy Base @ 1% and 2.5%, 60/40 VG/PG, Steeped 6 days, others noted
Flavor Description: Solo, this doesn't have much in the way of the flavor but it has a really thick, and almost chewy mouthfeel to it, which is a pretty promising start to a taffy base. It has some pretty restrained vaguely fruit candy sweetness with a bit of tartness, almost like a light sweet tart but with no chalk or grittiness in there.
Mixed, this definitely carries that body but it doesn't seem to homogenize super well with the flavor it's being added to. You've got a big hit of lightly flavored thickness on the back end of the exhale. I'm also getting a metallic twinge when mixing this with other concentrates. I'd recommend using this at .5-1% for some taffy-like texture on really heavily flavored fruit mixes, and small percentages for smoothing out harsh or overbearing mixes.
Off-flavors: Solo, not at all. It's weird to have that thick of a vape without much flavor behind it, but nothing tastes odd. Mixed, this adds a bit of a weird, hot, metallic taste to whatever the other concentrates. It's not overwhelming at lower percentages, but at 2% and above it tastes like the air does when you've been welding. Like hot metal and maybe just a hint of like a flat sulphur-y or ozone note to it. It's a bizarre flavor to try to describe, but it's pretty distinctive. I could just be tasting my coils all of a sudden, but in that case, something in the concentrate is making me taste them.
Throat Hit: Nah, solo or mixed.
Uses & Pairings:
1% RF SC Taffy Base, 2% DIYFS Holy Vanilla: Definitely the winner out of the bunch. The thicker texture and light candy sweetness is doing a pretty good job of making this kind of taste like taffy. Top notes on the vanilla seem a bit sharper, and the flavor in the base seems to be a bit muted and less rich. Light hot metal taste to this, even at 1%. I'm also finding that the taffy base kind of takes over the back of the exhale, and the vanilla is a lot thinner after that initital hit. It could homogenize a bit on a steep, but in my experience flavors don't really shift around their position in a recipe just based on a steep.
2% RF SC Taffy Base, 3% FW Root Beer I don't really notice the hot metal here, but I'm definitely getting a clear separation between root beer, and then the taffy volume. Spice notes are pretty bright and sharp, but the middle feels a bit thin. This concentrate seems to push spices and florals up, and mute out the middle a bit. Not as pronounced as RF SC Candy Base, but similar.
3% RF SC Taffy Base, 4% OSDIY Blue Raspberry Slush Slush here is definitely a bit muted, and that hot metal taste is pretty prominent. Definitely thick, but the higher percentage of Taffy base has the back end of this tasting weird, with that density but without any of the Slush flavor actually making its way to end of the exhale. 3% is definitely too much of the taffy base.
So based on these tests, I'd recommend keeping this low, and coming into it with recipes that are almost deliberately a bit overflavored. Seems like heavy, bright, or syrupy fruits would be your best bet. Additionally, just for laughs I added some of this to FA Mandarin (which I get a good deal of harshness from) at .25% and this is doing a bang up job of thickening that citrus flavor a bit and calming down the sharp edges, so I'd also look for this to work as a citrus smoother at like 1 drop per 30ml.
Notes: I'm thinking this is another sub 1% additive. I still get plenty of texture out of it, but it does comparatively less damage to the underlying flavor. I'd start at .5% and work up.
Second Opinions:
Pretty sparse overall.
H/T to /u/ID10-T for the suggestion.