Vape Train Australia Kiwi
ConcreteRiver
Disclaimer: I didn't pay for this, shoutout to Vape Train for sending this to me.
Setup: Recoil w/ flavor barrel, Dual 12 wrap 24g 3.5mm SS316 @.31 ohms. 60w power, 450F temp limit. Full Cotton Wicks.
Testing: Vape Train Kiwi, 1%, 4% and 8%, 60/40 VG/PG base, Steeped 14 days.
Flavor Description: Realistic kiwi with a light musk on the tail end.
Pretty standard kiwi here. Somewhere between a sweeter melon flavor and a green strawberry. Tastes realistic without going too far in the astringent, peelish kind of direction. Sweeter base, with a light tartness offsetting some of the sweetness. Feels fairly balanced for an actual fruit.
Seems to be something a little floral on the tail. Less of a perfumey bitter floral like you'd get with berries, but a slightly deeper melon kind of musk. Kind of takes a while to find while you're vaping, but noticeable once you pick it up. I'd call it light and not overwhelming, and again, only really seems to factor in on the tail end of the exhale.
Moderate density here. Doesn't quite feel juicy, but it's not dry. Doesn't have a really heavy candy syrup kind of vibe. Could probably pass as a bit fleshy. Sweetness here feels pretty dead on to an actual kiwi, instead of a deeper candy type.
So, how this stack up next to the dual elephants in the room, FA and FW Kiwi? I'm glad you asked. I have prepared for this question. I'd say it's probably closer to FW Kiwi. To me, FA Kiwi has this thing that tastes like it's halfway to a brighter kiwi-strawberry already, and I'm picking up less of those candyish strawberry notes on the VT version. Seems to be lacking some of the harder tartness of the FA version as well. This maybe tastes like a less sweet, slightly more natural version of the (non-natural) FW to me. It has that same fairly realistic kiwi fruit taste, without that really heavy candy base. The VT version seems just a hair more floral or musky to me as well, which I guess kind of adds to the realism next to the sweeter FW?
Off-Flavors: Light floral musk, shows up by 4%, present but not overwhelming at 8%.
Throat Hit: Not really? Maybe a light throat hit but mellow for a fruit.
Percentage testing: At 1%, I'm getting a fairly clear, but very light kiwi. Tastes soft but realistic.
At 4%, this definitely a kiwi flavor, but it's just a bit thin. Some of the tarter notes are coming through without much of a heavier, sweet base. Just a tiny bit of muskiness on the finish.
At 8%, the actual kiwi flavor here is fine. It's fairly full and realistic, and more fruit than candy sweet. I am noticing that muskiness a bit more.
Vape Train suggests mixing with this at 3-7% or standalone at 5-10%. Just based on these tests, they probably aren't wrong. I feel like it gets just a bit musky at the higher end of that, but it's not offensive and probably easy enough to hide a bit. I'd probably be close to 5% as an accent and 8% as a primary note.
Uses & Pairings: If this was your only kiwi, I would reasonably expect it to do pretty much whatever you want a kiwi to do. Staple ingredient in fruit mixes, mixes well strawberries and tropical fruit. Tastes just exotic enough but pretty non-threatening.
Looking more for the specific things this Kiwi would do better than other available options, I feel like this is a slightly less candied and more realistic take.
Seems like a good fit for more "natural" fruit profiles, like smoothies or light to medium creams.
I don't really know any bakery profiles that use kiwi beyond some pavlovas, but this would work in that kind of application. Should work pretty well for a realistic kiwi in a cheesecake or something like that as well.
Second Opinions: Not finding much out there.