Vape Train Australia Shisha Mango
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 @.33 ohms. 60w power, 450F temp limit. Full Cotton Wicks.
Testing: Vape Train Shisha Mango, 1%, 4% and 8%, 60/40 VG/PG base, Steeped 48 days.
Flavor Description: A mostly ripe mango, that’s just a touch dry and flat.
The mango here seems fairly ripe, depending on the percentage. Seems just a bit squirrelly to dial in, but when it clicks you have a ripe mango body with some light greener accents. Some sweeter, candied mango notes, but the base of the flavor seems like a ripe mango, albeit just a little less juicy or pulpy. Missing some of that realistic tartness, but definitely in the ballpark.
Realistic green mango note though, lightly piney and tastes pretty authentic to the harder parts of a mostly ripe mango right next to the peel instead of just eating chunks of peel. The amount of that green flavor seems to bounce around a bit based on percentage. It’s a bit too green at 1%, complements the flavor nicely at 4%, and sort of dominates for me at 8%. Used at that middle percentage, I’d say it’s definitely less offensive than some of the also-ran mangoes like FW, FA, or TPA. Seems to have less peel than CAP Sweet Mango, but I’ve been informed that I’m unduly harsh on CAP Sweet Mango so YMMV. I’d say it has more peel than FLV Mango, but not by a ton.
As much as this tastes like a ripe mango, it doesn’t quite feel ripe in terms of texture. While it isn’t dry, it doesn’t have the crazy, pulpy juiciness of a ripe mango. It also doesn’t quite feel heavy and syrupy like a mango nectar. Solid texture though, and fills out nicely. In terms of sweetness, feels accurately sweet to a ripe mango but it doesn’t really have the kind of tartness to contrast off that sweetness so it feels maybe just a bit candied.
But where does this fit in the vast constellation of mango concentrates you ask? Well, on the “pleasant” end, definitely. Its on the realistic end of the scale. Tastes a bit candied, but it’s probably more realistic to me than anything but CAP Sweet Mango or FLV Mango. It may end up being more useful than either of those though. While this mostly ends up tasting ripe, it isn’t overripe like CAP Sweet Mango. It doesn’t have that same sort of rotten note to it that CAP picks up higher percentages. It may not hit quite as hard as CAP does, but it seems like it may be more workable in a wider variety of applications. I think FLV Mango is fairly realistic, but it’s deep and pulpy and not particularly bright or vibrant to me. I feel like this is just a bit brighter, although it does have that light hint of pine that I don’t get from FLV.
Off-Flavors: Not really? Some candied, flatter mango as opposed to tart and juicy, but overall it’s a ripe mango. That greener note can get a bit overbearing at higher percentages.
Throat Hit: At 4% and under not really. Seems to have a pretty drastic uptick in harshness between 4 and 8% though.
Percentage testing: At 1%, this feels a bit flat. The greener part of the mango is relatively strong but the juicier, fleshier parts haven’t really filled in. Feels a bit dry and frontloaded without too much of a ripe mango base.
At 4%, this seems to be working pretty well. Mostly just a ripe mango. Light peel notes, slightly juicy texture. Not as pulpy or deep as FLV, but seems to be pretty close to a ripe mango without tasting overripe.
At 8%, I’m getting quite a bit of the greener peel note and this feels a bit harsh. That juiciness has kind of dryed up and feels a bit too solid without really being fleshy. Significantly less charming here.
Vape Train suggests mixing with this at 2-5%. That seems about right. Just based on these tests, I’d probably go between 3-5% as a more primary type of note. Doesn’t seem to scale linearly at lower percentages well enough to really suggest using this as an accent flavor, but I’ve never complained about having too much ripe mango in a juice so, again, YMMV.
Uses & Pairings: All in all, not a bad choice for a single flavor mango, especially if you’re pairing up against other fruits that can lend a bit of juiciness and tartness. Seems like a really obvious fit with a pineapple. I’d probably go with CAP Golden Pineapple, but it seems a bit juicier to me than INW Pineapple. I’m sure INW pineapple with this wouldn’t taste bad or anything. If you wanted to layer in another mango, this goes really well with a bit of FLV Mango.
But yeah, it’s a mango. Go nuts. We’ve beat this horse half to death, but mango pretty much goes everywhere and with everything when done right. Mango creams, mango fruit mixes, mango bakeries, mango tobaccos, all mango everything. You can figure out a way to use a competent mango. I trust you. I will say, that green note ends up showing up in some weird places, so maybe watch out for anything that will end up popping the peel notes here.
Second Opinions: Still pretty light via the google.