A guide to steeping your e liquid

If you find that your new e-liquid is tasting dull, or just different to how you think it should, it might be that you need to steep the e-liquid for your e-cigarette. When you steep the e-liquid, the flavour of the vapour and the overall aroma will mature, resulting in a better taste.

When you buy a bottle of e-liquid that has been freshly mixed, this is when you will find that it needs to steep. Those liquids that have already had a few weeks on the shelf will already taste fuller and stronger, as they should. The longer the e-liquid steeps the better the aroma will be, and the better they will taste. Most e-liquids benefit from some degree of steeping.

Steeping e-liquids is a naturally occurring process by them simply sitting in the bottle, however there are some things that can be done in order to speed this process up.

The Cupboard Method

The easiest method of steeping is to remove the bottle's top, and place the bottle somewhere warm and dark such as in an airing cupboard or a drawer for a few days. It will also help if along the way you replace the cap, shake the bottle, and then remove the cap again.

On a daily basis you should also squeeze the bottle gently to expel any air, and this will also help to pull fresh oxygen into the bottle. You will notice a difference in the taste and strength of the vapour after doing this and the liquid will appear darker in colour where nicotine is included.

The Warm Water Bath Method

An alternative method to the Cupboard is to place the bottle in a bowl of warm water. This will have the same effect as the above method, but will work a bit quicker. Proceed by placing your capped bottle of e-liquid in a zip-lock bag, to protect it, and then submerge it in warm water – (the water should not be hot and the bottle is submerged at all times and not floating).

Once the water is cool remove the bottle and give it a vigorous shake. You can repeat this process 2-3 times. Give the bottle a shake after this and put it in a dark place for 24 hours before using.

Ultrasonic Steeping Method

The third option is to use an ultrasonic jewellery cleaner. This involves a high-frequency vibration, which is perfect for agitating a bottle of e-liquid. All that is required is you place the bottle (capped) into the ultrasonic cleaner and add warm water to the bath.

Around 2 hours in the cleaner is effective and can be equivalent to a weeks traditional steeping. It is important however to monitor the temperature of the water to ensure it doesn't get too hot.

It is important to keep in mind that some e-liquids may take longer to steep than others. It is known for tobacco flavours to take less time than sweet for example, but in all instances, the longer they can steep the better.

A lot of the steeping process can be trial and error and is heavily dependent on personal taste preferences.

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