There seems to be some disagreement in the vaping community as a whole whether to steep or not to steep an eJuice. What does it do? Why is it controversial? Steeping is the soaking in liquid (usually water) of a solid so as to extract flavours or to soften it. The most commonly steeped thing is probably Tea.  The act of placing tea leaves in hot water and letting it sit (covered or uncovered) for a period of time to extract the flavor from the leaves is the process of steeping.  There are other items that are often steeped, like sauces or chili. This is where things start to get a bit controversial.  Members of the e-Cigarette Forum recommend one method of steeping, while sites like ce and Vapedojo recommend very different methods.  And then, if you look around on Reddit, you are likely to find someone posting a different method just about every week. The most common element among most steeping methods is the introduction of air into the bottle of liquid to effect a change to the flavor of the eJuice.  

Another common element in a number of the methods use is the introduction of heat to the fluid as an aid in the process. Here are a few of the more common methods that people use in steeping fluids: There are literally hundreds of variations on these methods using things like coffee cup warmers, warm dry rice, and a basket that holds the bottles of eJuice in a slow cooker turned on its low setting. There is a post on Reddit that does show some of the effect of introducing heat into the steeping process has.  Granted the post is not conclusive evidence, however it is more methodical in presentation than the majority of anecdotal information that is posted by many people. Part of the question that I have asked myself is: is there any scientific studies that documents the changes that occur to eJuices when they are steeped?  The closest thing I could find to a scientific study was the Reddit post I linked in the last section. However, I found some more useful information from Dr. Kurt Kistler in a Vape Team Live video from September of last year on YouTube.  

While the primary subject of the discussion is safety in DIY eJuice, Dr. Kistler does touch on the subject of steeping, and made a couple of important points about it.  Here is a brief summary of the primary points: This was probably the most clear and concise explanation of what occurs during steeping I was able to find.  It was also possibly the most authoritarian explanation I could find give Dr. Kistler’s credentials as a PhD Chemist at Penn State University and Chemistry Advisor with AEMSA (American e-Liquid Manufacturing Standards Association), as well as being a DIY eJuice maker. So, whether you steep an eJuice is up to you, and is something that should be based primarily on your own tastes.  I can say from anecdotal evidence that it does make a difference, sometimes good, sometimes not good.  A few quick examples: In my Alien Visions eJuice review  I noted that the Gorilla Juice had a really strong cooked banana flavor that I did not like.  However, when I went back to vape the remaining portion of the bottle last week I found that the banana flavor had been reduced significantly and now it is a much smoother more pleasant tasting fluid to me.  

On the other hand, the Irish Cream flavor has lost almost of all of the characteristics of tasting like an Irish Cream, and had become so viscous that I had to use vodka to cut it so I could vape it.business for sale bishopbriggs In my review of Mt Baker Vapor juices, I noted with some surprise that I liked the Strawberry Kiwi flavor as it was a nice palette cleanser.  business for sale maroochydore queenslandHowever a few weeks later and it lost most of the tangy, bracing cleansing flavor that I had liked.  good handyman in san diegoDr. Kistler specifically mentions in the video that Strawberry flavors specifically use some compound that are more volatile, which would explain the mellowing of this flavor.business for sale blythewood sc

My local vape store carries some fluids from Mad Vapes, including one of my favorites: Mad4.  business for sale kijiji ontarioThe store mixes their fluids on the spot, to order.  business for sale pyleI find with Mad4 that it tastes okay when it is freshly mixed, however after about a week, the color changes from a slight pinkish red to a light caramel color.  business for sale shreveport louisianaOnce this change has occurred the flavor is much smoother and more pleasant to vape. So, to steep or not to steep your eJuice seems to be something of an open question.  There is definitely documented evidence of the process that the fluids are going through when steeping, and Dr. Kistler provides a very concise summary of the processes that are taking place in most juices.  

Of course, there could be exceptions to this information as there are many thousands of different juices, and many variations of the flavor components used in them. So there is nothing absolute about steeping.  In some cases it may make a flavor taste better, in some it may make it worse.  It depends on your taste buds.  Hopefully, however, this article has provided some information that explains what is going on during the steeping process, and you will be able to do your own experiments knowing that it is most likely safe (as long as you don’t get too crazy).How new rules could kill the vaping boomWhen Randy Freer was trying to quit smoking, he wanted to try vaping—battery-operated devices that deliver nicotine by vaporizing liquids. (Some ex-smokers find the combo of the flavors and the ability to dial down the nicotine helps them quit.) But Freer found he couldn’t keep a supply of the vaporizers he liked—they were always out of stock.So being the entrepreneurial type, he created his own e-liquids to vape.

In 2012, he launched P.O.E.T. (Pursuit of Excellent Taste), a small business based in Seal Beach, California, that sells e-liquids. Three years later, he says his company sells to some 130 stores internationally as well as online, and has $500,000 in annual sales.But all that could disappear if the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), as expected, finalizes its rules on e-cigarettes and other vaping products. The rules would require federal approval for most flavored liquid nicotine juices and e-cig devices sold in vape shops.“If that [FDA rule] goes through, it’ll put me back into the job market,” Freer says.He and practically everyone else in the vaping business. According to one estimate, the approval process would require such an extensive data collection for each item that it could businesses cost $2 million to $10 million, the Wall Street Journal reported.“Essentially the FDA regulation is a guaranteed death knell for over 99% of the companies in the industry,” says Gregory Conley, president of the American Vaping Association, an advocacy group.

That would affect the estimated 8,000 to 12,000 vape shops in the United States and the estimated 1,000 manufacturers and wholesalers of vaping equipment.Tobacco giants produce the e-cigarette brands, which look like cigarettes and are sold in supermarkets. But, second generation vaporizers—the kind sold by small and mid-sized businesses, like Freer's -- are larger, more like fountain pens, and users can customize them with different flavored e-liquids. They also have bigger batteries and cartridges so they can last longer.Under the FDA proposed rules, there would be a retroactive premarket review of any e-cigarette or vaping product on the market after 2007, unless they can show the product is "substantially equivalent" to one on the market before 2007. Since the industry has evolved so quickly, today’s products have little equivalence to products on the market before 2007. “It essentially means that the FDA is retroactively requiring all products on the market to submit a new tobacco product application,” says Conley.Pressure on the vaping industryThe FDA is proposing different compliance dates to give a little leeway for small businesses, so the regulations may not be noticeable to vapers for a couple of years.

But there is a lot of pressure to restrict vaping and e-cigarette sales.All US states except for Maine, Pennsylvania and Michigan have laws that prohibit selling e-cigarettes and vaping products to minors. This year, there were roughly 200 bills introduced across 40 states that addressed some aspect of e-cigarette and vapor product regulation. “The overall theme of this legislation is an effort to fold vapor products into existing laws that apply to combustible cigarettes and other tobacco products,” says Alex Clark, legislative director of the Consumer Advocates for Smoke-free Alternatives Association, an advocacy organization that promotes the right to cigarette alternatives.The bills include taxing e cigarettes and vaping devices, prohibiting vaping where smoking is banned, prohibiting flavoring and advertising that is intended to appeal to minors, requiring licensing of vaping shops, labeling laws, and child resistant packaging. Jumping on the regulation bandwagon, the National Park Service just announced that it would ban vaping from its parks.

Consumer advocates are pushing for regulations, saying vaping presents major health concerns. In a recent report by the Center for Environmental Health, entitled, "Smoking Gun: Cancer-causing chemicals in e-cigarettes," the group said it found the majority of e-cigarettes and other vaping products tested contained high levels of cancer-causing chemicals formaldehyde and acetaldehye. The group said it was “concerned about the unregulated marketing of e-cigarettes, and especially sales to teens and young people, while little is known about the health hazards from inhaling e-cigarette smoke.”Yet many e-cig users say it helps people quit smoking and believe these e-cigs are at least safer than regular cigarettes. They say that taking them off the market will hurt the chances of quitting for millions of current smokers. Dr. Gregory Masters, an oncologist in Newark, Del., recently told WebMD he understands the conflicted public opinion. "I do have safety concerns for e-cigarettes because nicotine is bad for you, and we don't know all of the risks with e-cigarettes," said Masters.