Last updated on December 9th, 2021
Steeping ELiquid is the Key to Great Tasting E-Liquids
There are several good reasons why you should be steeping (or aging) your e-liquid before you vape it in your favorite ecig or vaporizer.
Think about it. Fine wines are never sold before they mature; great cheeses needs to ripen, the best tasting steaks must be aged, even tea needs to steep in hot water in order to bring out the best flavor.
E-Juice is really no different. Sometimes, it needs to mature to achieve optimal flavor.
Some Vape juice companies let you know outright that they pre-steep their e-liquids, so you should be good to go.
I recommend several brands, (listed below).
If you're considering buying other brands (and I certainly haven't tested them all), contact the company before you buy. Some companies mix 'em and sell 'em, so they can be too fresh.
What's the Flavor Problem With Some E-Juices
Before I knew about steeping, I would actually throw away newly purchased e-juice if it tasted too weak and had a weird waxy taste. Don’t make that mistake! Young, undeveloped e-liquids can lack flavor and can taste waxy or soapy. Some even taste overly fragrant or perfumey or have a strange aroma akin to a gent’s toilet. Not very pleasant.
Selecting a specific ratio of the two base ingredients in e-liquid, propylene glycol (PG) and vegetable glycerine (VG) can affect the taste and vapor production of your e-cig vaping experience. We have a very informative article that explains this in detail, but for the purpose of this post, you should know that steeping is especially important if you order mostly VG e-liquids.
What Happens To the E-liquid When it is Steeping?
Practically all e-liquids are made of four ingredients: propylene glycol (PG), vegetable glycerine (VG), nicotine, and flavoring. Some e-liquids include pure distilled water and alcohol. As mentioned, the PG and the VG both act as bases for the nicotine and flavorings, but PG grabs the flavorings quickly, while VG, the thicker liquid takes time to absorb the flavors. Steeping simply allows the chemicals/flavor to disperse throughout the juice at the molecular level.
How Do You Steep E-Liquid?
There’s really no mystery to steeping e-liquids. Just set it aside in a cool dark place for several days, or, open the lid and let it breathe for several days. Some eliquids can take weeks, depending on the flavor and e-liquid company. It’s always smart to place open e-liquid bottles away from activity areas and out of the reach of children and pets.
Test Out Your E-Juice
Start testing your steeped e-liquid after a few days (or hours depending on the brand). Some e-liquid flavors mature more quickly, some take weeks or even months! Remember to first shake the bottle before dripping the juice into your tank as some flavors tend to settle at the bottom of the bottle.
E-Liquid Brands That Rarely Need Steeping
There are several e-liquids that taste great without steeping. Either the company uses higher-end base liquids, higher quality flavors, they mix the perfect blend of PG and VG, or they “pre-steep” their products.
We’ve tested loads of e-juices and have experimented with many PG/VG ratios. Here are a few that are top-notch right out the bottle.
Kind Juice– This organic e-juice company developed an exclusive and rigorous 3 stage steeping process for their Nectar Line. The unique process involves at least 150 hours (That’s over 6 days!)
Vaporfi has the most e-liquids available from a single company. That's because they let you mix and match up to 3 flavors, giving you a choice of over 30,000 flavors. There's also no need to pre-steep these combo flavors, as they're great right out of the bottle.
I also happen to prefer Vaporfi's bottles over other brands. They have a very slim, pointed tip which allows for easy dripping into even the smallest tanks. They will give you an added discount when you buy more than 1 bottle at a time or combine flavors.
All the above brands are priced similarly and within reason. I always recommend you start out with small-sized bottles.
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Happy Vaping!
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The steeping process is very similar to wine! The only real difference is the presence fo nicotine.
Thanks for sharing such an informative information. It is also recommended that you shake your bottles as often as possible to help expedite the process. Another way to speed up the steeping is to run the bottles under warm tap water.
I really knew nothing about steeping e-juice. Thanks for writing this blog.
Great Tasting E-Liquids several good reasons why you should steep (or age) your e-liquid before you vape it in your favorite eGo ecig or vaporizer. Fine wines are never sold before they mature; great cheeses needs to ripen, the best tasting steaks must be aged, even tea needs to steep in hot water in order to bring out the best flavor. E-Juice is really no different. It needs to mature to achieve optimal flavor, especially if you buy your smokejuice from eliquid companies like Mt. Baker Vapor, VaporFi or Virgin Vapor.
Generally fruit flavors will be good to vape straight away while desserts can take longer to fully develop. I disagree with your point about “custom blends” though. The people making the juice should know how to mix it, you shouldn’t have to tell them. Any juice company offering “flavor shots” doesn’t really know what they’re doing. Adding extra flavor can distort the profile to the point where no amount of steeping will fix it. Generally steeping is often used as an excuse for why juice tastes bad. “Oh, just needs to steep”. No…it’s bad juice.
I have always enjoyed Mt.Baker Vapor and love that I can customize the strength of my ejuice by ordering extra shots. They’ve been around for years and are one of the most popular (and well respected) eliquid companies. One thing I disagree with is that MBV needs extra steeping as I’ve never had to pre-steep my flavors.
I am sorry miss but you are all wrong! The method you are describing is called BREATHING and should be done for 12 hours AT THE MOST! Taking the cap off the bottle and letting it sit in a cool dark place is called, once again, BREATHING. Steeping is when you let your juice sit in a cool dark place WITH THE LID ON. This should be done for 3 days to 2 weeks, depending on how long you can wait and several other things. Now, do Wine Makers age their wine bottles open? NO, Case closed, sorry!
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Hi bobby,
Thanks for adding your thoughts to this article! One thing is certain, the language of vaping is ever-evolving, as is everyone’s personal method for achieving the most satisfying vape. Steeping is one word that has become synonymous with aging freshly made ejuice. I am also very familiar with opening a wine bottle (even one that has been aged), to “let it breathe”. I look forward to researching your interesting points of view!
Actually this article addresses both “steepping” and “breathing” but mistakenly refers to leaving an open bottle as another type of steeping.
Mbv all needs to be steeped. Duh
Steeping is a very important step. We like to open cap steep at least two weeks. It really depends on the flavor as some flavors require different steeping times as well
[…] hint I always share when it comes to e-liquids is to open the bottle and let the juice steep for at least a day to achieve full […]