If you are new to the vaping scene, then you may not know what is meant by the term “steeping”. Steeping e-juice is becoming very common practice amongst veteran vape users.
Steeping is often done to improve the overall taste of the e-liquid and produce a better-quality vape.
This brief guide aims to tell you exactly what steeping is and just why it is so effective. We will also be discussing each of the most popular steeping methods in detail so that you can try them for yourself.
What is Steeping E-Juice?
The term steeping usually refers to placing a solid element into water in order to soften it or fully extract its flavour much like the process of steeping tea.
However, the term steeping takes on a slightly different meaning when used in conjunction with e-juices. Steeping an e-juice generally means that you are “ageing it”.
Steeping an e-juice usually involves allowing it to age over time. This is done primarily to enhance the flavour of the liquid.
Whilst there are several methods used to steep an e-liquid, all essentially involve letting it sit for a prolonged period of time. This lets the ingredients naturally blend together.
Why Steep Vape Juice?
When making your own vape juices, steeping becomes a necessary process. A DIY e-liquid may suffer from an overall lack of sharp flavour or may not give the desired taste right away.
After steeping a DIY e-liquid, you can be sure that it will taste much better and will the desired edge to it that was previously lacking.
Alternatively, while many purchased e-liquids say that they are pre-mixed and ready to vape, they may still require steeping to achieve its full flavour potential.
Steeping the purchased e-liquid will ensure that all of the ingredients contained within the e-juice are mixed and blended effectively, thus subsequently producing a smoother and more succinct flavour overall.
The benefits to steeping your e-liquids greatly out way the time and effort required to steep them.
Steeping usually requires practically no effort at all from the individual and can greatly improve the taste and quality of the e-liquid.
How Do I Steep E-Liquid?
The process of e-juice steeping is a relatively simple and straightforward one. All you need to do to begin the process is to place the desired e-liquid in a cool and dark area.
The e-liquid must remain in a closed container. This cool and dark place could be a cupboard or a drawer. Leave the bottle in this area for a prolonged period of time.
Occasionally you should check on the bottle and give it a light shake. This helps to speed up the steeping process.
Steeping generally takes quite a long period of time. However, there are some options to move the process along a bit faster.
- Breathing Your E-Juice
One such option that helps reduce the time of the steeping process is “breathing”. Simply take the lid off the e-liquid’s bottle and let it sit for around a few hours. E-liquids with high alcohol contents should be undergo this process as it naturally speeds up the evaporation of alcohol compounds.
- Streathing Your E-Juice
“Streathing” takes both the process of steeping and breathing and combines them. Start the process by shaking your e-liquid container. Once shaken, run it under a warm tap. You should then remove the lid of the container and place the e-liquid in a dark and cool place for around two hours. Following this, place the lid back on and shake again.
How Long Does the Steeping Process Take?
The time it takes to fully steep an e-liquid varies heavily on a number of factors. One such factor is the type of flavour being steeped.
Each type of flavour seems to have a different required time for it to fully steep. Fruit flavours, for example, tend to only require around a day or two to fully steep, making them the flavour with the lowest required time.
Dessert flavours and e-liquids containing tobacco flavourings often take much longer to steep, requiring at least a few weeks before they are ready.
Another key deciding factor is your own personal taste perception and preferences. If you are someone with a heightened sense of taste, then you will likely need to steep your e-juices for longer as you will be able to taste a difference.
The whole steeping process is subjective and based on what the individual prefers so to have a play around and experiment with different techniques and steeping times.
Slow and Simple Steeping
The traditional form of e-juice steeping is the slower and simple method. This method requires you to remove all of the wrappers from the e-liquid containers.
You then need to place these containers in a dark and cool place. Leave them there for around a week or two. Once per day you should take the bottles out and shake them.
When removing the bottles from the area you are keeping them in, ensure that no light touches the bottles as this could affect the e-juice inside.
Fast Methods to Steep Your Vape Juices
Because steeping can be a fairly lengthy process, many people simply may not have the time to do it. However, there are several methods used to steep e-juices that reduce the time required by a significant amount.
Try some of the methods below to find a one that suits your own personal needs and time restrictions:
- Bath
This method is a particularly common one due to its simplicity. All you need to do is fill a large bowl with warm water. You should put your desired e-liquid bottles inside of a seal-lock bag and then lower them carefully into the water. Once the water hits room temperature, remove the e-liquid bottles. Take the lids off for a few moments then reseal and shake.
- Slow Cooker
Use a slow cooker to speed up the process by filling it with water and placing the e-liquid containers in a zip-lock bag and putting them into the water. Put the slow cooker on a low setting and leave it for around a few hours.
- Ultrasonic Cleaner
Just fill the cleaner with water, put the e-liquid bottles in and turn on the heater for 30 minutes.
- Magnetic Stirrer
Put the e-juice bottles into the container. Fill the container with warm water and let the magnetic stirrer work for around 30 minutes.
- Seed Steeping
Take 10% of the volume from an e-liquid that has already been steeped. Add this to a bottle of fresh e-juice and let it sit for a few days.
Other Fast Steeping Methods
Whilst the above methods are the most common forms of speeding up the steeping process, there are a few other methods that can achieve the same effective results.
For example, many people use a microwave in order to steep their e-juice as it is readily available in almost every household and will keep the e-liquid warm consistently.
Some people use a dryer to steep their e-liquid due to many of the same reasons why people use a microwave. There is sure to be a steeping method that works to your personal time restrictions.
Is Steeping for Me?
You may now be asking yourself the question, “Is steeping my e-liquids really something for me?”.
And that answer depends on several things. If you personally don’t really care about the taste of your e-juice then no, steeping probably isn’t for you as you may not notice all that much of a difference.
But if you relish in the taste of your e-juice and want to make it even better, then you should definitely take the time to steep your favourite one.
Even if you just try it once, it is something that all vape users should do at some point so they can see the difference for themselves.