Taste

I'm lucky in that I grow my own organic herb, in a medically legal state. Over the years the taste of my herb has become more and more important to me. I'm also lucky that I have some great tasting vapes to use.

But even in my great tasting vapes, the taste will run out well before the herb is spent of medical or recreational benefits. I'm thinking most of the taste is from water soluble terpenes boiling off at lower temps rather than the oil based cannabinoids. I'm also wishing the whole session tasted like those first hits.

My volcano will taste great for an entire bag, but after that the taste fades. The mighty I use, will taste great the first couple hits, then the flavor fades to a nice cool vapor, but with little real taste.

Through water, vapor will cool, but it hurts flavors a bit, I think. It is very nice to cool hot vapors though, and I enjoy using my vapes with water.

Let's talk taste in this thread. Anyone?

shredder said:

I'm lucky in that I grow my own organic herb, in a medically legal state. Over the years the taste of my herb has become more and more important to me. I'm also lucky that I have some great tasting vapes to use.

But even in my great tasting vapes, the taste will run out well before the herb is spent of medical or recreational benefits. I'm thinking most of the taste is from water soluble terpenes boiling off at lower temps rather than the oil based cannabinoids. I'm also wishing the whole session tasted like those first hits.

My volcano will taste great for an entire bag, but after that the taste fades. The mighty I use, will taste great the first couple hits, then the flavor fades to a nice cool vapor, but with little real taste.

Through water, vapor will cool, but it hurts flavors a bit, I think. It is very nice to cool hot vapors though, and I enjoy using my vapes with water.

Let's talk taste in this thread. Anyone?

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I think you summarized the situation quite well . . . One thing I have noticed is that weed varieties with berry flavors and better tastes tend to have sativa genetics whereas the more relaxing, medicinal herbs I like are indica oriented and have more earthy/natural flavors.

If you use vaporizers with small bowls, like the UD, HI, e-nano, Lotus and LSV with the m2m, you don't get very many hits, so therefore, every hit can just about feel and taste like the first one.

For both the my Solo and MFLB the first 3 hits are where the best flavor occurs...after that its kind of flavorless to me.

The only time I got more than 3 flavorful hits in a bowl is when I sandwiched reclaim between hemp fiber (the hemp fiber had no medicinal value). I got about 5 to 6 sweet tasting dense cloudy hits but the buzz was only about 2/3 normal. I'm still experimenting with different ways to use the hemp fiber....

@shredder :

Just so you know: In general, most of the terpenes are insoluble in water but soluble in most alcohols, chloroform and diethyl ether.

They are non-polar organic molecules that are generally more volatile than the cannabinoids.

t-dub said:

I think you summarized the situation quite well . . . One thing I have noticed is that weed varieties with berry flavors and better tastes tend to have sativa genetics whereas the more relaxing, medicinal herbs I like are indica oriented and have more earthy/natural flavors.

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I'm not sure how to post a link, but a quick google search will show how important terpenes are to taste and effects. Sometimes indicas can act like sativas because of terpene profiles. I think the future looks promising here.

hoptimum said:

If you use vaporizers with small bowls, like the UD, HI, e-nano, Lotus and LSV with the m2m, you don't get very many hits, so therefore, every hit can just about feel and taste like the first one.

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I'm just now trying out a enano, but I do see a drop off in taste after a few hit like the other vapes I tried. I don't know how anyone can get around this. In some vapes the taste is still fully acceptable, but in others, the taste suffers IMHO.

His_Highness said:

For both the my Solo and MFLB the first 3 hits are where the best flavor occurs...after that its kind of flavorless to me.

The only time I got more than 3 flavorful hits in a bowl is when I sandwiched reclaim between hemp fiber (the hemp fiber had no medicinal value). I got about 5 to 6 sweet tasting dense cloudy hits but the buzz was only about 2/3 normal. I'm still experimenting with different ways to use the hemp fiber....

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The hemp fiber had no taste? What type of concentrate? I know some taste better than others.

@shredder The hemp fiber had a little taste but the taste I experienced is something I've come to know well. I didn't use a concentrate per se.... I used the golden colored reclaim that built up in my Solo stem. Hadn't cleaned it in awhile and it was starting to really build up toward the mouth end of the stem. I have been stuck with the same strain (lemony tasting) for over a year. Stuck being a harsh word considering the quality is really good. The taste from the reclaim sandwich was the lemony taste I've come to know well.

His_Highness said:

@shredder The hemp fiber had a little taste but the taste I experienced is something I've come to know well. I didn't use a concentrate per se.... I used the golden colored reclaim that built up in my Solo stem. Hadn't cleaned it in awhile and it was starting to really build up toward the mouth end of the stem. I have been stuck with the same strain (lemony tasting) for over a year. Stuck being a harsh word considering the quality is really good. The taste from the reclaim sandwich was the lemony taste I've come to know well.

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Cool, good to know. Up to this year, I just had a volcano and never collected reclaim. I did reclaim lightly used abv though.

nicelytoasted said:

@shredder :

Just so you know: In general, most of the terpenes are insoluble in water but soluble in most alcohols, chloroform and diethyl ether.

They are non-polar organic molecules that are generally more volatile than the cannabinoids.

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I didn't know that, thanks. Because they volitized fast I thought they were water based. I know some of the taste is from non terpene compounds like chorlaphyll .

In my experience, with a larger bowl you get good taste on the first couple hits and only have to reload once or twice a session. However with a smaller bowl you get great taste on all hits but have to reload every or every other hit. Personally I go the second route for flowers.

However since we're talking taste I think concentrates should be brought up. I love vaping flower but damn I'm starting to realize that concentrates (good ones at least) have a much more intense flavor. Flowers usually have a more complex terpene profile IMO but they just don't kick your tastebuds the same way concentrates do. With my rosin setup I can press a strain and try the oil back-to-back with the flowers. I've been finding the vaped flower almost always tastes weak in comparison (like drip coffee vs an espresso shot)

So after experimenting and putzing around with a bunch of vapes I found really great flavours from some of the med strains I get. One in particular was this very satisfying lemony/citrusy something. When I switched from an my inhalater 05 to an 05S (extra heat, extra fast) I found I could sometimes do more than 1 session on low and still get flavour throughout the session. In the end I was averaging 3 runs per load - one on 3, one on auto (4.5 to 5.5 over a 10 minute session), and then crank it to 8 through water to finish it off to a nice dark ABV.

Then, to replicate that in a more desktop model I decided to get a Minivap, which is great flavour as well! I can easily pull a couple of low temp sessions off a load, and then crank it to high where the flavour is almost immediately gone. And then it broke. Right after I sold the 05S. So I was vapeless for a couple of weeks til I found the Heat Island in storage. I get great tasty hits from the HI, but I barely load it, and only get 3 or 4 draws per load. And the ABV bucket is filling quickly!

killick said:

So after experimenting and putzing around with a bunch of vapes I found really great flavours from some of the med strains I get. One in particular was this very satisfying lemony/citrusy something. When I switched from an my inhalater 05 to an 05S (extra heat, extra fast) I found I could sometimes do more than 1 session on low and still get flavour throughout the session. In the end I was averaging 3 runs per load - one on 3, one on auto (4.5 to 5.5 over a 10 minute session), and then crank it to 8 through water to finish it off to a nice dark ABV.

Then, to replicate that in a more desktop model I decided to get a Minivap, which is great flavour as well! I can easily pull a couple of low temp sessions off a load, and then crank it to high where the flavour is almost immediately gone. And then it broke. Right after I sold the 05S. So I was vapeless for a couple of weeks til I found the Heat Island in storage. I get great tasty hits from the HI, but I barely load it, and only get 3 or 4 draws per load. And the ABV bucket is filling quickly!

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Nice post!
I'm just getting to know my enano. It has good taste as well, and I'm noticing subtleties with the dryness of the herb. Dry herb seems to make denser clouds. Damper herb lasts longer. And I'm noticity certain varieties taste different in different vapes. My super silver haze has an all most menthal taste in the enano.
in my volcano it's more cat pissy (in a good way, as strange as my description sounds, lol)

shredder said:

Let's talk taste in this thread. Anyone?

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I'm guessing flavor loss could also be somewhat caused by olfactory fatigue.

As in the link, I hear smelling coffee beans will reset your sense of smell, maybe that is something we should look into trying between draws, .

I consider it a good thing to get all the flavor on the first hit. The other option is a weaker vape and using lots of weed to get flavor. You could get more flavor per session this way? This wont work on my vape because anything more than 0.2-0.3 grams makes me choke. My solution is that I use many bowls and little herb. I take 3 hits out of one and change it out.

You could also start at a very low temp and climb up with each hit?

For the most flavor I also think:
glass > metal & plastic
direct draw > bags
large mass / high watt > low watt / low mass
short path > crazy pipes
no water > water
temperature control > dimmer knob
low temps > high temp

shredder said:

... I'm just now trying out a enano, but I do see a drop off in taste after a few hit like the other vapes I tried. I don't know how anyone can get around this. In some vapes the taste is still fully acceptable, but in others, the taste suffers IMHO.....

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As mentioned above, small loads are the key to having great taste on the most hits IME. The nano (and would assume UD and HI) allow for a small load with an adjustable screen. Also, can have very short vapor path. Load just enough for 2-3 hits. Go dry or use a small bubbler with minimal diffusion and just enough water to fire the perc. Take slow draws to keep bubbling low until you clear. Take two, stir, finish, dump and reload. The FC-710 or other diffusion pumps should allow for better flavor too because of the nature of the bubbler. Just got the FC-710 and flavor preservation seems amazing after a few good test sessions.

You'll have to reload more often, but well worth it for taste IMO. Don't think it possible to pull heat through a load more than 3x and not wipe out the terpenes (at least most of them), no matter what vape you're using or how big of a load (unless huge and can get 1 or two more flavorful hits at best with even more less flavorful hits to finish). 'Cano (and other bags) will have better, but probably not best, taste in first bag because the terpenes are vaped during that first fill, but they will probably be done long before the first bag is.

Some strains' flavors will hang in more through any vaping, but have found with using small loads and less diffusion that even the most subtle tasting strains will remain flavorful through the load.

Lower temps will also keep flavor up because still vape the terpenes, but not as many other actives that can mask or overpower flavor. But, if too low can be a bit wasteful (if not re-vaping later) and unsatisfying because leaving all those actives in ABV.

Vapman can also give very flavorful hits once you get the hang of the torch. Would think other torch based vapes that allow for a small load would do the same (lotus, daisy, etc.). And, any vape that can perform well with a small load should also give good flavor - even if lacking in other areas (MFLB good example).

I agree that variety and temperatures play a role.

In my mighty I got a nice flavorfull session with bubba Kush in a fine grind and vaped in relatively low temps. The session took a very long time and the vapor was wispy but the flavor lasted for nearly the whole load.

My nano is still teaching me, but it does provide a nice flavor, at least at the start. I'll try some small loads in it today. ( for research )

Cat pissy... I understand what you mean. I read someone once describe a flavour as 'reminiscent of dirty diapers, but in a good way'. I tripped over something like that awhile back and immediately it clicked... before that, not so much...

@Enchantre is the resident enano wiz. She has some great vids on how to best make use of it. I've heard great things, but have yet to try one.

I've been invoked...

Yes, flavor will die after the third draw, pretty much regardless of vaporizer. It is what it is.
Make very small loads, hit them 3 times, stir, hit, dump, repeat.

If you barely cover the basket screen, and draw slowly, you can cash it out in one hit. All flavor, tons of vapor... spent.

I agree with everything except vape. An INH05s, on 3.5, filled with a good-tasting strain, and I can get taste and light vapour for more than one 10 minute session. I'm asking for that from the Minivap, as well, but can't get started till it gets home with a new core and firmware... So it's small bowls in HI till then

Enchantre said:

I've been invoked...

Yes, flavor will die after the third draw, pretty much regardless of vaporizer. It is what it is.
Make very small loads, hit them 3 times, stir, hit, dump, repeat.

If you barely cover the basket screen, and draw slowly, you can cash it out in one hit. All flavor, tons of vapor... spent.

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@Enchantre Thanks for jumping in!

How do you grind? Or do you grind? I think the fixed screen nano stems work better without a grind, or maybe I still need a screen. I've just been ripping a small chunk of bud and pushing it in. At this point I think I prefer the adjustable stems more. I've been doing a medium grind using the adjustable stem.

I also noticed drier herb makes bigger clouds than herb with more moisture, but the herb with more moisture might taste better in the long run. Lots to learn I guess.

I do grind, usually.. fairly light & fluffy, then I press it flat (not tight!) with a chopstick. about a 1/16th of an inch deep in my gong. If not less.