Solubarome concentrates from France

[jeffc]

Hi. Ordered on the 17th April, arrived today 25th, 8 days total.

Very impressed so far, busy mixing day Saturday 7 flavours to mix.

[bootneck]

Just ordered a total of 800ml of flavourings from this lot,hope you're all right about them being good.

[Deleted]

The blackcurrant is really good if you don't like too sweet a blackcurrant...

My taste buds are shot but kind of like squash ....

On a par with totally wicked's blackcurrant flavour (if you don't feel happy ordering from them which I don't for ethical reasons)

[jeffc]

Hi Peeps. Now tried the Tabac FR4,after 5 days seeping.
Mixed at 15% concentration.

If you like RY4 you will love this full tabac flavour with a hint of caramel & nut?.

Now having to wait for the other 6 mixes too steep.

1st impressions: delighted,can`t wait for the custard to steep.

One happy vaper.

[Yasumi]

Hi All,

I must confess I'm a huge fan of the fruity flavours from Solubarôme. To me, they taste better than Ina, PA and FA.
Not so crazy about their sweets / cakes / custards/ liquorice etc though.

If you need translations from the website please let me know - Google does curious things sometimes...

Here's a review of what I've tried so far. French names first, so that you can find them on the site.
Tested all fruity flavours at 14 drops / 10 ml (using the dropper from the original bottle) in 70/30 and 60/40 bases, 6 to 9 mg/ml nico.

Citrus
Orange douce Brésil / Sweet Orange from Brazil : a really enchanting orange, not too tart and not candy-like, very natural
Clémentine Brésil / Tangerine from Brazil : a bit more tart (tarter? tartier? ??? ) than the Orange, again flavoursome and natural
Pamplemousse rose / Pink Grapefruit : natural, full of flavour, a total favourite
Yuzu : I love the yuzu fruit, but can't seem to get the "citrus bomb" effect from this aroma. Nice as a substitute for lemon, but considering the price, you should probably get the lemon.
Cédrat / Citron : am in love. Adding a few drops of Romarin / Rosemary for a more complex juice, taste of a Provençal garden, one of my all-days
Bergamote / Bergamot : whooo tiger. That's a bergamot with a vengeance. Wouldn't advise using it solo, but does wonders in a citrus mix. Needs some serious shaking before use.

Fruits
Lychee : out of this world. Fresh, complex, elegant, one of the few flavours I could vape all day without adding anything else. The only person I know who doesn't like it... doesn't like the lychee fruit in the first place. Try it.
Poire / Pear : I find it more natural than my Ina pear. Liking it very much and playing with it a lot, adding it into tea or almond flavours.
Ananas frais / Fresh Pineapple : that's the pineapple you want to get from them, forget the "Ananas jus" that is really disappointing. Still, this one is for fruit lovers, many find that it lacks sweetness / ripeness compared to other brands. Not tart but just barely sweet enough. I tend to go above the 14 drop mark when mixing it with other powerful flavours such as banana.
Banane flambée / Flambeed (?) Banana : again, get this one if you want a true fruit flavour as opposed to a candy flavour ("Banane bonbon"). Doesn't taste flambeed at all imo, just very ripe. Very potent, too. The grandmother of all bananas. Loving it. But I go under the 14 drop mark when mixing it with pineapple, coconut etc.
Noix de Coco Tahiti / Coconut from Tahiti : nice enough, it's got that dessicated coconut pulp that I'm looking for. Not sweet at all. Not quite as potent as I'd like.
Goyave / Guava : ah yes, tastes like guava nectar or perfectly ripe fruit, I like it.
(I've got Fig but it's still steeping, smelled rather strange out of the bottle, will come back to it.)

Many French reviewers seem to agree that :
Mangue / Mango and
Fraise des bois / Wild strawberry
are disappointing no matter the dosage and should be given a miss.

Flowers and Spices
Violette / Violet : yessss. Nice if you like violet. I mix it in all sorts of ways, a couple of drops for a flowery, springtime taste
Rose naturelle / Natural Rose : get this one, not the other Rose on the site. Natural and potent. Of course as a standalone flavour it will taste like toilet paper. But mix it with almonds, cream, pistachio... and it brings an interesting dimension.
Cannelle / Cinnamon : a good cinnamon, works well in mixes, no harsh undertones
Gingembre / Ginger : not so much. I was very excited about a ginger aroma but I find this one tastes of ginger powder, very dry and harsh, not too pleasant.

Again, per other reviewers, the Tahiti Vanilla is not great. On the other hand, in the Additifs section, they've got something called Ethyl Vanilline, which adds a fantastic vanilla aroma to other flavours. Top notch, I think.

Others
Thé Noir / Black Tea : oh boy. I was this close to drinking it out of the bottle. Not your average tea, it's got undertones of fresh peach, like a homemade ice tea. Complex enough to be a great all-day. I must confess I actually bought two 58 ml bottles : one to vape as a standalone and one to mix.
Miel d'Acacia / Acacia Honey : very nice, some strong notes and a mellow vape. Using it as a substitute for ethyl maltol at 4 to 6 drops / 10 ml and very happy with it.
Amaretto : no thanks. Not almondy enough for me. Sweet, smooth, lacks oomph, liquor and almonds. I've tried it with pear, with various citrus, with rose, doesn't get any better for my liking.

I should probably add that most of the fruities can be vaped 24hrs after mixing, providing you shake them well. I know vapers who tried them after an impatient 20 minutes of steeping! and they liked what they had. As a rule, I wait 4 to 5 days and am very happy.

I would recommend mixing them in small batches. They tend to lose flavour after about 4 weeks.

[ceedee]

Brilliant, informative post.
Many thanks, Yasumi.

[lairey]

Great reviews, thanks Yasumi

[Jen]

I've just received my order from Solubarome, and noticed that the label for the Rose Naturelle states there is sunflower oil (huile de toumesol) in it. It doesn't say this on the website. I've emailed them in my best terrible French to ask what's going on, but I just thought you should be aware of this and also be very careful about checking the labels. We all know the risks of lipid pneumonia from inhaling oils, right? I'll let you know what they say as and when.

[Deleted]

I didn't like the biscuit (tasted like an old man's pipe)....tried it the first or second day after getting it......left it steeping. Took ages to clear out my tank of that horrid taste..

But the blackcurrant (blackberry) i got is fab

[Jen]

Thought I'd update you on the Solubarome saga. I emailed them asking about the oil; in their first reply, they told me I'd made a mistake and ordered the food version. I pointed out that I hadn't by the simple means of linking to my order on their website where it clearly said 'e-liquide'. Their second reply told me that *they* had made a simple labelling error, and there was no oil in it.

So I decided to test that theory with a little basic kitchen science. I added the Rose Naturelle to water. Here's what happened:



Looks like oil droplets to me. I did a control on one of their other flavourings (Crepe), here's what happened:



Nothing, nada, completely water soluble.

OK, so I tested another two of their flavourings, Citron Jaune and Mandarin:





Well, look at that. Oil. And not even declared on the label.

I don't know how risk averse you are, but I quite seriously don't fancy lipid pneumonia from vaping oil. I also don't appreciate flavour vendors lying on their labels. I will be testing *all* the Solubarome flavours I have for oil as they clearly cannot be trusted. I'd be interested in your results should you decide to do the same. I will also not be purchasing from these liars again. My health is important, it's the reason I started vaping after all.

[jeffc]

Rather worrying, will now check my flavourings.

Thanks Jen.

[Jen]

You're welcome Jeff. I think it's worth remembering that 'natural' does not always equal 'safe'. I'd hazard a guess that the oil in the citrus flavours comes from the natural oils in the fruit peel itself, as opposed to being added as some kind of binding agent or whatever, but that doesn't mean it's safe to vape them. This is probably also why their flavours taste so realistic. We should be encouraging our vendors to complete MSDSs for absolutely everything they sell. Solubarome conveniently ignored my request for this, so I doubly can't trust them.

[jeffc]

Jen I have completed the simple water test with flavour droplets, and all of my flavours are clear, No sign of oils.

Could be that they have made a mistake in supplying wrong flavours (food).

A couple on UKV have also received the food flavours by mistake.

They were re-supplied with correct grade of flavours plus a few extra ones FOC.

[Jen]

Well, that's good to hear, but I haven't received any of this customer service they have. They tried to blame me first for ordering the wrong concentrate, then they blamed a 'simple' labelling error, assuring me that they keep the stock 'well separated' and there was no oil in it. No apology, no offer to resend, refund or anything. I'm absolutely furious and will be taking this to Trading Standards if they don't respond to this morning's email (which had those pictures attached). I don't even really care that much about the (rather a lot of) money I've spent with them, this could have landed me in the hospital, not to mention countless other vapers. Incompetence and negligence are very serious matters.

[Jen]

Another update, as I've now tested all my SA flavours. The results:

Definite offenders:
Citron Jaune
Mandarine
Yuzu
Guava
Pear
Rose Naturelle

Possible offender:
Biscuit Note

Not offenders as far as I can tell:

Orange (Grand Marnier)
Pomme Amour
Strawberry
Lychee
Mango (went cloudy in water)
Melon
Pineapple (fresh)
Cassis
Vanilla
Vanilla Tahiti
Blueberry (Myrtille, although they put menthol in for some reason)
Maple Syrup
Peche de Vigne
Green Tea
Red Grape (although this is grape soda, not natural grape flavour)
Lotus Flower
Bamboo
Chocolate Noir Extreme
Caramel
Raspberry
Crepe
Blackberry
Elderflower
Passionfruit