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Congrats and many happy returns

Great stuff, Matt

And so to the last one for today...

Twisted

First, a disclaimer. This juice came as part of the 5x5 sample pack. It isn't the kind of juice I would normally buy. They describe it as pineapple, lime and strawberry and illustrate it with a twisty ice lolly. I've tried a few fruity juices: they have all been palatable and have tasted more or less of what they are supposed to taste like, but none of them have had me going back for more. As for the lolly: the idea of "smoking" an ice lolly makes my little brain spin round and round for a while before staggering into a dark corner.

So I didn't expect to like this one. But the joy of samplers is that they encourage you to try stuff you might not normally try.

First draw: I get lime cordial. Sharp and sweet and limey. A few more drags and the ice lolly comes through.

Five minutes later. There's strawberry in this? Check the site again. Yep, it definitely says strawberry. It also says pineapple before it says lime. Hmm... If you had told me there was pear in this, I would've believed you. But strawberry?
???
Time for a cup of tea.

Halfway through my cuppa and I'm enjoying this juice. Definitely summery. I can imagine myself relaxing in a deckchair on Cardiff beach, vaping away on this with the sun beating down on me.



Does Cardiff have a beach? I've never been to Cardiff. Never been to Wales. Odd. I've been to plenty of places but never Wales. Must go there sometime.

Still playing hunt the strawberry.

Hang on, maybe there is a bit of strawberry there. A somewhat apologetic strawberry.

Hunt the pineapple? Nah, you're 'aving a larf, boyo! If I didn't know what this juice was supposed to be, I would have said lime cordial with a hint of pear. If you had told me it was supposed to be an ice lolly, I would have said yeah, I get ice lolly...

Despite the confusion, I'm still enjoying this. Not an all day vape for me, probably not even a most days vape, but it won't be going in the classifieds or down the toilet. I'm going to hold on to it for those occasions when I want to be transported to the Welsh Riviera

Next up for the long term test treatment is...

Lemon Fizz Cake with Ninja Coconut

(The guys at Chefs Vapour call it Lemon Coconut Cream Cake, but my version is more accurate.)

The label says that this particular batch was mixed on 30 March, so it has been steeping for a couple of weeks. When I was reviewing Lew's Brew, I was a little distracted by Nicole, so I forgot to mention that it was from a three week old batch but didn't seem to have changed since I tried the earlier sample (which I'm guessing was probably from the same batch). In contrast, the Lemon Thingy Cake has definitely improved with age. It's more cakey. I also said previously that the lemon tasted a bit synthetic, but that synthetic edge has disappeared with age.

So, the steeped juice is giving me a strong but smooth lemon flavour which is reminiscent of a marvellous lemon tart that my ex used to make. This is a good thing. The fizz is still there, which is still a bit peculiar, but it somehow replicates the acidity of real lemons. The cake is nice and spongey. The coconut is still elusive, but I reckon I would miss it if it wasn't there.

Yep, I like this one. I like it a lot.

Not an all day vape for me - I don't think any dessert type juice is ever going to be my all day vape - but I have tried a fair number of this type of liquid and this one is up there amongst the best. It will be interesting to see how it develops with further steeping, but I only have a couple of ml left, so I guess I'm just going to have to buy some more.

But not yet. I still have a few of Karl and Lew's other juices to try first

Plenty of room in there...

I started this thread by writing some nonsense about some samples I had won in a competition run by the lads at Chefs Vapour shortly before they opened for business. Initial impressions were favourable, so as soon as they were properly up and running, I put in an order for some of their produce, paid for by my own money. Well, paid for by PayPal, which isn't real money, is it?

The bottles helpfully say when the juice was mixed, so I have been trying them out in date order to give them, as far as possible, some time for steeping.

I wish I had known about that word, and the ideas behind it, when I was a student. Steeping. Anyone who knew me between the ages of 18-23 would have thought of me as a lazy good for nothing wee shite. Not so. I wasn't being a lazy good for nothing wee shite. I was steeping.

First up is Lew's Brew.

This is a coffee-based juice. The "joke" ever since I was a lazy good for nothing wee shite student has been that I like my coffee the way I like my men: strong and black. Well, Lew's Brew is not a coffee the way I like my coffee. It's a subtle one. Not a yappy espresso, more like a languid mountain blend. Nothing wrong with that, it just happens to be a coffee vape which doesn't taste like the coffee which I habitually drink.

Therein lies the problem. " The coffee which I habitually drink." I drink a lot of coffee. First thing in the morning and all through the day at work. I switch to tea in the evening and at weekends, which brings another problem. If I'm drinking coffee, I don't want to be vaping coffee: that's just too much coffeeness. And if I'm drinking tea, I don't want to be vaping coffee: that's just wrong.

Back to the juice. I've already said it's a subtle one, haven't I? Well, I'll say it again. No, on second thoughts, I won't. I'll say that it's smooth, maybe a tiny hint of chocolate, a touch of sweetness to take the edge off, but not too sweet. It's a quality juice and I'm sitting here, vaping it and enjoying it. If not for the fact that I get my daily coffee requirements from coffee and my othertime beverage requirements from tea, I could imagine this as my all day vape.

So if it isn't great for when I'm drinking coffee and isn't great for when I'm drinking tea, when might I vape it? Well, I can imagine that, after an afternoon of energetic houghmagandie with Nicole Kidman, I might just reach for a carto of Lew's Brew.

On the whole - good work, guys.

Right. Enough of that. Must dash. I think I hear Nicole calling...

Well done him Well done you

Now go forth and