E liquid - UK vaping trends to tickle your tastebuds in 2018

Shake and vape, fizzy e liquid, gourmet vape flavours, CBD vape oil - read our guide to the latest e-liquid trends to watch out for this year.

 

If technology terms were applied to the world of vaping, vapers would fall into the Innovators and Early Adopters categories. The vaping market is evolving at an astonishing rate, and vapers are always looking to try the ‘next big thing’.

 

The e-cigs that were available at the start of the vaping movement look almost antiquated by today’s standards - pretty incredible considering mainstream vaping only really became ‘a thing’ post 2010.

 

That goes for the e liquid market as well. When I think back to the first bottle of vape juice I purchased, I can just remember how fake it tasted (even though I thought it was great at the time when there was no alternative).

 

 

E liquid has evolved

By today’s standards, the vape juice of yonder year tasted pretty generic. Now we have vape flavours that are so nuanced and complex that they taste different on the inhale to the exhale. They have subtlety and definition. They are natural - sometimes even organic. Above all, they taste great!

 

As the popularity of vaping continues to grow in the UK, so does the demand for choice and quality in the vape juice we buy. Let’s take a look at some of the e liquid trends that are available in 2018 to see how far we’ve come.

 

 

High VG eliquid

As more and more vapers adopt sub-ohm and direct to lung vaping styles, expect to see more high VG juice on the market.

 

More VG content equals thicker clouds and a smoother flavour hit. Higher PG used to be the norm; then 50/50 took over; now 70/30 VG/PG is more commonplace. In 2018 we are seeing a rise in 80/20 and even 100 VG e liquid.

 

100% VG is great for vapers with a PG sensitivity, dripper users, and ultimate cloud chasers - however we still haven’t found a 100 VG juice with a decent flavour profile. The search continues. Maybe 2018 will be the year we find it - watch this space!

 

 

CBD vape oil

As we continue in our quest to sell the latest and greatest vaping products, we can’t help but notice the massive rise in searches and requests for e liquid that contains CBD oil.

 

So much so, that we've launched a sister site that is dedicated to high quality CBD products and advice. In case you haven’t heard about CBD, we go into great detail about what CBD is and why it’s great here. We also conducted a BIG CBD survey to see what our customers are saying - check out the results.

 

CBD oil vape liquid hasn’t been around all that long in the UK. In fact, CBD oil itself was only made legal in the UK at the end of 2016 when the MHRA recognised it as a medicine.

 

Yet, even it that short timeframe, we have seen developments to strengths and flavours that rival the nicotine based e liquid market. One of the major new advancements being...

 

 

Terpenes and OG Kush

The latest arrivals are based around Terpene flavour profiles. For people that are new to the cannabis world, terpene might not be a familiar term. Terpenes are the natural, fragrant oils that are found in plants, including cannabis. Fun fact, the practice of aromatherapy is based around terpenes.

 

Cannabis terpenes are extracted from the same glands that produce the CBD cannabinoids. Not only do terpenes enhance flavour, but they can also enhance the effect of the CBD oil on the brain’s receptors. This is known as the ‘entourage effect’.

 

The three most common terpene profiles found in e liquids at the moment are:

 

Linalool - provides a uniquely spicy floral flavour and aroma and can be found in OG Kush e-liquids.

Myrcene - this has a tropical fruit flavour profile and is most commonly associated with mangos, hence its use in Mango Kush vape liquids.

Limonene - found in the peel of citrus fruit, this aromatic lemony oil has the perfect fresh flavour for vape juice. 

Fizzy e liquid

We love our Malaysian style vape liquids! The South East Asian flavour masters are the ones responsible for introducing us to the fizzy eliquids that are rapidly gaining popularity in the UK. So much so that we’ve started making our own!

 

The fizz refers to that feeling of eating sherbet or drinking soda that you get on the inhale. Usually mixed with fruity flavours, fizzy e-juice is a tongue tingling flavour sensation.

 

 

Cold vape juice

Ice e-liquid flavours produce a cold hit on the exhale that, when combined with a fresh fruity flavour, give the sensation of vaping a slushy! In fact, some of the ice vape juices that have come to the market recently are cold enough to give you brain freeze! Definitely not an all day vape (unless you like that kind of thing!).

 

The main reason that ice vape flavours are gaining popularity is that they really accentuate the flavour of whatever they are paired with, without the harshness of menthol.

 

 

Short fill e-liquids

The introduction of TPD regulations to the vape market saw a change to how we buy our e liquid. From May 2017, any e liquids containing nicotine were restricted to 10ml bottles.

 

For some vapers, this change was unwelcome. For heavier e liquid users, unnecessarily wasting numerous 10ml bottles was not something they relished.

 

For this reason, Short Fills, or Shake and Vape, have seen massive growth in the UK. A short fill e liquid is 0mg nicotine vape juice that is supplied in a larger bottle than the volume of liquid - typically 80% full.

 

This leaves enough room for a nicotine shot to be added to the e liquid. Nic shots are completely flavourless and enable you to make the vape juice up to 3mg nicotine strength.

 

The most common size options for short fill e liquids are 60ml bottle (50ml e-liquid), 100ml bottle (80ml e-liquid), and 120ml bottle (100ml e-liquid). If you are a nicotine free vaper, it is often best to mix 10ml of flavourless 0mg e liquid into the short fill as the flavour profile can be quite concentrated to allow for the 10ml nic shot addition.

 

Are you ready to shake and vape? Check out our extensive range here.

 

 

Vape juice with nicotine salts

Some vapers are choosing to switch to nicotine salt e liquid. We have found this to be especially true within the dual-user market - those who alternate between vaping and smoking and require a higher nicotine content to their vape juice.

 

This is because nicotine salt is less harsh on the throat. It’s also easier to inhale, and the amount of nicotine per pull is higher.

 

20mg of salt nicotine is not the same as vaping 20mg of traditional nicotine in e-liquid. It’s much smoother and provides a faster rush that lasts longer. The feeling of vaping nic salts is as close to the feeling of smoking as you can find on the market today.

 

If you want to change the way you vape, why not try our popular range of salt base nicotine eliquids? You can read our comprehensive guide to find out if nic salts are right for you.

 

 

Gourmet e juice

We’ve all heard of Cloud Chasers - now make way for the Flavour Chasers!

 

I was pretty early to the vaping scene. Looking back, I can’t imagine that I would have been quite so successful at quitting smoking in favour of vaping if it didn’t taste good. The fact that there was always a new flavour to try kept it new and kept it interesting.

 

That is still true today, except my flavour expectations are higher. I love nothing more than discovering a new flavour that sounds as though it would be well suited to the menu of a Michelin starred French restaurant!

 

While single flavour vape juice is still popular, there has been a demonstrable rise in the number of complex flavour profiles to the market.

 

You only need to check out the myriad YouTube channels dedicated to reviewing e liquids to see the passion that’s out there for finding the best flavours available.

 

 

That’s all for now. We’ll be keeping our eyes open, and our ears to the ground, to ensure we’re always sourcing the best vaping products available. We look forward to seeing all the exciting new innovations in the vaping world so we can bring you another installment of vaping trends for 2019.