There are a lot of e-liquid choices out there, now more than ever. While variety is the spice of life, not all e-liquids are equal, and you probably know it when you taste it.
New vapers probably choose an affordable vape kit and likely choose an e-liquid sold by the same company or one of the first results on Google. That's a fine beginner option, but eventually, you will want to branch out. However, you will soon discover that there is a big difference in flavor between all those mass-produced liquids and the e-liquids made in smaller batches.
While mass-produced e-liquids prioritize volume to meet the demands of the ever-growing vape market, micro-batch e-liquids are much like they sound. Instead of thousands of the same bottles being produced in some factory, small batch liquids are crafted in a much smaller volume so they can better control the quality of each batch of e-liquid. It means a better quality of flavor and makes it less likely you will get a bad bottle of e-liquid that just tastes off.
However, not every micro-batch e-liquid is worth looking into. You don't want to buy a small batch e-liquid that someone whipped up in their basement. While making your own e-liquid can be a fun experiment for a rainy day, if you are purchasing e-liquid you still want to make sure what you are getting is safe and aboveboard. It's like buying an artisan beer in a bar. You know it was crafted in a smaller brewhouse rather than a huge Anheuser-Busch factory, but you also know it was made by a professional brewmaster that knows what they are doing. You might accept a craft beer your friend made, but probably not from a stranger on the street.
For small batch e-liquids, the best of the bunch are crafted in clean labs so you get the benefits that come with small-batch craft but don't have to worry about any additives that could come with more home-based e-liquid productions.
Comparing a mass-produced liquid between that of a small batch makes the benefits of choosing micro-batch easy to determine for the most part. For the vaper who is considering trying a micro-batch e-liquid for the first time but is still unsure if it will be worth it, consider the following:
You know what they say - you get what you pay for. Buying a mass-produced e-liquid is like buying a burger from McDonald's. It's pretty okay, but it definitely will never be the best burger you have ever eaten. Mass produced e-liquid just tastes mass produced, and while you get a satisfactory flavor from it, you are missing out on the same rich flavor that you can get from micro-batch e-liquids. As these micro-batches are made small, it allows for a more intense and brighter flavor.
Every so often when you buy a mass produced liquid, you will get a bad cartridge/pod or maybe even a whole bottle that's bad. This can happen for a variety of reasons. Perhaps it sat on a shelf for too long, or maybe something was just slightly off with the manufacturing process that day. The chance of that happening with micro-batches is really quite low. As they make them in small batches, this means thousands of bottles don't sit on a shelf for very long at all (especially if the flavor is really good). Furthermore, because each small batch is tested before being bottled, they will catch if something has gone horribly wrong that affects the product.
Do you want an e-liquid that tastes like a fiery pepper or maybe just a nice gingerbread cookie? You probably won't find niche flavors like that in mass-produced e-liquids. The reason isn't immediately obvious, but it makes sense. Mass producers of e-liquid work often by volume, and this means if a flavor isn't popular, then it isn't going to sell well, and thus they are losing money by mass producing it. This means companies that mass produce their e-liquid can't really enjoy the pleasures of releasing a really niche flavor. However, micro-batch producers do have that luxury. They can do a singular small batch, and if people aren't crazy about it, they don't need to make another.
Spicy chocolate mole sauce flavor? Banana pudding flavor? Chocolate Cheetos banana pudding flavor? The options are endless and possible for micro-batch e-liquid producers. Mass production is just a way to squash creativity, after all.
There are a number of ways mass produced liquids try to take their customers to flavor town. Sugar and artificial sweeteners are popular methods. Using artificial coloring to make their liquid look "cooler" is popular, too. Furthermore, mass-produced liquids usually don't come with an ingredients list either, so you never really know what is going into them.
Usually, they use whatever is cheapest to get the best flavor because it is what is best for those profit margins. However, micro-batch producers can select the best ingredients for what their customers want because they don't need a lot of them. Often small batch producers leave off all that extra stuff like sugar or coloring because they don't need it. The flavor of the e-liquid is all they need to convince people their product is good.
Another great benefit of micro-batch e-liquid is that you have a better choice in the e-liquid base that is used. Many mass producers of e-liquid use a PG-heavy, PG/VG mixed base. This is typically fine for many vapers as both VG and PG bases are non-toxic, but a number of vapers have found they have allergy sensitivities to PG bases. Since a mass producing company typically doesn't provide any alternatives for those people, they can be out of luck. However, many micro-batch e-liquid producers are following our lead and switching to pure VG or VG-heavier bases because it produces denser clouds and has a lower allergy risk.
Velvet Cloud is proud to produce micro-batch e-liquids. Hand selected ingredients and recipes perfected and true to our heritage, it's the e-liquid equivalent of what you'd find at a farmer's market. Velvet Cloud is e-juice done right - natural and organic VG base, vegan, no added coloring, no artificial sweeteners, sugar-free, GMO-free, and gluten-free - simply put: nothing weird. Try our e-liquid today!