Flavour Concentrates Explained: Singles, Complex Blends, and How to Use Them

Once you move beyond Bottle Shots and One Shots, you enter the world of individual flavour concentrates. This is where DIY mixing gets properly creative, but it can also feel a bit overwhelming at first.

Let's break it down.

What Are Flavour Concentrates?

Flavour concentrates are the building blocks of e-liquid. They're highly concentrated flavourings that, when diluted with VG/PG base (and optionally nicotine), create vapeable juice.

A single drop of concentrate can flavour many millilitres of finished liquid. Using them undiluted would be unpleasantly intense and potentially irritating. Think of them like vanilla extract in baking: a little goes a long way.

Single Flavours vs Complex Blends

There are two broad categories you'll come across, and they serve very different purposes.

Single Flavours

Single flavour concentrates are exactly what they sound like. Strawberry. Vanilla. Caramel. Tobacco. Menthol. One flavour per bottle.

They're designed to be:

•    Used on their own for simple, straightforward vapes, usually with at least some sweetener.

•    Combined with other singles to build custom recipes

•    Layered together to create depth and complexity

You'll find brands like Flavor Apprentice (TFA), Dark Arts, and Chefs Flavours in our range, each offering hundreds of individual flavours.

Usage: Typically 3 to 15% of your total mix, depending on the concentrate and how intense you want it.

Why people choose singles:

•    Maximum flexibility. You can mix anything you can imagine.

•    Build recipes entirely from scratch

•    Tweak and adjust to your exact preference

•    Often more economical in bulk

The trade-offs:

•    Requires some knowledge of how flavours work together

•    Involves trial and error. Not every combination is a winner.

•    Takes time to develop recipes you're happy with

•    Easy to over-flavour or end up with a muddy mix

Complex Blends (One Shots and Bottle Shots)

Complex concentrates are pre-blended recipes created by professional mixologists. Multiple single flavours already combined in the right proportions, ready to mix with base and nic.

Think of flavours like Athena (strawberry, kiwi, bubblegum, perfectly balanced), Scones (cream, jam, pastry, beautifully layered), or Electroshock (kiwi with ice, tuned for impact). Someone's already done the hard work of getting the recipe right.

Usage: Typically 15 to 25% as directed on the label.

Why people choose complex blends:

•    No recipe development needed

•    Consistent results every single time

•    Professionally balanced so the flavours actually work together

•    Much faster to mix

•    Great for discovering what flavour profiles you enjoy

The trade-offs:

•    Less flexibility. You get the recipe as designed.

•    Can't easily tweak individual components

•    Slightly higher cost per ml than mixing from individual singles

When Should You Use Each?

Go with single flavours when you want to create recipes from scratch, have a specific flavour idea that doesn't exist as a One Shot, enjoy experimenting and tweaking, or you're mixing in large quantities and want maximum economy.

Go with complex blends when you want reliable results with minimal effort, you're still learning what flavour profiles you enjoy, you don't have time for recipe development, or you've found a flavour you love and just want consistency.

Use both when you want the best of both worlds. Most experienced DIY mixers do exactly this: One Shots for their daily drivers, singles for experiments. Some even blend a One Shot with an extra single to create their own twist on an existing recipe.

Understanding Mixing Percentages

Every concentrate has a recommended usage percentage. This tells you how much to use relative to your total batch size.

Example: you're making 100ml of juice, and your strawberry concentrate recommends 8%. You need 8ml of concentrate and 92ml of base and nic.

Why do percentages vary so much? A few reasons:

•    Concentration strength differs between brands and individual flavours

•    Some flavours are naturally more intense than others

•    Too much concentrate can actually mute the flavour or make it taste chemical

General percentage ranges as a starting point:

Fruits - 3 to 10% 

Creams and custards - 2 to 6% 

Bakery - 2 to 5% 

Tobacco - 3 to 8% 

Sweeteners - 0.5 to 2% 

Menthol and coolants - 0.5 to 3%

*Note that some manufacturers like FLV (Flavorah) typically very low percentages, so it’s important to research suggested %s for each individual concentrate before mixing, and always check the specific recommendation for your concentrate.

When in doubt, start low and work your way up. You can always add more flavour to a mix, but you can't take it out.

Flavour Layering: How Great Recipes Work

Great recipes aren't just multiple flavours thrown together. They're layered, and understanding this makes a real difference to your mixing.

Top notes are the first thing you taste. Usually brighter, sharper flavours like fruits, citrus, or mint.

Middle notes are the body of the vape. This is where most of the flavour lives: creams, bakery, your main fruit components.

Base notes are the foundation. Deeper, richer flavours that add depth and roundness: vanilla, tobacco, caramel, nuts.

Think of it like music. Top notes are the melody, middle notes are the harmony, base notes are the bass line.

A simple layered recipe might look like:

•    Top: Strawberry (6%)

•    Middle: Bavarian Cream (3%)

•    Base: Vanilla Custard (2%)

That's essentially a strawberries and cream vape with depth and body. Simple, but it works because the flavours sit at different levels rather than competing with each other.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Using too many flavours. More isn't better. Start with 2 to 4 flavours maximum. Complex award-winning recipes might have 6 to 8 components, but they're carefully balanced by experienced mixers who know exactly what each ingredient is doing.

Over-flavouring. If your juice tastes muted, perfumey, or just "off," you've probably used too much concentrate. It sounds counterintuitive, but reducing your percentages will often make the flavour clearer and more enjoyable.

Not accounting for steep time. Some flavours taste completely different after steeping for a week or two. Custards and bakery flavours especially. Don't judge a recipe by how it tastes fresh out of the bottle.

Ignoring proven recipes. You don't have to reinvent the wheel. Start with well-reviewed recipes, learn why they work, then branch out with your own experiments.

Combining incompatible flavours. Some pairings just don't work. Learning which flavours complement each other takes time, and the easiest way to learn is by starting with recipes that are already proven.

How to Get Started with Singles

If you want to start experimenting with individual concentrates, here's a sensible approach:

1.    Pick a flavour profile you enjoy. Fruity, dessert, tobacco, menthol, whatever you gravitate towards.

2.    Buy 3 to 5 highly-rated singles in that profile. Read reviews and check recommended percentages before buying.

3.    Start with proven recipes. There are plenty of free recipes online. Don't try to create your own masterpiece on day one.

4.    Mix small test batches. 10 to 30ml until you've nailed the recipe. No point making 500ml of something you might not like.

5.    Take notes. What worked, what didn't, what you want to try next time. This sounds boring but it saves you repeating mistakes.

6.    Adjust one variable at a time. If you change three things at once, you won't know which change made the difference.

Or, even easier: find a One Shot you love, then buy the individual flavours that make it up. Try tweaking the balance. It's a great way to learn how flavours interact without starting completely from scratch.

Our Concentrate Range

We stock flavour concentrates from leading brands including Flavor Apprentice (TFA/TPA), Dark Arts (our house range), and Chefs Flavours, with hundreds of individual flavours to choose from. Whether you're building recipes from scratch or just grabbing a One Shot for your daily vape, we've got you covered.

New to DIY? Start with our Bottle Shots, no recipe knowledge needed. Ready to experiment? Browse our Flavour Concentrates and start creating.