eLiquid: Is flavor really subjective?

According to the "experts", what do you think the "dumbest animal" on earth is?

Dog?  Nope, you can train em...
Bird?  You've heard of "bird brains"?  Nope, you can train them too...
Octopus?  Nope. Those guys are crazy smart!
Donkey?  They may be stubborn, but they're no dummies...

The answer is:


SHEEP...

Sheep are considered to be the absolute dumbest animals on the planet.  As I understand it, they're so dumb, that they'll follow the sheep in front of them, even if that sheep just walked off a cliff.  As I understand it, that's the reason we had shepherds to begin with!

Why the lesson on sheep?  Well, people are often called sheep, because we'll follow right along, often to our own peril... You know, right off the cliff...  It's not because we're dumb, it's because WE'RE LAZY!  We know darn well to "look before we leap", but we don't.  We figure if enough people are doing it, it must be okay for us to do it too.  NOPE!  That's the lie.  Sometimes I can't help but wonder if that's why Jesus referred to us as "sheep".

Matthew 10:16 - "Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves."

Matthew 15:24 - But He answered and said, "I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel."

But that's a whole other discussion...

In relation to eLiquid, we've got the eLiquid Evangelists, trying desperately to convince you that "Flavor is Subjective".  And you know what?  They've got a point, BUT MOST OF YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT IT IS.  If you don't clearly understand, allow me help you...

If you like peaches, good.  Eat all the peaches you want.  I hate peaches!  So if I tell you that the very smell of peaches makes me want to vomit, you'd believe me, right?  Does that mean that peaches don't smell good?  NO!  It means that I don't like the smell of them.  So that shows that smell can be subjective, inasmuch as an individual doesn't like how something smells.  It in no way paints peaches as poisonous or otherwise toxic and bad for you, it just offers someones personal tastes.

Now let's talk potato chips.  Let's say that I like Lay's brand.  Let's say that you don't like Lay's brand, but prefer Gibble's.  You tell me that "Lay's taste like cardboard and only a Gibble's chip will give you the true flavor of the potato, because it's fried in lard".  I say, "Well, Lay's chips are never burned and I can always count on a good, quality and consistent product".  And then let's say we argue about it (why is beyond me, but there's a point here). No matter how much we argue, it's just potato chips.  Which brand you like is a personal preference and clearly very subjective.

Now let's get down to business....

FLAVOR IS NOT SUBJECTIVE....

Let's say that you don't like strawberries....
Cool, I don't like peaches, you don't like strawberries...

What happens when your strawberry eLiquid DOES NOT TASTE LIKE STRAWBERRIES?  What if it tastes like NOTHING?  What if it tastes like VEGETABLE OIL?  What if it tastes like menthol?  What if it tastes like "crud"?  Does that land us in the middle of "Flavor is subjective land", or does that land us in the middle of, "the manufacturer of the eLiquid doesn't know how to make their eLiquid taste like strawberries"?

If you're going to make grape flavored eLiquid, it should taste like GRAPES, right?
If you're going to make peach flavored eLiquid, it should taste like PEACHES, right?

If the flavors of your eLiquids DO NOT TASTE LIKE what they're labeled as, then you are not talking about the SUBJECTIVITY of a flavor (Lays' vs Gibble's), you're talking about NEGLIGENT MANUFACTURING.  I probably shouldn't say this, but there's an old saying that goes something like this.... "Don't pee on my head and tell me it's raining".  In other words, don't try to convince me that it tastes like watermelon, just because it's a reddish color...  If your tongue works correctly, you'll be able to tell the difference between the taste of watermelon and flowers!

If I ever buy a bag of Lay's POTATO chips and I bite into one and it tastes like PEACHES, I'd probably flip out.  Potatoes should ALWAYS TASTE LIKE potatoes.

QUICK NOTE: I know that the "device" you're using plays a part in the overall flavor profile of your eLiquid, but it should NEVER make peaches taste like donuts or grapes taste like vegetable oil.  That's the real spirit of this post.  If you want to get into Volts, Wicks & Resistance, then you're missing the gist of the whole Blog.

So let's put this in perspective...  Many years ago, Coca-Cola changed their recipe for Coke.  As a matter of fact, if you're under the age of say 35, you have probably NEVER tasted REAL COCA-COLA.  When they changed the recipe, there was MASS HYSTERIA!  Die-hard Coke lovers lost their minds, they thought their lives were coming to an end!  Coca-Cola Corp. panicked!  They should have considered that their product of more than a 100 years was going to change FLAVOR and that people might notice.  They did.  But then there were many, Many, MANY who did not notice.  Many peoples taste buds just aren't developed enough to notice any differences.  Bottom line, Coca-Cola changed their recipe AGAIN (while trying to convince the public that they just reverted to the old formula, but didn't) and this time, it was close enough that the masses breathed a sigh of relief and went about their lives. But there were MANY who knew better and Coke DIED for them on that day.

So what does all this have to do with eLiquid?

Well, if you can't tell the difference between the flavor of raspberries and say blackberries, you probably can't tell the difference between the flavor of cranberries and lingonberries either.  Does it matter?  NO.  But there are MILLIONS OF US WHO CAN.  We can taste the subtleties of minor differences in flavor and when the flavor is just plain WRONG, we cry FOUL!  

Think about it, the wine industry has the "Sommelier", coffee roasters have their own "Coffee Stewards" too.  If you can't tell the difference between "Folger's Crystals" and a cup of coffee from a "Five Star Restaurant", then you're probably also one of those people who thinks that all of the eLiquids you taste are great.  


Again, you can PREFER the Folger's all you want, but the real question, is "Does it taste like coffee?"  If the answer is YES, that's great, but if it tastes like "beer", well, I'm sure some of you would be happy, but I'd still rather just have mine taste like coffee.

Just looking at the reviews I've done so far, I've got *24* eLiquids written about.
Of those 24, a grand total of *2* of them taste the way that they're supposed to taste!
The real question is "WHY?"
The real question is "WHY DON'T THESE GUYS TAKE RETURNS?"

Well, if they took returns, they'd probably go out of business...
To answer why, look no further than the Coke story...
People are like sheep, they'll just follow along....
It takes a good Shepherd to take good care of the sheep...

John 10:26-30 - "But you do not believe, because you are not of My sheep, as I said to you. My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father's hand. I and My Father are one."

Perhaps I should establish the "eLiquid Steward Program"?
Perhaps I just did...
eLiquid producers, let's talk...



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