Disclaimer: This E-liquid was provided to me free of charge for the purpose of conducting a review. This fact notwithstanding, I will, as best I'm able, provide an honest, accurate and unbiased assessment of this product.
Preamble
Crave Gourmet EJuice http://www.craveejuice.com/ are based in Vancouver, Canada and was established in honour of "Carol Agnes Marie Faucher (April 16th, 1957 - September 18th, 2010 - 53 years old). Carol was a Pediatric RN and avid non-smoker. She believed that good health was a precious treasure that should be cherished; it could easily be lost as hers was. Carol always went out of her way to help people whenever she could, even if she could not help, she would be there for support." http://www.craveejuice.com/pages/about
Crave Gourmet EJuice profess to strive to achieve the Japanese Philosophy of Kaizen ("good change"). "Kaizen is a daily process, the purpose of which goes beyond simple productivity improvement. It is also a process that, when done correctly, humanizes the workplace, eliminates overly hard work ("muri"), and teaches people how to perform experiments on their work using the scientific method and how to learn to spot and eliminate waste in business processes. In all, the process suggests a humanized approach to workers and to increasing productivity: "The idea is to nurture the company's human resources as much as it is to praise and encourage participation in kaizen activities."" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaizen
Crave Gourmet EJuice offer several ranges of product including Gourmet EJuice, divided into four categories; Crave Pure EJuice, Chef's Premium Brew, Gourmet EJuice and Tobacco EJuice (48 flavours), Flavour Shots (8 flavours) and DIY, divided into three categories (Organic flavours (57 flavours), Tobacco flavours (6 flavours) and Double Strength EJuice (64 flavours). Crave Gourmet's liquids are made entirely with organic ingredients and the Vegetable Glycerin is derived from sweet Potatoes. Not only is there no nicotine content in these juices and extracts, but there's also no Propylene Glycol, Acetone, Alcohol, Acetyl Propionyl or Diacetyl. http://www.craveejuice.com/collections/crave-pure-e-juice
The Review
Green Apple http://www.craveejuice.com/collections/diy-double-strength-ejuice/products/green-apple-double-strength is available as a regular e-liquid (albeit sans nicotine; the sale and supply of nicotine e-liquids in Canada is illegal), a Double Strength veersion for mixing with your own base and as an Extract for use by the experienced DIY mixer. The bottle of Green Apple under consideration in this instance is from the Double Strength range. These bottles come in sizes of 30ml ($17.95), 120ml (4oz) ($30.95), 240ml (8oz) ($50.95), 480ml (16oz) ($89.95), 960ml (32oz) ($144.95) and 3.7l (1 gallon) ($299.95). NB. I assume these figures are in Canadian currency. As of the date of the writing of this review one Canadian dollar is equivalent to US$0.96 and GBP£0.60.
The 10ml sample bottle I have in front of me is a semi-opaque, easily squeezed plastic that arrived in a tamper evident, plastic film which covered it from top to bottom. The cap, which was also tamper evident (with a plastic ring around the neck of the bottle attached to the cap), is a white plastic, non-childproof screw top. The bottle has an attached dropper insert for easy dripping, which is easily removed if you want to decant the liquid into a larger bottle and add your own nicotine/PG/VG base. The label includes the following information in English and in French: the company name, the name of the liquid, an ingredients list, the company website address and the phrase "Double strength". As this liquid contains zero nicotine, I assume "Double Strength" refers to the potency of the flavouring.
The liquid is clear with a trace of Ivory. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivory_(color) The motion of the liquid in the bottle appears quite aqueous, but when I rub a drop of it between the tips of my thumb and forefinger, I find it highly lubricious. It takes almost four minutes before it's completely absorbed into my skin. The aroma proceeding from the opened bottle, held below my nose is almost as expected; it's a sweetened, crisp green apple but with the addition of something somewhat suggestive of cinnamon or cloves. I want to use the words "floral perfume" but there appears to be an ill-conceived and unjustified stigma attached to this phrase when used to describe e-liquids.
As per usual, I'm vaping Green Apple in an Igo-L on a Poldiac running on an 18650 battery. There are five wraps of 0.2mm (32AWG) Kanthal wire around three strands of 2mm silica wick. The coil is measuring 2.7ohms on the Provari. As this is a double strength juice, I've diluted it by adding an equal part of PG/VG/Nicotine base, rendering an 18mg nicotine strength liquid.
I take a few primer puffs to heat the coil and then I draw the vapour into and fill my mouth. It's immediately apparent at the level of pure sensation, that this is a fruit flavour, with a medial sweetness coursing into and throughout my mouth. I open the back of my throat to inhale the vapour, all the while continuing to fire the device and inhaling. When I finish inhaling and take my customary breath of fresh air to chase the vapour into my lungs, the flavour is revealed as a baked or stewed green apple, rather than the fresh, acidic, fresh fruit that I was expecting. As I begin to exhale, the flavour broadens to include seasoning, in the form of what I imagine to be a sprinkling of cinnamon and cloves. Having completely exhaled and subsequently allowed my mouth to rest for several minutes, the flavour lingers as a pleasant freshness. There's none of the tartness about the flavour of this liquid that one might expect from an actual green apple. The flavour is gentle, though full-bodied enough to be an authentic approximation of the cooked fruit. There is a floral aspect to the flavour but I find it quite agreeable. In this instance it works in the liquid's favour. The level of sweetness is finely judged; it's sweet enough to lend authenticity to the flavour without being cloying.
Given that I've altered the VG/PG ratio and added nicotine, it would be somewhat meaningless to discuss throat hit or vapour production.
Don't expect the flavour of fresh fruit when considering Crave Goumet's Green Apple. There's no trace of the Malic Acid that lends apples (and other fruits with a degree of sourness) a certain amount of tartness. No tartness here. This is much more akin to a baked or stewed apple with the addition of sweetener, perhaps cloves and a pinch of cinnamon. The vape is smooth and gentle and leaves the mouth feeling cleansed and refreshed.
NB. For those of you in the Australasian and South-East Asian regions who'd like to purchase Crave products, I'd suggest you look at Crave Gourmet reseller, Ecig Life, http://www.electroniccigarettelife.com.au based in Melbourne, Australia.
