Have you ever experienced a situation when your favorite e-liquid didn’t “pop” across your palate like it used to? You tried swapping out your atomizer coil – maybe you even kicked your device up a few watts – and nothing seemed to work. You might have wondered if you got a bad batch of vape juice. Maybe you even considered contacting the e-liquid’s maker to see if they’d changed the recipe.
Are you having trouble tasting your e-liquid? We’ve got some news for you; the problem most likely isn’t the e-liquid at all – it’s you. You’re experiencing a case of vaper’s tongue. We have some good news, though; vaper’s tongue is one of the most common complaints in the vaping community, and fixing it is actually incredibly simple. Let’s learn more.
What Is Vaper’s Tongue?
Vaper’s tongue is a form of olfactory fatigue that temporarily makes it seem as though your vape juice has little or no flavor. It will go away on its own, but there are also some ways to potentially cure vaper’s tongue more quickly.
Vaper’s tongue is a form of palate fatigue that can result from vaping nothing but the same e-liquid all of the time or from switching rapidly between flavors. You’ve probably experienced the same type of olfactory fatigue if you wear perfume or cologne. When you wear the same scent every day, you stop noticing it. When you go shopping for a new scent, they all begin to smell the same after you’ve tested a few. Whether it’s because you’re smelling nothing but the same thing all of the time or because you’re bombarding your nose with different scents in rapid-fire fashion, the result is the same: your brain experiences sensory overload and shuts down.
What do you do when you can’t smell perfume or cologne anymore? You use an olfactory palate cleanser – and we’re going to fix your case of vaper’s tongue in much the same way. First, though, let’s talk about a few things that aren’t vape tongue.
Vaper’s Tongue Isn’t Always the Reason Why You Can’t Taste Your E-Liquid
It’s important to recognize some situations that can affect the flavor of your vape juice but aren’t vaper’s tongue. These situations include dehydration, illness and using an old coil that’s overdue for replacement.
Before you start troubleshooting your case of vaper’s tongue, you should know that some of the reasons why you might have trouble tasting your e-liquid have nothing to do with vape tongue at all. These are the five most common reasons other than vape tongue why your e-liquid might have no flavor.
- Old coil: As you use an atomizer coil, deposits from your e-liquid rob the coil of its performance and make the subtle nuances of the vape juice difficult to taste. How quickly that happens depends on the type of e-liquid you’re using. With an unsweetened and lightly flavored e-liquid, a coil can potentially last several weeks. With a heavily sweetened e-liquid, though, burned sucralose can cover your e-liquid with the taste or burned sugar in as little as a day – which brings us to the next possible reason why you can’t taste your e-liquid.
- Old e-liquid: If you’ve ever read about e-liquid steeping, you know that some fairly complex changes take place in an e-liquid that’s been sitting around for a while after being opened. Some flavors meld and become more mellow, while other volatile compounds evaporate out of the e-liquid. The nicotine begins to oxidize and turn yellow. These changes can positively affect an e-liquid’s flavor – but only to a certain extent. After a while, it’ll taste dull and lifeless. If you’re using an e-liquid that’s very old, it’s not going to do much for you in the flavor department.
- Heavily sweetened e-liquid: These days, the use of sucralose as a sweetener in the e-liquid industry is more common than ever. Modern e-liquids are as sweet as candy, and while that’s great for tickling your sweet receptors, sucralose also has a way of coating the palate and preventing you from tasting other details. You’ll have a more flavorful vaping experience overall if you buy e-liquid from a brand that uses sucralose sparingly – or not at all.
- Dehydration: As we’ve just mentioned, sucralose has a way of leaving a coating on the tongue that can make it difficult to taste other flavors. In addition, the two main ingredients of all e-liquid – vegetable glycerin and propylene glycol – absorb and trap moisture. That property can rob your mouth of moisture and impede your ability to taste your e-liquid. When you vape, it’s wise to drink more e-liquid than you normally would.
- Flavor carryover: Each time you change e-liquid flavors – whether you’re using a sub-ohm tank or an RDA – you’re going to experience some carryover from the previous flavor. If you’re switching flavors constantly – dripping back-to-back with several different e-liquids, for instance – there’s going to be so much carryover between flavors that you’ll hardly be able to taste anything at all.
What’s the Cure for Vaper’s Tongue?
You can potentially cure vaper’s tongue by resetting your palate. Try a palate cleanser or drink some plain water. You might also consider switching temporarily to an unflavored e-liquid.
Finally, let’s talk about how to cure olfactory fatigue, the cause of true vape tongue. If you have vaper’s tongue, you can’t taste your e-liquid for one of two reasons.
- You’re overloading your palate because you’re switching flavors so rapidly that you’re not giving yourself time to adjust to any of them.
- You’re never switching flavors at all, and your palate has started to become numb to the e-liquid you’re using.
In both cases, the solution is fairly simple – you just need to change things up and give your palate a good reset. Let’s explore this idea a bit further.
Cleanse Your Palate When Vaping
One of the best things that you can do when you have trouble tasting your e-liquid is to wake your palate up by eating or drinking something refreshing or strong tasting. A nice, crisp mineral water can work wonders as a palate cleanser; many people also like plain soda water. Here are a few other palate cleaners that might work for you.
- Black coffee
- Lemon wedges
- Pickled ginger
- Unsweetened chocolate
- Plain tea
- Water crackers
Change Your Vaping Habits
To keep your palate sharp when vaping, the ideal thing to do is change your e-liquid periodically – but not too often. You might consider establishing a rotation of your three favorite e-liquid flavors, for example, filling your tank with a different flavor each day. That way, you’re not using a single e-liquid so often that your palate becomes numb to it. You’re also not changing flavors so often that your brain experiences sensory overload.
Try an Unflavored E-Liquid
One of the best things you can do when you can’t taste your e-liquid is switch to an unflavored e-liquid temporarily to give your palate a chance to reset itself. Using an unflavored e-liquid will take care of the sensory overload, and by the time you’re finished with the bottle, you’ll find that your normal favorite e-liquid has regained the terrific flavor that made you fall in love with it in the first place. The best part of using unflavored e-liquid – aside from the fact that it’s often very inexpensive – is the fact that isn’t actually flavorless at all. Vegetable glycerin tastes a bit sweet on its own, and that mild sweetness lends itself to an overall flavor profile that’s neutral and very pleasant.
If You’re Sick, Give It Time
If you’re sick, we’ve got some bad news for you – you can pretty much take all of the tips we’ve mentioned in this article and throw them right out the window. When you’re ill, you’re going to have trouble tasting ordinary foods and beverages, so the same is obviously going to be true of e-liquid. You may find it especially difficult to taste your e-liquid if you’re taking any medications for your illness; antibiotics and over-the-counter cold or flu medications are notoriously likely to mess with the palate. If the fact that you’re ill is really cramping your vaping style, we’ve got three things that you can try.
- Try an unflavored e-liquid. If you can’t taste your juice anyway, why waste it?
- Try a plain menthol e-liquid. You might find the menthol soothing if your throat is sore.
- Switch to nicotine gum or lozenges temporarily. It’ll prevent you from wasting your e-liquid, and it may be beneficial if your illness is causing chest congestion.
Cure Your Vaper’s Tongue with These Great Unflavored Vapes and E-Liquids
When you have a case of vape tongue, one of the best solutions is often to switch to a Clear vape or unflavored vape juice temporarily. The great news is that there are lots of options today because many people really enjoy the unflavored vaping experience. Here are a few of our favorites.
Unflavored Vapes
It’s normal for Clear vapes to have a bit of menthol to provide interest and soothe the throat, but only the Juice Head Flex Freeze gives you the ability to enjoy exactly the amount of coolness that you want. You can choose you preferred ice level with the click of a button, and a second button allows you to adjust the device’s overall power level for more or less vapor. The Juice Head Flex Freeze contains 24 ml of vape juice and is one of the longest-lasting disposable vapes on the market.
While some other vapes focus on giving you the maximum level of adjustability, the Oxbar Astro Maze keeps things simple and delivers the most straightforward, satisfying and long-lasting experience possible. Containing 14 ml of vape juice and lasting up to 50,000 puffs, the Astro Maze 50K offers five different power levels and also has independently adjustable airflow. No need to worry about adjusting the flavor with this device because it’s perfect as it is.
Disposable vapes typically have high nicotine strengths, and today’s devices offer incredible vapor production as well. Despite those features, though, there are plenty of people who would like even more. If that sounds like you, you’ve got to try the new Tyson Legend because this amazing little vape uses a unique triple-coil design to produce clouds unlike anything you’ve ever seen with a disposable device. Within a few puffs, you’ll feel like you’re using a much more expensive vape mod. As an added bonus, the Tyson Legend also looks spectacular.
Does the incredible vapor production of the Tyson Legend sound like a bit much for you? Maybe you’re on the opposite end of the spectrum, and you find that disposable vapes have become a bit overwhelming already. If that’s the case, you’re going to love the EB Create TE6000 because it’s a traditional single-coil disposable vape with modest vapor production and a tight, satisfying mouth-to-lung draw. It also has a nicotine strength of 40 mg/ml rather than the 50 mg/ml strength that’s common in most disposable vapes today, so it hits smoother and with a bit less intensity.
Unflavored E-Liquids
Nic Fill Unflavored Nicotine Concentrate
The famous Unflavored Nicotine Concentrate by Nic Fill is the preferred nicotine base for DIY vape juice connoisseurs worldwide, but it also happens to be a spectacular unflavored e-liquid on its own. Extremely affordable at just $6.45, Nic Fill Unflavored Nicotine Concentrate is available in strengths of 3, 6, 12, 35 and 50 mg/ml – so no matter what your needs are and what type of vape you use, there’s a nicotine level that’s perfect for your needs. As an added bonus, you can use it as a nicotine additive for flavored nicotine-free e-liquid once you’ve cured your case of vape tongue.
Unflavored by Air Factory (Freebase | Nic Salt)
The Air Factory brand is famous for its wide range of tasty flavors, and they’re also well regarded for the excellent cloud production and mouth feel of their products. With their Unflavored vape juice, you have a chance to enjoy the amazing experience without the added flavors. Air Factory’s flavorless offering is anything but boring, and it’s the perfect vape juice to choose when you’re trying to get rid of vaper’s tongue. It’s available in both freebase and nic salt versions, and the available nicotine strengths are 3, 6, 18 and 36 mg/ml.
Clear by Pod Juice (Freebase | Nic Salt)
Having trouble finding an unflavored vape juice in exactly the nicotine strength that you need? You won’t have that problem with Clear by Pod Juice, which is available in more strengths than probably any other comparable e-liquid. Between the freebase and nic salt versions, you can buy Clear by Pod Juice in strengths of nicotine free along with 3, 6, 12, 20, 35 and 55 mg/ml. Whatever you’re looking for – whether it’s no throat hit at all or a super-strong burst of satisfaction on demand – Pod Juice definitely has it. If you prefer a flavorless vape juice with a bit of added menthol for coolness, try Clear Sapphire (Freebase | Nic Salt) as an alternative.