Had a buddy tell me my vape tasted like burnt popcorn

I was puffing away on my Arizer Solo 2 at 410F like I always did, thinking I was getting great flavor. My friend hit it once and said it tasted like burnt popcorn and asked if I ever cleaned the stem. I got defensive at first because I would wipe the bowl out after every session. But he showed me the reclaim buildup inside the glass stem that I never even thought about. So I started doing a full ISO soak on the stem every week and dropped my temp down to 380F. The difference in taste is night and day, I can actually pick out the citrus notes in my Lemon Haze now. Has anyone else been missing good flavor just because of a dirty stem?

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2 Comments

the_fiona3mo ago

Hot water won't get the real gunk out, you have to use ISO or everclear to actually dissolve the reclaim. That buildup is definitely muting your flavor more than you realize.

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simonbell3mo ago

Oh come on man, is it really that deep? I've been using my vape at 400F for like two years straight and I never clean the glass except maybe a quick rinse with hot water every few months. I can still taste my bud just fine, maybe I'm missing some subtle notes but burnt popcorn sounds like you were charring the bowl more than a stem issue. Dropping the temp 30 degrees isn't gonna unlock some hidden flavor dimension either, that's more about personal preference than some science experiment.

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