How to Taste Tobacco Flavored E-liquid——Fragrance Classification

For "How to taste tobacco-flavored e-liquid", whether it is about the experience of flavor or the evaluation of characteristic flavor, in the end, we will go back to the perception of fragrance substances in the vapor.

The fragrance-causing components in tobacco are complex. In this article, Zinwi Biotech will go back to the source of fragrance and explore more possibilities of "tasting tobacco-flavored e-liquid" from the perspectives of fragrance classification.

Fragrance Classification

1. Lemeier's fragrance classification method

In 1965, according to the fragrance characteristics of various natural spices, Rimmel classified the fragrance types into 18 groups and used a familiar spice to represent the fragrance of each group, and listed other spice types similar to this group. This classification method is close to the objective reality, but the combinations of spices are almost all-natural, and the types are limited.

2. Poucher’s fragrance classification method

The famous French perfumer Poucher evaluated a total of 330 kinds of natural and synthetic fragrances and other fragrance substances and divided them into three categories, top fragrances, body fragrances and base fragrances, according to the length of time they volatilized on the fragrance paper.

Poucher assigns the number of spices whose fragrance cannot be smelled in less than one day to "1", and the number of spices whose fragrance cannot be smelled within 2 days to "2", and so on. He defined these 330 kinds of spices as coefficients from 1 to 100 (the highest is 100, and after that no longer divided into high and low), for base fragrance or fixative.

3. Robert fragrance classification method

According to the practical situation of the fragrance, Robert also divided the fragrance into 18 categories, added some synthetic fragrances to the fragrance fragrances he selected, and classified them according to the fragrance or fragrance characteristics.

4. Aktandel fragrance classification method

Actander grouped natural fragrances by fragrance type and their supposed use. He divided 300 kinds of natural fragrances into 88 groups (each group has one or two to more than ten kinds of natural fragrances), and each group is given a description of the fragrance category.

5. Xinnong Ye fragrance classification method

In China, perfumer Ye Xinnong and his colleagues started by applying perfumery and divided spices' fragrance into two categories: floral and non-floral. The fragrance of flowers is divided into four positive types and four double types. The non-floral fragrance is divided into twelve types.

The above five fragrance classification methods have one thing in common: to objectify the subjective feeling of fragrance and to subdivide fragrance as precisely as possible. This classification-based construction of fragrances promotes the entire fragrance business from the laboratory fragrance chemistry work to the artistic fragrance work, which is the basis for our e-liquid aroma work. An excellent perfumer is first of all a superb fragrance classifier, he/she must have the ability to "know the taste with one smell". Sometimes we joke that the perfumers of Zinwi Biotech are all "dogs". Indeed, on the basis of mastering various fragrance classification methods and years of experience in smelling fragrance, they have the outstanding ability to recognize smells.

Do e-cigarette consumers also need to have such a pair of sensitive noses to consume tobacco-flavored e-cigarettes? Of course not!

Tobacco aroma components

As we all know, the chemical components in tobacco are complex, and there are more than 10,000 components that can be detected at present. According to the published data of American Reynolds Tobacco Company (which has been acquired by BAT), there are 1079 types of spice monomers evaluated in cigarettes. These include 97 organic acids, 23 amino acids, 87 alcohols, 93 aldehydes and acetals, 12 amines and amides, 16 anhydrides, 378 esters, 46 ethers, and pyrones, 11 imines, 136 ketones, 46 lactones, 18 phenols, 26 pyridines, quinolines and indoles, 54 pyrazines and dihydropyridines, 7 pyrroles, 8 sulfur compounds, and 2 other compounds.

When the sensory analysis is performed on multiple compounds, it will be found that each compound has a different characteristic flavor, which is exactly the source of the thousands of flavors of tobacco.

Among carboxylic acids and amino acids, low-molecular-weight carboxylic acids impart flavor and aroma to the smoke, while high-molecular fatty acids make the smoke soft and palatable. Among them, the most common characteristic flavors of 3-methyl valeric acid and isovaleric acid are stuffy, cheese, and fruity flavors, while phenylacetic acid can impart sweet and honey-like flavors to cigarettes.

Among the lactones, α-angelica lactone has a burnt-sweet aroma, which endows cigarettes with top flavor characteristics. γ-caprolactone has caramel, green sweet, and soybean aroma. And peach aldehyde has a strong fruity peach aroma.

Esters are commonly used spices in tobacco and widely exist in fruits and most foods in nature. Some esters have a specific fruity aroma, such as amyl acetate having a banana aroma, and ethyl isobutyrate, and ethyl valerate having an apple aroma.

Ketones are the most important constituents of neutral components in tobacco and smoke, and their sources are mainly formed by the degradation of cibardene, carotenoids, and Amadori compounds.

Alcohols are also one of the important components of cigarette smoke. Alcohol components isolated from tobacco usually have a sweet and fresh aroma, and are often used as woody fragrance when evaluated as tobacco flavor.

Tobacco Flavored E-liquid Tasting

Tobacco extract is one of the main sources of the characteristic flavor of tobacco-flavored e-liquid. When the characteristic flavor of e-cigarettes is getting closer to that of traditional tobacco products, the classification of its aroma can also learn from the tasting methods of traditional tobacco product.

In terms of smoke characteristics, experts usually choose several dimensions such as aroma quality, aroma quantity, richness, smoke concentration, irritation, aftertaste, miscellaneous smell, and strength as the tasting indicators of smoke. The high-quality tobacco-flavored e-liquid should have the characteristics of a harmonious and rich aroma, delicate and soft smoke without irritation, and the aftertaste in the mouth is pure and comfortable without miscellaneous gas.

In addition, in terms of aroma characteristics, a high-quality tobacco-flavored e-liquid should have a distinctive aroma style in the first aroma, middle aroma, and tail aroma. While the tobacco flavor occupies the dominant flavor, it can have the characteristic aroma carried by the tobacco itself. Such as flue-cured tobacco aroma, fresh aroma, burnt aroma, roasted aroma, spicy, sour, sweet, fruity, milky, floral, creamy, herbal, bean, cocoa, woody, grease aroma, etc.

Zinwi Aroma Wheel

How to perceive and taste e-liquid, there is no rule. Only by establishing a unified flavor tasting standard like the "coffee flavor wheel" can we truly evaluate the flavor of tobacco from an objective and fair perspective.

Zinwi Biotech actively explores, and integrates the strength of many experts and scholars, evaluates a large number of tobacco-flavored e-liquids, and establishes a tobacco extract fingerprint identification library to scientifically extract aroma characteristics from the perception of tobacco flavor. Through continuous improvement and iteration and experimental verification, the tasting standard of the "Zinwi Aroma Wheel" is being continuously constructed.

The vision of Zinwi is: to incorporate the tobacco leaf style characteristics of the most widely used flue-cured tobacco varieties in the world, and even the most unpopular air-cured tobacco varieties into the "Zinwi Aroma Wheel". Having a unified standard for the tasting of tobacco-flavored e-liquid, and will also empower the follow-up R&D of tobacco flavor, laying a foundation for creating better and more authentic tobacco-flavored e-liquid. This is a solid step for Zinwi to explore the flavor of tobacco, and Zinwi will continue to drive the company's development with innovation and lead the industry change.

The reason why Zinwi invests so many research resources in the identification of these tobacco aroma components is that it hopes to make the difficult taste work that can be done by experts through the deployment of our Zinwi e-liquid. Finally, consumers of e-cigarettes can easily recognize a good taste in the reduction of e-cigarettes. The finer the work we do, the easier it is for consumers to experience good tobacco-flavored e-cigarettes. The purpose of Zinwi to make tobacco-flavored e-cigarettes is not to make consumers become experts. They have the right to enjoy excellent tobacco flavors like experts after spending money on e-cigarettes. This is the starting point and the end point of our work, and we will make unremitting efforts.

What is a good tobacco-flavored e-liquid? What makes consumers willing to spend money to try and repurchase is a good one. In fact, everyone has his own tobacco flavor in his heart, either clear, warm, soft, or strong. How to taste requires standards, and more importantly, each consumer needs to give his own answer. What changes are the flavor, what remains unchanged is the taste in everyone's memory? Walk with the Zinwi Biotech, looking for the true tobacco flavor.