Why Does My Vape Taste Like Metal?

As the cannabis prohibition laws in North America have somewhat relaxed during the last decade, we’ve seen a massive increase in the number of vaporizer devices designed for cannabinoids. There are a few clear advantages to choosing vaporization technology over conventional combustion, including less exposure to toxic particulates and what many consider to be a preferable taste.

However, that taste can change dramatically depending on the quality of your vape hardware. Have you noticed your vape tastes weird lately? Dry hits and spitback can ruin the flavor of the concentrate or extract, and subpar cartridges sometimes have an off putting metal taste. Keep reading to find out the reasons why your vape might be tasting off lately and how to tell vape quality before purchasing hardware that could ruin the flavor of your extract.

Why My Vape Tastes Burnt?

Vaporizers are a great way to enjoy the natural taste of cannabis and better experience the subtle flavors in each concentrate’s terpene profile. This is especially true with terpene-rich extracts like live-resin. However, nothing’s worse than taking a drag off a vape, expecting a pleasant puff of your favorite strain, and getting a harsh mouthful of burnt-tasting vapor instead.

In the vaping community, this is known as a dry hit. Not only does a dry hit ruin the taste of concentrate, but the intense heat can also irritate the throat and mouth. Dry hits happen when there’s not enough extract to coat the coil properly.

The actual burnt taste comes from the cotton wick inside the coil. Without enough extract, the wick itself heats up, giving off the dry hit’s signature roasted cotton flavor.

Fortunately, there are steps you can take to avoid dry hits. Making sure that you’re keeping your tank filled with extract or not using a disposable cartridge after it’s been fully depleted can reduce your chances of dry hitting. If your vaporizer has temperature settings, reducing the voltage can also help prevent the wick from burning.

The best way to dodge dry hits is to avoid cotton wicks entirely. Because of their porous nature, ceramic coils don’t use wicks, nearly completely eliminating the risk of dry hits.

Why Is My Vape Spitting Juice?

The cannabis extract inside your vape cartridge may taste great when it’s properly converted into vapor, but not when the liquid leaks out of the mouthpiece and comes into direct contact with your tongue—especially when that liquid has just been heated to temperature hot enough to burn your mouth.

Dry hits occur when there’s not enough liquid to saturate the coil properly, but spitback occurs when the coil is oversaturated. When the cotton wick inside the coil wears out with use, it no longer effectively absorbs the cannabis liquid in the tank. As a result, the liquid bubbles up and drips through the mouthpiece.

To avoid a flooded coil, make sure you don’t overfill the tank with liquid or oversaturate the wick when priming a mod. However, cotton wicks will eventually need to be replaced even with proper care and maintenance. Ceramic coils significantly reduce the risk of spitback, as there is no wick, and the small pores in the material help prevent extract from pooling.

Why My Vape Tastes Like Metal

If your concentrate is starting to take on a distinctly metallic taste, there may be cause for concern beyond just the adulteration of the terpenes in your extract. Heavy metal leaching presents a serious health risk for vape users.

There’s growing concern regarding the leaching of dangerous heavy metal contaminants leaching into cannabis cartridges. Manufacturers looking to cut costs in the largely unregulated industry often purchase cheap cartridges made with unsafe materials like lead and copper, which can leach into the extract itself.

Without mandatory lab-testing requirements, the heavy metal contaminants often go unnoticed, even by retail consumers. If your vape is tasting like metal, you may be at risk. Check to see if the brand conducts adequate third-party lab testing on their products, and if not, you may want to consider a different manufacturer.

Even with lab testing, leaching can still take place after the fact. Because of the acidity of many cannabis extracts, metal cartridges can deteriorate even after they’ve been placed on dispensary shelves. To avoid the potential for heavy metal leaching entirely, find brands that use full ceramic cartridges for their concentrates instead of metal.

Other Benefits Of Ceramic Coils

Aside from significantly reducing the chance of dry hits and spitback, and eliminating the risk of heavy metal leaching, ceramic coils offer substantial benefits over their plastic and metal counterparts.

Ceramic coils offer the cleanest flavor of any vaporizer cartridge material on the market today. For artisanal brands or extractors who prioritize their concentrate’s flavor, keeping the taste untainted by the hardware is essential. All the time put into developing the perfect terpene formula and cultivating the right strains is for nothing if the final product ends up tasting like the cartridge.

In addition to keeping the extracts they house pure, ceramic coils also help to highlight the tastes found in a particular concentrate. The pores in ceramic cartridges create more overall surface area around the extract, which directly translates to larger, more flavorful hits where consumers can better appreciate the nuances in the terpene profile. Plus, Ceramic is a naturally heat-resistant material that will last significantly longer than metal and plastic.

To create the best extracts, you need a cartridge that will enhance your concentrate, not dilute it with heavy metals. That’s why the top extractors in the country prefer ceramic carts.

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