Banana is a flavor I had never vaped before, so Blood Orange Banana Gooseberry from Pachamama was a bottle I wanted to open. I have been through most of the eight Pachamama e-liquids and liked each one, most recently Peach Papaya Coconut Cream. Short version: this one earned a 9 out of 10 from me and sits second in the range. The longer version follows.
About the brand
Pachamama belongs to Charlie’s Chalk Dust and has no website of its own; the parent company’s site carries branded merchandise and points elsewhere for e-liquid. Charlie’s Chalk Dust leans toward dessert flavors, particularly in its White and Black lines. Pachamama is the fruit side, and each juice combines three fruits and is named after them. Here that means blood orange, banana and gooseberry.
How it tastes
Some background on my palate first. Blood orange is usually too sharp for me, bananas are a regular breakfast, and I have never eaten a gooseberry. People describe it to me as a sour grape with lemon-like tartness, so that was what I went looking for. I was also wary, because banana normally turns up in dessert juices, where custard or cake tends to bury it.
- Inhale: a faint tartness, which I put down to the gooseberry.
- Exhale: mostly blood orange, rounded off by ripe banana.
- Aftertaste: a little bitterness, like the finish of a blood orange slice, gone quickly.
- Second breath of the cloud: banana comes through strongly.
There is a sharp tang running through the whole cloud that reminded me of Passionfruit Raspberry Yuzu, another Pachamama juice built around an uncommon fruit, which I reviewed in October of 2020. The flavor came across sweet and clean. On a brand new coil it hit hard from the first puff and never went dull or flat while I was using it.
Throat hit: a caution
The throat hit is strong. When I took several pulls back to back, or one very deep pull, I felt an urge to cough and a slight tightness in my chest, so leave a gap between hits. That was the one thing I disliked. Even so, I had used half of the 60mL bottle before I sat down to write this.
Filling the tank
The bottle is clear plastic, and the label stops short of the edges, so you can always see how much is left. The liquid is a dark yellow, close to dark amber honey. It moves freely when you tip the bottle, yet has a little body to it. The cap is childproof and came off without trouble. The tip is narrow and sat snugly in my tank’s fill port, so filling took a few seconds and the juice ran in smoothly. Seeing how it moved in the tank, I did not expect it to clog or scorch the coil.
Squeezing the bottle gently under my nose, the first thing I got was ripe banana, thick and sticky, followed by a sweet citrus note from the blood orange. I could not pick out gooseberry by smell, which is no surprise given I do not know the fruit.
Box and label
The juice ships in a slim paper box sized to the bottle. The box is bright red, a nod to the blood orange, with pictures of the three fruits under the name. Box and bottle carry the same information, so here is what the label shows:
- Size: 60mL
- Nicotine: 3mg in the bottle I tried
- VG/PG: 80/20, shown on a thin black ribbon badge. That is unusual, as most Pachamama juices are 70/30.
- Names: brand and flavor in clear black lettering, with Charlie’s Chalk Dust printed at each side.
- Nicotine warning: a double banner stating that the product contains nicotine and that nicotine is an addictive chemical.
- Other warnings: sale and age restrictions, keep away from children and pets, who should not use the product, and do not swallow the liquid or let it touch your skin. Poison Control contact details are printed in case either happens.
- Also listed: manufacturer details and ingredients, with the batch number and expiration date stamped on the base.
Verdict
A 9 out of 10. Passionfruit Raspberry Yuzu keeps first place among the Pachamama juices I have tried, and this takes second. Blood orange and banana work together better than I expected, to the point that I had no wish to switch to anything else. I still cannot say for certain where the gooseberry sits, only that there is a pleasant tart note and that nothing in the blend sticks out on its own. I would not have guessed banana belonged in a fruit juice, and Pachamama made it work.
Taste is personal, and I try to keep these reviews as objective as I can. Something I love may leave you cold, so treat this as a guide to what is in the bottle and judge it yourself. If you are tired of the usual strawberry and mango, the whole Pachamama lineup is worth a look. The next review planned was Sadboy’s Strawberry Blood eJuice.