I've had one foot on and one foot off of the steeping bandwagon. But here and now, I'm taking an anti-steeping stance, and here's why: there's absolutely no science behind it.
First of all, the term "steeping" bugs the shit out of me. Steeping is soaking a solid in a liquid, to extract flavor. Like soaking a tea leaf in hot water. This doesn't apply to e-liquid at all. Then there's the fact that both PG and VG have a shelf life. Granted, it's 14-24 months, depending on which source you read...but the point remains. It's going to degrade over time. Throw in flavoring components, especially if they're organic, and e-liquid is going to degrade even faster. Essentially, "steeping" is letting the product go bad, especially those who advocate steeping with an open bottle.
I read blog and forum posts, and watch videos on steeping (Rip Tripper's video on steeping is especially full of crap), and it has about as much science behind it as an athlete wearing a lucky pair of socks. I've seen/read just about everything short of doing the Hokey Pokey with regards to steeping, and the more I read, the more ridiculous it all sounds. The only thing that
does make sense, are those who say applying heat aids with flavor extraction. But...you're applying heat when you vape anyway, right?
Taste is subjective, we all know that. And I would never begrudge someone who believes, either factually or superstitiously, that what they're doing adds flavor to their vape. More power to em. But I think this whole steeping thing has gone too far, and it's more myth than anything else.