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What Are The Constituent Tobaccos,
and How Do They Work?
Virginias usually represent
the highest percentage in a blend. Although there's
a wide range of Virginias to choose from, including
bright VA's, matured VA's, and stoved VA's, in general
the lighter the color the tangier the taste, with the
darker VA's lending a deep, rich note to the blend.
Unprocessed VA's tend to produce tongue bite, and stoved
VA's tend to bite much less.
Burley, like
VA, is a good base tobacco. It has no sugar of its own,
but is relatively bite-free. It should never come to
the forefront, but be used sparingly. The "Burley
Curse" refers to the habit this tobacco has of
overpowering a blend. Burley has a distinct nutty taste,
but because of its somewhat bland character, is often
flavored.
Cavendish
generally refers to a blend of various tobaccos that
have been sweetened, stoved, and pressed. Unflavored
black cavendish, for instance, is made from Kentucky
Green River burley, which is sugared, steamed and toasted,
yielding a distinct caramel flavor. In a blend, cavendish
can be used sparingly, to add body or flavor, or become
the base, yielding a sweet tobacco. It goes particularly
well with Latakia.
Perique is
a "spice tobacco", with a distinct peppery
flavor. Produced mostly in Louisiana from various base
tobaccos, and cured in its own juices, this not only
adds spice to a VA blend, but also mitigates a lot of
the bite that comes with it. When not part of a straight
VA/Perique blend, it should only be added to the point
that it becomes noticeable. In a regular VA/Perique
blend, it can represent a higher percentage, though
10% is often enough.
Latakia is
Turkish tobacco flavored with smoke. Syrian Latakia
is strong and bright, while Cyprian Latakia has a deeper,
mellower flavor. This is another spice tobacco, and
needs a base tobacco to keep it in check. Fifty percent
Latakia would be considered a "heavy Latakia blend".
It's generally wise to use less Syrian than Cyprian.
Oriental
is spice tobacco from the Eastern Mediterranean (countries
such as Turkey or Greece). Somewhat akin to Latakia,
this is spicy and sweet. Most oriental tobacco is a
blend. Even a label that refers to it as one distinct
type (such as basma), is usually referring to its main
component. Turkish is often used to fill out the general
impression of a Latakia. Again, on its own, 50% would
be considered a "heavy Oriental".
Maryland
and Carolina can be thought
of as "filler" tobaccos, used mainly to flesh
out the taste of a VA or Burley base. Not terribly distinctive,
these can be used to mitigate tongue bite.
[Most of this material
has been taken from the ASP posts of Greg Pease and
Paul Szabady, with additional material from Charles
Perry, Walter De Visser, Sr., Terry McGinty, Michael
Lovell, the essay "A Tale of Two Latakias",
by Greg Pease, and the essay "Selecting Pipe Tobacco",
by Mary McNeill.] Reprinted with permission of
ASPipes.org
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What is a Basic Procedure
for Blending?
The first thing to do is smoke a little of each individual
component, to get a feel for how it will work in the blend.
When putting your components together, it's a good idea
to work in 16ths, not just because it makes proportions
easier, but because working in units of a gram, a finished
blend of 16 grams would easily translate to 16 ounces
(a pound) later on. A small food scale is important at
this stage.
The second step has already been mentioned:
to decide on a base. One generally only needs one type
of Burley, but with VA, mixing is often required. Brighter
VA's are needed for a top-note, but should be balanced
by darker, more bottom-noted leaf. Finding a blend that
cuts down on tongue bite is important, though burley (or
perhaps Maryland or Carolina) can be brought in for that
purpose. One technique is to use a finished VA blend as
a base, though this takes away from the uniqueness of
your own blend.
The next step is to add the spice tobaccos.
Latakia and Oriental work well in combination; Latakia
and Perique are a much less-used combination. In such
a case, one of the two has to dominate. Of course, using
only one type of spice tobacco is common practice. With
a Latakia blend, it's important to balance the Syrian
or Cyprian, or choose between them.
Care should be taken with the cut of the
various tobaccos. Constituents of radically different
sized cuts will tend to separate. In general, finer cuts
encourage consistency and pack easily, but tend to burn
hot, which takes away from the flavor. Courser cuts burn
slower, and should be incorporated into a blend. As always,
balance is the key.
Taking notes throughout this whole process
is crucial. If possible, use percentages. A typical percentage
for a spice tobacco would be somewhere between 10-20%,
while a percentage for a base tobacco could be 50% or
higher. Also remember that a blend that tastes good at
first may taste radically different over time, as the
blend ages and marries.
[Most of this material
has been taken from the ASP posts of Greg Pease and Paul
Szabady, with additional material from Charles Perry,
Walter De Visser, Sr., Terry McGinty, Michael Lovell,
the essay "A Tale of Two Latakias", by Greg
Pease, and the essay "Selecting Pipe Tobacco",
by Mary McNeill.] Reprinted with permission of
ASPipes.org
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How Can I Process
My New Blend?
There are basically two things you can do at home: stoving
and pressing.
To stove your tobacco, you need to add
some moisture to it, and then either put it in the oven,
or, preferably, in a crock pot at the lowest setting.
A crock pot is less hands-on, and can be put outside,
which is good, since the tobacco will give off a foul
smell. Constant stirring is important in either case.
This process will help take the bite out of a VA, and
generally meld and deepen the flavors of a blend.
To press your tobacco, you'll need either
a shop press (which most don't have), or a C-clamp and
two blocks of wood. If you wrap some of your blend in
wax paper and clamp it in between blocks with your C-clamp,
after a couple of days you'll have pressed tobacco.
This process helps marry the flavors, and can lend richness
to your tobacco. Aromatics should never be pressed,
though, as the casing would turn your experiment into
goop.
Storing your blend should be done with
either bale-top jars with rubber O-rings, or canning
jars. A blend should age at least a couple of months,
in order for the flavors to marry and settle.
[Note: Two methods not discussed here,
for lack of information, are steaming and flavoring.]
[Most of this material
has been taken from the ASP posts of Greg Pease and
Paul Szabady, with additional material from Charles
Perry, Walter De Visser, Sr., Terry McGinty, Michael
Lovell, the essay "A Tale of Two Latakias",
by Greg Pease, and the essay "Selecting Pipe Tobacco",
by Mary McNeill.] Reprinted with permission of
ASPipes.org
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What Are the Characteristics of Oriental
Tobacco?
Oriental, or Turkish, is a spice tobacco known for
its nutty, somewhat "sweet and sour" flavor.
It's a main component in English blends, along with
Latakia (which is itself an Oriental that's been flavored
with smoke).
This tobacco derives its name from the
area in which it's grown: the Eastern Mediterranean.
Each of the varietals, in fact, are named after the
towns or regions they come from. Thus Yenidje and Smyrna
are Greek, Samsun and Izmir are Turkish, Drama is Macedonian,
and Xanthe is from the region of Thrace, which is mostly
in Greece. For all intents are purposes this is all
one region, united for many years under Turkish rule
(hence the interchangeable terms "Oriental"
and "Turkish".)
Oriental tobacco plants characteristically
have a great deal of small leaves. The finished product
ranges in color from yellow to brown, and is strongly
aromatic. Its smell is reminiscent of used horse bedding,
which could possibly explain why it's often mixed with
Latakia.
[Most of this material
has been taken from the ASP posts of Greg Pease and
Paul Szabady, with additional material from Charles
Perry, Walter De Visser, Sr., Terry McGinty, Michael
Lovell, the essay "A Tale of Two Latakias",
by Greg Pease, and the essay "Selecting Pipe Tobacco",
by Mary McNeill.] Reprinted with permission of
ASPipes.org
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What Are the Characteristics of Perique?
Perique is a spice tobacco, usually used in Virginia
blends. It has a dark, oily appearance, and a taste
of pepper and figs. Its flavor is very strong, so it
isn't usually found in high percentages in a blend.
It can be smoked straight, but isn't intended to be.
Its role as a complement to VA's is not
just because of its flavor. Being highly acidic, it tends
to alleviate alkaline tongue bite, which is so often a
problem with Virginia tobacco.
What is the History
of Perique?
The process by which this tobacco is produced pre-dates
Columbus. The Choctaw Indians of (what would later be)
Louisiana would make it by pressing it into hollow logs
with a long pole, and securing it with weights.
After the Acadians (Cajuns) settled the
area in the mid-1700's, the Choctaws taught this process
to a French colonist by the name of Pierre Chenet. The
finished product was referred to as Perique, a Cajun variation
on the word "prick". This referred either to
the phallic shape of the carottes (the tight bundles of
market-ready Perique), or Chenet himself, as it was his
nickname!
Where is Perique Grown?
The only place in the world Perique can be grown is in
a small section of Louisiana called St. James Parish.
Inside St. James Parish, the best location for growing
(and the only place it's grown now) is a very small area
called Grande Pointe Ridge, which can be found in the
town of Paulina. This is due to both the climate, and
the unusual soil of the area, which is referred to as
"Magnolia" soil. Nourished by the swamps that
surround Grande Pointe, Magnolia is a dark and highly
fertile alluvial soil.
The actual strain of tobacco can vary, although
tobacco that isn't native to the soils of Louisiana doesn't
yield a good product. Supposedly the most common strain
used with Perique is something called "red burley".
St. James Perique is extremely rare, so
the tobacco is produced elsewhere to meet demands, though
without the same results. Kentucky Green River Burley
is most commonly used to make Perique. This particular
version is the Perique that most pipe smokers are familiar
with.
How Is Perique Made?
At harvest time, the wilted leaves of the tobacco are
hung up to dry for two weeks, stripped of hard veins,
and packed into bundles (called torquettes). These torquettes
are put into barrels under extreme pressure, and allowed
to cure in their own juices (which collect as run-off
at the top of the barrels). Over the course of many months,
these bundles are periodically "turned", and
then placed again under pressure in the barrels. Without
any air to interact with the tobacco, Perique ferments
anaerobically, producing the distinctive taste.
Is Perique Endangered?
There is only one farm left that produces this leaf full-time:
Percy Martin Farms in Grande Pointe Ridge, Louisiana.
After two bad crop years in the late 1990's, there was
a distinct possibility that Percy Martin would stop producing
it also. But a partnership was formed in 1999 between
Martin and New Orleans company Nichols and Brown, bringing
badly needed stability to this tiny market.
With interest from cigarette manufacturers,
as well as from pipe tobacco companies, it's possible
that other farmers in Grande Pointe Ridge will begin growing
Perique, though for the moment its future is uncertain.
As a low-return, labor-intensive product, it doesn't appeal
to most farmers.
[Most of this material
has been taken from the ASP posts of Greg Pease and Paul
Szabady, with additional material from Charles Perry,
Walter De Visser, Sr., Terry McGinty, Michael Lovell,
the essay "A Tale of Two Latakias", by Greg
Pease, and the essay "Selecting Pipe Tobacco",
by Mary McNeill.] Reprinted with permission of
ASPipes.org
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What Are The Characteristics of Virginia
Tobacco?
VA's are complex and delicate. When smoked poorly, they
can taste like hot air, but with good smoking technique
they can span a range of tastes, and are usually sweet,
tangy and fruit-like. VA's are more prone to cause tongue-bite
than any other tobacco, so there are a number of reasons
to practice good technique with these blends.
Unlike most tobaccos, VA's improve toward
the bottom of the bowl. A slow smoke will stove the bottom
layers of tobacco, deepening the flavors and reducing
the chance of tongue bite.
What Are The Different
Varieties of VA?
Virginias are referred to in a number of different ways.
A "bright" VA is named as such because it's
taken from the top of the plant, where the highest quality
leaf is.
VA's can also be referred to by their colors.
The most common color grades are lemon, golden, and red.
Ignoring a great many factors (such as climate, soil,
and time of harvest), the color of a VA relates to its
sugar content. Tobacco that is cured longer (and is thus
darker in color) will be less sweet than a tobacco cured
quickly.
Stoved VA's are also referred to separately.
Stoving (the process of literally cooking the tobacco)
darkens a tobacco and changes its taste, usually reducing
tongue bite. Incidentally, VA's with the most sugar will
darken the most.
Where Is Virginia Grown?
VA's are grown all over the world. In the United States,
the various Virginia-producing regions are referred to
as "Belts", but this tobacco can be found in
countries like Canada, Brazil, India, China, and the African
countries of Tanzania, Malawi, and especially Zimbabwe.
This last country, in fact, accounts for much of the world's
VA production.
As stated before, location (soil, climate,
etc.) will greatly affect the flavor and character of
any tobacco. It is not necessarily true, though, that
the best VA's come from the United States, or from the
state of Virginia.
[Most of this material
has been taken from the ASP posts of Greg Pease and Paul
Szabady, with additional material from Charles Perry,
Walter De Visser, Sr., Terry McGinty, Michael Lovell,
the essay "A Tale of Two Latakias", by Greg
Pease, and the essay "Selecting Pipe Tobacco",
by Mary McNeill.] Reprinted with permission of
ASPipes.org
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