Red Pipe
Red Pipe
 |
Before The Purchase Of A Pipe Tobacco Sampler
For the beginner, pipe smoking can be a daunting venture. In fact, it can be downright terrifying especially for past cigar smokers. Since the cigar smoker has depended on blends done by connoisseurs, the step into the selection of one's own style of pipe tobacco requires some basic knowledge. Unfortunately, this is true before the first purchase of a pipe tobacco sampler; a choice of sampler cannot be made without some acquaintance with basic forms and flavors. A quick survey of basics is in order.
More than half of the tobacco grown in the United States comes from Virginia. These products are generally constituent elements of flavored blends; however, the genesis yield is a tobacco that is fruit flavored, tangy and sweet. Another favorite used for blending is Burley tobacco, meaning air cured. This assumes that for a couple of months after harvesting, the leaves are left in open barns with the outside air flowing through giving a much dryer and more aromatic product. Because these leaves are mostly devoid of sugar, they will absorb whatever flavor applied by the blender.
There are essentially three types of tobaccos, which are categorized generally as spice. Spice tobacco is itself a blend. First is Oriental, which is a strong leaf from the Eastern Mediterranean. Because of its geographic source it is often called Turkish tobacco, is very lightly spiced, and is generally sweet. There are several types mostly named for the locations where they are grown, for example, Izmir, Samsun, Yedidie, Cavella and Bursa.
Second of the spice tobaccos is Latakia. These leaves are grown in Syria as well as Cyprus, but the curing process deviates by filling barns with smoke, hanging the dried tobacco and tightly sealing the building. The resulting smoke particles are processed with the leaves. The final spice tobacco is Perique which is a red Burley grown near New Orleans. It is rare; it is strong; it is fermented in its own natural liquids. It is rarely smoked without the addition of gentler, more subdued leaves.
Before the smoker's first jaunt into purchasing a pipe tobacco sampler, one additional piece of knowledge should help. A manufacturing method originally used by the English when processing Virginia tobacco called Cavendish has been modified over the years. Originally, a dark fired cured leaf was steamed and stacked under pressure to promote fermentation; this produced a dark tobacco. Today, Cavendish is a flavored tobacco, which is sweet with aromas like liquorices, vanilla, rum, chocolate, and so on.
Now, the new pipe smoker has an overview of the different tobaccos available. This is a small morsel of what will be available, but it serves as a platter of choices as the first pipe tobacco sampler is chosen.
About the Author
Please visit our website here for more information or visit our blog. Thank you.