How do you tell tobacco types? Newbie help

Basically, what I'm saying is, for the n00b (me) who purchase tobacco online, how do we tell what type a tobacco is (cavendish, latkia, perique, burley, etc.)?

I often check the website I'm ordering from, but Boswell's doesn't often specify, and other sites may not, either. I'd like to know ahead of time so I can stop mixing blends in one pipe, and dedicate my sole briar and my corncobs to specific blends.

Also, how do you decide which route to go when a blend is compromised of more than one tobacco type?

Thanks - Kegan

[Emjaysmash]

tobaccoreviews.com has their blends listed which include thier "ingredients". I'd check there.

Oh, I have. Great site. Nothing there on what I'd like however

I'm considering the Southern Comfort blend from Pipes and Cigars.

[Emjaysmash]

I'd email them.

[drob]

This may help -

http://www.nocturne.org/jason/aging/touchstones.php

Thanks

Essentially what I'm asking, is how do I look at a tobacco and say, "Oh, this is a Virginia, this is a Latkia, this is a Cavendish, this is an English, etc."?

I just want to know how to discern tobaccos, so I can dedicate specific pipes to each tobacco style, and avoid ghosting the flavors.

And how do people decide when they get a tobacco that is a combo, consisting of more than one style?

Kegan

OK, so upon further reading online, I've decided to classify my tobaccos into aromatic and English blends. It's not a foolproof method, but it can help.

Tobaccos are compromised of Virginias, Burleys, Cavendish, Perique, and Latakia.

With that in mind, if I am purchasing tobacco online (or anywhere, really), once I receive it, what is the best method to help me classify it so I can dedicate my pipes and prevent ghosting?

Am I to assume that combined blends, like VaPers are given a separate pipes altogether?

Hope this clears up my initial posting. Thanks for any help.

[Mister Moo]

Originally Posted by kzm007

...do I look at a tobacco and say, "Oh, this is a Virginia, this is a Latkia, this is a Cavendish, this is an English, etc."?

Maybe someone can tell by looking but I sure couldn't. I can't tell by smelling it either. Nor can I tell, for sure, by smoking it. It's hard for me to spot burley mixed with VA and perique and it sometimes takes a few bowls or pipe changes to decide if a blend is english, balkan or oriental.

Originally Posted by kzm007

how do we tell what type a tobacco is (Cavendish, latria, perique, burley, etc.)?

These tobaccos are generally used for blending, there’s information about these here… tobacco

Originally Posted by kzm007

how do you decide which route to go when a blend is compromised of more than one tobacco type?

A blend or mixture is always made from more than one type of tobacco, hence the term blend.

The best advice is to read everything you can find on blending pipe tobacco.

If you want to learn what types of tobacco are often used in the various styles of mixtures, go to C&D and read the descriptions for their blends.

Originally Posted by kzm007

aromatic and English blends... once I receive it, what is the best method to help me classify it so I can dedicate my pipes and prevent ghosting?

If the tobacco is flavored it's an aromatic, if not it's an American, English or Oriental.

If your smoking a lot of different blends of tobacco with only two pipes, it may be hard to get the true flavor of any of the tobacco you smoke. These pipes may well end up tasting like mud soup.

I would suggest getting 4 or 5 corncob pipes, use 1 for flavored tobacco, 1 for Va/VaPers and one for english etc.

Ok, so we're getting closer to what I'm looking for, thank you.

I have a few cobs, and a briar. What I am asking is, how do I tell if a tobacco is aromatic, American, English, or Oriental?

I wouldn't want to say if it's not flavored, it's not one of the three, because it seems to me that certain blends would have a 'flavor' even if they weren't aromatic...does that make sense?

I just want to avoid ghosting...frankly, I have no idea what I'm even trying to ask now. I've just read that some of you have pipes for certain blends (naturally) so I'm just trying to follow suit and keep things tidy.

Read all the discriptions of the different blends on the C&D site, you'll figure it out.

Read this as well.

Duly noted, I'll get back to you. Thanks so much!

The Ghost of Tobacco past.

Scrooge had smoked nothing but vanilla cased Black Cavendish in his pipes for over twenty years. The briar stained dark with the oils, and a cake of the tar and ash from many a bowl of his favorite tobacco lined the inside of these pipes. One day he decided to try something different, a light English mixture.

No matter how many bowls of this new tobacco he smoked, his pipes where haunted by the Cavendish ghost.

Flavor and Flavored is not the same thing, but you know that.

When changing from an aromatic or flavored tobacco like a vanilla cased Black Cavendish to a natural or unflavored tobacco like a light English mixture, one might taste the flavors of the tobacco previously smoked in the pipe.

This is what you’ve read about when folks are talking about ghosting.

At this point of your journey into the hobby of pipe smoking it’s not likely something you need worry about.

Puff slow,
D.

[RevSmoke]

Originally Posted by kzm007

OK, so upon further reading online, I've decided to classify my tobaccos into aromatic and English blends. It's not a foolproof method, but it can help.

Tobaccos are compromised of Virginias, Burleys, Cavendish, Perique, and Latakia.

With that in mind, if I am purchasing tobacco online (or anywhere, really), once I receive it, what is the best method to help me classify it so I can dedicate my pipes and prevent ghosting?

Am I to assume that combined blends, like VaPers are given a separate pipes altogether?

Hope this clears up my initial posting. Thanks for any help.

Actually, this is much easier than you think.

Open up the pouch/tin and smell it. Yes, it is that easy.

Aromatics will have some kind of topnote to it that smells nothing like tobacco. For example, I am guessing that Southern Comfort will smell like a mixed drink. As we approach Thanksgiving, there will be tobaccos given a "casing/topnote" that will smell like pumpkin pie.

English blends will have a smell of Latakia - you will know it when you smell it. That is, if you define English blends as those with some bit of Latakia in the mix. (Some would say that any tobacco without a flavoring agent added would be an English Blend)

Burley blends may have other constituent tobaccos, but mainly burley. In the bag these would smell slightly nutty or buttery.

Orientals may or may not have Latakia (if it does, it might better be classified a Balkan blend), if they do, that will smell obvious. If they do not, they will have a rathe pungent smell, sort of spicy.

Virginia blends are naturally sweet and may smell in the bag/tin of citrus. While VaPers (Virginia Perique blends) will smell slightly of prunes as well as the citrus.

Personally, I have a couple VA only pipes. I also keep my VaPer pipes free of anything else, although I might put a straight VA in it.

I do not normally care for burley or oriental blends, so that's not an issue.

I have a couple pipes dedicated only to blends containing latakia, only because other things seem to pick up the Latakia taste anyway.

And, the pipes in which I smoke Aromatics, are pipes in which I smoke just about anything.

Hope this helps.

Great post, Rev. Thank you very kindly.

[MarkinAZ]

Excellent posts by D, RevSmoke, and drob (noted and bookmarked)

My would be, if the web page does not mention the particular tobacco' used in the blend (let's say Boswell'), I would simply pick-up the telephone and give them a call to ascertain the information. They are congenial folks and I would think they would be more than happy to give you answers to your questions. In fact, you could do that for any of the on-line retailers who do not mention the tobacco' in a particular blend...

Indeed I could. However, understandably, I'm trying to learn as I go. D and drob, and the good Reverend, thanks again gentlemen.

Proper knowledge breeds understanding, and I'll hopefully become an informed pipe smoker thanks to you three, able to educate others properly and help continue this fine tradition.