Orange Virginia?

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tarak

Lifer
Jun 23, 2013
1,528
15
South Dakota
I've noticed by far my favorite tobaccos are some of the McClellands- particularly CC. I've been realizing that McCelland is the only company I've noticed describing blends being composed of orange or orange-red tobaccos. Hands down, these are amazing blends to me.
So, what are Orange Virginias, and why don't I see others using them? Am I just missing things? Is this more of a way to process or describe a leaf, rather than a true variety? Are there blends out there I'd love that I haven't tried due to symantics?

 

bigpond

Lifer
Oct 14, 2014
2,019
13
I believe orange leaves grow above the red leaves and below the yellow leaves on the bush. Many red va blends have have a high percentage of orange leaves, as do golden va blends. Additionally, the blending term bright VA's refers to a mixture of orange and yellow and occasionally red va's.
It can be a bit difficult to find a pure orange blend. Erinmore, WO Larsen Old Belt, and GL Pease Cairo all list orange Va's as do McC 2010 and 2015.

 

jitterbugdude

Part of the Furniture Now
Mar 25, 2014
993
8
There is no such thing as a Red Virginia plant. The color of leaf is mostly dependent on the final curing temperature the leaves are exposed to. The vast majority of leaf goes through a final drying process at a temperature of 165 degrees (F). Red Virginia is produced by increasing this temp to 185 degrees or so. At this temp the sugars just begin to caramelize, turning the leaf red.
Neither is there any tobacco plant called an Orange Virginia. All flue cured tobaccos (aka Virginias) will have a range of color from yellow to bright orange. The color range is somewhat dependent on maturity of the leaf when harvested. Since all commercial Virginia tobaccos are hybrids you typically will not see much (or taste much) variation in the leaf. They have not been bred for taste/flavor but rather for speed of maturity, resistance to disease and leaf weight.

 

luigi

Can't Leave
May 16, 2017
456
1,265
Europe
Just ordered some Ilsted's Golden Flake. The description says it's "a mixture of golden and orange Virginias". I'm glad I saw this post, almost started to believe in orange virginias. :D

 
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