What to do with four pounds of pure Burley

[mawp]

Good night gents
Before anything I most say that I have been in pipes long enough before the internet, just to find out thanks to internet that I have been doing almost everything in the wrong way but I want to resume the pipe life I left behind mostly because bite tongue problems.

I must notice also that I am in Venezuela with very limited resources and/or access to pipe tobacco, my tobacco cellar by now is a half way down Captain Black Gold that I found very aggresive to my tongue so I am looking for options.

I can have access to a four pounds bulks of what the vendors says is 100% Burley leaves (no more information yet) I guess it should be air cured considering the origins but can not provide any further information about the tobacco at this point.

The questions is if I can do anything smokable with it?

As you can see I have no experience playing with tobacco but considering my actual situation I am open to try new and unusuals approaches to the subject, my primary goal is a less sugar content pipe tobacco in form of cakes or flakes that I can smoke with less bite tongue, I am a cigar smoker too so a plain tobacco (no flavors or aroma added) please me.

I already did some serach in the archives with no specific results, if someone can provide some links or further information will be great.

Thanks in advance and happy piping

 

[logs]

This pdf on tobacco blending might useful.
https://fairtradetobacco.com/threads/blend-your-own-pipe-tobacco-download-the-free-color-book.8487/

 

[mawp]

Already donwloading it, thanks logs

 

[danimalia]

Some people enjoy smoking plain, unflavored burley by itself. Personally, my favorite burley blends (Solani 656, HH Burley Flake, Amphora Burley, Watch City Slices) are some combination of cased, topped, toasted and/or blended with condiment tobaccos. If you find the flavor too plain or harsh, you may want to see about blending it with other tobaccos, and if you can't get other tobaccos in sufficient quantities to blend it, possibly look into trying to toast it yourself.

 

[mso489]

There some knowledgeable folks on Forums, and I'd defer to them. The air cured burley I've encountered is pretty rough if it has no processing other than air curing, but you might like it. I'd sure try it cautiously, when you are fully hydrated and after a good meal, and in a small portion, like a very small pipe. Then you might choose to use it as a condiment to give a little edge to other blends, but it wouldn't take much. Some places, that is all they have to smoke, and they accustom to it accordingly I guess. I'm used to all the heating, pressure, topping, casing, and aging, having been spoiled by the professional blenders who make it all nice for us.

 

[mawp]

I am happy to back with some news, as I said before I got my hands over a sample of localy grow, harvest and cure Burley leaf cut in some kind of ribbon style.
As mso489 warned it is rough and unidimensional sort of speak but because I am also a cigar aficionado the experience was in my confort zone and the wife found the room note manageable and the most important of the test I was free of the terrible bite tongue Captain Black Golden always left to me.
Now the adventure begins first i will try mixing it with the CB hoping to save what is left of it, another thing is start to experiment with rehumitification, tapping, pressing among other stuff to add some twist to it. I have nothing to loose and too much to gain if I can keep the whole process in the fun side.
I will let you know

 

[didimauw]

If you are able, I'd love to see pictures of the tobacco itself, and anything you do to it! And what your thoughts are on what you do to it. Sounds very interesting!

 

[skydog]

Sounds like you've already figured out what my first step would be, mixing it with the captain black you already have. Not knowing what tobaccos are available to you makes any other mixing suggestions a shot in the dark. But you mentioned you enjoy cigars so I just wanted to point out that there are pipe tobacco blends which include some small portions of cigar leaf. GL Pease Key Largo is a blend I enjoy which contains cigar leaf.

Personally I would try to find some type of Virginia tobacco to mix with the burley and maybe even some perique, but again that would all depend on what you could get your hands on.