Costa Rica Tobacco?

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loneredtree

Part of the Furniture Now
May 27, 2011
569
181
Sierra Foothills
I have some friends that are going to be in Costa Rica soon. They have seen some toby shops with bulk blends and locally grown they think. Any suggestions on what they should bring back? I am thinking some rolled.
8)

 

judcole

Lifer
Sep 14, 2011
7,185
33,533
Detroit
what a good way for a cigar/pipe smoker to be able to use their fav. cigar blend in their fav. pipe
Excuse me - but huh? Cigar tobacco is not pipe tobacco - the processing is totally different. Some blenders put a little cigar leaf in their blends, but it's used as a condiment.

 

nathaniel

Part of the Furniture Now
Jan 4, 2011
788
485
I used to live there... never seen a pipe tobacco though besides paladin and other goopy OTC aros. Cigars are great there though. In fact, there is an area outside of San Jose(the capital) that is said to have the closest soil to cuba's partagas soil... the renowned region of premium cuban cigars. :puffy:

 

leonardw

Starting to Get Obsessed
Dec 30, 2011
153
6
I lived in Costa Rica from 93-95 and again from 97-2000. If I wanted pipe tobacco, I had to bring it with me from the U.S. Plenty of cigars down there, and even some 'bulk' Partagas cigar leaf, as I recall. I would be stunned if there is anyone actually manufacturing pipe tobacco. If there is pipe tobacco in Costa Rica, it is being imported from elsewhere.

 

zanthal

Lifer
Dec 3, 2011
1,835
1
Pleasanton, CA
This brings up a question that I've been scratching my head about and it sounds like it's been half-answered already.
If so many good cigars come out of the central america and the immediate surrounding area, why is it they don't take advantage of the pipe tobacco market too? Or do they and I just am not aware of it?
Jud answered my question to a certain extent, saying the processing of the tobacco is entirely different, which is understandable.
But I figured if you've got folks down there with a good appreciation of fine tobacco and a long history of growing and working with it, that at least a small portion of those growers and makers would BE pipe smokers or would want to maximize their profits.
That being said I've never heard of a pipe tobacco including even a portion of their blend from a strain grown in central or south america.

 

judcole

Lifer
Sep 14, 2011
7,185
33,533
Detroit
That being said I've never heard of a pipe tobacco including even a portion of their blend from a strain grown in central or south america.

Some blends do include some cigar leaf. I've never smoked any of them.
But I figured if you've got folks down there with a good appreciation of fine tobacco and a long history of growing and working with it, that at least a small portion of those growers and makers would BE pipe smokers or would want to maximize their profits.
I think part of it is due to the culture of tobacco use,if I may coin a phrase - I don't think pipe smoking is part of the culture, even to the extent it is here. (I may be totally wrong, of course.) When you have lots of cigars - and there's gotta be brands we don't even see - pipes may not be part of your world.
And then look at where cigar leaf comes from, as opposed to tobacco grown for pipes. Cuba, the DR, Honduras - very humid climates, as opposed to Kentucky, Virginia, North Carolina, the Balkans. It may be that the climates are not compatible for both sorts.
This is all speculation on my part - you would need someone much more knowledgeable than I to get a definitive answer.

 

nathaniel

Part of the Furniture Now
Jan 4, 2011
788
485
Frankly, folks are just too poor there to afford any leaf other than that in cigarettes. They have great cigars but it is primarily (from my understanding) strictly a tourist industry. Of the 13 yrs I lived there, I've never seen a tico smoke a cigar. Just the gringos.

 

antipodesman

Starting to Get Obsessed
Jan 25, 2011
134
0
Vancouver Island
When in Costa Rica, beware that those Cohiba cigars that you see at every stand in San Jose are counterfeit. I bought one last year for $2. It was great but I'm no cigar aficionado.

 

nsfisher

Lifer
Nov 26, 2011
3,566
20
Nova Scotia, Canada
Jud;
I Dont know anything at all about cigars, only smoked maybe 4 in my entire life.Worst of it is i have a box of Cuban's here still in the plastic wrap. I guess my friends tell me they r quite expensive but im not interested nuff to open it. Couple of friends go to cuba evry yr and brought me back a box, they tell me that this box of a dozen would cost bout 250.oo here. anyway here in nova scotia there is a pipe baccy called Old Port, its pretty much crap IMO, but thats just me. To me it resembles a low end cigar flavour. Like i said, I dont know anything about cigars, was just a thought

 
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