From English to Oriental: A Pipe Dedication

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samanden

Starting to Get Obsessed
Jun 11, 2013
247
48
Alexandria, VA
I recently reorganized my pipe cabinet and noticed that I have quite a few tobaccos with primarily Virginias and Orientals, and little to no Latakia. Always in search of the "purest" smoking experience, I've decided to change one of my smaller English blend pipes into an Oriental pipe. At the risk of reopening the question concerning English blends vs Orientals (and Balkans for that matter), I would like your thoughts on the meaning of Oriental blends, it's characteristics, your favorites, your pipe selection process when deciding to smoke, say, EMP, Red Rapparee, Classic Samsun, etc.
Personally I find Oriental blends to be harsh--something akin to a cigarette. After doing some research I've found that Oriental tobaccos are used especially in cigarette production. And while I dislike the taste of cigarettes, I'm curious as to why pipe tobacco producers--who are certainly driven by flavor--would choose Oriental tobaccos as a dominant flavor profile. Now these are the ruminations of but a single pipe man who knows blenders don't have a picture of him hanging in their workshops. Nevertheless, I hope that with more time studying this blend in a pipe solely dedicated to its characteristics, I too will experience the beauty of the Orient :roll:

 

pipinho

Starting to Get Obsessed
Apr 1, 2013
207
21
Honestly for me i really can't tell the difference between orientals or English blends. IMHO most English/oriental blends have some crossover.

 

allan

Lifer
Dec 5, 2012
2,429
7
Bronx, NY
In my limited experience I've treated English and oriental/English in one category and all types of va's in another, dividing my pipes accordingly

I know that there are some members who further divide and dedicate each pipe to a specifics; English, ( those with Latakia) Virginia's , Virginia vapers, etc
My taste buds are not that developed or capable of distinguishing the subtle differences to further divide my pipes

 

samanden

Starting to Get Obsessed
Jun 11, 2013
247
48
Alexandria, VA
Ok Roth, but what about your pipe? Those English blend pipes of yours that don't get much use these days--do you smoke your Orientals out of them now, or are they retired? And are the differences between Oriental blends that extreme, ie the distance between butter and mint?
And could you say more about EMP? There has been much debate concerning the use of Latakia. Some say none, others say yes or a little. Some make a distinction between older and newer formulas. From my limited experience, I would conclude that the new formulation of EMP ain't got no Latakia in it at all.
Nonetheless, my biggest concern is with the pipe. If I want to truly taste Oriental leaves, will an old pipe dedicated to English blends do the trick, or is the lingering Latakia just too strong?

 
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