Peck, hope you don't mind me hijacking your thread. Just had my 2nd bowl and wanted to share my experience.
Let's start with bowl number 1. Underwhelming. Im not one for reviews and I'm in the camp of 'I know what I like', and it's not Latakia. I had high expectations, thinking for some reason that it would be something out of this world. I was a little disappointed, but not really surprised. Smoked it in a big bowled, English dedicated pipe. Just seemed like a mild English, a little smokey, not very much oomph.
Bowl number 2. Wow! Silky, creamy, smooth and sweet. I'm not usually great at picking out subtle nuances. 9/10 smokes of a blend I'm familiar with I know what to expect and get there. Once in a while, however, I get a surprise. Like maybe a hint of citrus I've never noticed. This blend took a complete 180 on me though. Smoked it in a small, narrow chambered pipe usually reserved for VA's. No campfire smokeyness I got from the first bowl. Maybe because the first pipe I used had seen it's fair share of Cyprian Latakia. Best I could describe is maybe coffee with that sweet creamer that's somewhat new to the market (I take my coffee black), watered down to the point just before it tastes watered down.
I feel like I'm blabbering now. I don't know. I do feel happy though, and think you're in for a real treat.