St. James Flake

ithelouniverse · May 13, 2014

Got a TAD order in today and is been chomping at the bit to try St. James Flake. Two bowls today, different pipes each time. Both pipes are dedicated to VaPer blends, one a sav Dublin in the linea, and the other a sav 802 Ontario. I tried both fold and stuff as well as rubbing it out, and both bowls started out great. However , last half to quarter of the bowl it got rough. Tasted like ash, almost no original flavor. What gives??? I love Vas and VaPers and haven't had this problem with anything other than Aros before. Where did I go wrong? More drying time? I did have to try like crazy for the first light, wonder if it over heated?

JimInks · May 13, 2014

I never experienced your problem, but there may be a couple of possibilities why you're having some difficulty enjoying it. Were your pipes reamed well first? Residual flavor from previous VaPers could effect a blend like St. James Flake. Are you a fast puffer? You may have been trying too hard. St. James Flake - and this is my opinion only - needs to puffed at a moderate rate. Also, I would not completely dry it out, because you lose some flavor subtlety when you do. I dry mine out some, but leave it lightly damp and smoke slowly. If you're a "wet smoker", you might try putting the driest part at the bottom.

cortezattic · May 13, 2014

Just the other day I had a bowl of St. James Flake, rubbed out and dried a bit, and it fell apart by mid-bowl.

That doesn't happen too often. I think I might have been tamping it too tightly, I dunno.

I just dumped it out and moved on to another blend and pipe.
If you're in a humid area, the moisture can catch up to you by mid-bowl even if you started with dry leaf.

If you suspect this, then see what happens when you only fill the pipe halfway up.

andrew · May 13, 2014

Probably too moist, when I first started smoking I was smoking my flakes way too moist at I had temporarily written off all my favorite flakes as hot harsh steamy mouth burning messes

ithelouniverse · May 13, 2014

Excellent. I read some reviews after I posted this and that seems to be a universally accepted fact that it need to dry a little.
Thanks all for your help!

thesmokindragon · May 13, 2014

Dry the stuff almost to a crisp, then you will discover it :worship:
Love the SG flake, but the stuff is drip'in wet ( we are all paying for water :-( ....dry-time...BIG-TIME...then OH BABY!

captainsousie · May 13, 2014

how clean were the pipes? I've run into the ashy flavor on pipes that had gone a while between cleanings.

Strike Anywhere · May 13, 2014

I'd be careful about drying (almost) to a crisp. I know a lot of people say to do that, but I found I lose a lot of flavor doing that. Find a happy medium. For most flakes, especially SG flakes, I like to rub them out since they seem to dry a bit faster. I'll rub out the number of flakes I think I need to fill a bowl and allow it to dry for a few minutes (not hours), but I'm in Chicago where it is drier. Now that summer is approaching I might have to let it sit longer or put it under my desk lamp.
I think when you try to smoke pipe tobacco and it is too wet the excess moisture basically steams flavor from the lower part of the bowl. By the time you actually start burning the tobacco deeper in the chamber, a lot of the flavor compounds have been extracted, and you get that harsh/ashtray taste. I think the same thing happens with aros because they are typically wet and/or have high levels of humectants. That being said, it is purely speculation on my part.

layinpipe · May 14, 2014

I'll partially mirror what others have said; dry this stuff out big time because it smokes as wet as a bunch of southern sorority girls at a kenny chesney concert.
A good way to quickly dry it out that i use often is to rub a flake out or cube cut or whatever method of choice onto the lid of the tin. Then cover the lid with a paper towel or some toilet paper, you can tuck the edges underneath the lid and rest it on them or use a rubber band to keep it in place. Then, take your gf/wife/female room mate's hair dryer, set it on high temperature and low fan. Keep it about an inch to 2 inches away from the tobacco and do sweeping motions to cover the lid's entirety for about 3 to 4 minutes.
Works like a charm for me and it is quick, not taking more than a few minutes to do what an hour or two would do otherwise, and it has not in my opinion taken away any of the flavor as long as you use proper judgement and don't overdry it. The warm air from the dryer heats up and the layer of paper towel/toilet paper helps to trap the heat and act like an oven. Give it a try.

peckinpahhombre · May 14, 2014

I agree it needs to be dried. I normally cube cut a whole tin and leave it to dry for about an hour or 90 minutes spread out on a plate. I then jar it up and leave it for a couple of days. I think this is important because, as dragonslayer taught me, when you leave it out to dry the inside of the tobacco is still very moist so you can still get a bad smoke. Leaving it sit allows the remaining internal moisture to equalize throughout the flake. This may be bullshit but since I have started doing this I almost always get a perfect smoke with SJF or FVF.

thesmokindragon · May 14, 2014

@Peck ~ Thanks for the tip Brother, I have to try this...always look for a perfect smoke and with SG flakes, that can be somewhat of a challenge. So is Marlin Flake, love that stuff ~ but it is a damn beast sometimes :twisted:

gunslinger · May 14, 2014

May have to give what Peck is doing a try. I too have tried many different drying techniques with SJF and BBF, FVF with mixed success. Why is this stuff so unbelievably wet? To add weight to the tobacco? Dunno, but I suspect that there are others like myself that have gotten frustrated with SG and moved on to other quality flakes out there. There are so many other good ones to choose from these days that are ready to smoke right out of the tin.

ithelouniverse · May 18, 2014

I have to agree with the junkyard dog. It's good, but it didn't knock my socks off. I've got maybe two bowls left in the tin, and probably won't reorder. I will say the cube cut technique was the winner for making it happen though...

frozenchurchwarden · May 18, 2014

Have you tried Escudo? It's basically the same thing as far as I can tell, but the different form factor might make a difference.

cortezattic · May 18, 2014

Older thread, similar ideas.

Perique · May 18, 2014

Have you tried Escudo? It's basically the same thing as far as I can tell, but the different form factor might make a difference.

I have to respectfully disagree on this: the McClelland VaPer blends are nothing like Escudo. Two different VaPer universes. Both can be delicious, but very different flavor and appeal. I could easily see someone who loves Escudo disliking the McClelland Virginias.

frozenchurchwarden · May 19, 2014

Perique, this thread is discussing Samuel Gawith St. James flake. I found the two very similar.
My opinion of 2015 is very different from the others as well.

Perique · May 19, 2014

Yikes. My apologies. I had the other the other thread in my mind when I read this.

saltedplug · May 20, 2014

Escudo is a more flavorful version of the same full, rich VA/Perique taste in that's St. James Flake. Not two different universes but instead two planets, I would say.

layinpipe · May 20, 2014

Just blended a flake of solani ABF with a flake of St. James last night and it was very very good. I rubbed both flakes out and blended them together thoroughly. They sat out in my living room for a good couple hours and dried out to the perfect temperature and burned wonderfully. I highly recommend trying it if you are a fan of the ABF and St. James.

St. James Flake

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