St. James Flake What Should I Expect?
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Bliss. Heaven. The tobacco Gods have smiled upon you.
The flakes will be very moist so you will need to let them dry a good bit. I prefer just above crispy level. They use high quality VA's and the Perique is pretty forward. To some this is heresy, but I prefer this to Escudo. In terms of strength, its up there, probably a 7 or so on a scale of 10. Lots of flavor and spice.
If you do not like it, jar it up and let it sit. It smooths out considerably with age. The flakes will darken and the sugar crystals will come out in full force.
Shoot, I need to smoke some now, thank you.
The flakes will be very moist so you will need to let them dry a good bit. I prefer just above crispy level. They use high quality VA's and the Perique is pretty forward. To some this is heresy, but I prefer this to Escudo. In terms of strength, its up there, probably a 7 or so on a scale of 10. Lots of flavor and spice.
If you do not like it, jar it up and let it sit. It smooths out considerably with age. The flakes will darken and the sugar crystals will come out in full force.
Shoot, I need to smoke some now, thank you.
What Warren said.
However, I have some that are hitting the 7 year mark and are showing signs of rust on the outside. Seals are still good though.
Once you open a tin though, the tobacco will only be good for a couple weeks before it starts to dry out. Best then to transfer it to a jar.
However, I have some that are hitting the 7 year mark and are showing signs of rust on the outside. Seals are still good though.
Once you open a tin though, the tobacco will only be good for a couple weeks before it starts to dry out. Best then to transfer it to a jar.
Have you smoked any other Sam Gawith flakes? As far as packing and moisture go, St. James is similar. And as mrenglish said, it's a fairly strong VAPer, more forward (more rustic, maybe?) than Escudo. I found it an extremely fussy tobacco - I had to get the moisture level just right, and it favored certain pipes over others rather unpredictably. When it was good, it was great, but that was only about 20% of the time for me. The other 80% of the time it was just a hassle and not all that pleasant. But I have similar issues with all the SG flakes - whatever manufacturing process creates that sticky moisture in their flakes just doesn't sit well with my smoking and packing style. SJF was really good at times, though, and I do have some more in storage.
This is my favorite tobacco. I don't think it is any more fussy than other flakes. I dry it quite a bit as mentioned- like 2-3 hours if it is a new batch. When it is still a bit moist, I fully rub it out, then dry for another 30 minutes or so. It is really, really good. If I only had St. James Flake and Stonehaven to smoke for the rest of my life I would be happy.
I have never had SG before. However I have heard a lot of things about this tobacco so I picked up 5 tins. Any tips in smoking this tobacco will be greatly appreciated. Anyone else find out that certain pipes smoke thus stuff better? Anyone discover any consistent pattern in as to what makes a specific pipe smoke it better?
Occasionally I really like smoking a Virginia flake out of a pipe I usually smoke latakia blends out of, and vice versa. But I usually default to pipes I've smoked similar blends out of.
If you have a pipe that you've smoked perique blends out of, just use that. If you don't like it, use a different pipe.
If you have a pipe that you've smoked perique blends out of, just use that. If you don't like it, use a different pipe.
yeh, that is going to be a big personal preference thing. But, I think that which ever pipe you enjoy Virginias in the most will be a start. I personally prefer a narrow chamber, .6-.75" in diameter. But, some will report that they prefer any number of other pipe types. Narrow, to me, seems to focus the flavors better, like narrowing the diaphragm on a lens, it seems to make tobaccos with subtle flavors really sing. Large diameter pipes work best for bolder flavor tobaccos, but for Virginias and VaPers, I find that they muddy the flavors. But, YMMV.
I have a desk lamp that puts off a good amount of heat so I rub the flakes out into a shag and let it dry under the lamp for 20 minutes or so. I found it burns best for me when prepared this way. The shag will burn good in just about any bowl. It seems to do well in whatever pipe I load it with, from tall and narrow to wide pots.
SJ Flake is a wonderful smoke. It's one of the few tobaccos that I've had that tastes exactly how it smells: figgy, plummy, spicy goodness. Ditto on the moisture. It takes several hours to dry it enough to smoke. I've rubbed out 3-4 flakes. Dried them for an hour, then put them back in the tin. I then wait a day and dry it for another hour or two.
I am glad to hear that I am not the only weirdo who rubs this flake out, then dries it more. I think I have found that to be the key for best flavor with this one. Do an inital drying of 3-4 bowls worth of flakes and have them ready to go in your smoking kit. Then rub a flake out and dry a bit before loading. I am fortunate to live in an arid spot. Sometimes, I will rub a flake and let it sit on a rock in the sun for a few minutes and that is perfect.
I can never plan my next smoke far enough in advance to air dry tobacco -- especially a moist one like SJF.
My solution is a low velocity warm air blower. Old post with the details.
My solution is a low velocity warm air blower. Old post with the details.
I wonder how a heat gun would work? I also just got my first tin of this in but I haven't cracked it open yet.
+1
This is a neat idea. I, too, have issues with SG flake moisture but don't like pre-planning my smoke. St James is one I've yet to try because of that - in part, and I neve seem to find it in stock when I have TAD money where I happen to be spending said funds. :roll:
I love this Tobacco. I just ordered half a pound in bulk. I jarred it in small batches to taste at different intervals. I like to break this up in my palm and dry it under a lamp until crispy. I find that it tastes like sweet plums.
Aging turns it into sheer nirvana.
Be wary of your smoking cadence. It'll blow your socks off if smoked slowly, just a notch before letting the pipe to out. This induces a desire to smoke more of it faster - which ruins that magic, at least for me. It's still good, but not mind bending out-of-body experience good.
Be wary of your smoking cadence. It'll blow your socks off if smoked slowly, just a notch before letting the pipe to out. This induces a desire to smoke more of it faster - which ruins that magic, at least for me. It's still good, but not mind bending out-of-body experience good.
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