Tobacco in Germany

I can highly recommend a shop called Der Pfeifenladen, which I visited while I was in Berlin last summer. They have a wide variety of tobacco, and the owner is very friendly, knowledgeable, and helpful. He also speaks English, so between my German and his English, we had a nice conversation. They carry their own brand of tinned tobacco as well, which I assume is tinned by one of the larger manufacturers like Kohlhase & Kopp. I would suggest asking the owner whether they carry anything that is not available in the US.
I think there is another shop close by Der Pfeifenladen called Tabak & Pulver that looked worthwhile, but I didn’t have a chance to visit it for myself, unfortunately. I would not recommend Tabakhaus Durek Alexanderplatz or KaDeWe because they have a more limited selection of tobaccos.
I hope that helps, and good luck on your search!

Obtain some HU Tobaccos. Director's Cut, Nashville County, Dockworker and Makhuwa are some fantastic blends to my palate. But check out what's available at the www.pfeifendepot.de for more options. I wish they were more easily available in North America.

If I were there, I'd be looking at the HU as mentioned. Would also try to find SG Full Virginia, Best Brown and St James Plug. Also, the Brown Sugar Plug songs good.

It’s quite a bit of travel but if your friends end up in Munich I highly recommend Pfeifen Huber. It’s an absolutely amazing shop and their house blends are made by Kohlhase and Kopp. I’m still working through a tin of their Virginia golden flake that I brought back from Oktoberfest and reminiscing about the best experience I have ever had at a tobacconist.

Germany is very strict about leaving their country to a non EU destination with tobacco. My advice is to not declare if you have anything over 100 g.

I was over there a couple yrs ago, doing exactely what you want to do and it was a total bust. At least for Austria. I tried to find a post I replied to. In Austria they only have certain brands and all shops carry the same stuff. Only found that out when I was in southern Austria and it was too late to go to Germany. I dont know if Germany has different laws re what brands they can carry or if it will be like in Austria but I could not find anything from Germains or John Aylesbury. Hopefully Germany is better.......

Rx2man - where in southern Austria were you?
There are a couple of good pipe shops in Vienna, but I didn't check them out as I wasn't into pipes at the time.

I will be in Vienna in a couple of months. If anyone has any tips please lay 'em on me. It would be much appreciated!

pipeanddrum I shop for tobacco from Germany on a regular basis, as where I live the tobacco portfolio is very thin. Germany has quite a bit of pipe bacy to offer, however I do not know what advice to give since I know not so much about what tobacco is available in your area. I remember aiding a fellow forum member not such a long time ago towards finding the Presbyterian Mixture by Planta, since that was not available in the US. That's not a bad English blend, by the way, if you haven't tried it already. House blends are also something that's pretty good in Germany. I remember writing a post about a Duringer tobacco blend, made especially for this shop in Ulm. And there are a few of such "house blends" especially in Berlin. You may find some Samuel Gawith that is not available in the US, some Peterson, Dunhill, Planta, Ashton, Vauen, etc. I would be very curious to what you find there that you cannot get at home. Oh, and also mind your customs ... unless your tobacco is duty free, you are limited I believe to either one ten pack box of cigarettes (which are very expensive any way), or 100 gr of other tobacco.

"Also, the Brown Sugar Plug songs[sic] good."
Hoosier, I assume you are referring to Brown Sugar Flake (now known as B.S. Flake due to laws not allowing the word 'sugar' to be used)?
First off it is only available via the Danish Pipe Shop and second there was never a plug version though I dearly wish there was.
Regards,
Jay.

In Berlin, my favorite pipe shop is Der Pfeifenladen, very friendly and you can get lots of information about the pipe and tobacco scene in this little Europe. You can find Germains there sometimes, but the 10+ tins will be gone within a few days. The nearby shop, Tabak & Pulver focuses more on cigar, and the interaction is less personal, more professional - you can find John Aylesbury there, I never tried it, but I just know that they sell them overseas.

When you are in Germany, if you fancy HU Tobacco, you can order them online when you are in Germany, and then send them back home first using Deutsch Post - declare it as whatever you like.
If I have to recommend one or two places to visit for tobacco in Germany, it will be these two:

1. Herbert Motzek in Kiel

Mr. Motzek has retired last year, but he found a successor for his shop and blends and secret recipes over an extended period of search. The shop and its new and old products are still renowned in the whole Germany.

By the way, "Motzek Strang" came from this shop, so differently try their house blends.

http://dein-tabak.de/
2. Peter Heinrichs in Bergheim (or Köln)

The shop is most famous among pipe-smokers in Germany and is known as the "Haus der 10.000 Pfeifen" (House of 10000 pipes) as the now passed-away (last year) owner Peter Heinrichs started the shop out of his passion of pipe smoking and pipe collecting.



Chateau Henri

I go to Germany each year for several months and my experience has been that there are pipe stores just about everywhere. Might be that I get lucky, but you shouldn't have a problem. As to recommending anything, they all seemed to be a little different and it really depends on where you go and what the've got stocked at the time. I've found Germain's in little towns, HU in others. It's a crapshoot. Train stations can even sometimes have a good selection.
As to leaving with tobacco, I can't see how this is a problem? Nobody has ever, not once, asked me if I was leaving Germany with anything, let alone pipe tobacco. That's after dozens of border crossings by air. By car... well, there too. Nobody seems to care.
I usually leave with stacks of Cuban cigars, and maybe a little pipe tobacco, because my next stop is often Brazil where they are very hard/expensive to come by. I only start sweating when I get to the border of my destination. Unless someone tells you otherwise with direct experience, I've never been asked if I'm leaving with anything, and if it is a law, they're not enforcing it where I go.
Do they ask you what you're leaving with when you leave the United States to go somewhere? Seems strange to me.

You didn't mention it, but if you're interested in cigars, check these guys out: https://www.zigarren-herzog.com
I mail order from them while in Germany because they have a great reputation and store their cigars in very good condition. You can also pick up aged boxes, if that's your thing. If you're getting Cubans, just tell your buddy to take off the bands and say they are something else, or whatever it is that you americans have to do to get those.
They often chuck in some extra cigars for me, which is really nice of them, but that's after ordering a few boxes.
They have a shop in Berlin. And a smoking lounge, if I'm not mistaken. If your buddy likes tobacco too, it would be an experience.