The samples i purchased arrived, but I have to ask is it a known variable on how fresh they are?
smokingpipes.com bulk samples
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Yes. There is literally zero way to tell the manufacturing date of bulk tobacco unless it arrives in the sealed bag/box from the blender (like Sam Gawith ropes/flakes might if you’re buying 250g or 500g).
it's fresh enough. Never got bulk in less then perfect condition from them.
All the bulk Haunted Bookshop or Pegasus that I’ve purchased over the years has been good quality and very fresh. 
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The freshness really depends on how fast a particular blend turns over at that retailer. I bought some GH&Co Kendal Flake from SP last year, and it turned out to have been discontinued a few years prior, so while good, it obviously wasn't new stock.
Is “fresh” a positive or negative attribute for you? Why?
fresh is best.
I dont mind tobacco that is a tad damp.. but when every baggie in a 20 piece sampel comes at the same exact humidity level that I would desire for my loose tea, or cocoa powder i have to ask on its freshness.
I am used to companies in the shaving supply business that will let a customer send a partially used container of shaving cream for a refund, and then to have said company use that returned item to make sample containers they then sale at 3-5$ each.
A couple of points:
1. Tobacco isn’t shaving cream. Not sure where you were going with that.
2. With pipe tobacco, “fresh” is relative. Most tobacco has already been aged, processed, then aged some more. Moisture content is not an indication of age or freshness, as tobacco will dry out quickly if not stored properly, but could be decades old and still moist.
3. Most pipe smokers prefer most blends with some age on them. Some blends are preferred young, but most Virginias benefit from some aging.
4.Ordering C&D tobaccos from Smokingpipes is about as close to freshly packaged as you are going to get, as smoking pipes and C&D are part of the same company.
1. Tobacco isn’t shaving cream. Not sure where you were going with that.
2. With pipe tobacco, “fresh” is relative. Most tobacco has already been aged, processed, then aged some more. Moisture content is not an indication of age or freshness, as tobacco will dry out quickly if not stored properly, but could be decades old and still moist.
3. Most pipe smokers prefer most blends with some age on them. Some blends are preferred young, but most Virginias benefit from some aging.
4.Ordering C&D tobaccos from Smokingpipes is about as close to freshly packaged as you are going to get, as smoking pipes and C&D are part of the same company.
Sometimes bulk tobaccos, especially from c&d, are a bit too “fresh” for my tastes. Some of their burley blends can taste pretty barnyardy and need a few weeks in the jar to settle down.
I don’t judge a tobacco by moisture levels. That’s just case. It can be adjusted to your tastes. A dry tobacco can be just fine (in fact I prefer it to a tobacco that’s kept moist with a lot of pg)
I don’t judge a tobacco by moisture levels. That’s just case. It can be adjusted to your tastes. A dry tobacco can be just fine (in fact I prefer it to a tobacco that’s kept moist with a lot of pg)
Most "raw" tobacco is also stored dry and rehydrated at various points during processing / blending. So you're not getting "fresh" tobacco by any stretch of the imagination unless you're picking it yourself and stuffing it in your bowl. But you wouldn't want to do that either, due to the ammonia and other undesirable components of "fresh" leaf that proper processing eliminates through curing and fermentation.
Well, that would explain why my face has notes of plum/fig, grass and hay all the time. Not to mention all the profuse bleeding.
Just made me even more glad that I make my own.
Also note, C&D bulk is typically fairly dry. Their philosophy has always been to sell tobacco, not water.
C&D is kinda known for having "drier" blends. That is by design, not a flaw.
Their youtube channel is a wealth of knowledge about their blends, philosophy, and processes.
Im kinda surprised how transparent they are about many of their processes.
Most C&D blends are too "fresh" for my liking. A couple of years in the closet and they are much better
There is a joke in there somewhere, not sure if it's a tasteful joke, but it's in there somewhere...
Just in C&D's new small batch "Closeted" series featuring Liberace flake.