When looking for tobacco I often come across blends that have the same components in presumably different amounts. Still, I pass on them if I have something, or have had something and didnt like it, that has the same components. Am I making a mistake here? What makes 2 blends with the same ingredients different enough to notice?
Blends With Same Ingredients
- Thread starter dcicero
- Start date
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The two biggest differences are sourcing and proportions. Work with what you like first. Then you can sort through the one’s that you question a component.
Similar, but not exactly the same. Number of English blends have very similar ingredients, but some are just much more refined. Also, depends on the amount of latakia some can be overpowering and others are just lovely. Then there is Va blends. They are all Va, but some are just better. Va/Per also. You'll have to try and see what works for you. Similar but some are definitely better.
Some brands have lots of different varieties of VAs and orientals and mix them all in different proportions while some brands only have a couple of each to blend with. Even then, pressing, stoving, topping and other processing can affect everything. So I wouldn't discount a particular leaf combo because one blend didn't agree with you.
Well just as there are many varieties of tomatoes(same family as tobacco in fact) there are many varieties of tobacco. Take into account various growing conditions for the plant and you end up with hundreds or thousands of possibilities for just a Virginia. Now factor in curing and fermentation techniques, aging and lastly, the processing techniques done by the blender(stoving, toasting, casing, topping, pressing and more aging) and it's easy to see how even a single leaf blend can have so many possibilities, let alone a complex one.