Chai and/or Cardamom Aromatic Recommendations?

[churchlady]

My friends tease me about my love of cardamom, but it's one of my favorite flavors. Most of the "spice" aros I've seen mostly have cinnamon and little else. Apparently half n half has cardamom, but the reviews I've seen on it don't inspire me to run out and get some. Any ideas for more complex or interesting spiced blends?

Alternately -could I perhaps just throw some cardamom pods into something like 1Q or Tombigbee and cellar it for a bit?

 

[InWithBothFeet]

I wonder if you could get one of those pasta presses and make yourself a plug with some cardamom pods mixed in. Supposedly the pressure melds the flavors. Just gotta remember to remove them when you peel the plug apart.

 

[fireground_piper]

Jolly old Saint Nicholas has a bit of ginger, though it’s a holiday blend.

 

[proteus]

I've spicied up VA tobacco. Have to use steam and heat. Gotta make it sweat. I place whole allspice, cinnamon bark, bay leaves, peeled ginger slices, and a grating of nutmeg in my steamer water and then steam cavendish some Bright high sugar Virginia leaf to spice it up. Spraying with 5% sugar water first helps provide a place to make it stick. Air dry to about 25 percent moisture and press into plugs. Gets a bit of spice into the smoke.

 

[makhorkasmoker]

I would try jarring a little mild tobacco, as you say, with some cardamom pods. Let it sit a few months and see what happens. I have flavored burley by putting a single whole deertoungue leaf in the jar. I think the same might happen with cardamom, to judge from the intensity of its smell

 

[Chasing Embers]

Have you tried anything with deertongue?

 

[churchlady]

Have you tried anything with deertongue?

Not to my knowledge. I'll have to give it a try next time I'm looking for something.

 

[churchlady]

I've spicied up VA tobacco. Have to use steam and heat. Gotta make it sweat. I place whole allspice, cinnamon bark, bay leaves, peeled ginger slices, and a grating of nutmeg in my steamer water and then steam cavendish some Bright high sugar Virginia leaf to spice it up. Spraying with 5% sugar water first helps provide a place to make it stick. Air dry to about 25 percent moisture and press into plugs. Gets a bit of spice into the smoke.

Proteus, that sounds amazing. I'll have to try that sometime. Pity I don't know any pipe smokers in real life because that sounds like the perfect Christmas gift.

 

[Chasing Embers]

Not to my knowledge. I'll have to give it a try next time I'm looking for something.

Go with C&D Crooner.

 

[greeneyes]

If anyone makes what you're after it's HU Tobacco. Moroccan Bazaar might be right up your alley, as may a few others. I'd have a look at Tobaccoreviews dot com.

 

[anotherbob]

My friends tease me about my love of cardamom, but it's one of my favorite flavors. Most of the "spice" aros I've seen mostly have cinnamon and little else. Apparently half n half has cardamom, but the reviews I've seen on it don't inspire me to run out and get some. Any ideas for more complex or interesting spiced blends?

Alternately -could I perhaps just throw some cardamom pods into something like 1Q or Tombigbee and cellar it for a bit?

that last bit. Though it can get overwhelming fast. How I'd handle it is take a 1/4 of what I want to cardamonize put it in a jar with one or two pods. After two days put that in a jar with the 3/4 of the uncardamonized leaf. Stir that all together wait two days. Though the interaction between tobacco flavor and cardamon isn't bad it does bring out some unexpected and barely inoffensive notes that you might not expect.

 

[anotherbob]

oh and if you put a few drops of chai in tobacco and let it dry out you either get moldy tobacco or some smokable chai. Though again I think the reason you don't find these blends is because it does bring out notes in the tobacco that while subtle aren't too good in most peoples opinions who've tried it.
The Blue Acid cigars from drew estate that come in the tin sound like they might be up your alley. They reminds me of some of the more unique chais I have tried.
(fun note Chai in India just means tea, Spiced tea has a different name there.).

 

[churchlady]

Gotcha. I've seen all sorts of flavors added to tobacco that it didn't occur to me that something like cardamom might not play well. That said - I'm still trying to figure out the flavors. It's not like they all taste the same to me, but I'm sure I'm missing a lot.

 

[greeneyes]

Gotcha. I've seen all sorts of flavors added to tobacco that it didn't occur to me that something like cardamom might not play well. That said - I'm still trying to figure out the flavors. It's not like they all taste the same to me, but I'm sure I'm missing a lot.

Rather than adding the spices themselves, I'd make an alcoholic tincture of them, strain it, and add the tincture. Let it sit a while so the alcohol evaporates. I don't know offhand if you'd necessarily want to burn and inhale any of these herbs and spices themselves.

 

[kcghost]

Don't know of any cardamom blends per se, but it seems that your best bet is to add a tincture to you blend rather than the whole thing.