Did English really smoke English?

[myhyeung]

I found English pipers that are more famous and have their smoking habits known such as Bertrand Russell, Tolkien, C.S.Lewis etc. smoked predominantly or exclusively straight VA or VA blends, none smoked lat bombs.

So just out of curiosity, how prevalent were English blends really among English smokers in the 20th century? Any English old timers around to shed some light?

 

[Morrison Jeremiah]

I found English pipers that are more famous and have their smoking habits known such as Bertrand Russell, Tolkien, C.S.Lewis etc. smoked predominantly or exclusively straight VA or VA blends, none smoked lat bombs.

So just out of curiosity, how prevalent were English blends really among English smokers in the 20th century? Any English old timers around to shed some light?

I'm an English old timer, but don't smoke English blends.
I can't stand latakia.
I smoke mostly straight Virginia, so no light shed on the matter from this quarter.
I only know that English blends have been around a lot longer than I have.

 

[Chasing Embers]

pipers

Man that's always painful to read. Like scratching a chalkboard with another chalkboard.

So just out of curiosity, how prevalent were English blends really among English smokers in the 20th century?

Very.

Latakia and English tobacco aren't always mutually inclusive.

English Blends and Latakia Blends – One and the Same?

By Bob Tate Some of you may know from reading my articles, reviews, and from discussions in our forums, that I normally use the term ‘Latakia Blend(s)’ and not […]

pipesmagazine.com

 

[Latakia Dave]

Man that's always painful to read. Like scratching a chalkboard with another chalkboard.



Very.

Latakia and English tobacco aren't always mutually inclusive.

English Blends and Latakia Blends – One and the Same?

By Bob Tate Some of you may know from reading my articles, reviews, and from discussions in our forums, that I normally use the term ‘Latakia Blend(s)’ and not […]

pipesmagazine.com

Good read chasingembers! thanks for posting...

 

[bullet08]

Most English pipers I knew smoked Camel unfiltered.

 

[Morrison Jeremiah]

So is it safe to say that since 1986, when the tobacco purity laws ceased, there is no longer such a thing as an English blend ?

 

[Chasing Embers]

So is it safe to say that since 1986, when the tobacco purity laws ceased, there is no longer such a thing as an English blend ?

From what I can gather, it's more of an American made term which would make Lakelands the more accurate English tobacco.

 

[saltedplug]

But then there is the slippery term "an English", meaning simply that the blend contains latakia, which doesn't define the amount of oriental, which may mean that the blend has a small or non-existent amount of oriental; whereas if it has the oriental, it is termed a Balkan. So if you use it in the former sense, you have to qualify it with the percent of oriental.

When I used it it made me feel. sophisticated, but having to qualify made it cumbersome.

 

[Stompthroat]

Very interesting to ponder. I find it similar to the IPA in the beer world. Designed to preserve the beer to the travels to India. When Englishmen came back they still craved the higher hopped ales. Much later on, the Double IPA and such are more of an American tradition.

 

[JOHN72]

Interesting clarification. In the end, everything revolves around marketing and the survival of a product. You make up a story and you are number one in sales.

 

[saltedplug]

Interesting clarification. In the end, everything revolves around marketing and the survival of a product. You make up a story and you are number one in sales.

The stories we tell ourselves are much more damaging than other stories, but the money spent to spin out a story/an angle, if you will, and by this to position and thus place a product in the marketplace are so very powerful. Through the imagination, which is irrational, they associate to what we value. Bingo. Sales. What matters as much as a story is how often it is told. So in the course of an hour the same commercial can play multiple times. Tell the story and then cement it in place.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

. So in the course of an hour the same commercial can play multiple times.

There is one way to always avoid commercials, only watch things that you pay for. When we look for cheap, like this free forum here, the exchange for free forum is commercials and marketing. The exchange for free movies and video entertainment is commercials and marketing. Just how it works.

That being said, Marketing is as old as human beings. "My grandma makes the best... cakes." It is said enough times that the whole family associates "best cakes" with Grandma, even if her cakes are hard as rocks and taste like ass. That will be one toothless family with bad breath, but "Grandma's cakes... "

But, it's interesting that English get associated with a leaf from Greece and a country next to Lebanon. The term Mediterranean Tobacco would probably be a better fit, but... the power of an empire.

 

[JOHN72]

The stories we tell ourselves are much more damaging than other stories, but the money spent to spin out a story/an angle, if you will, and by this to position and thus place a product in the marketplace are so very powerful. Through the imagination, which is irrational, they associate to what we value. Bingo. Sales. What matters as much as a story is how often it is told. So in the course of an hour the same commercial can play multiple times. Tell the story and then cement it in place.

For example sugary products for human consumption. In Spain we have a well-known product. With the wonderful advertisement for children and elite athletes. Since 1945, With 75% sugar and the rest of flours and absurd percentage of cocoa...................

 

[saltedplug]

Candy. They still advertise candy, but you have to wonder why when, in this case, the sugar and chocolate sells itself.

At my ripe age I have discovered an abiding passion for Gummi Bears. Two and three 28 oz or double that a week. Probably 75% sugar. If I enter a grocery store there's a good chance that I will exit with a package.

And this without advertising. You could say that since I can't smoke I eat Gummis. I have no doubt that I could put them down if I could smoke, a major gratification containing the smaller.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Candy. They still advertise candy, but you have to wonder why when, in this case, the sugar and chocolate sells itself.

Specific candies advertise, so that you might buy that specific candy.... you know... as long as there is enough sex and violence in the ads.

 

[JOHN72]

My sister-in-law made jelly beans jam, a real sugar bomb. I never imagined such a thing so grisly existed.......................

 

[anantaandroscoggin]

It's like those Folger coffee commercials that make the claim: "It's Mountain Grown!" -- WELL DUH!!! Where else are you going to find coffee bushes growing? All coffee brands are grown on mountainsides.

But . . . Folgers said it first in its commercials.

 

[simong]

From what I can gather, it's more of an American made term which would make Lakelands the more accurate English tobacco.

Yes, I've always thought of it as an 'Americanism'. St. Bruno & Condor were the biggest sellers in the UK over the last hundred years or so. Neither of them I'd call a 'Lakeland' though as that's another Americanism as well.

 

[Chasing Embers]

Neither of them I'd call a 'Lakeland' though as that's another Americanism as well.

I wasn't implying Lakeland as a type just location of origin in the Lake District.

 

[simong]

I wasn't implying Lakeland as a type just location of origin in the Lake District.

Neither Condor (Belfast) or St. Bruno (Liverpool) originated from the Lake District. Anything 'floral' or 'scented' gets tagged with the term 'Lakeland' these days, which I noticed sprung up from the pipe forums & you chaps (Americans) in particular?