English Blend vs Latakia Blend

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jvnshr

Moderator
Staff member
Sep 4, 2015
4,616
3,868
Baku, Azerbaijan
When you refer to a "Latakia blend" are you talking about any blend with some lat in it, or one where it is dominant/not a condiment?

Depends on who "you" is. A Virginia Latakia blend may be called a Latakia blend, or a Latakia bomb might be a Latakia blend for someone. Some may even call Latakia an Oriental because in fact it truly is. There are no strict boundaries when it comes to pipe tobacco blends. Whenever someone mentions Latakia blend, I just think about a blend that Latakia is dominant. However for someone who doesn't like Latakia any blend with a small percentage of Latakia is indeed a Latakia blend.
 

anotherbob

Lifer
Mar 30, 2019
15,678
29,400
45
In the semi-rural NorthEastern USA
I used the term "you" to refer specifically to what people mean when they reference it here.
for me I call anything where I can taste the latakia a latakia blend and English is a more Oriental profile. But both of those are frankly pretty broad. For example I've seen Key Largo called an English with cigar leaf but I just consider that cigar leaf. But if you ever wonder something about any blend people will happily tell you all you want to know if possible, so just ask when you're curious.
 

Recon Paul

Starting to Get Obsessed
Aug 29, 2020
118
377
New Jersey, US
Good article that it gives a good point of reference.

My motivation for asking this question is in part to understand what to expect from a blend based on its description.

Related to that I'm trying to gauge letting a pipe rest that I just used to smoke an English blend. I ordered a few non-aromatic blends to get a better idea of what things taste like. I'm also searching the right thing to counterbalance the sweetness of aros. I've been smoking one vabur blend for a while now. It's good, but gets ashy and ciggarette tasting at the bottom. I that's the burley. There is a depth I seek that is missing from the flavor.

I picked up 2 "English" (with lat), a straight VA, dark fired, and a VA/Oriental blend. We'll see where those guide me. Probably turn out I'm looking for VAPer. I'll know what i'm seeking when I find it. :sher:
 

hauntedmyst

Lifer
Feb 1, 2010
4,006
20,750
Chicago

Ignore Bob's long winded huey... Take it from me. Regardless of how it started, it is erroneous to refer to all blends that contain Latakia as ‘English Blends’.

English blends were originally called English blends because they were made in Great Britain and also because of the old, now repealed, Tobacco Purity Laws that had to be adhered to in Great Britain at the time. Because of the purity laws, all additives to tobacco blends were very restricted and very limited. You could not add much, if any, flavorings to the tobacco; and additives such as preservatives, humectants, etc. were not allowed. Therefore all of the English blends back then were considered pure tobacco blends. All blends that were produced in Britain at that time had to fit within the parameters of the purity laws and were all considered English blends. rotf
 

shanez

Lifer
Jul 10, 2018
5,188
24,084
49
Las Vegas
When you refer to a "Latakia blend" are you talking about any blend with some lat in it, or one where it is dominant/not a condiment?
I consider most of the terms we see with regard to blends to be marketing BS and have found it much better for myself to use my own nomenclature.

That being said, if the Latakia is highly noticeable and/or dominant then I consider it a Latakia blend and any blend that happens to contain Latakia but it is really a secondary feature then I do not consider it a Latakia blend.

Pretty much any blend labeled "English" or "Balkan" is a good example of the first "what I consider to be a Latakia blend" category.

An excellent example of the second "has Latakia in it but I don't consider it to be a Latakia blend" is GH&C Bob's Chocolate Flake. One cannot deny there is Latakia in this blend but it is very well behaved.
 

bullet08

Lifer
Nov 26, 2018
8,932
37,917
RTP, NC. USA
I don't think too much about it. I'll read the list of components in the blend just to know if it has lat. I'll go with whatever the label says.
 

olkofri

Lifer
Sep 9, 2017
8,033
14,644
The Arm of Orion
I don't think too much about it. I'll read the list of components in the blend just to know if it has lat. I'll go with whatever the label says.
Ditto. Although I'm still influenced by the mention of genre in the description: if it says 'English' I scroll on and away.
 

mso489

Lifer
Feb 21, 2013
41,210
60,433
Language is pretty loose in the pipe world, so if you are trying to be helpful it is best to just spell it out, what tobacco is base, what is condiment, and an approximate proportion. Some English blends have no Latakia, although that is hard to believe when so many blends of all kinds have Lat and Perique, like its a law. I love both, but think they are too much default blends almost.