I wonder at times if pipe smokers are just middle school boys with an over fondness for polichign wood.
English tobacco.
- Thread starter Nikolo
- Start date
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Without getting in the weeds about definitions, I'd say that over my years in this hobby, there are a few "rules" that MOST people follow.
A blend containing Latakia is an English. There can be some geographically Balkan tobaccos, like Turkish and still be an English....until the Balkan tobaccos reach a certain percentage, then its a Balkan blend.
Even though Full Virginia Flake is unmistakably and English blend, I dont know a single piper that would say FVF is part of the English tobacco genre.
None of this makes sense, but it is what it is.
If I told ANYONE here that I was sending them an English blend, and they recieved Kendall Cream Flake , they would think I was looney.
A blend containing Latakia is an English. There can be some geographically Balkan tobaccos, like Turkish and still be an English....until the Balkan tobaccos reach a certain percentage, then its a Balkan blend.
Even though Full Virginia Flake is unmistakably and English blend, I dont know a single piper that would say FVF is part of the English tobacco genre.
None of this makes sense, but it is what it is.
If I told ANYONE here that I was sending them an English blend, and they recieved Kendall Cream Flake , they would think I was looney.
Not sure if it'll help, but I've always heard and used "English blend" to refer to Virginia/Oriental/Latakia blends, and "English tobacco" to refer to tobacco products from Old Blighty more generally. Rachel bristles at the term "Lakeland" for the perfumy sauced stuff, but these terms have a tendency to stick until/unless something better replaces them. 
"English blend" has no set definition. It's a marketing term.
I always think of it as a blend with Virginias and Latakia, and usually other orientals.
If the Latakia is in the foreground,it's English.
If the other orientals are, it's an oriental blend.
If they are about even, it's a Balkan.
That's my definition, but it is personal only.
I always think of it as a blend with Virginias and Latakia, and usually other orientals.
If the Latakia is in the foreground,it's English.
If the other orientals are, it's an oriental blend.
If they are about even, it's a Balkan.
That's my definition, but it is personal only.