Esoterica

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spartacus

Lifer
Nov 7, 2018
1,020
791
Mesa, Arizona
Being new to pipe smoking I have been trying as many blends as possible. I have even bought no longer produced stuff to see what it's like.
I see all over eBay what I consider high prices for Esoterica. Is this no longer in production or just not available right now? Is the taste and quality so good that it is in high demand or is production on a limited basis?
I love Latakia so I'm debating on paying the price to try Penzance and Margate. Is it worth it?

 

crashthegrey

Lifer
Dec 18, 2015
3,797
3,536
41
Cobleskill, NY
www.greywoodie.com
This is still made, but to such exacting standards that the quantities are limited, or at least that is what we are told as far as an explanation. Whether it is worth it is all up to you. Some swear by it, some swear it is all hype.

 

jpmcwjr

Moderator
Staff member
May 12, 2015
24,494
26,846
Carmel Valley, CA
Impossible to say for you. For me, yes, in limited ways. I'll acquire Margate regularly at reasonable price, and very occasionally, Penzance.
But there are also tons of good English blends out there, and many have a nice dose of Latakia.

 

georgebmcclelland

Starting to Get Obsessed
Nov 27, 2018
270
24
The best thing to do if you want to try Esoterica is to be patient. Get on notification lists on internet retailers, contact your local B&M and ask them if they receive orders, and wait. In my opinion, most Esoterica is worth the wait and the $5.00 per ounce, but nothing is worth supporting or encouraging the slimy people who sell tobacco on Ebay for ridiculous amounts of money.

 

sablebrush52

The Bard Of Barlings
Jun 15, 2013
19,576
44,693
Southern Oregon
jrs457.wixsite.com
The Esoterica blends are all made by Germain's, a family owned blender with nearly 200 years of experience, one of the few remaining British blenders, and considered by connoisseurs to be one of the finest high grade blenders in the business. They're a boutique small batch operation producing a wide range of popular blends with venerable equipment in the older tradition of aging in-house so that they are ready to consume upon release. This results in scarcity, which in turn enhances their perceived desirability.
The blends as shipped from Germain's are not more expensive than other blends. It's the mark ups from middlemen, retailers, and predatory scalpers, that result in the prices people sometimes decide to pay.
I'm not a fan of Penzance, but others love it. I have some Margate that I haven't gotten around to trying. I'm a big fan of Dorchester and Dunbar, both Va/Pers, and to a lesser extent, Stonehaven and Tilbury.
The problem isn't finding it, it's finding it at a straight retail price. Online stores sell out in nanoseconds, so your best bet is to find B&M's with no Internet presence that carry Esoterica products, create a good customer relationship with them, and buy your Esoterica tobaccos when they show up. That's that I do and I pay retail, not scalper prices. At this point I'm fully cellared with the Esoterica blends that I like, so the hunt is over.

 

jzbdano

Starting to Get Obsessed
Jul 7, 2016
244
564
but nothing is worth supporting or encouraging the slimy people who sell tobacco on Ebay for ridiculous amounts of money.

Its an auction, wouldn't the buyers be the slime bags for pushing the prices well past what you deem reasonable?

 

jeff540

Part of the Furniture Now
Jan 25, 2016
514
788
Southwest Virginia
+1 Sable. Several Germain offerings have been my second favorite to McClelland VAs - Brighton being my current go-to blend. Wanting to try Cardiff, Kingsbridge, and Peacehaven. I have my "order" placed at local B&M, who usually gets a smattering of Esoterica when it's available to the wholesalers.

 

jpmcwjr

Moderator
Staff member
May 12, 2015
24,494
26,846
Carmel Valley, CA
My hat is off to those who sell or trade unobtainium and/or aged tins here at their acquisition cost or nearly so. Not so much for those seeking market prices.

 

sablebrush52

The Bard Of Barlings
Jun 15, 2013
19,576
44,693
Southern Oregon
jrs457.wixsite.com
Its an auction, wouldn't the buyers be the slime bags for pushing the prices well past what you deem reasonable?
Well, I wouldn't call the buyers slime bags, just determined or desperate or just able to afford it. But they are responsible for the high prices, not the sellers. In almost any open market it's the buyers who actually set the price. To the extent that the stratospheric prices are wounding buyers, it's self-inflicted. Don't like the price of something? Don't buy it.

 

lucky695

Part of the Furniture Now
Apr 2, 2013
795
143
^ +1 What sable said... twice. I just lucked out and got a tin of Penzance for retail at a local shop while on a business trip. Nice score and worth the drive over...

 

jzbdano

Starting to Get Obsessed
Jul 7, 2016
244
564
My comment was off the cuff, I don't think the buyers nor sellers are slime bags. Every Eso thread gets tarnished by these kind of comments and I am sorry for blurting out earlier.
As far as Esoterica tobaccos go, try them, they are well made and chances are you will find at least one you can really enjoy. Quite a few of the VA blends have what seems to be a blueberry or fruit topping that I like every once in a while. None of their blends have made it into my regular rotation yet. Their Latakia blends are good compared to other blends with Latakia that I've tried but I don't smoke Latakia very often. I'm still working through 8oz bags I bought a few years ago so supply isn't the issue for me.

 

npod

Lifer
Jun 11, 2017
2,942
1,024
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beefeater33

Lifer
Apr 14, 2014
4,060
6,110
Central Ohio
people who sell tobacco on Ebay for ridiculous amounts of money.
What's a "ridiculous amount of money" to you may just be a mere pittance for others........... If you can't afford it or don't want to buy it, then don't bid.........seems simple to me.......... :puffy:

 

georgebmcclelland

Starting to Get Obsessed
Nov 27, 2018
270
24
To me the disgust is not at all about affordability, it comes from the fact that these are people who buy up all the tobacco they can solely in order to re-sell it at far more than the price which they paid, just to make money off of the people who they cut out of the original purchase. None of that extra money goes back to the manufacturers, and people who had nothing to do with the creation of the tobacco are making truckloads of money with little to no effort.
I'm not concerned with attaining any Esoterica at all. When it shows up at my B&M, sure, I'll get some. It's great tobacco, and I love what I hear and read about their manufacturing process and style in general, but there's tons of other great tobacco out there as well. What it comes down to, for me, with these Ebay tobacco grifters is just a matter of principle and morality, and in my mind it's just a pretty slimy thing to be doing.

 

lawdawg

Lifer
Aug 25, 2016
1,792
3,801
Those who buy hard-to-get tobacco specifically for the purpose of reselling it create an artificial scarcity which drives up the price. Supply and demand. They are middle men who add no value, and they are essentially parasitical in their tobacco transactions. There is plenty of justification for the many pipe smokers that don't like tobacco flippers.
Esoterica, in particular, is so hyped that there are many people that hunt for any Esoterica blend they can get their hands on, even if it isn't a style of blend they would usually smoke. I've smoked a little Penzance, and it was excellent, but to me not worth the effort to find, and certainly not worth the ebay prices.

 

kola

Lifer
Apr 1, 2014
1,483
2,334
Colorado Rockies, Cripple Creek region
I must confess I am a guilty slime bag. One, I love Penz and pay big for it. And two, if I could get my hands on some of it at retail price, I'd flip it for profit and sleep quite well at night.
To OP, stay active on pipe forums, make some friends - as often, other guys will gift you Esoterica samples to try and other hard-to-get blends.

 

foursidedtriangle

Starting to Get Obsessed
May 22, 2018
293
70
Its an auction, wouldn't the buyers be the slime bags for pushing the prices well past what you deem reasonable?
You are right of course. Esoterica attracts a lot of scalpers who also place phantom bids to up the price. They are definitely slime bags.
Also I generally dislike people who side with these scalpers and defend them. Before there was a bulk sale on Eso and it was not sold out for 24 hours pointing out that high demand is purely due to the resellers market.

 
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