First Time I Bought A Pound

[hawky454]

oh and you will find this deep in the thread I posted but I highly recommend you microwave your tobacco about 20 seconds before pressing! It gets the tobacco steamy (fair warning Match Victoria smells horrible when heated) and allows the tobaccos to press much better into a solid cake. I thought it was crazy at first but 20 seconds is just about the perfect time for 2 ounces of tobacco. Load that shit up in the noodle press while it’s still steamy and you’re going to have a nice cake in about a weeks time.

And of course I’m going to have to order the 515 stuff soon to give er a whirl. I’m a bit hesitant to order anything right now as I ordered a bunch of Savinelli 140 just in time for it to land in Houston, the precise moment of evacuation and now I’m picturing the tins just floating around in a flooded post office.

 

[hawky454]

Also, the legendary Ernie Q (the master behind the Watch City blends) has a lot of great helpful posts in that thread too, if you all still aren’t picking up what I’m laying down, I HIGHLY recommend reading through that entire thread, it’s long but a very good read when you have some time.

In fact I need to start being more active over there too, PSD is a great forum.

 

[alexnc]

I remember reading posts about this some time ago. I might get two. My wifey won’t like it if I get one and fail to make pasta. Homemade pasta is pretty awesome. I imagine it would be good to follow with a Victorian puck!

Also got a Heinrich curly block, might be a really Smokey weekend!

 

[Country Bladesmith]

I do. I'm planning on ordering a few of those presses after we move in a month!

If I can find some Perique, I plan on making some VaPer cakes from it. That 515 is some good shit.

 

[Country Bladesmith]

I think the first pound I ever bought was Balkan Supreme. I’ve bought a pound of PS Luxury Navy Flake before, and a few pound bags of D&R blends. It’s not an amount I often purchase. I usually go for 2 to 4 oz when ordering bulk, sometimes 8 oz. I have to really like a blend to spring for a pound.

 

[lawdawg]

I think the first pound I ever bought was Balkan Supreme. I’ve bought a pound of PS Luxury Navy Flake before, and a few pound bags of D&R blends. It’s not an amount I often purchase. I usually go for 2 to 4 oz when ordering bulk, sometimes 8 oz. I have to really like a blend to spring for a pound.

LNF and Balkan Supreme are some of my favorite bulk blends as well. It was hard to admit that I like Balkan Supreme as well as (and sometimes better than) Nightcap after I ordered several pounds of bulk Nightcap back when we were all worried that Dunhill blends would disappear forever. Naturally, about the time that I had deeply cellared some of my favorite latakia blends is also about the time that I started leaning over to the Virginia side

 

[Country Bladesmith]

LNF and Balkan Supreme are some of my favorite bulk blends as well. It was hard to admit that I like Balkan Supreme as well as (and sometimes better than) Nightcap after I ordered several pounds of bulk Nightcap back when we were all worried that Dunhill blends would disappear forever. Naturally, about the time that I had deeply cellared some of my favorite latakia blends is also about the time that I started leaning over to the Virginia side

I get it. I have spent more dollars than I’d like to admit buying tins of Englishes that are often touted as being the creme de la creme of that genre, only to find out that they aren’t as good as Balkan Supreme. At least not to my palate. I’ve found a few others that are different enough to stand on their own in my cellar, but mostly I’ve also started spending my money on Virginias, Burleys, aromatics, etc.

 

[lawdawg]

I get it. I have spent more dollars than I’d like to admit buying tins of Englishes that are often touted as being the creme de la creme of that genre, only to find out that they aren’t as good as Balkan Supreme. At least not to my palate. I’ve found a few others that are different enough to stand on their own in my cellar, but mostly I’ve also started spending my money on Virginias, Burleys, aromatics, etc.

There is one more Balkan blend that I think should not go without mention in this conversation... White Knight! It's quite possibly my favorite latakia blend. Just to compare, I'd say it's quite a bit sweeter, and bit less sour and spicy than Balkan Supreme. I also really like GLP's popular lat blends as well. Otherwise, I'm mostly smoking burley and Virginia blends these days, plus some aromatics which I'm still exploring and figuring out.

 

[BROBS]

Also, the legendary Ernie Q (the master behind the Watch City blends) has a lot of great helpful posts in that thread too, if you all still aren’t picking up what I’m laying down, I HIGHLY recommend reading through that entire thread, it’s long but a very good read when you have some time.

In fact I need to start being more active over there too, PSD is a great forum.

If I can find some Perique, I plan on making some VaPer cakes from it. That 515 is some good shit.

It's insanely good for the price. even not taking the price into consideration.. it's damn good.
If it's this good basically fresh from the bag I can only imagine what 5+ years is going to do to it.

 

[Country Bladesmith]

There is one more Balkan blend that I think should not go without mention in this conversation... White Knight! It's quite possibly my favorite latakia blend. Just to compare, I'd say it's quite a bit sweeter, and bit less sour and spicy than Balkan Supreme. I also really like GLP's popular lat blends as well. Otherwise, I'm mostly smoking burley and Virginia blends these days, plus some aromatics which I'm still exploring and figuring out.

For White Knight, I just buy Sutliff Balkan Sobranie Original Smoking Mixture Match in bulk. It’s supposedly the same tobacco. And bulk Sutliff Balkan Sobranie 759 Match is supposedly Black House. Both are excellent.

 

[lawdawg]

For White Knight, I just buy Sutliff Balkan Sobranie Original Smoking Mixture Match in bulk. It’s supposedly the same tobacco. And bulk Sutliff Balkan Sobranie 759 Match is supposedly Black House. Both are excellent.

Good to know, and thanks for the tip. I will give the Sutliff match a shot.

I do think that some of the Sutliff matches are not the same as the Hearth & Home equivalents, even though the H&H are blended by Sutliff. The H&H Chestnut is IMO better than the Sutliff Walnut Match. To my taste, the topping is a bit more heavy-handed on the Sutliff Match, whereas it all blended together better in the H&H Chestnut.

 

[Country Bladesmith]

Good to know, and thanks for the tip. I will give the Sutliff match a shot.

I do think that some of the Sutliff matches are not the same as the Hearth & Home equivalents, even though the H&H are blended by Sutliff. The H&H Chestnut is IMO better than the Sutliff Walnut Match. To my taste, the topping is a bit more heavy-handed on the Sutliff Match, whereas it all blended together better in the H&H Chestnut.

Yep. Like I said, they are supposedly the same. I can’t personally testify that they are, but I’ve been happy enough with BSOMM and BS 759 M that I haven’t been bothered to deal with P&C’s glacial shipping times to give it the taste test.

 

[Spavilla]

meant to write mouse not moose. Though that works too. A prilla is a snus term. It just means pinch. But it's and tobacco rolled and compressed into an oblong ball shape. In this case just roll the leaf into (maybe better term) a little cigar shape.

Thank you for the clarification and education. I had not previously come across these terms and would have gone along thinking that snus were another creature from Dr Seuss ?. Prilla and snus...watch out Scrabble opponents!

 

[chopper]

Buying by the pound is the way to go. It seems a lot but it's equivalent to 8 x 50g tins so it's not a huge amount of baccy.
Tastes change over time. For a while I went off aromatics so I jarred what I had and shoved them up the back of the ... er ... 'cellar' [A large cupboard ]
But then after a year or so I started to get a hankering for something sweet occasionally. Then I was so glad that I hadn't sold it.

Now I enjoy a wide variety of genres.
Blends that I'm not crazy about, I've found that I can 'fix' them by blending in other tobaccos [when experimenting, always make a small amount because some mixes just don't work]

Think about buying a few straight tobaccos for blending purposes.
Adding a straight Virginia to a too moist aromatic for e.g. works great. [Windsail Virginia comes rather dry so is perfect for that and a very good general blending Virginia]
A straight Black Cavendish, both topped and un-topped varieties, are excellent at smoothing out a rough blend or one that is too strong.
A straight Burley adds body to a blend that's too 'thin'. [Although it's a semi-aro, I've found Carter Hall works very well as a blending Burley]

What you like today you might not like tomorrow and vice versa, so don't ever throw it out [If you really detest a blend, save it for trading or gifting. One mans meat is another mans poison and all that]
Tobacco stores very well in airtight containers.
Many blends actually improve with age.
And if poo ever hits the fan, tobacco would be a valuable trade item.

So if your missus starts giving you a hard time over your acquisitions, you'll be able to look her in the eye and say with a straight face that the tobacco is an investment that will save you if society ever breaks down "I'm only thinking of you luv and protecting our future".

Take advantage of sales. Then you'll be able to use the same excuse that women use when they've spent a heap of dollars at sales "Just look at how much money we saved!"

And if anyone ever dares suggest that you've developed a bad case of TAD [tobacco acquisition disorder] no matter how true that might be, insist that you're an 'investor'.
No such thing as 'too much' tobacco.

 

[chopper]

Newcreativetop Stainless Steel Manual Noodles Press Machine Pasta Maker with 5 Noodle Mould https://www.amazon.com/dp/B019P8B1PU/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_Fa6rFb5D16RV9

Yeah I ordered a "stainless steel" noodle press from ebay.
What arrived was a plastic noodle press. Although the Chinese seller tried their best to stall and make excuses, they quickly saw the futility in arguing when I threatened to ask ebay to adjudicate the matter.

Not only did I receive a refund, I got to keep the noodle press. Although I would have preferred a SS press, the plastic one works fine.

 

[hawky454]

Yeah I ordered a "stainless steel" noodle press from ebay.
What arrived was a plastic noodle press. Although the Chinese seller tried their best to stall and make excuses, they quickly saw the futility in arguing when I threatened to ask ebay to adjudicate the matter.

Not only did I receive a refund, I got to keep the noodle press. Although I would have preferred a SS press, the plastic one works fine.

Well that sucks. Maybe now you can use the money to you got refunded to order from a different link? But if the plastic one is working than you can just let it be. To be clear the caps on mine are a hard plastic but the main contraption is SS. Is your whole press made of plastic?

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

I started out canning in quart Mason jars. I've gone the other way and wish I would've from the start. Almost all my canning now is in pint and 1/2 pint jars. Can usually get around 50 gr in a 1/2 pint jar. So it is like opening a tin when I'm ready for it. Why would I want to open 8 oz to a pound five years down the road when it may take me 2 years to smoke that much of a particular blend? There's a reason manufacturers package in 50 and 100 gr tins.

 

[chopper]

Well that sucks. Maybe now you can use the money to you got refunded to order from a different link? But if the plastic one is working than you can just let it be. To be clear the caps on mine are a hard plastic but the main contraption is SS. Is your whole press made of plastic?

Yep, the whole press is plastic.
It doesn't seem to give off any plastic smell but I use baking paper so the tobacco does not come into contact with the plastic just to be safe.

It's good for experimenting with my homegrown baccy.
In time I'll probably buy at least two more and yes, hopefully in SS.

I'll have to persevere with ebay. Can't go into details [against forum rules] but suffice to say that I refuse to use Amazon on ethical grounds.

 

[newbroom]

I keep mine in the bags. Keep the bags in a cooler(s). So far so good.

 

[saltedplug]

If available I bought 1 lb or 500g bulk.