Germain’s Chat With a Tobacconist

[marconi]

I don't blame them as they're a business. If they can get that sort of price from China then they'd be mad to sell it for less in the UK. Even at that price the popular stuff like Brown Flake and Medium Flake sells out quickly.
Some of the other UK tobacconists are selling it for a more reasonable £22 a tin but the stuff is rarely in stock and when it is it sells out in double quick time.

Luckily, some of the tobacconists have an alert system you can sign up for to be notified when a particular blend comes into stock. That's how I got my hands on 3 tins each of Germain's Brown Flake and Medium Flake. You just have to keep an eye on your email for the alerts.
Germain's is expensive and a bit of a pain in the arse to find but in my opinion it's worth it.

Luckily there are no such problems with Samuel Gawith/Gawith Hoggarth. Their stuff is normally in stock at most places.

In my experience some UK online tobacconists will hold back bags of bulk Germains to be shared around regular customers thats how I usually get my supply.It makes commercial sense to keep regular customers happy.The stores are fully aware what happens to the large bags they sell and they don't make any extra money out of that.
I also believe that Germains are the innocent party in the price hikes that are going on.

 

[Homer]

What Germains pipe tobacco blend should I try?
I have smoked cigars occasionally for many years, but pipes are quite new to me.
My wife goes to Vienna next week so she can try to find something.

 

[Franco Pipenbeans]

If you don't mind me asking, which 2 blends did you try?

Plum cake - I still can’t get my head around if I like it or not…sometimes I love it, other times I’m not that taken with it and their Brown Flake. I’m not sure what I was expecting from the Brown Flake but it was underwhelming to me. Maybe I got caught up in the hype and was expecting more?
Everything is subjective so my tastes might change; at the moment I’m smoking the daylights out of Original (Walnut) Flake and I was underwhelmed by that when I first tried it so there’s time for the Brown Flake to make me change my mind.

 

[Franco Pipenbeans]

Which two were they? Cause there’s definitely enough blow your boots off blends coming from that joint.
Think for a minute - the volume that China buys, you’d think any good blend would be completely gone there, right?
So why can we still buy anything easily except Germains?
Maybe because Germaine’s is no easier or harder to get than it was 15 years ago?
Think about it.

What do you think is worth trying to get hold of? I like a VaBur usually, sometimes I dip my toes into the aromatics but only when the mood takes me.

 

[Franco Pipenbeans]

What do you think is worth trying to get hold of? I like a VaBur usually, sometimes I dip my toes into the aromatics but only when the mood takes me.

I also like a VaPer, Cabbies and Three Nuns but I don’t think there’s the same amount of perique in the UK version like there once was?

 

[kcghost]

There will come a day when the Chinese move on to the "next big thing".

 

[sablebrush52]

I also like a VaPer, Cabbies and Three Nuns but I don’t think there’s the same amount of perique in the UK version like there once was?

I liked Cabbie's too, but the last batch I bought in 2019 was loaded with Dark Fired in place of the Perique and that was the end of that blend for me.

 

[sablebrush52]

There will come a day when the Chinese move on to the "next big thing".

Manhattan?

 

[jpmcwjr]

First we take Manhattan,
Then we take Berlin!

 

[Franco Pipenbeans]

I liked Cabbie's too, but the last batch I bought in 2019 was loaded with Dark Fired in place of the Perique and that was the end of that blend for me.

When Cabbies Mix was a “new” blend, it was awesome. The last few ounces I bought weren’t as good in my opinion.

 

[marconi]

What Germains pipe tobacco blend should I try?
I have smoked cigars occasionally for many years, but pipes are quite new to me.
My wife goes to Vienna next week so she can try to find something.

I like Germains Special Latakia Flake, Rich Dark Flake. and Medium Flake

There is a blend called Germains Nos 7 mixture which is sold exclusively in Europe.I have tried a sample its a not very good aromatic in fact it was terrible IMO and I cannot believe that Germains had anything to do with making this blend.

 

[smudgersmissingleg]

Plum cake - I still can’t get my head around if I like it or not…sometimes I love it, other times I’m not that taken with it and their Brown Flake. I’m not sure what I was expecting from the Brown Flake but it was underwhelming to me. Maybe I got caught up in the hype and was expecting more?
Everything is subjective so my tastes might change; at the moment I’m smoking the daylights out of Original (Walnut) Flake and I was underwhelmed by that when I first tried it so there’s time for the Brown Flake to make me change my mind.

Germain's Brown Flake is one of my all time faves along with Medium Flake. I tried 50g of Plum Cake and thought it was ok. Has a weird wine tasting topping.

 

[smudgersmissingleg]

What Germains pipe tobacco blend should I try?
I have smoked cigars occasionally for many years, but pipes are quite new to me.
My wife goes to Vienna next week so she can try to find something.

Brown Flake and Medium Flake.

 

[smudgersmissingleg]

There will come a day when the Chinese move on to the "next big thing".

Wish they'd hurry up!?

 

[marconi]

When Cabbies Mix was a “new” blend, it was awesome. The last few ounces I bought weren’t as good in my opinion.

Was that bulk Cabbies?
I have a jar of Cabbies bulk from when it first came out which Iam still smoking, and a Jar from 2020.I shall have to compare them.

 

[Edwoooo]

Is it even worth looking for Germain on the internet retailers? It's been 3 years and the only time I got Germain tin was from my local B&M. He won't order it anymore stating that Arango is not cooperating with his request. I just think we live in a town that knows nothing about pipe smoking. What he orders ends up sitting on his shelves for months. So he sticks with basics.

 

[oldgeezersmoker]

It's literally been years since the last Germain's (not Esoterica) drop in the U.S. Given the sophistication of Chinese pipe smokers and the size of the Chinese market, it's clear that's where it's going. It's too bad the manufacturer seems not to care about this, or maybe they are profiting from it in some way.

No, it hasn't. On December 3. 2021, I got tins of 6 different Germains from Watchcitycigar.com during the last Esoterica drop. Arango almost always ships a small allocation of Germain when they drop Esoterica but you have to be quick on the trigger.

 

[Franco Pipenbeans]

Was that bulk Cabbies?
I have a jar of Cabbies bulk from when it first came out which Iam still smoking, and a Jar from 2020.I shall have to compare them.

I’ve had a few tins and then 4 oz’s, bought in one ounce lumps. The tins were much better than the individual ounces I found.
The tins were bought maybe a year and a half between both, with the ounces to top up the jar when it was getting low.