Very cool and generous idea. I will be watching this thread also
Latakia Blend Tasting Test
- Thread starter Butter Side Down
- Start date
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Wow. Wide range of experience among the participants! (I’ve heard somewhere that Sablebrush has 50 years pipe smoking experience. Best thread ever, IMO!
). Should be fun. Looking forward to it!
Hi Guys,
Well, I managed to get *almost* everything done today. Only thing left is to take it all to the post office, have them print out the labels, stick them on, and then drop it all in the box. Doesn't look like it's going to happen today but I'll get it done tomorrow. I'll let you know.
Well, I managed to get *almost* everything done today. Only thing left is to take it all to the post office, have them print out the labels, stick them on, and then drop it all in the box. Doesn't look like it's going to happen today but I'll get it done tomorrow. I'll let you know.
Beyond the generosity of sharing the tobacco, all that bagging, weighing, and shipping is no small bit of work. Thank you, Mr. Butter Side Down.
Looking forward to giving these their due attention.
Thank you for doing this! I'm pretty excited to try out these mystery tobaccos. Speaking of which, when we do our reviews, should we take a stab at what we think it is, or should we perhaps only PM you our guesses as to not influence the others?
Also, would you like us to rank them, favorite to least favorite?
Example:
1: Tobacco C
2: Tobacco E
3: Tobacco A
4: Tobacco D
5: Tobacco B
etc...
Also, would you like us to rank them, favorite to least favorite?
Example:
1: Tobacco C
2: Tobacco E
3: Tobacco A
4: Tobacco D
5: Tobacco B
etc...
If you think you've identified something, hold it till the end if you can. Don't want to spoil the surprise too early. If it's really eating you up to know if you're right, PM me and I'll confirm or deny.
If you all want to rank them after you've tried them all, that's great but not strictly necessary.
Please do let us know when you've sent them so I know to look for my package. If you're sending USPS, I've Informed Delivery and can check to see if it's arriving. Much thanks for your energy and generosity!
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Packages are now in the hands of USPS. I expect they'll start to show movement later tonight. It was only a little bit more to send everything priority mail so I did that. Thought it would be better for the samples if they get there faster. Those of you in the midwest and central states should see them pretty soon. Southwestern and Pacific coasters probably a day or so later than the others.
I'm out running errands now but send me a PM if you want me to dig up your individual tracking number when I get home. Or as Ming C helpfully pointed out, if you have informed delivery, it should show up there after it's been scanned at the sort facility.
I'm out running errands now but send me a PM if you want me to dig up your individual tracking number when I get home. Or as Ming C helpfully pointed out, if you have informed delivery, it should show up there after it's been scanned at the sort facility.
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I'll only hit you up for the tracking number if I don't receive the package by late next week. Thanks again!
It has already hit my Informed Delivery. Copacetic!
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Just now realizing that as a passenger aboard the SS Latakia, I've failed to have my ticket checked. Here's a post to rectify that.
I'll be in the hold, drinking out of the admiral's casket.
I'll be in the hold, drinking out of the admiral's casket.
Looking forward to the experience. I feel a bit foolish sharing my thoughts, not gonna lie. As AJL67 so eloquently put it, I too, have the palate of a Billy goat.
Just a thought: participants post public rankings (i.e. a, d, c) and send PM's privately with guesses as to blends (i.e. a = Byzantium, c = Black Frigate), with the faroites and answers to the blends revealed at the end.
Oh man. There’s no way I could guess the blends. I’ve tried 3 English blends total so far!
There's no way I'll even attempt to guess the blends. There's just too much in batch variation for blends to stay consistent. The most I've hoarded of any latakia blends is Margate and over the years I've had batches that have up to, say, half the smokey note of others. If I didn't know better, I'd say they weren't the same blends.
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Couple of notes for the participants while we're all waiting for delivery.
Each packet is labeled with a letter, A through F. The letters correspond to what I perceived to be the relative Latakia level with A being the lightest and F being the heaviest. Feel free to try them in any order you like though.
When I was portioning out the blends, I did one blend at a time and reserved out the inevitable tiny pieces and dust separately. Each packet got mostly full ribbons and a smattering of the dusties. I did this so that the last person wouldn't get a whoops-all-dust packet. When you're packing them up, just use the full pieces at the bottom and sprinkle the dusties on top.
Everything should be well within smokeable range as far as the humidity level goes. But if I was being super picky, B and D are a smidge on the dry side of what I consider their ideal for the best flavor. They'll still be fine as they are, but if you have the time and patience maybe put them in a small bowl and cover it with a paper towel dampened (but not wet) with distilled water let it sit for about 10-20 minutes. Then discard the paper towel and put them into a sealed container and let let it sit overnight. Again, this isn't totally necessary so there's no need to worry if you'd rather skip it, but will make for a slightly better experience. I probably should have done this myself, but I didn't discover it until I was packing things up and had already promised to get them in the mail and was already a day late so I didn't want to cause additional delay.
Each packet is labeled with a letter, A through F. The letters correspond to what I perceived to be the relative Latakia level with A being the lightest and F being the heaviest. Feel free to try them in any order you like though.
When I was portioning out the blends, I did one blend at a time and reserved out the inevitable tiny pieces and dust separately. Each packet got mostly full ribbons and a smattering of the dusties. I did this so that the last person wouldn't get a whoops-all-dust packet. When you're packing them up, just use the full pieces at the bottom and sprinkle the dusties on top.
Everything should be well within smokeable range as far as the humidity level goes. But if I was being super picky, B and D are a smidge on the dry side of what I consider their ideal for the best flavor. They'll still be fine as they are, but if you have the time and patience maybe put them in a small bowl and cover it with a paper towel dampened (but not wet) with distilled water let it sit for about 10-20 minutes. Then discard the paper towel and put them into a sealed container and let let it sit overnight. Again, this isn't totally necessary so there's no need to worry if you'd rather skip it, but will make for a slightly better experience. I probably should have done this myself, but I didn't discover it until I was packing things up and had already promised to get them in the mail and was already a day late so I didn't want to cause additional delay.
Just got my package! Thank you again, @Butter Side Down! Started loading ‘A’ then realized I needed to start documenting immediately
Going to try and be as consistent as possible with each smoke. Same pipe. Same breakfast/beverage. Same time of day. Etc. I, also, will probably not be able to guess the blend. Unless their are some *very* specific blends in here. Can’t wait to try this though!
Going to try and be as consistent as possible with each smoke. Same pipe. Same breakfast/beverage. Same time of day. Etc. I, also, will probably not be able to guess the blend. Unless their are some *very* specific blends in here. Can’t wait to try this though!
Package received. Turns out 3 grams is more or less the exact capacity of my meer, which makes things easy. Keeping notes on my phone, and in the WAYS thread, to ultimately be followed up here by a ranking and any other thoughts.
I just received my package as well. I'm not going to attempt to identify the blends as Latakia blends are a lot harder for me to identify unless they are unusually distinct.
However, I will give my general tasting notes as long as that is okay to share in this thread as I smoke them. I'll probably smoke two per session (with a break in-between) just to pick up the differences between blends. If something sticks out for me, then I'll PM @Butter Side Down with a guess, but I don't foresee that happening.
This is going to be fun! Thanks @Butter Side Down for the exercise and generosity!
However, I will give my general tasting notes as long as that is okay to share in this thread as I smoke them. I'll probably smoke two per session (with a break in-between) just to pick up the differences between blends. If something sticks out for me, then I'll PM @Butter Side Down with a guess, but I don't foresee that happening.
This is going to be fun! Thanks @Butter Side Down for the exercise and generosity!