No. You do not need to be on one side or the other. Recently, I received an email from a smoker of my C&D blends who could not understand why I would want to create both aromatic and non-aromatic tobacco blends for Cornell and Diehl. Now, I do consider Captain Bob's Pot O' Gold Mixture, a non-aromatic. By definition, it is. The very light Maple topping is in such a small degree as to only bring out the sweetness of the predominant Virginia medley. The topping is not, by any means, predominant and therein lies the difference! He thought that a pipe smoker had to be on one side or the other. I explained that I personally have a very broad taste range and can enjoy a heavy English as much as an aromatic. It's just that those around me do not like the English as much as I do. Therefore, I generally avoid heavy Latakia blends even though I do enjoy them.
I explained to him that many of the veteran pipe smoker's I know do have a broad taste range and do enjoy both aro's and non-aro's. And, to keep in mind that "aromatic" is a term used to describe a blend that does have a predominant topping. That does not mean the blend does not have tobacco flavor. The topping is predominant when naming a blend such as "Cherry Blend". One would expect it to taste like cherry.
Raw tobacco is not pleasant. Most, if not all blending tobacco, has been "cased" (pre-blended) and/or receives a "topping". It is all a matter of degree to name it aromatic or non-aromatic. Raw tobacco, by its nature is quite unpalatable. I know this because I have smoked raw tobacco and also have learned the art of blending over the last fifty years from experts. I have come to understand the meaning of "degree" in blending tobacco elements, toppings and how "raw source tobacco" is treated before blending.
There is no right or wrong. There is no aro or non-aro exclusivity to define tobacco with any specificity other than its name and claim! It is a matter of degree of added flavoring and your personal preference. I do really wish that the smoker's of non-aromatic blends (so-to-speak) would simply get off their high horse and realize that a pipe smoker enjoys whatever tobacco pleases him.
A pipe smoker is not defined by the the tobacco he smokes. Rather, a pipe smoker is defined by the fact that he smokes a pipe and enjoys it! (the reference to "he", also means he or she). We need more "she" in this hobby.
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I explained to him that many of the veteran pipe smoker's I know do have a broad taste range and do enjoy both aro's and non-aro's. And, to keep in mind that "aromatic" is a term used to describe a blend that does have a predominant topping. That does not mean the blend does not have tobacco flavor. The topping is predominant when naming a blend such as "Cherry Blend". One would expect it to taste like cherry.
Raw tobacco is not pleasant. Most, if not all blending tobacco, has been "cased" (pre-blended) and/or receives a "topping". It is all a matter of degree to name it aromatic or non-aromatic. Raw tobacco, by its nature is quite unpalatable. I know this because I have smoked raw tobacco and also have learned the art of blending over the last fifty years from experts. I have come to understand the meaning of "degree" in blending tobacco elements, toppings and how "raw source tobacco" is treated before blending.
There is no right or wrong. There is no aro or non-aro exclusivity to define tobacco with any specificity other than its name and claim! It is a matter of degree of added flavoring and your personal preference. I do really wish that the smoker's of non-aromatic blends (so-to-speak) would simply get off their high horse and realize that a pipe smoker enjoys whatever tobacco pleases him.
A pipe smoker is not defined by the the tobacco he smokes. Rather, a pipe smoker is defined by the fact that he smokes a pipe and enjoys it! (the reference to "he", also means he or she). We need more "she" in this hobby.
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