Peterson University Flake; Revisited

[petes03]

As some of you may already know, I'm not big on flake tobacco. That being said, I was pleasantly surprised today. A few months back I bought a tin of UF to try and I was not impressed. I didn't get the plum top note everybody talks about, and found it to be bland and harsh. Now that it's been sitting in a jar for quite some time, I thought I'd give it another shot. So today, I took one out at about 1:00 and let it sit til about 5:00. I then loaded it in an MM Diplomat and fired it up! Now I will say, the first couple minutes were still a little harsh IMO, but after that it mellowed out substantially. I actually got some of the plumish flavor out of it, and found it to be enjoyable overall. I generally retro inhale, as well as simply passing it through my nose with most blends, but I've found Va's to be to harsh for that period. So with UF, it's puffing only! Other than that, I think I'll probably have a bowl of UF every two or three months and see how it progresses. As of now, I still don't think I'd buy another tin, but it has gotten a lot better!

 

[kalvort]

Dry it more! Harshness is most likely from the moisture in the flake, which turns to hot steam when you light it! I have yet to try Uni flake but heard lots of good things about it, can't wait to crack it open and give it a go. Good luck!

 

[brian64]

I somehow stumbled upon UF very early on in my pipe smoking...one of the first blends I tried. After several years and many other blends, It has remained my favorite to this day. It does benefit quite a bit from aging and drying imo.

 

[docwatson]

This stuff is great. I've got at least a dozen tins that have been aged about 10 years, and it just gets better and better.

Sip it, don't puff the hell out of it.

 

[masterpython]

What's retro inhaling?

 

[dryseason91]

Picked up a tin of it once, couldn't get on with it. Wasn't necessarily unpleasant but I don't recall enjoying it much either. I once tried smoking a flake I'd rubbed out a few days previous and left in an empty match box; it was as dry as tinder and I might as well have loaded a bowl with a clutch of dog hair and dead leaves for all the satisfaction it provided. Still, that was a very unfair way to treat the tobacco, and as I've heard so many good things about it I'll probably give it another shot some time.

 

[gtclark]

I just made my way through a 5 or 6 year old tin. Marvelous stuff, with a that nice berry / plum note. I really enjoy it during the fall as it reminds me of the smell you get from a freshly raked pile of leaves. I'd say it is much better on the dry side, but not so dry you can't fold the flakes. In addition, it really improves with age.

 

[cigrmaster]

Pete, I have around 50 tins or so cellared of UF and enjoy it a great deal. I smoke it in briar pipes only, around group 4-5 sized pipes. I tried smoking flakes in a cob and really disliked them. None of my favorites smoked worth a shit in the cob. I find a cob is good for shag and ribbon cuts, so you might want to try the UF in a well broken in Va dedicated briar pipe, see if that gets better results. I do get a real plum taste from this blend and consider it to be my one aromatic in my cellar.

 

[petes03]

Thanks for the advice Harris! I don't smoke many Va's, so I don't have any briars dedicated to them. The cob I smoked it in only had one bowl smoked in it prior to this. I figured I'd get a more unadulterated flavor with it than with my briars. All of my briars are dedicated to either English/Balkan blends or aros however, I do smoke Burleys out of all of them. I usually smoke Va's in cobs or a meer. I might have to dedicate a briar or two to Va's and see how it goes.

 

[cigrmaster]

Pete, if it were me I would take one of your aro pipes and dedicate it to Va's. It will much easier smoking out the ghost of that than an English pipe. Let us know how it goes if you decide to try it.

 

[petes03]

Will do, Harris! Thanks again!

 

[mgolfd]

I only smoke VAs and I enjoy this one. The only downside to this tobacco is the nicotine level in it seems to be in high content. The only reason I know this is after I am buzzing a bit.

 

[peter70]

I loved the Murray's University Flake tastewise, although the strength was too much for me at that time. The new offering from K&K is a solid VA/Burley Flake, but a slightly different and much weaker aroma. The strength does not bother me anymore, but I don't know, if they toned it down, or I got adapted to more strength in the meantime.
The problem with these changes in manufacturers, is that they can be good in their own rights, but having the same name, they are compared to the original, and therefore often fail.