Proper Tobacco Shop in Los Angeles...

[Cyxelsid]

Title edited for caps and brevity. See Rule 9.

Yesterday I took some time to make a 29 mile drive to the other side of Los Angeles to go to Tobacco Trader LA, one of the few pure tobacco shops recommended to me in the Los Angeles area. For those of you who don't have experience with LA traffic, that 29 mile drive (58 miles round trip) is a 3-hour round trip excursion, not including time in the store. I am not complaining, it was worth it to actually go chat with someone in person who has some solid knowledge to share. Thanks to Manny for the great conversation and pearls of wisdom!

So, I bought my first "real" tobacco pipe. It is a new Savinelli Extra Long Bing's Favorite, which measures in at 8.5" in length.







I selected this pipe because I was attracted to the rustic finish and beautiful color. I like the straight pipe, and in conversation with Manny, he said the longer stem would result in a cooler smoke.

While I was there, I was also able to select a few different tobacco's to sample. I was able to purchase 1/2 ounce bags of each tobacco. I also selected a couple of Meerschaum Cobb pipes for testing the samples before loading anything into the new Savinelli, but to my dissapointment they were not in the bag when I got home. Upon checking the receipt, I also wasn't charged for them, so apparently they got left on the sales counter. Not to worry, I ordered them online.



I picked up the following tobaccos:

Kentucky Long


This is a new house blend for Tobacco Trader. I wish I had a picture of the label, as the write-up is not on their website site yet. I will follow up with the store for a description.

Proper English

This is a non-aromatic latakia english blend, topped with virginia and oriental leaf.

Savannah

This is an aromatic black and danish cavendish blend, laced with vanilla and finished with a dark Louisiana perique.

California Gold

This is an aromatic house blend of a dark cavendish and burley with a hint of latakia.

Black Cordial

This is an aromatic blend of four fire cured black cavendish cuts with highlights of sweet virginia, topped off with a mild yet rich plum liqueur.

So now I need some information on breaking in the new Savinelli. I know there is a process out there (probably several). I also need to figure out the best way to test all these blends without messing up the new pipe.

I also ordered this estate pipe from the Blue Briar Room website.



Well, that is all I have to share this morning. I would appreciate any feedback on my purchases, and any helpful hints on breaking in the Savinelli or the Danish when it comes in!

Happy Smoking!

 

[HawkeyeLinus]

That's cool!

First real pipe shop I visited was in Carmel a couple of years ago and I picked up the same pipe in the regular length, lol, 'cause I was there and was going to play Pebble Beach and so forth. Unfortunately, I don't have the pipe anymore, it just wasn't a shape that worked for me, but if I'm back in the area I'll be buying another pipe and some tobacco.

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

That trip must have not been during rush hour or it would have been worse. I traveled to LA numerous times and experienced the traffic out there. Gruesome. LAX to Agoura Hills was the normal trip but I also did other driving and took a trip down the coast once from San Fran to San Diego. Looks like you had a great time though so worth the trip. If you ever make it to Chicago, Iwan Ries is a must visit.

 

[bullet08]

Never been out to the west. Nice pipes!

 

[verporchting]

Love the Bing and it looks like you have a great selection of tobaccos to try.

I have a Savinelli Bing although mine isn’t the extra long version. It smokes beautifully, like every other Sav I own. I don’t think you need to do anything other than load and smoke and none of the blends you have will ghost a pipe in any noticeable way. The Latakia blends will influence your next few smokes but nothing a few bowls won’t fix easily enough unless or until your palate develops enough that you are smoking pure Virginia and would not want to smoke them in a pipe that’s ever seen any Latakia whatsoever. I used to only have 6 pipes for many, many, many years and I smoked everything except Lakelands in them all (hadn’t discovered them yet) and it never harmed the pipes or caused me any problems whatsoever.

I generally have Latakia pipes, Lakelands pipes and pure Virginia pipes, more because of how I enjoy those blends in those pipes more than a deliberate attempt to dedicate the pipes. Most of my pipes get loaded with whatever I want to smoke at the moment and it’s been that way for ages. Doesn’t cause me any grief so I wouldn’t worry about it too much.

As for breaking in new pipes, the best thing you can do is smoke a few partial bowls gently - no freight training - and just let them be. My Savs always take a bit longer to break in due to the bowl coating but I personally don’t sand them out or anything. Peterson pipes make me crazy when new because their bowl coating tastes like French fried guppy butts marinated in aged gopher turds with a generous amount of toxic waste (not a fan obviously, lol) so I sand that shit out immediately and still have to struggle with the break in due to whatever horrible shit is still in the mortise and shank that I didn’t get out.

Enjoy your new kit and I’m glad you had a great experience! Visiting a good tobacconist is always a joy.

 

[Cyxelsid]

their bowl coating tastes like French fried guppy butts marinated in aged gopher turds with a generous amount of toxic waste (not a fan obviously, lol)

Well, that was a disturbingly graphic description!

Thanks for the information! I think I am actually going to go take a break right now, and try that Proper English!

 

[Servant King]

Good on you, neighbor! Manny and Ana are great, and their shop is a joy to visit. I always manage to snag something cool when I do go. I know if I had the dough I'd be in there all the time!

 

[rmbittner]

Glad you made it to a real tobacconist!

But it breaks my heart a little to think that maybe the original Tinder Box is no longer in Santa Monica…? I know it was still up and running in the late 2000s, but now that the original owner has passed, maybe it’s gone.

But maybe that would have been an even longer drive from Whittier. (I’ve visited both cities, but without looking at a map, I wouldn’t know.)

 

[Cyxelsid]

maybe the original Tinder Box is no longer in Santa Monica

Yes, unfortunately it looks like The Tinder Box closed somewhere around 2015.

 

[Cyxelsid]

Manny and Ana are great

Yes, I met Ana as well. Nice little shop. Given the drive, I probably won't make the trek often, but they ship too, so I am sure I will stay in touch!

 

[Cyxelsid]

I just enjoyed about an hour smoke of that Proper English, and I very much enjoyed it. I am looking forward to trying that Black Cordial next, perhaps this evening. It will be my first aromatic.

I experienced a few more firsts this afternoon:
1) I experienced my first gurgle. I am not sure if it was moist tobacco or an improper pack. It may have just been the new pipe. I noticed that the gurgle went away when I held the pipe level.
2) I tried a balsa wood filter for the first time. I didn't notice much of a difference.
3) I focused more on exhaling through my nose, which is new for me. It took some getting used to, but all worked out in the end.

I hope you all don't mind my chronicling my journey here, I like to memorialize my thoughts, but I am not much of a journaling guy.

 

[Cubatogo]

Title edited for caps and brevity. See Rule 9.

Yesterday I took some time to make a 29 mile drive to the other side of Los Angeles to go to Tobacco Trader LA, one of the few pure tobacco shops recommended to me in the Los Angeles area. For those of you who don't have experience with LA traffic, that 29 mile drive (58 miles round trip) is a 3-hour round trip excursion, not including time in the store. I am not complaining, it was worth it to actually go chat with someone in person who has some solid knowledge to share. Thanks to Manny for the great conversation and pearls of wisdom!

So, I bought my first "real" tobacco pipe. It is a new Savinelli Extra Long Bing's Favorite, which measures in at 8.5" in length.

View attachment 202815

View attachment 202816

View attachment 202817

I selected this pipe because I was attracted to the rustic finish and beautiful color. I like the straight pipe, and in conversation with Manny, he said the longer stem would result in a cooler smoke.

While I was there, I was also able to select a few different tobacco's to sample. I was able to purchase 1/2 ounce bags of each tobacco. I also selected a couple of Meerschaum Cobb pipes for testing the samples before loading anything into the new Savinelli, but to my dissapointment they were not in the bag when I got home. Upon checking the receipt, I also wasn't charged for them, so apparently they got left on the sales counter. Not to worry, I ordered them online.

View attachment 202820

I picked up the following tobaccos:

Kentucky Long

View attachment 202822
This is a new house blend for Tobacco Trader. I wish I had a picture of the label, as the write-up is not on their website site yet. I will follow up with the store for a description.

Proper English
View attachment 202826
This is a non-aromatic latakia english blend, topped with virginia and oriental leaf.

Savannah
View attachment 202827
This is an aromatic black and danish cavendish blend, laced with vanilla and finished with a dark Louisiana perique.

California Gold
View attachment 202828
This is an aromatic house blend of a dark cavendish and burley with a hint of latakia.

Black Cordial
View attachment 202829
This is an aromatic blend of four fire cured black cavendish cuts with highlights of sweet virginia, topped off with a mild yet rich plum liqueur.

So now I need some information on breaking in the new Savinelli. I know there is a process out there (probably several). I also need to figure out the best way to test all these blends without messing up the new pipe.

I also ordered this estate pipe from the Blue Briar Room website.

View attachment 202831

Well, that is all I have to share this morning. I would appreciate any feedback on my purchases, and any helpful hints on breaking in the Savinelli or the Danish when it comes in!

Happy Smoking!

I just enjoyed about an hour smoke of that Proper English, and I very much enjoyed it. I am looking forward to trying that Black Cordial next, perhaps this evening. It will be my first aromatic.

I experienced a few more firsts this afternoon:
1) I experienced my first gurgle. I am not sure if it was moist tobacco or an improper pack. It may have just been the new pipe. I noticed that the gurgle went away when I held the pipe level.
2) I tried a balsa wood filter for the first time. I didn't notice much of a difference.
3) I focused more on exhaling through my nose, which is new for me. It took some getting used to, but all worked out in the end.

I hope you all don't mind my chronicling my journey here, I like to memorialize my thoughts, but I am not much of a journaling guy.

My daughter and a friend are going to be in Inglewood for a few days in March. Would it be much of a drive for her to go to Tobacco Traders and do some shopping for me. We are up in Canada and it would be great if they could each bring back the 200 grams/ 7 Oz. allowed. I just don’t want her to go if the traffic or distance is a pain.

 

[NomadOrb]

I was just at Tobacco Trader yesterday, found a couple of aged GLP tins that I snagged up.

I'm glad you made the trek and that you had a positive experience, Manny is a great guy.

 

[Cyxelsid]

My daughter and a friend are going to be in Inglewood for a few days in March. Would it be much of a drive for her to go to Tobacco Traders and do some shopping for me. We are up in Canada and it would be great if they could each bring back the 200 grams/ 7 Oz. allowed. I just don’t want her to go if the traffic or distance is a pain.

Not at all... maybe 20 min away from Inglewood.

 

[Cubatogo]

Appreciate the quick reply and help. Thanks so much.

 

[rmbittner]

I just enjoyed about an hour smoke of that Proper English, and I very much enjoyed it. I am looking forward to trying that Black Cordial next, perhaps this evening. It will be my first aromatic.

I experienced a few more firsts this afternoon:
1) I experienced my first gurgle. I am not sure if it was moist tobacco or an improper pack. It may have just been the new pipe. I noticed that the gurgle went away when I held the pipe level.
2) I tried a balsa wood filter for the first time. I didn't notice much of a difference.
3) I focused more on exhaling through my nose, which is new for me. It took some getting used to, but all worked out in the end.

I hope you all don't mind my chronicling my journey here, I like to memorialize my thoughts, but I am not much of a journaling guy.

If the gurgle recurs and bothers you, just run a pipe cleaner down the stem while you smoke. It’s an easy “fix.”