Semois Tobacco - a Belgian Heritage

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dime

Lurker
Dec 16, 2016
12
24
62
Belgium
I am not sure where to post this (Tobbaciana History or Tobacco), but for those interested in the Belgian Semois tobacco (and probably for anyone that grows his own tobacco 'old school') I found an interesting video from 1986.
It is French-spoken, but for those who do not master the French language, I believe the images speak for themselves. Although the images date from 1986, the very limited production now, some 25 years later, remains essentially the same: very small scaled, very labour intensive and very 19th century-ish. This might give you an insight in why Semois is rare and at the verge of extinction.
Enjoy!

 

Casual

Lifer
Oct 3, 2019
2,577
9,420
NL, CA
I’d like to try this stuff but have little way to decide between Tabac Manil blends to try first. Does anyone have any suggestions between La Brumeuse, Reserve du Patron, or Le Petit Robin?
 
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dime

Lurker
Dec 16, 2016
12
24
62
Belgium
I’d like to try this stuff but have little way to decide between Tabac Manil blends to try first. Does anyone have any suggestions between La Brumeuse, Reserve du Patron, or Le Petit Robin?
Hi,
La Brumeuse and Reserve du Patron are essentially the same tobacco, only different in cut ('Brumeuse' being the coarser cut (about 2 mm) and the 'Reserve du Patron' the medium cut). I smoke them both regularly ( in the morning (it matches execeptionnaly well with a cup of coffee)) but prefer the coarser Brumeuse which seems to offer me more of typical semois-nuances . I have no experience with the 'Petit Robin' ( which, if I am correctly informed, has fine cut and and is mixed with VA (?)).
I you are new to semois, please be reminded that this is, at least for me, a real 'puff' tobacco: rest assured, even the smallest puff of semois is packed with flavour. Do not make the mistake to puff too vigorously, especially at lighting. It might ruin your whole bowl of semois for the rest of the smoke and corrupt the extremely nice nuances with acrid and aggresive tastes... Thus 'pianissimo' is the way to go. Due to its cut and combustion characteristics, I also like my semois in generous sized bowls (pot shape works very good) and do not hesitate to fill firmly. Semois will expand importantly and if not firmly filled, it will look as if half of your pipefull has disappeared just after the charring light. YMMV, but again, puff gently, or you might decide too quickly that semois is nothing for you for the wrong reasons...
Enjoy it while it lasts (I understand that at the moment, there are only remaining 3 artisanal producers of real semois tabacco ((Vincent Manil, Jean-Paul Couvert and Joseph Martin) working with crops of less than a handfull of growers.
 

NomadOrb

(Nomadorb)
Feb 20, 2020
1,673
13,650
SoCal
I tried Le Petit Robin and Reserve du Patron a couple of weeks ago, and since then, it's been hard to smoke anything else. Especially so for the Patron. I just got a brick of the La Brumeuse today, but I haven't gotten to it yet.

I'm thinking about ordering in @chasingembers quantities just in case for some reason Monsieur Manil must stop shipping to the US.

Side note: I was snacking on some peanut butter filled pretzels and it went very well with the semois.
 

mso489

Lifer
Feb 21, 2013
41,210
60,433
Love at first puff, it was with Semois. I like the thick cut best, but the medium is excellent. Petite Robin is a shag cut blend, good, but more like other blends. I find the single leaf completely distinct and excellent.
 

anotherbob

Lifer
Mar 30, 2019
15,678
29,396
45
In the semi-rural NorthEastern USA
I’d like to try this stuff but have little way to decide between Tabac Manil blends to try first. Does anyone have any suggestions between La Brumeuse, Reserve du Patron, or Le Petit Robin?
LA brumeuse I understand the first too to be the same but different cuts. It is dry and burns really quickly so the bigger ribbons seem best. But that's just me.
 

saltedplug

Lifer
Aug 20, 2013
5,194
5,097
Most guys were unimpressed by this tobacco. Although great guys, in this matter perhaps they wrong.

This reminds of Lakeland bashing (discussions). Two or three guys are very critical and then, wallah, pages of bashing, which, to the board's credit, has not been repeated in the recent past. Perhaps the first critical reactions potentiated others, destroying accurate objectivity en masse.

Semolis is a fine, distinctive tobacco. It's often said to be a burley, but to me a good third of its taste is an elaboration. I never smoked one tobacco all day, perhaps because I never smoked all day;). But if I had, semois could have been my all day smoke
 
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