I’m a huge fan of HH burley flake and it’s certainly my go to burley blend in the morning with a cup of fresh coffee. I find the flavor profile nutty, cocoa sweet with a slight Kentucky tang that pops from time to time.
Recently I ordered a few tins of solani ABF as I’ve never tried it and it’s highly rated everywhere.
Opened a tin this morning and first thing that hit me was licorice and the cocoa hiding in the background. Side by side, HH Burley brings a lot more natural cocoa and nuts from the tin note without any additives. Wasn’t expecting that as ABF is supposed to have the cocoa upfront and HH doesn’t have any topping at all. Weird, but ok, moving on...
Beautiful flakes but a little moist. Rubbed out a flake, dried for about 20min and packed my savinelli 321. Burned nicely, no bite and few relights.
That licorice from the tin note did not appear in the smoke, first puffs brought that earthy cocoa that I was looking for, but no sweetness at all.
After 1/3 of the bowl I started tasting an unexpected bitter thing in the back of my mouth despite the pleasing nutty cocoa notes. Thought to myself, is ABF supposed to have that bitter thing going on?
Don’t get me wrong, I like bitter flavors, 99% chocolate is my go to after lunch, but that bitterness was nothing like it. That’s when I stopped and put a little test to see what the hell was going on.
Decided to pack HH burley using another 321 and smoke them both side by side.
For my surprise, to me HH burley flake tasted a lot sweeter and chocolaty despite being pure tobacco with no topping. Yes I know, HH is not pure burley, so it’s expected to have some more nuances.
But ABF kept that bitter thing all the way to the end while HH burley flake was smoother, sweeter and way more complex.
That burley natural cocoa note seems way more upfront in HH burley flake and that was the opposite of what I thought it would happen.
Nevertheless, it’s still a great tobacco. I’m smoking all 4 tins but I’m not sure I’ll try to stock this up in the future.
Going to smoke my first bowl of amphora burley tonight. Looking forward to see if it stands up to both HH and ABF.
What’s your thoughts on these blends? Any similar experience comparing them?
Alex
Recently I ordered a few tins of solani ABF as I’ve never tried it and it’s highly rated everywhere.
Opened a tin this morning and first thing that hit me was licorice and the cocoa hiding in the background. Side by side, HH Burley brings a lot more natural cocoa and nuts from the tin note without any additives. Wasn’t expecting that as ABF is supposed to have the cocoa upfront and HH doesn’t have any topping at all. Weird, but ok, moving on...
Beautiful flakes but a little moist. Rubbed out a flake, dried for about 20min and packed my savinelli 321. Burned nicely, no bite and few relights.
That licorice from the tin note did not appear in the smoke, first puffs brought that earthy cocoa that I was looking for, but no sweetness at all.
After 1/3 of the bowl I started tasting an unexpected bitter thing in the back of my mouth despite the pleasing nutty cocoa notes. Thought to myself, is ABF supposed to have that bitter thing going on?
Don’t get me wrong, I like bitter flavors, 99% chocolate is my go to after lunch, but that bitterness was nothing like it. That’s when I stopped and put a little test to see what the hell was going on.
Decided to pack HH burley using another 321 and smoke them both side by side.
For my surprise, to me HH burley flake tasted a lot sweeter and chocolaty despite being pure tobacco with no topping. Yes I know, HH is not pure burley, so it’s expected to have some more nuances.
But ABF kept that bitter thing all the way to the end while HH burley flake was smoother, sweeter and way more complex.
That burley natural cocoa note seems way more upfront in HH burley flake and that was the opposite of what I thought it would happen.
Nevertheless, it’s still a great tobacco. I’m smoking all 4 tins but I’m not sure I’ll try to stock this up in the future.
Going to smoke my first bowl of amphora burley tonight. Looking forward to see if it stands up to both HH and ABF.
What’s your thoughts on these blends? Any similar experience comparing them?
Alex