The Case Against Whole Leaf

[dog_park_piper]

I have been exploring various leafs sold at Wholeleaftobacco.com under their "traditional pipe" category.

A brief glance at the ***What Are You Smoking*** forum shows that we don't rely on these often at all.

Although it may have a place in a cellar or in one's journey discovering the nature of different leafs, I suppose the reasons whole leaf doesn't appear often in our rotations are:

1 Hassle
2 Flavor
3 Harshness
4 Lack of stay-lit-ability (more relights)
5 It ain't Old Joe Krantz

Why is whole leaf tobacco not a more regular in your rotation?

 

[mortonbriar]

A lot of assumption right there.

1. OK, a little more work, I will give you that...but it is FUN!
2. Whole leaf is ALL flavour, it is just tobacco, no food grade additives!
3. Not in my experience, although you can always put it away for 3 years.
4. That's always a user issue.
5. You might find it actually is old joe krantz...I believe C&D rely on one of the same whole leaf companies that sell to the public, cant remember which one.

A brief glance at the what are you smoking thread will show you that Jim and a handful of others are very consistent in their documentation of smoke, but it is by no means a sure sample of the thousands of pipe smokers out there, or even on this forum.

And it is in my rotation.

SO there.

Isaac.

 

[logs]

I expect most pipe smokers are too unskilled at home blending to want to deal with raw leaf. You kind of have to be a DIY person; the guy who'd rather make a bookshelf from scratch than just buy one at Target.

I'm more curious if you buy it often and if so what do make from it that replaces buying tins?

 

[dog_park_piper]

I am really enjoying what I've received from Wholeleaftobaccos, some virginia, burley, orientals, and on Tuesday a few more are going to arrive.

It's true that the posts on ***What are you smoking*** is not a representation of "all of us" on the forum. But it's not an assumption to say a lot of different people post post on ***What are you smoking*** and of those, whole leaf is practically absent.

A lot of assumption right there.

1. OK, a little more work, I will give you that...but it is FUN!
2. Whole leaf is ALL flavour, it is just tobacco, no food grade additives!
3. Not in my experience, although you can always put it away for 3 years.
4. That's always a user issue.
5. You might find it actually is old joe krantz...I believe C&D rely on one of the same whole leaf companies that sell to the public, cant remember which one.

A brief glance at the what are you smoking thread will show you that Jim and a handful of others are very consistent in their documentation of smoke, but it is by no means a sure sample of the thousands of pipe smokers out there, or even on this forum.

And it is in my rotation.

SO there.

Isaac.

It's true that the posts on ***What are you smoking*** is not a representation of "all of us" on the forum.

But it's not an assumption to say a lot of different people post post on ***What are you smoking***, and, of those posts whole leaf is practically absent.

Yes, rumor has it that C&D sources a lot from the that company wholesale.

Old Joe Krantz and Haunted Bookshop may be unflavored, but they have a casing of sorts. Right?

 

[dog_park_piper]

I expect most pipe smokers are too unskilled at home blending to want to deal with raw leaf. You kind of have to be a DIY person; the guy who'd rather make a bookshelf from scratch than just buy one at Target.

I'm more curious if you buy it often and if so what do make from it that replaces buying tins?

I received a few packages. Maryland 609, the orientals, and the red Virginia are all great. On Tuesday a few more are arriving.

Traditional Pipe Tobaccos - https://wholeleaftobacco.com/cat/american-turkish-tobaccos/traditional-pipe-tobaccos/

Like with Daughters & Ryan tobacco, which I smoke often, I like the flavor of tobacco itself and the price of about $20 a pound.

 

[Chasing Embers]

I have been exploring various leafs sold at Wholeleaftobacco.com under their "traditional pipe" category.

A brief glance at the ***What Are You Smoking*** forum shows that we don't rely on these often at all.

Although it may have a place in a cellar or in one's journey discovering the nature of different leafs, I suppose the reasons whole leaf doesn't appear often in our rotations are:

Why is whole leaf tobacco not a more regular in your rotation?

One of my heavier cellared and most smoked is the Yenidje that I bought from them. If I'm not posting in the WAYS thread, I'm likely smoking it. There's a great many smokers that like to keep certain things under the radar as non member eyes can read everything on here.

 

[brooklynpiper]

What your breakdown is missing that seems a preeminent influence on the pipe smoking consumer is mystique. There's an over-preciousness, and some will say they aren't precious about it, which they will often, because the over-preciousness about pipe smoking is so present it must be negated. It's a consumer preference for the store bought over the homemade: there's just something nice about packaging. For many, buying and variety are the pillars of the ritual. I don't think many realize how fun and easy whole leaf is, though consumers tend to stick with what they know and there's always another tinned blend to try.

Also people are crazy sweet-toothed.

 

[woodsroad]

Pretty much the same as the difference between buying prepared foods and cooking at home.

 

[sablebrush52]

I'm too damned lazy to deal with it. I've certainly played with home blending, enough to know that it's not my forté, but still fun.
And at this point I'm not buying any more tobacco. I'm more than content to enjoy the fruits of talented blenders, some of whom, like McClelland, used a great deal of processing to produce their enjoyable products. I have enough blending tobaccos that I bought years ago, to have a bit of fun now and then.
And if I want to dress up a blend in a certain manner, I can always dip into my stocks of 20 year old Perique, or 20 year old Yenidge, that I bought directly from Mark Ryan when he still owned D&R. Same with the pure Syrian Latakia blending tobacco that I picked up years ago. Those tobaccos are really scrumptious, and a touch of that often leads to a happy result.
I admire those who can create something fine from the raw materials, but mostly I find raw tobacco blends rather flat.

 

[bullet08]

I would say why bother getting whole leaf and smoke it, or blend your own. But that would be like asking why cook for yourself. At the same time, I'll take takeout anytime I feel slightest lazy which is most of the time.

 

[makhorkasmoker]

I often consider ordering from them. Problem is, my regular smoke is straight burley. I believe they put a warning of sorts on their burley page: it needs “processing “ to be palatable. For many, this would simply mean toasting the burley. But I do not like toasted burley. I seem to like it best piled (like cigar leaf), and to do this correctly a large quantity of burley is needed—and know how, and place to do it. I also tend to like the upper leaves or a combination of upper and mid leaves . With the exception of the “red tips” sometimes offered there, I don’t believe they state what part of the plant their burley leaves come from . So I buy my burley from c&d. they take care of all of that for me with minimal casings/toppings, if any. That said I’d love to find more sources for straight slow aged burleys that haven’t been tamed too much.

 

[proteus]

I buy leaf locally for me from leafonly and then ordering from whole leaf tobacco and total leaf supply. I buy basma, izmir, samsun, krum, lemon, red/orange, bright, dark air. Nothing else. I make my own pressed flake virginias and va/or. I'm not sure what the OP means. If the OP is to say that there is no point to making your own tobacco when there are commercial alternatives, then my response is that point is true for some people. For others it's like cooking at home because you enjoy making your own recipes and controlling every aspect of the recipe. If the OP means to say that smoking a whole leaf straight from those suppliers isn't the same as a commercial blend well that is also true. These are ingredients. Like a chef would taste each ingredient before using it to make a dish, a tobacco blender would taste each one to ensure the final blend is what the blender wanted. Smoking a single leaf straight might be your thing. I do not see how one would enjoy a Virginia leaf without tempering it to account for acid. Its like eating a lemon or drinking lemonade, the latter being more enjoyable than the former. But to each their own...I know one person who actually eats lemons like oranges.

 

[makhorkasmoker]

I buy leaf locally for me from leafonly and then ordering from whole leaf tobacco and total leaf supply. I buy basma, izmir, samsun, krum, lemon, red/orange, bright, dark air. Nothing else. I make my own pressed flake virginias and va/or. I'm not sure what the OP means. If the OP is to say that there is no point to making your own tobacco when there are commercial alternatives, then my response is that point is true for some people. For others it's like cooking at home because you enjoy making your own recipes and controlling every aspect of the recipe. If the OP means to say that smoking a whole leaf straight from those suppliers isn't the same as a commercial blend well that is also true. These are ingredients. Like a chef would taste each ingredient before using it to make a dish, a tobacco blender would taste each one to ensure the final blend is what the blender wanted. Smoking a single leaf straight might be your thing. I do not see how one would enjoy a Virginia leaf without tempering it to account for acid. Its like eating a lemon or drinking lemonade, the latter being more enjoyable than the former. But to each their own...I know one person who actually eats lemons like oranges.

How is that dark air cured?

 

[proteus]

I

How is that dark air cured?

I like it for me and why I use it. It cuts the VA acid without needing a case. I know when I make a tomato sauce sometimes the tomatoes are more acidic so I add a bit of honey to tone it down. You could add baking soda but that alters the taste as well as the acid. So I use that lesson from cooking in tobacco blending. I don't know why some case with vinegar which is acidic too. I never liked it personally. I just use DAC in the right proportion which varies by leaf batch. I don't case very often but when I do I will case with honey for a specific leaf batch, mainly the bright because its extra acidic to me, if I don't want to add too much DAC and alter taste of the blend. DAC also adds some mouthfeel, some nic, and some body. Don't use a lot...at least in my opinion. I'm sure there are some that smoke it straight.

 

[makhorkasmoker]

I

I like it for me and why I use it. It cuts the VA acid without needing a case. I know when I make a tomato sauce sometimes the tomatoes are more acidic so I add a bit of honey to tone it down. You could add baking soda but that alters the taste as well as the acid. So I use that lesson from cooking in tobacco blending. I don't know why some case with vinegar which is acidic too. I never liked it persoanlly. I just use DAC in the right proportion which varies by leaf batch. I don't case very often but when I do I will case with honey for a specific leaf batch, mainly the bright because its extra acidic to me, if I don't want to add too much DAC and alter taste of the blend. DAC also adds some mouthfeel, some nic, and some body. Don't use a lot...at least in my opinion. I'm sure there are some that some it straight.

Interesting. I keep assuming it must be something like dark burley—wrongly, it sounds like

 

[brooklynpiper]

Interesting. I keep assuming it must be something like dark burley—wrongly, it sounds like

It’s a condiment, but it shares some similar muscle tone and dryness. It’s very good.

 

[RookieGuy80]

I would love to try some blends a buddy made from whole leaf. But I know I don't have a strong enough interest in home blending nor the experience to seriously consider it for myself...yet.

A few people here have said it's like cooking for yourself compared to eating out. That's not quite a perfect fit. I would look at it more like making your own alcohol; not moonshine, but more like the buddy who homebrews his beer. I say that because of the time, equipment, availability of ingredients, space, and niche hobby aspects.

 

[jeremyreeves]

5. You might find it actually is old joe krantz...I believe C&D rely on one of the same whole leaf companies that sell to the public, cant remember which one.

This is an odd rumor, that I don't think I have heard before, and I have no idea where this would have started. I have used tobacco from WholeLeaf, as well as from LeafOnly for home blending, a long time ago in a galaxy far far away, but C&D does not buy anything from small volume resellers like this because it would not be practical or sustainable for a business our size and because the variety and volumes of leaf available are far too limited to meet our needs.

Yes, rumor has it that C&D sources a lot from the that company wholesale.

Old Joe Krantz and Haunted Bookshop may be unflavored, but they have a casing of sorts. Right?

I find this rumor fascinating, but we simply could not sustain our business purchasing any type of tobacco in 25 lb. or 50 lb. increments. We purchase tobacco in volumes of 1,000's or 10,000's of pounds and we tend to buy several grades of each variety. We are dealing directly with the green leaf buyers.

On your question regarding casings, Old Joe Krantz contains one component that is cased prior to blending. Haunted Bookshop is entirely uncased. The majority of our products, in fact, are uncased.

 

[anotherbob]

I expect most pipe smokers are too unskilled at home blending to want to deal with raw leaf. You kind of have to be a DIY person; the guy who'd rather make a bookshelf from scratch than just buy one at Target.

I'm more curious if you buy it often and if so what do make from it that replaces buying tins?

yeah I want to try my hand at whole leaf but when I think I already have these incredible blends to smoke, then compare that to not really knowing what I am doing... it's easy to put a pin in it and get back to it at some future date. Or in other words I know for me you hit the nail on the head.

 

[dog_park_piper]

This is an odd rumor, that I don't think I have heard before, and I have no idea where this would have started. I have used tobacco from WholeLeaf, as well as from LeafOnly for home blending, a long time ago in a galaxy far far away, but C&D does not buy anything from small volume resellers like this because it would not be practical or sustainable for a business our size and because the variety and volumes of leaf available are far too limited to meet our needs.

I find this rumor fascinating, but we simply could not sustain our business purchasing any type of tobacco in 25 lb. or 50 lb. increments. We purchase tobacco in volumes of 1,000's or 10,000's of pounds and we tend to buy several grades of each variety. We are dealing directly with the green leaf buyers.

On your question regarding casings, Old Joe Krantz contains one component that is cased prior to blending. Haunted Bookshop is entirely uncased. The majority of our products, in fact, are uncased.

Thank you for clarifying these points!