The (Long) Road to Loving Latakia

[futureman]

I now have two English blends: FMOTT and D's Nightcap (the latter acquired through a recent trade). I'm happy to have them both. Yet every time I light up a bowl, my experience is the same. It's not a single or one-dimensional experience. It involves stages:
1. First few puffs: My God this is awful. You English lovers are nuts.

2. As I settle in: OK. Not *too* bad. I can see why others like this leaf: smooth, cool burning, no bite, etc. But do I *like* it?

3. Last half of the bowl: This stuff endures! And (with the Nightcap, anyway) I love the mellowing effects of the nicotine. But do I *like* it?
After finishing a bowl, I'm left wondering if I'll give it another try. Funny thing is: I always do. I'm not sure if I'm *trying* to like it in spite of my aversion to its smell (and I'm not crazy about the taste, either), or whether I'm actually starting to like it.
That's where things stand in my (thus far) finicky relationship to Latakia. So here is my question: did your love of English blends develop over time? Was it immediate? Don't ask me to send you my tins! Lady Latakia and I are still trying to work things out.

 

[nsfisher]

hated it with a passion first time i tried it

Larry's Blend (my opinion) far surpasses Frog series

Now the only thing i want to smoke is lats

 

[mp31guitar]

Same here. I find I cant part with the english I have. I still smoke it sometimes. You might like Distinguished Gentleman. It's a crossover blend (I think). I find it smokes quite nice.

 

[kamikazesasquatch]

I could tolerate it at first. I like it a little bit more with every bowl though. I started off with Larry's blend which may have been a bit much. I'm doing some Balkans right now that are a bit easier on the lat and they just get better and better. Even have a pipe that I've decided to dedicate to lat bacs

 

[mluyckx]

I have (maybe temporarily) ended my relationship with Lady Lat.... My mouth would be irritated each time i smoked FMOTT. But Ginny (aka Ms. Virginia) and Ms. Burley, accompanied by the lovely Cav are treating me just fine ;-)

 

[harrumphicus]

I don't know how you can't like Latakia! I've found it to be delicious since my first smoke - makes everything else seem bland in comparison!

 

[baronsamedi]

I took to Latakia like a duck to water, but I like strong tastes in general. The more medicinal the Scotch and the funkier the cheese and the darker the coffee, the more I like it. I started with EMP then quickly found H&H's Marquee Series and it was done. I was a Lat lover. I like Froggy on The Bayou, too.

 

[yohanan]

I "myself" have enjoyed Lat blends from the first time I tried them, But if you don't like lat blends or they dont agree with you, There are about as many blends to try today as there are blades of grass in an acre field that dont have any latakia. But on the same hand what you dont like today you may find that you absolutely love a year from now. ::

 

[nsfisher]

harrumphicus;
different strokes for different folks, is there a type of food u dont like to eat harrumphicus??? i myself live in the canadian maritimes, land of lobster lovers, my father was a comercial fisherman, as were most of my uncles on both my parents side, but u know what? I HATE LOBSTER. 95% of the maritime population luvs it and will gladly pay a fortune for it, and i wont accept it for free. Long story short, people have different tastes!
O and BTW yuk, i'm not fond of Aniversary Kake but its suppose to be popular here lol

 

[baronsamedi]

You can send all those lobsters to me. We're lobster deprived down here in Texas.

 

[mluyckx]

+1 on the lobster depravity up here.
I love the flavor, don't get me wrong. I like strong coffee, Lagavullin orLaphroaig, love porters and dark beers. Hey, my kids even complain on occasion I use the spice rack too liberally (although they all show up when I cook..we had 12 at the dinner table again yesterday).... But the Lat just doesn't work for me. I may try again in a year or so.

 

[dongreyface]

Does FMOTB have latakia? I know the other ones do, but it's not mentioned on that one. If it does, then I tried some the other night and loved it....if not....I'll have to wait to open one of my other FM tins to try some.(Or at least I don't think I've ever tried it in any other tobacco before)

 

[mluyckx]

Tobacco reviews says it does ?
http://tobaccoreviews.com/blend_detail.cfm?ALPHA=F&TID=1788

 

[nsfisher]

i luv the Lat so much so that larrys blend is becomin to mild in lat for me now. i have an order of american patriot in mail from sterlings now. Its said to be heavy in lat so i hope.

 

[thesmokindragon]

Ah the Dark-Side...JOIN US!

 

[nsfisher]

i smoked alot of junk and some good baccy over the last 15 yrs or so. but when i light baccy heavy with latikia i always inhale first few puffs an i git a feelin of serenity. kinda like when i leave the driveway with the bike and run tru the first couple of gears

 

[loneredtree]

I loved it from the first puff. It must be the memory of camp fires past. If ever I am rich, I will hire someone to smoke it when I can't. ::

 

[zanthal]

I see your schwartz is as big as mine, dragon :laughat:
Oh and if you like a full bodied, strong tasting yet consistently smooth Latakia blend, try SHPC Great Hiatus.

 

[juni]

I gave up on it but there are so many other great blends I don't feel I'm missing out on anything.

 

[judcole]

I've been smoking latakia so long, I don't remember what my first reaction was. :D
I personally find that I need oriental/balkan tobaccos with my lat. Likewise, I need latakia with my orientals. I recently got some Altadis Heavy English, that was heavy on the lat but very light on the orientals, if indeed there were any at all. Smoked maybe 1/2 of my 1 oz package before setting it aside. Later, trying the African Queen from Altadis, which has no lat, but lots of orientals, I made ti through 2 bowls before deciding I missed the lat too much. I tossed the two together, shook the bag up, and intend to let it all marry for a couple of weeks before I see what I came up with.