The Quality of Tinned V Bulk tobacco.

[B.Fee]

I am sure I'm not alone noticing the quality of bulk tobacco compared to tinned of the same brand. Tinned flakes are usually more uniformed and with less veiny components as their bulked counterparts. I don't mind spending a little more time preparing the bulk versions and I don't notice any difference in smoke ability. But is surely nice when I open a tin of exactly perfect flakes compared to a mashed of broken flakes of a bulk Version. Just curious if anyone avoids bulk to enjoy the better prepared tin Version. ?

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

Were I to fill up 5 bowls with bulk, 5 bowls with tinned and have pipe smokers randomly smoke them, I seriously doubt anyone could consistently tell the difference. That's the only test that I care about. And a good many Flake tobaccos in the tins end up sticking together after 3 to the 5 years anyway .

 

[B.Fee]

Were I to fill up 5 bowls with bulk, 5 bowls with tinned and have pipe smokers randomly smoke them, I seriously doubt anyone could consistently tell the difference. That's the only test that I care about. And a good many Flake tobaccos in the tins end up sticking together after 3 to the 5 years anyway .

I am of the same opinion for the most part. Not to confuse stuck together flakes but the quality regarding veins and stems that must be removed to enjoy a properly prepared bowl.... I have experienced tinned flakes cleaner than bulk.

 

[kschatey]

I am of the same opinion for the most part. Not to confuse stuck together flakes but the quality regarding veins and stems that must be removed to enjoy a properly prepared bowl.... I have experienced tinned flakes cleaner than bulk.

I'm not going to argue with your observation since it's your experience. I just don't think that a manufacturer would go through the effort to make two slightly different versions of the same product to sell one in bulk and one in a tin. Maybe I'm just naive in thinking that they just made one version and some gets packaged into tins. I guess there is the possibly that the QA check sends the "better" output for tinning and the remainder to bulk. After all, the offerings on an Indian buffet are definitely different than the same dish ordered explicitly.

 

[B.Fee]

I'm not going to argue with your observation since it's your experience. I just don't think that a manufacturer would go through the effort to make two slightly different versions of the same product to sell one in bulk and one in a tin. Maybe I'm just naive in thinking that they just made one version and some gets packaged into tins. I guess there is the possibly that the QA check sends the "better" output forv tinning and the remainder to bulk. After all, the offerings on an Indian buffet are definitely different than the same dish ordered explicitly.

My thought exactly, I am not saying there are 2 different versions , just that the tinned version is cherry picked from the batch. And my op was if anyone else has a similar experience.
No harm no foul I enjoy my tobacco tinned and bulk. Just noticed more weeding of the bulk than the tinned version and queries if others find it same. ?

 

[mso489]

I think tinned and bulk versions of a blend come out of the same bin. it would not be cost effective to mix two different versions giving some sort of preference to the tinned version. If and when there is any difference, it might be because of the slightly different handling and storage, but with popular blends that don't sit in the bin so long, that might not be true either.

The tins might store the blends a little better, And don't assume you are completely immune from the psychology of finding a product that is more expensive a little better; that is human nature. The same blend in different packages is the same blend.

 

[B.Fee]

I think tinned and bulk versions of a blend come out of the same bin. it would not be cost effective to mix two different versions giving some sort of preference to the tinned version. If and when there is any difference, it might be because of the slightly different handling and storage, but with popular blends that don't sit in the bin so long, that might not be true either.

The tins might store the blends a little better, And don't assume you are completely immune from the psychology of finding a product that is more expensive a little better; that is human nature. The same blend in different packages is the same blend.

???
So I'm not sure why my original post came across as addressing 2 different tobacco's ie tinned v bulk, it was just my observation as to the quality and presentation of product put into tins as to bulk. So maybe ... never mind.

 

[sablebrush52]

This topic comes up from time to time. People swear that the tinned version of a blend is superior to its bulk version, that the tinned version is made with better components, or hand picked from the mountain of flakes, pressed between the smooth thighs of beautiful maidens, etc, etc.

From a business sense, it makes zero sense to do that. The object is not to needlessly increase costs.

The power of suggestion is strong. If it wasn't, billions wouldn't be spent on advertising. 1Q is tinned over and over again and sold under a variety of names and labels for more money to a gullible market.

The only probable difference is that bulks may be drier from having sat in a heavy duty plastic bag that is repeatedly opened to remove portions for customers. The bags themselves are not impermeable, so moisture is slowly lost over time anyway. Lost moisture will affect flavors.

 

[sardonicus87]

Honestly, it makes no difference to me because I always rub out flakes anyway, so if it's already a little broken up from bulk, then hey, less prep work I have to do.

My B&M doesn't sell my favorites from bulk though. The only bulk flakes they have at all anyway at the moment is PS Navy Flake and Bullseye, the rest is bulk ribbon. If they had Mac Baren Navy Flake in bulk, best believe I'm buying from bulk to save money, I smoke the hell out of that.

 

[karam]

Bulk may be a bit more banged up because it's been dipped into by the seller (for example) to portion out orders, in transport etc, but personally I haven't spotted a difference in the several Gawith blends I buy in bulk here vs before when I bought them in tins. On occasion the bulks are actually looking better than tinned, for example Gawith flakes, like StJames flake, in their bulk form they are three times longer than what is in the tin, and often come in perfectly formed and folded long flakes.

 

[Jeremiah Johnson]

Honestly, it makes no difference to me because I always rub out flakes anyway, so if it's already a little broken up from bulk, then hey, less prep work I have to do.

My B&M doesn't sell my favorites from bulk though. The only bulk flakes they have at all anyway at the moment is PS Navy Flake and Bullseye, the rest is bulk ribbon. If they had Mac Baren Navy Flake in bulk, best believe I'm buying from bulk to save money, I smoke the hell out of that.

I haven’t tried Navy Flake, but I have a couple of tins. How noticeable is the cavendish or whatever they add beside the main tobaccos?

 

[Val]

I have heard that tobaccos out of the tin can taste richer, possibly because of the limited shared oxygen in a small space that melds the components more fully? I wonder what jiminks would say about this one.

 

[kcghost]

It may be in my mind but I continue to think opening the bag the bulk came in is deleterious to the tobacco. And the bags get opened a lot. But that's just me.

 

[sardonicus87]

Oh but to the point of the topic, I haven't yet seen the tinned vs bulk flake of the same brand/blend side-by-side to notice a difference. Most of the tins I have that I like and would be good to smoke often enough aren't available in bulk. I don't care for the PS Navy Flake or Bullseye enough to order a tin of them, just get an oz at a time from the B&M when I run low.

But as others have said, I doubt there's a quality difference. Stuff in a tin will always look better just by nature of being packed and in a tin with vacuum seal, can't bounce around and break up in shipping or in a jar that gets dipped into and out of. Purely presentation.

Now how long the bulk has been in jar, how often it's dipped into and how it's been taken care of might have some effect.

For science, if you send me a 1 lb box of Mac Baren Navy flake, I'll be willing to do you the favor of testing the theories of bulk vs tin.

I haven’t tried Navy Flake, but I have a couple of tins. How noticeable is the cavendish or whatever they add beside the main tobaccos?

The PS Navy Flake doesn't have any cavendish, it's just Virginia and Perique. If you're talking about the Mac Baren Navy Flake, that does have cavendish and it's good, you'll notice it but it's like in hints. Think less like Southern sweet tea with a pound of sugar per gallon and more like a cup of herbal tea with like a teaspoon of honey (not that the cavendish tastes like honey, I mean just only that level of sweetness added). To me, it just more slightly colors and accents that natural delicate floral taste of the burley I guess? Haven't really thought about it.

 

[pappymac]

I don't remember who told me but they said the price difference between bulk and tinned tobacco of the same blend comes down simply to the cost of packaging and shipping. The manufacturer doesn't have to pay the cost of the tin, label, plastic lid, etc., when they ship a blend as bulk. It is also supposed to be cheaper to ship bulk tobacco.

Other than that, they said the bulk blends are identical to the tinned versions when packaged.

 

[cigrmaster]

I hate bulk tobacco and buy tins when ever I can and I don't give a rat's ass about the price difference.
Back when Dan Tobacco Hamborger Veermaster came back on the market after being gone for several years they came in one pound bags. I bought a pound to test it and one third of that bag was lowly shake that for me is garbage. I never bought another pound of it but bought around 40 tins when they came out. Yeah the price was a lot more but I didn't give a shit, I was not paying anyone for shake.

July 2012 the mother lode of Samuel Gawith Best Brown, Full Virginia and St James flakes came on to the market in mostly bulk. I did score a 20 tin lot of tins from jrcigars, but all that was around in quantity was bulks.

I tested a small mom and pop with a pound of Best Brown and the flakes were beautiful. No shake, big long thick flakes just waiting to be smoked. I found around 40 pounds of those three flakes in maybe 2 months and all of the pounds had great looking flakes. I was buying 5 pounds at a time until I hit around the 40 pound mark. I still bought aged tins of SG flakes when pipestud had good deals on them and the only difference in the quality of the flake was the tinned flakes were thinner and not as dense. No big deal.

I am lucky that almost all of my favorites only came in tins. Storing over 200 pounds of tobacco takes space and tins give you way more than jars.

My personal opinion is that the better quality tobacco gets put in tins and the left overs go into bags. I could be totally wrong, I have no evidence this is true, but as a business owner for 27 years, I sure as shit know what I would do.

 

[Peter Turbo]

I hate bulk tobacco and buy tins when ever I can and I don't give a rat's ass about the price difference.
Back when Dan Tobacco Hamborger Veermaster came back on the market after being gone for several years they came in one pound bags. I bought a pound to test it and one third of that bag was lowly shake that for me is garbage. I never bought another pound of it but bought around 40 tins when they came out. Yeah the price was a lot more but I didn't give a shit, I was not paying anyone for shake.

Dude I got some bulk Yorktown and it was like they just scraped up the shit that fell on the floor and put it in my bag. I was like wtf is this, such low quality. I've had better luck with other bulk blends but that was the first one where I was like, I'm getting this in tins next time.

 

[krizzose]

I haven’t tried Navy Flake, but I have a couple of tins. How noticeable is the cavendish or whatever they add beside the main tobaccos?

The Mac Baren proprietary cavendish is actually fairly stout and a bit zesty, at least compared to standard black cavendish. It’s not the same thing at all.

 

[woodsroad]

I can't speak for every pipe tobacco manufacturer. Hell, I can't speak for ANY pipe tobacco manufacturer. But I do know, having spoken to several, that the tobacco that gets shipped in tins, and the stuff that goes out in bulk, are the exact same item. No segregation, for any reason, occurs. Bags, by their very nature, do not protect tobacco from either physical damage, or exposure to oxygen. Is exposure to oxygen damaging? No. Not at all. But it will keep the anaerobic process from beginning. No problem, though: Jar your bulk, pack the jars tightly, and the anaerobes will soon be munching away. As soon as the aerobes finish consuming all of the oxygen.

So, if you require more perfect-looking tobacco, or you intend to store tins and maybe sell them later on, then by all means, pay the premium. If you are buying to smoke, store long term in jars, or don't require pretty little objects with fancy-pants labels, go with bulk.

 

[anotherbob]

Also possible that it's simply a matter of volume. If you took a pound of tinned tobacco and jarred it you might find as many veins as you would in the bulk product. I say that because I've not noticed a difference with that between either. If anything I find more and grander veins in the tins then I have with bulk.