Tin vs Bulk?

[ksman75]

I see a lot of tobacco that comes both in tins and bulk. Is there any real advantage to buying a tin when the frugal shopper can save a few bucks buying it in bulk instead?

I'm sampling a lot of different blends, and jar, label and date everything I buy, so am I missing anything getting my 'bakker in a ziplock bag instead of a pretty metal can that I'm going to toss anyway?

 

[STP]

I generally prefer bulk, unless there is a blend that I like that’s only available in a tin.

 

[Servant King]

In my situation, I prefer the tins. I don't have a lot of storage space at my disposal, and I've always found TAD to be clashing with my inherent sense of minimalism. I don't smoke very much (one or two bowls per week, at most), and I have my TAD blessedly under control. I'm pretty happy with my cellar right now (seriously!), and anything I purchase going forward will almost certainly come in tin form.

Additionally, I find that jars just take up too much room for me, to be perfectly honest, and I enjoy the convenience of being able to stack sealed tins real neatly in one spot. Plus, I enjoy the aesthetic qualities of the "pretty metal cans!" The tins Drew Estate came out with in the mid-teens are some of my favorite. Right now, my cellar consists of about 50 blends in ball jars, mostly the 8 oz. variety, two 16 oz. jars holding bagged aromatic and non-aromatic samples separately, and perhaps two dozen sealed tins. Yeah...minimalism.

TAD < my marriage

 

[shanez]

I suppose, other than financial, neither is really better and a reasonable argument can be made for both.

If I run out of something in my regular rotation and I don't want to break open the bulk I have in my cellar I'll just get a tin instead.

Now that I've said that I think I might just be lazy...

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

I buy bulk when available.

 

[captainsousie]

I find the taste to vary with most blends from tins to bulk. For the Dunhill/Peterson blends they are pretty close but the Samuel Gawith blends tend to be quite different from tin to bulk. It's really up to you which one you prefer though.

 

[ksman75]

In my situation, I prefer the tins. I don't have a lot of storage space at my disposal, and I've always found TAD to be clashing with my inherent sense of minimalism. I don't smoke very much (one or two bowls per week, at most), and I have my TAD blessedly under control. I'm pretty happy with my cellar right now (seriously!), and anything I purchase going forward will almost certainly come in tin form.

Additionally, I find that jars just take up too much room for me, to be perfectly honest, and I enjoy the convenience of being able to stack sealed tins real neatly in one spot. Plus, I enjoy the aesthetic qualities of the "pretty metal cans!" The tins Drew Estate came out with in the mid-teens are some of my favorite. Right now, my cellar consists of about 50 blends in ball jars, mostly the 8 oz. variety, two 16 oz. jars holding bagged aromatic and non-aromatic samples separately, and perhaps two dozen sealed tins. Yeah...minimalism.

TAD < my marriage

What you say makes sense. Right now, I'm using five of six 16 oz bail jars and three of a dozen eight oz Mason jars. I'm just starting out, so want to keep costs down, and where I am now, space isn't a problem.

 

[ksman75]

I find the taste to vary with most blends from tins to bulk. For the Dunhill/Peterson blends they are pretty close but the Samuel Gawith blends tend to be quite different from tin to bulk. It's really up to you which one you prefer though.

That's something I've been reading, the taste is different between the two, but that would seem more objective, not necessarily one better than the other, but different, and since I really don't have a well developed palate yet, how would I know unless I sampled both side by side.

 

[Chasing Embers]

I generally prefer bulk, unless there is a blend that I like that’s only available in a tin.

I buy bulk when available.

These describe me.

 

[captainsousie]

That's something I've been reading, the taste is different between the two, but that would seem more objective, not necessarily one better than the other, but different, and since I really don't have a well developed palate yet, how would I know unless I sampled both side by side.

That's basically the gist of it. If you're lucky enough to live near a pipe club or other pipe smokers, you may have the chance to taste both without buying otherwise you just have to pick one and go with it. The "which is better" option is of course subjective and varies by personal taste. I much preferred tinned Dunhill Nightcap to the bulk but SG Squadron Leader is good both ways, just different.

 

[craig61a]

Bulk, unless it's only available in tins.

 

[RookieGuy]

The only blend I think I've had both the tin and bulk is C&D Oriental Silk. The bulk is MUCH drier. In all fairness, I may have gotten the last 4oz from the last bag of the last shipment. But that's the only difference, the difference of moisture.

Otherwise, I tend to buy tins locally and bulk online. Unless, of course, a blend I like is only available in one of the other.

 

[newbroom]

Sure you can get some really wonderful tobacco in tins. Once you've opened one, you've made a commitment.
You either smoke it within a week or so, or jar it.
Tins cost much more, most of the time, per oz. than bulk.
I buy bulk varietals and blends and use a large plastic salad bowl for my pipe loading station.
In that bowl, I'll keep an evolving mix that once in awhile I might find jar worthy and put some into a recycled Smucker's Peanut Butter jar for further melding.
I start with one blend or varietal in the bowl, and either smoke one or two bowls of that and then add something else to it, or go right into mixing another component. I keep adding or allow to expire as the mood strikes.
I've got VA's of all sorts, Burleys of all sorts, some nice bulk blends, Perique, a couple of Sweet Cavs and even Lat, which I seldom use anymore.
I keep all the bulk bags in y'er typical beverage cooler or two.

 

[justscience]

I like both, but I disagree with the position that an open tin must be jarred or used up promptly. It all depends on the quality of the seal. Square tins rarely seal well but screw top round ones work fine for me. I'm puffing some long neglected (open 2014) Tilbury as I write this. My inventory of open plastic lidded McClelland tins is dwindling but they are fine too but I use tin foil under the lid since the plastic is slowly permeable. I find light is not a friend; I no longer use jars. Mylar bags are lighter, block light and don't break.

 

[ksman75]

I've seen a few questions asking "why does my tin of XXX taste different than the bulk?". I don't recall ever seeing "my tin tastes better" or "my bulk tastes better", and that would definitely be a subjective call. Just curious if there's ever been such a discrepancy that one was "fantastic" and the other was "deplorable".

I guess I don't see how there could be such a difference as to make one preferable over the other, and buying bulk when available just seems more cost effective.

I don't remember which one I was looking at, but a 2 oz tin was $10 and some change and 2 oz of the bulk was $6 and some change. It struck me that I would be getting basically the same thing and save about $4 in the process.

 

[FurCoat]

These describe me.

Me too.

 

[fireground_piper]

I try to buy my bulk stuff from the largest retailers because I want the bulk as fresh as possible so its had the least amount of time to lose what the factory did to it by not sitting on a shelf in plastic bags. A 2 year old tin of Vanilla Flake vs a 2 year old box of Vanilla flake from a retailer is going to be different. I want the bulk as soon as they come in stock so I can get it jarred and preserved.

 

[badbeard]

My only consideration between the two is certain vendors really suck at bulk consistency. One order I will get fairly hydrated tobacco, the next dry as a bucket of sand. Then sometimes it's beautiful ribbon, and the next it's a bag of dusty floor sweepings. Tins, and even pouches seem to be more consistent. Some blends do vary drastically in taste too.. the maligned Mixture 79(which I happen to love, so get bent) is like someone poured rootbeer on a urinal cake fresh out of the pouch. Whereas in bulk, it is really mild, more reminiscent of the Heine's Blend base.. which is disappointing if you are used to rootbeer, urinal cake, grandma's purse slurry.

 

[crashthegrey]

It really does vary by blend, seller, and manufacturer. I've had blends that are better in the tin and some better bulk. I won't track that so I buy what is convenient.

 

[Kissel bixby]

If you're exploring like me and can't spend a paycheck on tobacco purchases try what I do. I bought from tobbacopipes.com. recent purchase was 20, two oz bulk, mostly Sutliff and Peter Stokkebye. Then 2 tins of something more expensive that I knew I would like. Total bill something like $120. I tried to do a lot of different types to start knowing what I like more. Most were mild to medium and now I know what I want to buy stronger. 2 oz works for me because it's enough time to get the full experience of different days, pipes smoked in. It's also little enoughto finish if you don'tlike it. 1 oz didn't seam fair to a blend I may really like a month from now. This happened more often than not but a few diminished the more I smoked it. The tin tobaccos seem to be more appropriate humidity to smoke right away. Some not all bulk can be a little wet but other than a goopy aro bomb blend, I was always able to light once and finish to ash everything. Less romantic in a bag but 2-5 $ a 2oz vs 10$, especially when exploring was worth the trade off. I only bought 1 flake so far and almost cried for how little u got in a tin. I smoke like maniac and would have finished a tin in a day if I didn't have others. I will do flake again but just to put $ and amount in perspective.