Tobacco Casings & Toppings...?

[northernneil]

To start, I know this topic has beed discussed in great detail on this forum, as well as many others. That being said, I am noticing a lot of comments that "100% of all tobacco has some form of casing." Now, this statement I believe holds some merit, but I find it hard to beileve that there is not a single "pure" form of pipe tobacco in the market.
As I understand the seed to pipe process of tobacco, in the most basic of forms, is as follows:

Harvest, mutiple tecniques

Color Curing / Drying, tobacco is not enjoyable at this point

Fermentation, after this stage is tobacco not smokable?
Can anyone confirm either A) there is not a single pure form of pipe tobacco on the market today. Or B) There is one or two "pure" blends and they are _____.
Thanks.

 

[northernneil]

Roth, I had read that article, and it almost paints the picture that "all tobaccos, especially VA & BUR, have some form of casing, even if it's just sugar water." Also, I too was under the impression that Union Square was a "pure tobacco" with zero casings and topping. Nonetheless, I have been talking with people who believe it is mildly cased. Is there anyway to know for sure?

 

[pitchfork]

I think you've got it right -- almost all tobaccos are cased with sugar water at the very least. Union Square came to mind for me, too, but notice the wording there: the casings "common to many other VA flakes." Does that mean no casings, or just different ones?
Besides Union Square, some of C&D's bulk burleys certainly seem to have no perceptible casing. If they do, it's very, very light, because their burleys can be somewhat harsh. I actually like them that way, though.
Other than that, totally uncased tobaccos just aren't very common.

 

[cortezattic]

Well, I'm gonna remain a tobacco purist snob -- even if I have to quit smoking in order to be one! :rofl:

 

[northernneil]

Thanks for all the responces everyone. I think sam has a point, even if the tobaccos are uncased and no toppings added, the blender will probably keep the process secret, so we will truely never know as the consumer. We can only assume. Fortunately, I don't have an issue with cased tobaccos, this is more a search for knowledge.

Thanks again

 

[zekest]

Snobs gotta Snob...

 

[pchitti]

From my research, I believe all tobacco has been cased in the preparation of the leaves. It is used to moisten the leaves after curing to aid in removing the stems without the leaves breaking apart as easily.

 

[tedswearingen]

+1 coalsmoke. The above written description by Pease on Union Square references top-flavorings; there's no mention of casing, which is another process entirely.
By no means am I an expert on processing pipe tobacco, but I have had the chance to tour Lane, Mac Baren, C&D, and Sutliff, and what I've been told by many different folks now is that 1) most casings can't be easily detected by taste (hence the concept of flavoring), and 2) if you've ever smoked tobacco that hadn't been cased you would probably know it because what's essentially raw/not-processed tobacco is awful tasting. Also 3) you probably didn't find it in a tobacco shop, whether it was an online store or a B&M.

 

[mso489]

What's added or not added to tobacco seems to be a well-guarded secret. Each brand wants to maintain

its own edge, real or psychological. From smoking a number of different tobaccos including over-the-counter

brands, tins, and bulk, here's my sense about non-tobacco ingredients. Over-the-counter has less

expensive packaging than tins, coming in foil or plastic pouches, and therefore seems to have more added by way of

preservatives and flavorings to keep it in salable shape. Most OTC's give a little stronger non-tobacco flavor,

a little more bite, and are more apt to have some aftertaste that is not reminiscent of tobacco. Tin and bulk

tobaccos are a mixed bag. The fewer tobaccos being blended, and the fewer non-tobacco aromatic flavors

listed, the less additive taste and bite seems to surface. A number of the simpler Virginia blends have only

tobacco flavors that I can taste. Likewise, when I mix only red cake Virginia with only burley, and maybe a

dash of Cavendish for flavor, I get almost no over- or undertones of non-tobacco flavor. Some of my home

mixes have a more straightforward and still lively flavor than some of the professional blends, and are less

expensive.

 

[northernneil]

Good responses guys, I'll actually get a chance to try some unprocessed tobacco soon as I grew my own last year. I have been color curing / drying since last fall, and just finished fermenting the leaf in my home made kiln. I have de-stemmed the leaves and just need to put it in a press for a while. Once that is finished, I'll will smoke and report back my findings!

 

[doctorthoss]

Out of curiosity (and I've been party to many of these discussions) why does anyone really care if our tobacco is uncased, untopped, what-have-you? I know a lot of guys seem fixated on the idea that they only smoke "unflavored" tobacco, and I simply don't see why it matters to them. If it's an enjoyable product, why care?

 

[northernneil]

Doctorhoss, I'm not totally sure why I've always been interested it pure tobacco. I have grown up in the anti-smoking generation and fully understand the "health risks" involved in smoking. I guess in my mind, pure tobacco is the safest way to enjoy this hobby. I also fully understand how silly that sounds, but that's the best reasoning I got.
I know pure tobacoo exists in the world, genuine cuban cigars are a perfect example. I also know it exists in the world of pipe tobacco, it is just hidden under a vail of secrecy and fancy terms

 

[doctorthoss]

Well, good luck on your quest to find a "pure" pipe tobacco! I doubt it exists in more than one or two places and I think you probably won't care for it once you find it. Pipe tobacco is, almost by definition, a processed product and is pretty much unsmokeable when not cased with at least some sugars. Personally, I also care what's in my pipe, but I don't sweat whether it's got some casing, topping or even a little PG --- compared to your typical factory-made cigarette, I imagine that all pipe tobaccos other than the goopy aromatics are are close to natural as we're going to get! I've had "straight" tobacco, and it's nothing like what we are accustomed to buying for our briars.

 

[leonardw]

From my research, I believe all tobacco has been cased in the preparation of the leaves. It is used to moisten the leaves after curing to aid in removing the stems without the leaves breaking apart as easily.

Typically the cured leaf is exposed to steam to moisten the leaves prior to the casing process. American Spirit cigarette tobacco claims to process their tobacco using only water. I'm not a cigarette smoker, but I do a good bit of sampling (I manage the Bugler RYO brand here at Lane as well), and to me American Spirit is a significantly harsher smoke. I attribute that harshness to the lack of true casing.

 

[northernneil]

If pure tobacco is so harsh, what do cigar manufacturers do to make their product smooth and smokable? Can this process also be used with pipe tobacco? I understand under current practises in processing pipe tobacco that the pure result is not enjoyable. Nonetheless, is that our only option, or is there another process that exists, which may not be used anymore, that can create a pure and enjoyable pipe tobacco?

 

[fitzy]

I think it's pretty silly to worry about whether a tobacco has sugar water on it. You're closing yourself off to a fantastic world of pipe tobacco.
Then again that's just my 2 cents. suum cuique pulchrum est

 

[northernneil]

Fitzy, I don't feel that I am limiting myself by any means. I would not discard a blend without trying it first. And as you say, what does it matter if the blend has sugar water added. Even though, I tend to order blends which have a "natural tobacco taste."

What got me to start this thread is trying to determine what that line in a tobacco discription means? Does natual tobacco taste mean no casings or toppings? More than likely not. Does it mean that no artificial flavors were used? Or is it just clever marketing to get people like me to buy their blend?

In the end, none of this truely matters as long as I continue to enjoy this little past time. That being said I would still love to figure out if there are actually pure tobaccos on the market and what they are. Does that mean I am going to stop smoking blends that use casing and / or toppings? Of course not. But that does not stop my urge to try and find an answer to this conundrum.

 

[warren]

I'm pretty sure the residents of North America were smoking hand-picked, naturally dried tobacco long before St. Brendan discovered the continent.
When I was stationed in Virginia in the 60's I used to explore the country side. More than once, while waiting for the pig-pulling to start, I enjoyed a pipe of locally grown tobacco, hand picked, air dried tobacco. It could be rather rough (harsh?) and, the taste and substance varied from region to region. I was told that the taste and strength (for want of a better word) was determined by the dirt,fertilizers,type of weed, when picked, etc. I met quite a few people in North Carolina and Virginia that only smoked locally grown and processed tobacco. Some of the were "tobacco snobs" also, but on a different plane. Few of them smoked commercially grown and processed tobaccos.
It's been fifty years but I'd be willing to bet that there are still a few areas back in the hills where the residents smoke the real stuff in ill-treated, hand carved pipes. And, I'm betting they'd be willing to share if if you exhibit a genuine interest in them and how they live. I found that loving the music back in the hills was the best way to open conversation.

 

[northernneil]

Well, I have finally gotten around to sampling my home grown tobacco. Basically, the process I followed for preparing the tobacco is as follows:
First, I stalk harvested the leaves at the end of the growing season, just before the first frost, and hung the full plans in my basement with humidifiers and fans running to try and maintain the atmosphere. I let the tobacco hang in these conditions until the color transformation was completed. After that I let the tobacco hang under normal house conditions (no fans or humidifiers) for the winter.
The next fall, about one year after harvest, I stripped the leaves from the stocks and hung them in my homemade kiln to simulate the fermentation process. They stayed in the kiln for 6 weeks while I slowly raised the temperature from 90-degrees F to 120-degrees F maintaining around 65% humidity.
Once the fermentation in the kiln was completed, I stripped out the center stem and stored the leaf in mason jars to ensure it did not lose it's moisture. The leaf stayed in those mason jars, untouched, for 15 - 16 months.
Well, yesterday we got some really nice weather, so I decided to try smoking some of my home grown leaf. The initial aroma of the tobacco after opening the jar was very strong, it had a barnyard smell with hints of mushroom. The aroma reminded me of Semois tobacco, but not nearly as nice. I pressed the leaves between 2 cutting boards and started to cut the whole leaf down to a coarse ribbon. I then let the ribbon cut, enough for one bowl, dry a little and packed up my Jeantet Churchwarden.
All and all, a enjoyable smoke. The tobacco took fire well and smoked to a light whitish grey ash. The flavor of the smoke did have some "raw" qualities about it, but is was not harsh or un-enjoyable by any means. It had a pretty solid nic kick, and the taste reminded me of a non-toasted Semois.
In the end, I can see where some additional processing (adding a casing or toasting the tobacco) would benefit the the overall flavor, but it was not nearly as bad as I have been lead to believe uncased tobacco would taste. Nonetheless, I am really looking forward to playing around with my home grown leaf!

 

[pitchfork]

That's fascinating northernneil. And ambitious! Would you say your initial curing in the basement resembled flue curing, then?