Turkish Latakia v. Cyprian Latakia

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Mike N

Can't Leave
Aug 3, 2023
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I recently smoked a few bowls of Seattle Pipe Club’s Wild Man, which is made with Cyprian Latakia, and found it underwhelming compared to the Turkish Latakia blends. (See the JimInks review of Wild Man, where he gave it only two stars.) I am going to continue comparing those two (Syrian v. Cyprian), as I tend to believe the quality difference is quite noticeable to my palate at least.
 
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khiddy

Starting to Get Obsessed
Jun 21, 2024
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South Bend, Indiana
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I will agree, Jim's 2-star review gave me pause, but I was able to snag 2 tins of SPC Wild Man for $10 each, and at about half-price from the going rate, I consider it worth a try.

IIRC JimInks's low rating was due not so much to the type of Latakia in the blend (he refers specifically to Cyprian Lat), but more to his perception of inconsistency in the blend, which at least one other reviewer (Spurgeon Piper) also called out (in the context of his own 4-star review).
 

karam

Lifer
Feb 2, 2019
2,502
9,408
Basel, Switzerland
What I'd read about Turkish vs Cypriot Latakia is that tobacco was grown in Cyprus, cured and processed into Latakia in Turkey and then sent back to Cyprus to be packaged and exported as "Cypriot Latakia".

@mingc indeed the Syrian government had banned the production of Latakia for decades before the civil war etc, whatever was being used was already very old stock.

@BrightDarkEyes you may be getting Latakia burnout, it's been commonly reported in this forum, my own experience was that I smoked Dunhill Nightcap for 10 years straight before branching out due to it being discontinued (and before being picked up by Peterson), now leaning a lot more towards Virginias, Latakia I find overpowering, but like it from time to time.
 
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Mike N

Can't Leave
Aug 3, 2023
459
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I picked up this 2021 tin of Mac Baren’s Latakia Flake at Iwan Reis in Chicago to add to a few blends. I’m not sure if it’s Cyprian or Turkish, but it is tasty. I also posted this under the show your open tin thread but thought it was relevant here too.
 

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Swiss Army Knife

Can't Leave
Jul 12, 2021
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What I'd read about Turkish vs Cypriot Latakia is that tobacco was grown in Cyprus, cured and processed into Latakia in Turkey and then sent back to Cyprus to be packaged and exported as "Cypriot Latakia".

Talking with a local blender this is what he said as well. It's still technically "Cyprian" Latakia. He seemed to think it was borderline a marketing gimmick. I don't remotely have the lat palate to really discern the two but I have quite liked both 2023 From Beyond and the 2023 Christmas blend Hearthside which both have "Turkish" latakia.

Smoking Pipes still describes C&D's available blending latakia as Cyprian. It'd be interesting to try their pure Turkish latakia against something like Sutliff's TS18 blending latakia which I'm pretty confident is still run of the mill Cyprian.
 

karam

Lifer
Feb 2, 2019
2,502
9,408
Basel, Switzerland
I haven't tried anything because I have more than enough Latakia and have somewhat lost taste for it, however ages ago there was a Greek company called Wolfway who had a blend with "Egyptian" Latakia. It had a markedly softer and more leathery taste than what I'd known to date.
 

khiddy

Starting to Get Obsessed
Jun 21, 2024
260
1,511
South Bend, Indiana
blog.hallenius.org
I just realized that I scored on tin bids a sealed 2001 tin of C&D Longevity, a light/medium Balkan blend that features Syrian Latakia. I know that the peak flavor probably went barreling over the hill long ago, but as this is my one guaranteed chance to taste Syrian Latakia, I'll be grateful when I open it.

I'll have to figure out a 3-way compare and contrast with some Cypriot and Turkish Latakias. Any suggestions from the board on comparable blends featuring the extant versions of latakia for such a test?
Screenshot 2024-08-12 at 3.36.55 PM.png
 

Sig

Can't Leave
Jul 18, 2023
460
2,212
Western NY
Syrian Latakia - Turkish Latakia - Cyprian Latakia

Is the tobacco leaf different among these as well as what material is used to smoke them?
Yes.
The Syrian Latakia was made with a certain strain of tobacco that apparently is not grown anymore. The tobacco had more nicotene than the leaf used for Cyprian Latakia, which is made with various Oriental tobaccos. It's been a long time sinse I've learned this, but that is the gist.
According to Greg Pease, they generally used less Syrian in blends due to the greater amount of nicotene. This is all over on his website...at least it was years ago. :)
I'm not sure about the Turkish Latakia. This thread is the first I've heard of it I believe.
I was out of the piping game for about 8 years.....a lot changed. :)