Turkish Latakia v. Cyprian Latakia

[Mike N]

The latest batch of GLP’s Horizons has really made me appreciate the taste and quality of Turkish Latakia. It’s also found in another one of my favorites, Cornell & Diel’s “From Beyond.“ To my palate, it’s far superior to the Cyprian Latakia found in blends like GLPs Spark Plug or Quiet Nights. It’s also far superior to the “Latakia and Turkish leaf” tobacco’s found in C&D’s Black Frigate or Samuel Galwith’s Squadron Leader. Read the description closely before ordering.

I realize Syrian Latakia is the gold standard, but these recent blends with Turkish Latakia are pretty darn close. Thoughts?

 

[greysmoke]

My immediate thought is to try some. I'm well acquainted with Cyprian, and my cellar still contains a fair amount of irreplaceable Syrian. Will pick up a tin or two for comparison. Thx.

 

[kcghost]

Cyprian is quite enjoyable to me. I one of the few people that prefer Cyprian over Syrian. Now "Horizon" has Turkish in it, and I find that it is quite enjoyable. I would think that Turkish would be very popular with people who prefer a milder smoke.

 

[lukasstrifeson]

The latest batch of GLP’s Horizons has really made me appreciate the taste and quality of Turkish Latakia. It’s also found in another one of my favorites, Cornell & Diel’s “From Beyond.“ To my palate, it’s far superior to the Cyprian Latakia found in blends like GLPs Spark Plug or Quiet Nights. It’s also far superior to the “Latakia and Turkish leaf” tobacco’s found in C&D’s Black Frigate or Samuel Galwith’s Squadron Leader. Read the description closely before ordering.

I realize Syrian Latakia is the gold standard, but these recent blends with Turkish Latakia are pretty darn close. Thoughts?

I wouldn't go that far... Funny how "great" things become once the availability starts to drop.

I will say, I am a big Syrian fan - it's subtle, like the bass player in a band. You can taste the quality when it's good, but he's not trying to play over anyone or anything. Cyprian on the other hand is more lead guitarist Slash, perfect for Lat bombs - SG Balkan Flake a prime example - just coming in to melt your face.

Have not smoked enough Turkish to form an opinion...

 

[khiddy]

Well shoot, now I'm sad I didn't order a tin of Horizons with my last order to give it a try!

Next time.

 

[mingc]

I exchanged PMs with C&D head honcho Jeremy Reeves last September 2023 and he told me that, "We have been using Latakia produced in Turkey for about 1 year, and any product that we make that contains Latakia is made using that version," including GLP. I surmise that labels that say Cyprian are either on older tins or are out of date.

I've not smoked much Turkish latakia but what I have smoked seems much like the Cyprian. There's certainly no drop in quality and perhaps an improvement.

I'm not a fan of the Syrian latakia that was available in the 2000s. Based on my experience of 5 different blends, some in multiple-tin amounts, I thought the leaf from the 2000s was quite muted compared to pre-2000s leaf. As I understand it, the Syrian latakia that was available in the 2000s was already decades old at that time.

 

[BriarBrook]

Could just be me, but I prefer Turkish over Cyprian. Cyprian always hits me as too fragrant or that it has a perfume aftertaste in some blends that use it. Turkish, however, seems to be more savory/bbq, which is exactly what I'm looking for.

 

[Chasing Embers]

Black Frigate

That one's had Turkish Latakia since mid 2022.

 

[damacene]

I was wondering why a recently produced tin of Captain Earl's Stimulus Package tasted better to me than it did in the past. The Orientals came out more and my taste buds weren't destroyed for the rest of the day.

 

[hoipolloiglasgow]

I like all the Latakias. They all have similarities and have that Latakia flavor, but with slight differences. The Turkish stuff is of good quality and is more mellow than the Cyprian. Cyprian has a nice sweetness to it and is punchy where as Syrian is softer and has red wine notes to it. If I had to choose a favorite it would definitely be Syrian because it’s a bit more complex.

 

[Sig]

As with Virginias and Burleys, all the Latakias have their place in my opinion.
I have a pound or so of MacB Vintage Syrian that I dip into occasionally.
It is absolutely different than Cyprian, but not necessarily BETTER in my opinion.
I haven't bought any tobacco sinse 2019, so maybe I have never tried Turkish Latakia. This is the first ive heard of it.

 

[username]

Haven't smoked enough of it so the jury is still out but I'm enjoying it so far and I haven't smoked alot of lat in a while.

 

[LOREN]

Syrian Latakia - Turkish Latakia - Cyprian Latakia

Is the tobacco leaf different among these as well as what material is used to smoke them?

 

[renfield]

It’s probably the same type of leaf but unlikely to have come from the same growers. Especially the Syrian which ceased to be available many years ago.

The materials used to cure the leaf will definitely be different. The woods used to smoke the Syrian were one of the things that made Syrian Lat taste like Syrian Lat.

Jeremy could chime in with first hand info. If you shot him an email at C&D he’d be able to let you know.

 

[Tbaggins]

I’ve tried from beyond and horizons now, neither hit the spot for me and I love Latakia. While not bad I still prefer Cyprian, even over Syrian.

 

[hoipolloiglasgow]

There really is nothing like Syrian Latakia. They used different woods/herbs to smoke it and the process was a bit different. Even Greg Pease says that Syrian Latakia is “Sublime”. He’s using the Turkish stuff now and it’s what they have to work with and he thinks it’s pretty good. I absolutely agree. I wouldn’t get too caught up in the differences as they aren’t so drastic from one another. Just be happy that we have Latakia.

 

[bullet08]

Had too few of Syrian Lat. Compare to Cyprian Lat, it's smoother. A bit of mellowness to it.

I haven't tried Turkish yet. Haven't had a reason to buy tobacco lately.

 

[BrightDarkEyes]

I haven't been a pipe smoker long enough to know much about Syrian Latakia. The only blend I have with it is the MacBaren Latakia Rolls a friend gifted me last year and I've only smoked two bowls of it. I really like it and I have a hard time opening that jar knowing I will probably never get anymore of it.

The first Latakia I ever tried was Dunhill Nightcap in 2014 or 2015 and it was a transcendental experience for me with pipe smoking. Unfortunately, I don't have that same kind of experience with Latakia since I had COVID a couple years ago. I used to start every day with a Latakia blend, but now it doesn't taste the same.

All I have to say is that whatever these companies and blenders like Jeremy Reeves are doing to keep great blends and pipe specific varietals like Latakia available is a great service to pipe smokers.

A couple years ago I remember finding a seven or eight year old tin of Dunhill Nightcap I tucked away and forgot about. After that bit of age it was pretty mellow. From Beyond was supposed to try to replicate aged Nightcap and while I don't think it is exact, it sure close and a great blend on its own.

 

[Tbaggins]

Had too few of Syrian Lat. Compare to Cyprian Lat, it's smoother. A bit of mellowness to it.

I haven't tried Turkish yet. Haven't had a reason to buy tobacco lately.

I’ve only had Mac baren vintage Syrian. I wonder if it being so old that the Latakia is muted. Would’ve been nice to get some fresh stuff back in the day to get an accurate read.

 

[Chasing Embers]

I haven't tried Turkish yet. Haven't had a reason to buy tobacco lately.

Same on both counts.