Whole Leaf Tobacco for the Tobacco Apocalypse

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Effortlessdepths

Part of the Furniture Now
Feb 7, 2020
502
1,060
Micanopy, FL
I've just recently decided to re-enter the world of DIY whole leaf tobacco processing again. I have experience with whole leaf through cigar rolling, but I've never really given pipe tobaccos a full shot. Just ordered 4 lbs of leaf; red va, maryland, katerini, and va bright leaf, with a bottle of casing/flavoring. With the 2 noodle presses I have (which help make lackluster custom blends pretty decent) I should be able to make my own plugs/flakes, with fairly minimal time and effort. I already make my own crumble cakes in the presses, so I have a good idea of the process. It will take longer if I tried to brew up some of my own casing and flavoring, I imagine, but from what I can see, if I use the flavoring's offered by WLT this shouldn't be that difficult, and certainly not as time consuming as prepping cigar tobacco and rolling cigars.

If I get the hang of this, and my plugs/flakes actually taste good, then it's my tentative opinion that this would be a very good way to prepare for the possible tobacco apocalypse/August 8th situation. Even with the time put in to mixing and pressing blends, this whole leaf is generally 4-5x cheaper by weight than buying tinned commercial tobaccos. I will certainly still buy some of my favorite blends, but buying the CRF recently and learning about why it doesn't taste good yet got me thinking that I could do some of this myself. I understand that a lot of people have no need to DIY it like this, and can just buy tins, and as I said I will still be purchasing some of my favorites. But in your opinion, does this sound like a promising approach to cellaring? I've spoken with @F4RM3R about this, and I've seen that @cosmicfolklore grows and cures his own, and I imagine presses it too, but is anyone else experienced with this? How do you feel about this idea?
 

Papamique

Part of the Furniture Now
Mar 11, 2020
789
3,953
I did this for a few years and it was fun and fairly successful. It was also limited in many ways and labor intensive so I stopped but I believe it is a skill to be learned and treasured if tobacco really does go the way of the dodo bird.
 

F4RM3R

Part of the Furniture Now
Nov 28, 2019
567
2,512
38
Canada
Yep it's a great idea! Playing with blending and whole leaf will really expand your knowledge(and taste buds) of tobacco. It takes lots of trial and error but honestly only gets better and better.

Here in canada it can be almost 10 times! the price to buy tins vs whole leaf , so I was partially driven by cost, but also I am someone who likes to experiment and create the things I enjoy most. I also find it fascinating to learn first hand the old school/traditional way of doing things and don't so much like to give into materialism/endless shopping. Also it goes without saying, but blending yourself gives you the opportunity to make whatever you please and the results can be better or more suiting to your tastes than you could find elsewhere.
 
and I've seen that @cosmicfolklore grows and cures his own, and I imagine presses it too,
I don't press, because it gives such a precarious form to try to cellar and age. Plus, I am not that crazy about flakes. I make twists. I can cram a bunch into a jar for aging, then slice them to pack into jars better.

Go for it, if you like pressing tobacco and figure out how to put them into jars. Twisting has a learning curve. My first batch was kind of raggedy, but it still did what it was supposed to. I have been curious about using bought whole leaf, but so far, I just use what I grow. For the last two weeks I have smoked nothing but what I've grown. After you get used to smoking your own, it gets hard to switch to one of those cased tobaccos. Now, when I smoke a pure Virginia flake by a corporate tobacco company, like MacBarens, the Gawith sisters, or any of them, I just taste the casings. So, be careful. It can spoil you.

Even making my own wines... now the expensive stuff starts to taste like Boones Farm.
 

danimalia

Lifer
Sep 2, 2015
4,385
26,440
41
San Francisco Bay Area, USA
my favorites. But in your opinion, does this sound like a promising approach to cellaring?
Well, yes with some caveats. Aside from pending regulations, blends are disappearing all the time and the ones sticking around are getting more expensive. So it certainly makes some sense to take advantage of the lower costs and lack of current crosshairs on whole leaf. The major caveat for me would be that the professional blenders have years of experience and make blends I already know I like. I'm sure I could whip up blends or even find single tobacco varietals I enjoy smoking, but would I enjoy them as much as those made by the pros? Aging tobacco can make them better, but they can also make them worse, and for the best benefits of aging, I believe you have to start with a blend or tobacco leaf that is good to begin with. One other concern would be that either the apocalypse never happens or its impact is less than expected, in which case hopefully you haven't invested too much in tobacco you don't enjoy as much as the existing blends.

The fact that you have already messed with whole leaf for cigars would indicate that you already know you enjoy some of these tobacco so I say go for it! It may be worth keeping some of your leaf varietals separate when aging as you may not enjoy the same things as time goes by and aging some of the components individually will keep you flexible to blend accordingly.
 
Well, yes with some caveats. Aside from pending regulations, blends are disappearing all the time and the ones sticking around are getting more expensive. So it certainly makes some sense to take advantage of the lower costs and lack of current crosshairs on whole leaf. The major caveat for me would be that the professional blenders have years of experience and make blends I already know I like. I'm sure I could whip up blends or even find single tobacco varietals I enjoy smoking, but would I enjoy them as much as those made by the pros? Aging tobacco can make them better, but they can also make them worse, and for the best benefits of aging, I believe you have to start with a blend or tobacco leaf that is good to begin with. One other concern would be that either the apocalypse never happens or its impact is less than expected, in which case hopefully you haven't invested too much in tobacco you don't enjoy as much as the existing blends.

The fact that you have already messed with whole leaf for cigars would indicate that you already know you enjoy some of these tobacco so I say go for it! It may be worth keeping some of your leaf varietals separate when aging as you may not enjoy the same things as time goes by and aging some of the components individually will keep you flexible to blend accordingly.
I’ve been keeping a few different varieties I’ve grown open and just mixing a pinch of this, two of that. I fail to see whate there’s really any magic in blending your own. A few good varietals and you’ll find it’s really HARD to make a blend that isn’t wonderful.

The thing that blenders do that’s close to being hard os mixing a bunch of chemicals and casing the blends to keep them consistent for a commercial audience. And, if you’re making blends for yourself... homecooked meals always taste better than a commercial consistent tasting restaurant. IMO.

Not to just knock on our favorite blenders, but mixing some stuff to get a great smoke really isn’t very hard. About as hard as making your own salad.
 
Dec 6, 2019
4,296
19,375
33
AL/GA
I’ve been keeping a few different varieties I’ve grown open and just mixing a pinch of this, two of that. I fail to see whate there’s really any magic in blending your own. A few good varietals and you’ll find it’s really HARD to make a blend that isn’t wonderful.

The thing that blenders do that’s close to being hard os mixing a bunch of chemicals and casing the blends to keep them consistent for a commercial audience. And, if you’re making blends for yourself... homecooked meals always taste better than a commercial consistent tasting restaurant. IMO.

Not to just knock on our favorite blenders, but mixing some stuff to get a great smoke really isn’t very hard. About as hard as making your own salad.

That post inspires hope.. consistent commercial blends won't last, at least not to the extent they do now.
 
I want to follow this thread. I have recently purchased some seed and hope to make my own tobbacco in 2021.
Not sure if I will be able to do it or not...so much to try and learn!
I might wish I had bought the whole leaves and tried that first.

Best wishes on your endeavor @Effortlessdepths ! Please keep us posted.
Just keep in mind that if you grow your own, it will be at least two more years to get a great smoke, because of aging and sweating will greatly improve your product... or whatever you want to call it.
So, you have time to try both.

But, don't let that deter you. My first crop was so so. But, then I put the stacks in a styrofoam cooler and just left it in the barn, forgetting about it. Then found the cooler a couple of years later, and was floored by how good it smoked.

I imagine whole leaf would be smokable, but maybe a tad harsh, being a fresh crop. You might want to age it a tad also. Just guessing.

My advice... plan big. And, go into it knowing that it is going to need some age, and you will hit bank. Have faith, patience, and determination.
I've yet to find an actual tobacco that sucks. In fact, out of all of the sucky tobaccos I've tried, it was the crap the company put on the tobacco that made it suck.
 

macaroni

Lifer
Oct 28, 2020
1,006
3,113
Texas
. . . A few good varietals and you’ll find it’s really HARD to make a blend that isn’t wonderful . . . . The thing that blenders do that’s close to being hard os mixing a bunch of chemicals and casing the blends to keep them consistent for a commercial audience. And, if you’re making blends for yourself... homecooked meals always taste better than a commercial consistent tasting restaurant. IMO.

Not to just knock on our favorite blenders, but mixing some stuff to get a great smoke really isn’t very hard. About as hard as making your own salad.
Everything I read in this post makes good sense! Thank you for posting your thoughts and experiences!! They inspire me :)))) REALLY!!

Do you case or top your tobacco? If I grew it, I would be hard pressed NOT to smoke it plain--just out of curiousity :) and high hopes that its good.

Maybe I can get a somewhat similar experience smoking whole leaf without casing it from one of the online retailers (I'm thinking of giving it a try! :). Just perhaps not as good as your home-grown. Yes--making a salad is easy, fun AND good!!

Thanks for any thoughts you might share, and for the above posts!
kind regards
mike
 

macaroni

Lifer
Oct 28, 2020
1,006
3,113
Texas
So, here's my thinking-
-I've read (who knows if it's true?) that all commercial pipe tobacco has casing
-So, if I buy whole leaf online or grow it, should I be prepared to case it (doesn't look too hard but I could screw up a we....:)))?
-
 

Ahi Ka

Lurker
Feb 25, 2020
6,520
31,474
Aotearoa (New Zealand)
OP, I have a feeling the bottles spray casings supplies by WLT are intended for RYO use. I am unaware how they would go in a pipe blend.

Also (if you haven’t) read up about receiving the product, especially anything fire/air cured. They come is really good vapour proof bags, but will need to be opened at some stage to ensure the leaf is in adequate low case for storage to avoid mould. The perique however is vacuum sealed and should not be opened unless you are ready to dry it thoroughly or leave in the fridge.

I’ve found that the orientals (including Latakia) and perique are the only whole leaf products that are sold at their actual blending weight - ie you can smoke the stems. Ok well technically you can shred the stems of all the leaf if you insert it side ways. All the others roughly lose 30-40% of weight after removing the stems. So with your calculations think 1lb of leaf is actually 12oz.

I’m unaware of the implications of the august deadline, but I have learnt a few things from the import ban that was put in place last year in NZ. For ease, let’s assume you can purchase tobacco at without crazy tax, and that any particular blends you fancy you’ll have stocked up on. Also if money were no object...

Start growing burley, and in the meantime buy yourself enough whole leaf or D&R two timer to get you through the next 3 years.

I’d be buying shitloads of PS LNF/LBF, double down and sutliff va slices for the cellar. These may provide to be vital blend bases.

Think seriously about what you smoke and stock up on heaps of whole leaf condiments accordingly.

I’ve not tried WLT Latakia, but I’m sure it is good. Mine came from totalleafsupply

WLT dark fired is very good, also very strong! If you want to take pressing plugs route I would get this, as well as any bright leaf in their threshed bags - this means you will get actual blending weight.

WLT perique is exceptional. I think the extra couple of bucks per pound is worth purchasing in 1/4lb bags. This means you can open one at a time.

Scales, slow cooker, vacuum sealer will all come in handy at some stage :)
 

logs

Lifer
Apr 28, 2019
1,873
5,069
So, here's my thinking-
-I've read (who knows if it's true?) that all commercial pipe tobacco has casing
-So, if I buy whole leaf online or grow it, should I be prepared to case it (doesn't look too hard but I could screw up a we....:)))?
-

Working with whole leaf tobacco isn't really that complicated. Steming, shredding, casing, and pressing isn't any harder than learning to cook and prepare a simple meal. It's just a matter of following the steps and developing a taste for what you like. Just like cooking, you can go deep and improve your blending skills and your mastery of developing complex flavors, but just learning the basics isn't hard--at least I don't think so. (Growing and curing tobacco is a different story).

Adding casing or a topping to tobacco is like seasoning food.... you don't have to do it but most people prefer the taste of it. There are a some well known commercial blends that are uncased. GLP Stratford and Union Square, and C&D Opening Night are examples.
 
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mso489

Lifer
Feb 21, 2013
41,210
60,433
It sounds like you are ready to go independent. Air cured tobacco can be pretty harsh, but it sounds like you already have the experience to tame it. Just be wary of the federal and local tobacco laws, and don't sell or send it across state lines, etc., unless you know you're clear. You don't want to turn your advantage into a legal burden.
 
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