Whole Leaf Tobacco

[Ceriano]

Has anybody tried making a blend from whole leaf tobacco?

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[RustiePyles CPG]

I'm pretty sure @cosmicfolklore grows/blends his own.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Yes, I’ve grown… but we also have members that make their own from ordering.

A few years ago, we had a member that sent me some hardcore dark fired Kentucky and whole leaf latakia. I blended these with some of my first tobaccos I grew. I’ve made a few hand rolled twists and ribbon blends. It’s been fun, and you end up with tons of different blends to enjoy.

The thing is time. With flue cured, you have the year of growing and curing, and then (it took me a while to learn) you have a least a year of aging the leaf in piles. Burley is about the same, but you can at least start smoking burley somewhat right away.

Using ordered tobacco ready to blend saves you a few years.

My goal was making some blends for myself that was pure tobacco. I played with mold inhibitors, but really, just trying to keep the tobacco out of the range of mold growing was my best strategy.

As far as casings and toppings, I played with this idea, especially light honey and mead casings and make into a cavendish. This was just “playing in the kitchen” for me. But, it was light enough that I can enjoy it. Especially in twists, because I can cut them into coins somewhat. Makes a nice presentation for showing off, ha ha.

It’s fun. And if you enjoy it, you may end up with a small patch growing in the yard. Then you’re dumping money and time into curing and processing for a few weeks out of the year.

 

[Ceriano]

Yes, I’ve grown… but we also have members that make their own from ordering.

A few years ago, we had a member that sent me some hardcore dark fired Kentucky and whole leaf latakia. I blended these with some of my first tobaccos I grew. I’ve made a few hand rolled twists and ribbon blends. It’s been fun, and you end up with tons of different blends to enjoy.

The thing is time. With flue cured, you have the year of growing and curing, and then (it took me a while to learn) you have a least a year of aging the leaf in piles. Burley is about the same, but you can at least start smoking burley somewhat right away.

Using ordered tobacco ready to blend saves you a few years.

My goal was making some blends for myself that was pure tobacco. I played with mold inhibitors, but really, just trying to keep the tobacco out of the range of mold growing was my best strategy.

As far as casings and toppings, I played with this idea, especially light honey and mead casings and make into a cavendish. This was just “playing in the kitchen” for me. But, it was light enough that I can enjoy it. Especially in twists, because I can cut them into coins somewhat. Makes a nice presentation for showing off, ha ha.

It’s fun. And if you enjoy it, you may end up with a small patch growing in the yard. Then you’re dumping money and time into curing and processing for a few weeks out of the year.

Excellent thanks a bunch for the tips. Is there a place you recommend for ordering leaf? I’d like to start with orientals and just mix with blends I like.

This place has Basma which is one of the orientals I really enjoy.

Pipe Tobacco Leaf - Tobacco Leaves By The Pound

Whole Leaf Tobacco - Buy Tobacco Leaves Online - Tobacco Leaf For RYO And MYO Pipe Tobacco Blends

www.leafonly.com

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Excellent thanks a bunch for the tips. Is there a place you recommend for ordering leaf? I’d like to start with orientals and just mix with blends I like.

This place has Basma which is one of the orientals I really enjoy.

Pipe Tobacco Leaf - Tobacco Leaves By The Pound

Whole Leaf Tobacco - Buy Tobacco Leaves Online - Tobacco Leaf For RYO And MYO Pipe Tobacco Blends

www.leafonly.com

I’ve only ordered cigar tobacco from the one called Whole Leaf. I don’t have enough experience with any of them to make a recommendation.
Maybe someone else who blends can better answer that.
If not, then you’ll just to try them all and report back.

 

[AppalachianPipe92]

I've ordered from Whole Leaf a couple times. Haven't tried any of my flakes or cakes that are pressing, letting them sit for a good while before breaking their seal. But I have a bunch of their perique that I processed and jarred. It's a fantastic leaf, even smoked by itself.

 

[crusader]

wholeleaftobacco.com

Very high-quality leaf and other supplies. It's amazing how much better tobacco is without all the pg or other additives. I still like my store-bought stuff but prefer the natural. Before you know it you will want to grow your own. If ou like gardening, its pretty fun in of itself.

 

[NomadOrb]

wholeleaftobacco.com

Very high-quality leaf and other supplies. It's amazing how much better tobacco is without all the pg or other additives. I still like my store-bought stuff but prefer the natural. Before you know it you will want to grow your own. If ou like gardening, its pretty fun in of itself.

Do you have to process the leaf in any way? Or is it as simple as shred, blend, and smoke?

 

[mortonbriar]

Do you have to process the leaf in any way? Or is it as simple as shred, blend, and smoke?

You take out the mid stem of each leaf, after that you can process in a multitude of ways.

Examples of things I do:
twist up a blend and leave as a rope or cut into coins and rub out.
put through a shredder for shag or ribbon cut.
make up plugs.

I generally keep things in a very low case (dry), but you can play with casings etc...I do use rum or whisky with the plugs, but all else is just leaf. Oh I make a cavendish but that is just with water, heat, pressure and time.

 

[NomadOrb]

You take out the mid stem of each leaf, after that you can process in a multitude of ways.

Examples of things I do:
twist up a blend and leave as a rope or cut into coins and rub out.
put through a shredder for shag or ribbon cut.
make up plugs.

I generally keep things in a very low case (dry), but you can play with casings etc...I do use rum or whisky with the plugs, but all else is just leaf. Oh I make a cavendish but that is just with water, heat, pressure and time.

Got it, I was afraid I had to cure the leafs, but it sounds relatively simple. I guess casings is another rabbit hole, but do you put anti-mold on everything?

 

[canucklehead]

Whole Leaf Tobacco is a reputable vendor with quality products and excellent customer service.

As @cosmicfolklore mentioned, it also saves a few years of time over home grown. I've grown a few plants in my backyard in raised beds and/or 5 gallon buckets, it's relatively easy, but the leaf I grew in 2019 is just starting to taste like smokable tobacco now.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Whole Leaf Tobacco is a reputable vendor with quality products and excellent customer service.

As @cosmicfolklore mentioned, it also saves a few years of time over home grown. I've grown a few plants in my backyard in raised beds and/or 5 gallon buckets, it's relatively easy, but the leaf I grew in 2019 is just starting to taste like smokable tobacco now.

When I hear that growing our own tobacco is hard… I think what they really mean is that it takes a loooong time. Your first year, any doofus can get a good leaf, but it takes so long and patience to get there. Really, growing is more about perseverance than anything.

If whole leaf comes like the cigar tobaccos, it’s just the leaf, dried, and stacked for you. You can add some steam, and do what you want from there.

Things to think about… if you’re going to make plugs (which I don’t) you’ll need to have a way to store them. I made these pretzel like twist to cram into jars, and lots of ribbon. Those table mounted shredders are good, but you have to constantly clean them to keep them from gumming up.

Just finding a way to process and store it is the first step.

 

[crusader]

Do you have to process the leaf in any way? Or is it as simple as shred, blend, and smoke?

No. Its completely ready. Cut to your desired constancy and smoke's ahoy!

 

[OzPiper]

I'm pretty sure @cosmicfolklore grows/blends his own.

So does @Ahi Ka

 

[Ceriano]

wholeleaftobacco.com

Very high-quality leaf and other supplies. It's amazing how much better tobacco is without all the pg or other additives. I still like my store-bought stuff but prefer the natural. Before you know it you will want to grow your own. If ou like gardening, its pretty fun in of itself.

Can you please share some of your blends recipes? Where’s a good place to start? Straight VA?

 

[Ceriano]

When I hear that growing our own tobacco is hard… I think what they really mean is that it takes a loooong time. Your first year, any doofus can get a good leaf, but it takes so long and patience to get there. Really, growing is more about perseverance than anything.

If whole leaf comes like the cigar tobaccos, it’s just the leaf, dried, and stacked for you. You can add some steam, and do what you want from there.

Things to think about… if you’re going to make plugs (which I don’t) you’ll need to have a way to store them. I made these pretzel like twist to cram into jars, and lots of ribbon. Those table mounted shredders are good, but you have to constantly clean them to keep them from gumming up.

Just finding a way to process and store it is the first step.

How do you steam the leaves?

 

[cosmicfolklore]

How do you steam the leaves?

Many different ways. I just hold the leaves over a boiling pot of water, but search YouTube

 

[Ahi Ka]

@mortonbriar time to do that Virginia plug post. The mixture you made was worthy of a tax

 

[mortonbriar]

Got it, I was afraid I had to cure the leafs, but it sounds relatively simple. I guess casings is another rabbit hole, but do you put anti-mold on everything?

No, I just jar up stuff in a low case (fancy way of saying ' quite dry') and make sure the jars are sterile, clean hands, knife, chopping board etc. My experience so far with home grown and whole leaf is mostly mold free, but the times it has happened it is a mixture I jarred with too much moisture.

 

[crusader]

Can you please share some of your blends recipes? Where’s a good place to start? Straight VA?

I'm not a huge straight va guy. I usually start out with equal parts and tweak from there.
I highly recommend fairtradetobacco.com. it has the most info on home grown/blending for both pipe and cigar. A super wealth of knowledge.