Why The Dislike For Latakia?

[macaroni]

It tastes like ghosts and memories that are not my own...

Great words--YES! Exactly!! But for me, not bad.
mike

 

[Scottishgaucho]

I used to like it in SG Navy Flake then for some reason the next batch I bought came overpowered with it which masked the other flavours in the blend spoling the smoking experience in the process.
I've had a couple of other blends since then which were okay but I can't say I'd go out of my way to buy them though.

 

[macaroni]

. . . sales of latakia blends were always greater in colder climates . . . .

Quite interesting!

I recall hearing someone smarter than I mention Martin Marty's observation that climates shape people/cultures. Perhaps this is a no brainer but I hadn't considered it. Living in Connecticut and Texas I noticed a BIG difference in HOW people interact and relate. Good folks both places. But everything from conversation pace, acceptable/comfortable pauses in conversation, even the acceptable greeting/non-greeting to passing strangers were different.

Continuing this thought--I recall a person here in Texas telling me, "Our new neighbors are rude! They drove past our pick-up truck and didn't wave." In fact, several hundred miles west of our home here in East Texas--way out past Jacksboro (think "Green Frog Cafe" & Jerry Jeff Walker--actually a nice cafe except for the bugs in the "open country" (no fences) out on the Lubbock Highway, the required custom was to raise one finger from the steering wheel when passing an all too rare other vehicle (NOT the middle one, NOT "Long Man" . And rather than watch the edge of the bar ditch, the custom was to watch the other driver give his/her one finger wave . Go figure--custom and climate!

Sorry to drone on . . . .
mike

 

[stokesdale]

Because if I want smoky flavors, guess what, I'll cook a butt, brisket or bacon. Latakia is just nasty shit...hard for me to put it any other way.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Quite interesting!

I recall hearing someone smarter than I mention Martin Marty's observation that climates shape people/cultures. Perhaps this is a no brainer but I hadn't considered it. Living in Connecticut and Texas I noticed a BIG difference in HOW people interact and relate. Good folks both places. But everything from conversation pace, acceptable/comfortable pauses in conversation, even the acceptable greeting/non-greeting to passing strangers were different.

Continuing this thought--I recall a person here in Texas telling me, "Our new neighbors are rude! They drove past our pick-up truck and didn't wave." In fact, several hundred miles west of our home here in East Texas--way out past Jacksboro (think "Green Frog Cafe" & Jerry Jeff Walker--actually a nice cafe except for the bugs in the "open country" (no fences) out on the Lubbock Highway, the required custom was to raise one finger from the steering wheel when passing an all too rare other vehicle (NOT the middle one, NOT "Long Man" . And rather than watch the edge of the bar ditch, the custom was to watch the other driver give his/her one finger wave . Go figure--custom and climate!

Sorry to drone on . . . .
mike

My first time to visit Chicago, I was like wow, look at all of the nice people. And, I was walking up to folks and trying to strike up conversations, or making great convo-opening remarks about the weather, but getting shoved aside, or making people flee for their lives, like I was the crazy one, ha ha.

 

[SoddenJack]

I still enjoy Latakia. Maybe Latakia is to tobacco like hops is to beer. Both have a role as condiment/flavoring component. Then somewhat recently Latakia/hops were “rediscovered”. As “Lat Bombs” became popular so did 120+ IBU IPAs. There were snobs in both groups that had a misplaced sense of superiority, they enjoyed “real” pipe tobaccco/craft beer. Not like those mass market drugstore blends/pisswater beers.

 

[JOHN72]

There's always time to smoke chicken shit.............In the end,quality and well work,It's what counts...............No.....¿¿¿¿

 

[macaroni]

I still enjoy Latakia. Maybe Latakia is to tobacco like hops is to beer. Both have a role as condiment/flavoring component. . . . Not like those mass market drugstore blends/pisswater beers.

HaHa! I like it!!

As for pisswater beers--I used to like costlier beers, now I don't drink beer often--but I've got a few Natural Light pisswater beers in the frig (been there a long while). When I get one, which is rarely, I'll likely put almost anything in glass with it (whiskey, fruit juice, Torani sugar free syrup . . . ). Now pisswater with an extra punch or some kind of other flavor. My taste buds are on acid, it seems like!
kindly
mike

 

[BROBS]

Quite interesting!

I recall hearing someone smarter than I mention Martin Marty's observation that climates shape people/cultures. Perhaps this is a no brainer but I hadn't considered it. Living in Connecticut and Texas I noticed a BIG difference in HOW people interact and relate. Good folks both places. But everything from conversation pace, acceptable/comfortable pauses in conversation, even the acceptable greeting/non-greeting to passing strangers were different.

Continuing this thought--I recall a person here in Texas telling me, "Our new neighbors are rude! They drove past our pick-up truck and didn't wave." In fact, several hundred miles west of our home here in East Texas--way out past Jacksboro (think "Green Frog Cafe" & Jerry Jeff Walker--actually a nice cafe except for the bugs in the "open country" (no fences) out on the Lubbock Highway, the required custom was to raise one finger from the steering wheel when passing an all too rare other vehicle (NOT the middle one, NOT "Long Man" . And rather than watch the edge of the bar ditch, the custom was to watch the other driver give his/her one finger wave . Go figure--custom and climate!

Sorry to drone on . . . .
mike

We do that here. That’s called a country wave

 

[pantsBoots]

So far it sounds like most of the folks who don't Latakia used to, but burned themselves out on it. I am taking that as a cue and ensuring a property variety of blends because I do not want to end up in that boat!

 

[shaneireland]

Brian mentioned something in the first few years he had the Pipesmagazine Radioshow, and it has stuck with me. He said that sales of latakia blends were always greater in colder climates and mountainous areas. I can't remember who he was interviewing, but he also mentioned that aromatics seemed to sell more in warmer climates and coastal areas also. I think he was talking worldwide. But, that by no means means that everyone in cold climates prefers this or that, just that "more" people, not "all" people.

I'm not sure if he was talking world-wide, but I'll wager that within the US, climate has little to do with what people smoke. Most people smoke aromatics, by far. Just like most people drink Bud Light, or whatever. There's easy access to a handful of mass-market aromatics and many, many smokers are just grabbing tobacco locally at a convenience store and are fine without "geeking-out" like we do. Using Smokingpipes.com as an example, our sales are not really obviously linked from tobacco type to climate, or even geographic location. More densely populated areas have more smokers (duh), and we sell a ton of English mixtures to folks in Southern California, Texas, etc. It really comes down to what type of smoker one is.

The truth is, trends/fads, and good-to-great marketing affects sales much more than generally shared opinions around which blends lend themselves to whatever weather. I mean, my serious Latakia days were during my time in San Diego, where 60 degrees was freezing and it never rained... I'm more seasonal with what I smoke now because I have the option to be for the first time in my life!

 

[cosmicfolklore]

I'm not sure if he was talking world-wide, but I'll wager that within the US, climate has little to do with what people smoke. Most people smoke aromatics, by far. Just like most people drink Bud Light, or whatever. There's easy access to a handful of mass-market aromatics and many, many smokers are just grabbing tobacco locally at a convenience store and are fine without "geeking-out" like we do. Using Smokingpipes.com as an example, our sales are not really obviously linked from tobacco type to climate, or even geographic location. More densely populated areas have more smokers (duh), and we sell a ton of English mixtures to folks in Southern California, Texas, etc. It really comes down to what type of smoker one is.

The truth is, trends/fads, and good-to-great marketing affects sales much more than generally shared opinions around which blends lend themselves to whatever weather. I mean, my serious Latakia days were during my time in San Diego, where 60 degrees was freezing and it never rained... I'm more seasonal with what I smoke now because I have the option to be for the first time in my life!

I'm pretty sure that it was a conversation with someone in the pipe tobacco production industry, maybe Stokkeby or Mac Barens. It was a long time ago. So, most likely it was global. Maybe the trend has changed... But we know Brian isn't going to win any congeniality awards for his kind words about latakia.

 

[shaneireland]

Me too.

English next for me, not burly nor Va. Burley gives me spins (sort of like a nice "buzz" from the first strong drink of the day). Va still often gives me tongue bit since I'm still working on sipping and not puffing.


I closed last night out with Va Gentleman and started the day with the same today--often having to either put the pipe down or just reminded myself to sip shalow or a small exhale into the stem to keep the pipe going. No tongue bite. Taste lingers on my tongue even though pipe is out of my mouth as I type this and the taste is light, subtle and good. Smoking Va slowly is making it taste for me rather than bit AND MUCH nicer!




I'm hoping this will be my experience because while I've loved Latakia years ago and now, after returning to pipes following years of abstinence, have loved it for the past year--does it make sense that I'm feeling a bit "bored" with it (not quite right, but I can't think of the best word to describe the feeling)?



If I continue to "mature" in my pipe smoking technique to avoid bite, and get more accustomed to nic hits and living with the "spins" (I tell my better half when this happens early in the afternoon--"the room's spinning a bit but I haven't ahd a drink yet!"), AND IF I gravitate to the VaPer blends--I hope this will occur for me BECAUSE I've stored away a BUNCH of Lat and Lat blends ) really!

Well put!

An aside, "Mr. Shane," mentions stong cofee and dark roasts. I'm still a bit groggy and have been slow awakening today so I may have missed the point (tied up with writing checks and this leaves my brain tired and "worn out"--and getting set to head out for the annual visits to county, city and school ISD offices to pay up the yearly property tax [reminds me the truth that we don't own the land--only "rent" it, regardless whose name is on the deed--just quit paying the property taxes and I'll find out who REALLY owns it ) . . . ; back to the coffee and dark roast comment--here's my question--IS DARK ROAST COFFEE STRONGER THAN LIGHT ROASTS (I've thought so for years, but googled it recently and IF I read correctly AND IF the info was accurate--the bean determined the caffeine content NOT the roast--slight differences exist but not appreciable! Blew my limited mind!)--as for "stronger"--yes, dark roasts have a stonger flavor but one nearing the "burnt" flavor--for years I roasted my beans to a really dark shiny appearance (Viennese sp?)--but I finally gravitated over time to quite light roasts that for me have lots more nuanced flavors. Perhaps I should ask this question in another forum thread since I don't want to hijack--hmmm.

Thanks Mr. Shane for lots of good things to consider on this chilly morning Texas
And thanks for all the time and good will you give to your "sharings" (videos, writings, etc)--these gifts help me and I appreciate You, Sir!

Enought suckking up! Taa Taa for Now! / TTFN (not a phrase I encountered down at ITS nor Camp Margarita in Pendleton years back
kindly
mike

I'll try to answer this quickly, because it's Friday and I have tea to drink and old tobacco to burn... ?

Generally, this applies to coffee, tea, and tobacco.

There are several factors that contribute to strength, but it's mostly two: amount of "strength" (nicotine, caffeine) present in the raw material, and the type/degree of processing.

A naturally very strong tobacco leaf or coffee bean can still end up on the strong side after intense processing, and a lighter leaf or bean can be mild with minimal processing. That makes this more difficult, but it's generally accepted that more cooking/fermentation/roasting/etc. will weaken the final product, but may add more complexity or even intensity to the flavor. It's a common misconception that "dark roast" coffees are stronger, or that black tea is stronger than green tea. In most cases, it's the other way around. The same is true of natural vs. maduro cigar wrappers, and black Cavendish or dark fired tobaccos vs. air cured or flue cured. Dark Fired Kentucky is still crazy strong after firing, but it was super strong when green and it's also not fired for nearly as long as Latakia, which is weaker in nicotine to begin with. But people swear up and down that heavy Latakia blends are strong, when actually they're usually just more intense/full-flavored.

Green tea will get you "tea drunk" if you drink a lot of it, but English breakfast tea is usually pretty medium.

The other HUGE complications here are our individual body chemistries and how (and how much) we're consuming these things...

 

[krizzose]

I've never liked latakia, except in truly condimental quantities (or, as I've recently discovered, well-aged light-Lat blends), since I started pipe smoking. It's a matter of subjective taste, I just don't care for the flavor. I've also never liked sweet potatoes. Why? Beyond the simple tautological answer, I don't have a clue.

When I started I smoked through a few tins of various English blends just to be sure. I was then and am now 100% sure. No thanks, but more power to those who love Latakia.

 

[hauntedmyst]

I’m from Iowa ... the smell and taste (not that I’ve tasted it) remind me of barnyard shit.

You might be smoking it wrong.

 

[karam]

I have the impression that a lot of newer pipe smokers eventually find latakia and have that "this is it!" moment. They've found that "real" tobacco taste and go whole hog for awhile. It is a uniquely interesting taste that a lot of new pipe smokers seem to discover in a uniquely similar way. Not everyone... but many. In nicotine content, latakia tends to be a step up from burley/cavendish blends... which happen to be the base of many aromatics that people (not everyone, of course) often start with.

I'm one who had their "this is it!" moment the first time I opened a tin of Nightcap, and smoked just that for 2 years straight, however need to note that unless you mean the usual - bad - flavoured cavendish blends that are offered to new pipe smokers, Latakia is very low in nicotine compared with all other types of tobacco being an oriental.

 

[wyfbane]

My 'Aha!' blend was McClelland Coyote Classic. It just rocked. Then a few weeks later I tried SPC Plum Pudding and that sort of sealed the deal.

I have always equated pipe tobacco to food, because I love food. Virginia's are grassy yummy salads. Perique makes for a zing in the salad. Burleys are nutty snack foods. Lat blends are smoked meats. Orientals and Lakeland are fun foreign foods. Aromatics are dessert.

There is room for all in my cellar and then I can snack at will.

 

[olkofri]

Well, if we are to compare to food... latakia is more like junk food: it's OK once in a while.

 

[karam]

Well, if we are to compare to food... latakia is more like junk food: it's OK once in a while.

I'd switch it around and say that for me it is more like dessert: it's ok once in a while.

 

[Chasing Embers]

I'd switch it around and say that for me it is more like dessert: it's ok once in a while.