Why The Dislike For Latakia?

[Simmerdown☕️]

For me it’s a matter of preference over dislike. Occasionally I’m still in the mood for a Balkan/English blend, but most of the time my taste is for sweet & savory mixtures of Virginia, VaPer & Burley. I do enjoy a bowl of SLF, Margate, Pelican, London Mixture, Westminster, Balkan Supreme, etc. from time to time. ️

 

[captainsousie]

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!

Actually, the one finger wave is a carry over from horse riding more than anything else. One does not wave enthusiastically from the back of a (untrained) horse unless one wishes to take an unscheduled flight. It just was more intelligent to raise a finger or two in greeting. The same thing just got absorbed into car/truck culture out in the country.

 

[saltedplug]

Latakia, more from its power to dominate a blend than for its taste, has polarized pipe smokers for some time. I fell victim to the view that you ether liked it or you didn't. I liked it for a year and then decided I didn't, thanks in no small part to its ambivalent press.

I didn't resume smoking it in a more than incidental way for more than 14 years. When I did I found how splendid a smoke it could be, particularly with Pease Quiet Nights.

So yes, dominating, but not so at lesser percentages.

 

[winton]

Like most new pipe smokers, I bought 3 blends, one was a heave English blend. I smoked it occasionally, but after a number of years, I gave the remainder to a friend, who enjoyed this type of tobacco. Today, I have two blends with Latakia, Match Presbyterian, with a "whisper" of Latakia in it, and a blend from a local shop. The blender said she uses one handful of Latakia in a five pound batch. Perhaps, that will be in my pipe today.

 

[chuckDJeesus]

I love smoking it. It's walking into the garage one hour after smoking it I don't care for.