Wandering Through the Orient

It seems that I have only so many words in me. Hence, this pause between posts here at A Passion for Pipes. I’ve been reading, researching, and working on my book project. It has consumed me.

A leaf of the Samsun varietal

It does not go without saying that to understand the world of pipes that one must delve into the world of tobaccos, so I have been reading and studying a number of books and articles on tobaccos – on tobacco history, varieties, geography-of-origin, processing, and on blending.

I have been astounded at how much has been written about tobacco, yet how many holes there are in the big tobacco story. Tobacco changed the borders, development, and economies of the old and new worlds. It has spawned rituals, cultures, states, rebellions, and wars. So much is known, and yet so much remains unknown.

I have also decided to become more experientially literate, especially as literacy relates to my ability to taste the differences between various Orientals. So, I have dived headfirst into comparative trials of blends containing  Yenidje, Samsun, Sokhoum, Katerina, Izmir, Xanthi, Kavalla, Djebel, etc.

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Five Strategies to Improve Your New Tobacco-Blend Explorations.

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Nicotiana TabacumWe live in a Golden Age of Pipe Tobacco Choices.

Despite anti-smoking fervor and the ongoing attempts of government and society to radically constrain the tobacco industries, we live in a Golden Age of pipe tobacco. The range and quality of blend choices available to today’s pipe smoker boggles the mind. There is so much out there it is difficult to imagine sampling and evaluating most of what is available.

Most of us don’t want to try everything. We know there are a lot of blends out there that we will not or cannot like. So, how do we improve the probability that we can find blends wherein we enjoy both the taste and the affect of the smoking experience?

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