Thomas Alan
The Living Force
dant said:
Alas, for better or worse, my wife and I aren't currently living together.
Mac
Alas, for better or worse, my wife and I aren't currently living together.
Mac
Mr. Premise
The Living Force
mnmulchi said:I have recently decided to take up pipe smoking again, after just smoking a corn cob pipe some a couple of years ago. I have smoked cigars in the past too, but none were pure/healthy. I recently ordered some Kentucky Select Organic tobacco and am looking forward to trying it. From the research I have done so far it sounds like Virginia tobaccos store great, and you can age them for years. I would like to eventually buy the KSO in bulk and can up a bunch for storage.
I've been looking around at pipes too and it looks like the best value are estate pipes sold on ebay. It's cool that pipes have been constructed in much the same way for so many years. One I plan on using was my Great Grandmothers and it's still in great shape.
I also started smoking pipes recently in addition to cigarettes. The problem with pipe smoking is that it leads to a disease called PAD (Pipe Acquisition Disorder). I caught that. Symptoms include cruising Ebay for estate pipes and ordering more than you really need. I also started with corn cobs which smoke well and are really cheap ($5). But soon, inevitably, it leads to meerschaums and briars. I bought one new pipe, three unsmoked estate pipes, one unsmoked meerschaum (hasn't arrived yet) and a couple of smoked estate pipes I found at a local antiques store. They had really cool shapes and smoked very well.
The nice thing about smoked estate pipes is that you don't have to break them in. Dant, if you are burning through briar pipes, you are smoking them wrong or not breaking them in right. It's worth it to search on the internet for how to break in a pipe and how to smoke a pipe. If you draw too hard or too frequently, they can overheat. The breaking in process builds a protective carbon layer that keeps the briar itself from burning.
I bought some high-end pipe tobacco in a few varieties to see what it's supposed to smoke like. When I bought my first corn cob I decided to just stuff in some of my shredded cigarette blend. It tasted awful. So then I tried the high-end store-bought and it was incredibly smooth. So I decided to try making my own pipe tobacco from whole leaf, and after some research was able to make some really nice stuff.
The first blend I made was from Virginia Flue Cured, Dark Air Cured, Burley, Oriental Izmir, and Dark Fire Cured in order of proportion. It's important to add sugar to raise the PH of the smoke. So I made a solution of 4oz water, a teaspoon of honey, some licorice extract, and a small amount of vanilla extract. I destemmed the whole leaf, put it in a freezer bag and sprayed it heavily with the solution, sealed it up and let it sit overnight. The next day I took two of the largest Virginia leaves and placed them flat on a cutting board and then put the other leaves and scraps flat on top. I rolled it as tightly as possible into a big cigar. The honey in the solution bound it together well (the leaves should be pretty moist). Then I kept rolling the cigar on the cutting board with my hands to tighten it even more and let it sit for a day. There was about 4 oz of tobacco in one big cigar.
The next day I sliced the cigar into coin-shaped discs as thinly as I could and let the discs air out. There were a couple of problems with it. It was still harsher than the store-bought stuff and had tongue bite (from the Virginia). I knew that toasting Burley helped smooth it out a lot for cigarettes, so I decided to toast the whole blend. I rubbed out the disks to the point where it was loose tobacco, spread it out on plates, heated the oven to 250F, sprayed the tobacco with the solution, this time with some scotch whiskey in it for some more flavor, to moisten them. Put the plates in the oven until the tops were dry, flipped it over and dried the other side. As soon as the tobacco was dry, I took them out of the oven, put them into a freezer bag, sprayed it lightly then sealed the bag overnight. The difference was amazing. The toasting made all the difference. The smoke was really smooth. But it tasted a little too sweet and the vanilla came through too much, so I bought some bulk Latakia from my local tobacco shop (I haven't been able to find whole leaf Latakia, or Perique for that matter) and added some of that to the blend. Latakia is oriental tobacco that is cured in sheds with various woods (evergreens and others) and herbs that give it a spicy, woody taste. That cut the vanilla and made the blend almost perfect.
It was still a tad harsh, so I decided to make Cavendish which is a steamed tobacco that has little nicotine or flavor but is used to smooth out blends. To make Cavendish, the best way is to put the tobacco leaves, destemmed, into a bowl and pressure-cook for three hours. I used Maryland 609 tobacco for the Cavendish. I did it the other way, though which is to put it in a collander placed on a pot of boiling water with the lid on top of the collander to keep the steam in. The problem with this method is that it takes almost 24 hours to turn the tobacco dark black. Next time I will try the pressure cooker method. But in any case, I blended the Cavendish in and the resulting blend is fantastic, if I don't say so myself.
I then experimented with other blends, an English Blend, which is Virginia, Burley, Oriental, and Latakia. I bought some Perique on line and blended that in with Virginia and Oriental, and made some other blends as well. Some with less flavoring, some with almost none, one with a teaspoon of maple syrup instead of honey. I do like a little vanilla, licorice, and a spray of whiskey, though. Since I like the "medallion flake" the coin shaped pressed discs, After my first batch I toasted the discs themselves and stored them in disc form.
It was a lot of fun. The key, though, is the toasting. I read somewhere that high-end pipe tobacco makers dry the tobacco after spraying on the casing solution by rolling it in heated metal drums, which has the effect of toasting it.
The nice thing about pipe tobacco is that it improves with age if cellared. So I can stock up and I'm storing it in my cellar along with the canned meat, bone broth, and grass fed beef tallow. Just make sure it is not too moist, just a little moist and put it in half pint canning jars, compressed as much as possible.
mnmulchi
Jedi
That's really interesting Mr. Premise, I could definitely see PAD as easy to catch too! I'm just going to try to keep it simple. It sounds like you're on your way to becoming a master blender of pipe tobacco! Your description taught me a lot. I had no idea that cavendish is made that way, I wondered how it became black.
After you sprayed your liquid mixture on the tobacco about how long did it take to dry in the oven at 250F on each side? Have you had any problems with mold? My fear would be storing it too wet after treating it and it molding, especially with the added sugar. But then some of the major companies blends are so wet when first opened that they have to be air dried some before smoking. Do you think they add additional mold preventative? I have read vanilla extract naturally helps prevent mold. This sounds like an interesting way to play with different tastes, but by adding ingredients that you can control. It makes me wonder how many mystery chemicals may be added to the name brand aromatic casings and toppings.
After you sprayed your liquid mixture on the tobacco about how long did it take to dry in the oven at 250F on each side? Have you had any problems with mold? My fear would be storing it too wet after treating it and it molding, especially with the added sugar. But then some of the major companies blends are so wet when first opened that they have to be air dried some before smoking. Do you think they add additional mold preventative? I have read vanilla extract naturally helps prevent mold. This sounds like an interesting way to play with different tastes, but by adding ingredients that you can control. It makes me wonder how many mystery chemicals may be added to the name brand aromatic casings and toppings.
TheLostBoy
Jedi
Anybody have a source for this? The use of tobacco during the 1300s, esp. during Black Death? I read this reply about 5 minutes after doing a quick but fruitless search for this information. Sources anyone?
And :( , just found out reading this thread my American Spirit Organics (best I could find in my area at the moment) are made with FSC papers. Bummer that I'll have to get the tobacco out of the papers and re-roll or pipe it, but THANK YOU to everyone who contributed information on the FSC topic, as I'd rather know and protect myself than not know and ignorantly enjoy pre-rolled convenience.
Also, thank you for posting the WholeLeaf website. I'm checking out the sampler packs currently.. :)
Mr. Premise
The Living Force
mnmulchi said:
I can't remember exactly how long it took to dry the tobacco after spraying and putting it in the oven. You have to keep an eye on it and check it frequently because you don't want to over-toast it. Probably ten or fifteen minutes a side.
Mold is something to worry about. It's probably a good idea to keep it on the drier side, but not completely dry for cellaring. If it's too dry it won't age as well. Probably the cheaper pipe tobaccos add stuff to prevent mold, but the better stuff I think they don't much. They store it in vacuum seals so it won't mold until you open it, but then it can. But as far as making your own goes, when you take it out of the oven completely dry and put it into the freezer bag and lightly spray it, the dry tobacco absorbs the extra moisture and it comes out just right. Dryer than the store bought stuff which can be pretty moist.
[quote author=TheLostBoy]
Anybody have a source for this? The use of tobacco during the 1300s, esp. during Black Death? I read this reply about 5 minutes after doing a quick but fruitless search for this information. Sources anyone?[/quote]
You could try this thread: http://cassiopaea.org/forum/index.php/topic,23414.msg262846.html#msg262846 The writing that i had noticed was from 'Journal of the Plague Year by Daniel Defoehe' and there are other references, too.
Anybody have a source for this? The use of tobacco during the 1300s, esp. during Black Death? I read this reply about 5 minutes after doing a quick but fruitless search for this information. Sources anyone?[/quote]
You could try this thread: http://cassiopaea.org/forum/index.php/topic,23414.msg262846.html#msg262846 The writing that i had noticed was from 'Journal of the Plague Year by Daniel Defoehe' and there are other references, too.
un chien anadolu
Jedi Master
Wow can you believe this 
This lunatics have seriously no limits.
_http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2232717/Smokers-need-licence-Public-health-experts-radical-proposal-cap-cigarettes-buy.html
This lunatics have seriously no limits._http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2232717/Smokers-need-licence-Public-health-experts-radical-proposal-cap-cigarettes-buy.html
Kreu
The Force is Strong With This One
Gonzo said:
Hi all,
I've been searching the interwebs for info on what filters and papers are OK, I use red rizzlas as that's all I can find in our town and they seem alright, but I wonder if the filters I use, Swan Tips, are non-toxic? I pretty much don't trust the mainstream info but since that's all there is to be found... I guess I just have to gamble :/ I smoke american spirits which I feel is better than the other organic brands I've tried.
Sorry if this has been discussed perviousley, I've searched the forum but if I've missed something somewhere I apologize.
Timey
Jedi Master
Kreu said:
Until you can find some additive free papers, I'd recommend you switch you green rizzla. They are much lighter.
On the subject of American Spirits, does anyone know where I could pick up some non-filtered pre-rolled ones? I know they exist, but I can't seem to find anywhere that sells them. Cheers.
edit: I think RAW papers are additive free. http://rollingsupreme.com/Products/Rolling_Papers/Raw/
sacriface
Jedi Master
Did anyone consider rolling "backflips" ?
You do it by turning the skin inside out, so that when you put the tobacco in the skin, the glue strip is facing down towards you, then when you lick and flip it, all excess skin is on the outside of a rollie instead of being tucked inside, with relatively thin rollies-it's most paper thats unnecessarily stuffed in a rollie affecting its taste and going into your lungs for no reason.
So, after flipping it that way you just set the excess on fire and it burns off itself, and its ready! -only as much paper as is needed. It's a little more difficult and awkward that way but if one appreciates a nice taste of additive free, It's well worth a stress!
I also prefer unfiltered, just a paper tip for convenience.
You do it by turning the skin inside out, so that when you put the tobacco in the skin, the glue strip is facing down towards you, then when you lick and flip it, all excess skin is on the outside of a rollie instead of being tucked inside, with relatively thin rollies-it's most paper thats unnecessarily stuffed in a rollie affecting its taste and going into your lungs for no reason.
So, after flipping it that way you just set the excess on fire and it burns off itself, and its ready! -only as much paper as is needed. It's a little more difficult and awkward that way but if one appreciates a nice taste of additive free, It's well worth a stress!
I also prefer unfiltered, just a paper tip for convenience.
ametist said:
I find 'backflipping' it tends to make it ugly, baggy, and not burn as well. Then again I've never been too good with the rolling tricks! It's the method I use when I'm forced to use chlorine skins though.
I just combine ultra thin OCB skins with RAW roach paper:
_https://www.thebackyshop.co.uk/products/ocb-premium-no1-regular-cigarette-papers#
_https://www.thebackyshop.co.uk/products/raw-natural-unbleached-roach-material
Also, I recommend that website for those living in the UK.
sacriface
Jedi Master
Carlise said:
With backflips it is indeed harder to make a good rollie, but thats a matter of practice! even though i find it easy at this stage, it still happens to have 3 failed attempts in a row which is just funny :)
I always found OCB's very prone to burning sideways and going out, and chlorine free skins are I think a major rarity in Ireland, ill have to look for some though, its a good call. Regarding the roach material I tend to dismount the skins package and then have them loose flying about in my pockets
