which varieties of orientals to grow for flavor.

[charles]

O.K. I'm as green as grass here so forgive the stupid questions...I'm planning on growing some oriental varieties the coming spring....I was told that orientals usually have a richer stronger flavor, but lower nicotine levels than American tobaccos.....I'm looking for flavor,so I was wondering if folks could recommend oriental varieties with a strong rich flavor...I'm pretty open to most all flavors I tend to enjoying rich,spicy,or complex flavors.I guess for my first trial i was thinking of types i could sun cure as that seems to be the easiest curing method.As I say i'm real new and eager to jump in, but don't want to get over my head on my first trial.

Thanx.

 

[Jitterbugdude]

I think it depends on what you plan to smoke, a pipe or cigs. Maden or Bucak are two very mild but very flavorful tobaccos. They are great smoked straight in a pipe. For cigs you'd want to add 30-40 percent of you want the flavor to come through. If you are looking to just make a mild smoke for a cig then you could get by with 10 percent. Other nice favors are Bursa and Tekkekoy.

Edit: For you grammar Nazis, I finally broke down and bought a smartphone. Some of the posts I've made are from it. The screen is so small and the keyboard even smaller that there is bound to be quite a bit of spelling errors on some of my texts.

 

[DonH]

O.K. I'm as green as grass here so forgive the stupid questions...I'm planning on growing some oriental varieties the coming spring....I was told that orientals usually have a richer stronger flavor, but lower nicotine levels than American tobaccos.....I'm looking for flavor,so I was wondering if folks could recommend oriental varieties with a strong rich flavor...I'm pretty open to most all flavors I tend to enjoying rich,spicy,or complex flavors.I guess for my first trial i was thinking of types i could sun cure as that seems to be the easiest curing method.As I say i'm real new and eager to jump in, but don't want to get over my head on my first trial.

Thanx.

Most oriental varieties have more of a light flavor than a strong, rich one. There are a few exceptions, but what you get from orientals usually is lightness and aromatic, almost incense-like flavors. It's more of a spice for your blend. For strong, rich, you add Burley or Dark Air types.

 

[Knucklehead]

Izmir Ozbas or Prilep 66-9/7 for cigarettes. Samsun Maden for a stand alone pipe smoke.

I use 10% Izmir Ozbas or Prilep from Don in my cigarettes. Using 10%, one lb. of Don's oriental will make 10 lbs. of a cigarette blend. www.wholeleaftobacco.com.

 

[deluxestogie]

Samsun and Shirazi are both fairly potent, and are gown in wide spacing, so the leaf size is larger than most Orientals. Yayladag is also a more robust tasting Oriental. You might want to peruse the information in the specific threads dedicated to Orientals, listed in the index to key forum threads:

http://fairtradetobacco.com/threads/3868-Key-threads-in-the-FTT-forum.

Istanbulin has contributed a vast amount of information on Orientals to the forum.

Bob

 

[istanbulin]

I think we have to specify what's the meaning of "flavor". What I get is, flavor is not related to the strength (nicotine effect) but the taste or aroma of the smoke and the strength or potentness of the smoke is generally defined by "body" (e.g. full/medium bodied) not by "flavor". I think there's a confusion about the sense terms.

Shirazi has too much tar in the smoke which makes it harsher to smoke, I don't recommend it for cigarettes (I don't know what you're looking for, cigarette or pipe tobacco). It may be good in pipe (I haven't tried) but it's good in hookah. Yayladağ is better for smoking in pipe because its (subtile) flavor is not very detectable in cigarettes, it doesn't contain much nicotine (generally 1%) when grown properly.

Samsun-Maden doesn't contain much nicotine (generally max 1%) when properly grown but provides aromatic (monotone and somewhat cigar like earthy) smoke both in cigarette or pipe, it can be smoked stand alone easily. I prefer Samsun-Maden in cigarettes.

Bitlis has higher nicotine content (generally max 2%) when properly grown and so it's stronger but has complex flavors and is fragrant, it can also be smoked stand alone. I prefer Bitlis in pipe.

These are my two favorites which I like to smoke stand alone, Samsun-Maden for cigarettes and Bitlis for pipe.

 

[DGBAMA]

Orientals tend to be fruity/aeromatic/flavorful in a way that no other type can match. But I hesitate to call them bolder or stronger in flavor. Neither bold or strong come to mind for oriental varieties. I love the smell/olfactory flavor of Izmir, Bursa, and Prilep, but do not consider any of them "bold".

 

[charles]

Am I right in assuming that the oriental varieties are usually sun cured.

 

[deluxestogie]

Orientals are traditionally sun-cured. You can also air-cure them. Some can be successfully flue-cured.

Bob

 

[Jitterbugdude]

I've air cured, sun cured and flue cured orientals. I have not noticed any difference in taste so I air cure all my orientals now

 

[deluxestogie]

...I have not noticed any difference in taste...

For sun-curing to make a real difference, you've got to have a week or more of warmth and excellent sunlight as soon as the leaf has yellowed. If it's cloudy or intermittent, it just air-cures anyway.

Bob