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New Turkish/Oriental Tobaccos Basma and Samsun

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FmGrowit

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mwaller

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Has anyone had chance to sample and compare the three orientals that are currently available on WLT?
I already have the Prelip. Wondering about purchasing the Basma and Samsun....
 

burge

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its a new tobacco but would trust Dons description of the tobacco. I am not a super fan of Turkish style tobaccos but I assure you it will be the best tobacco you can get. If you are familiar with these types of tobacco. On pipe sites when you see blending tobacco at 3.40 a ounce Dons leaf will easily equal those or be better.
 

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I presently have both of the new Orientals. I just opened them. The aromas are lovely. That's pretty much all I can say, until I smoke a couple of bowls of each tomorrow.

However, using my flue-cured Prancak N-1 (its parents being Indonesian Madura Prancak-95 and Izmir), I made a blend together with the new Basma and Samsun. And I have smoked a couple of bowls of that mixture. I can't say which component is contributing what, but the blend is smooth and mild, with a light floral aroma. It's slightly sweet, but I suspect that sweetness may be from the Prancak N-1, since I flue-cured it, and it's bright yellow in color. There is no significant tongue bite. The burn is a bit sluggish, which I often see with Oriental leaf (sometimes used to slow the burn of commercial cigarettes, for a cooler smoke). Both the Samsun and the Basma must be fairly well aged, since the blend with the Prancak N-1 offers no hint of young leaf.

Comparing the Basma types that I have grown, and the Samsun that I have grown, this WLT Samsun seems to consist of rather tiny leaves, whereas the WLT Basma leaf size is typical. In Turkey, Basma varieties are closely planted (6-9"), but Samsun is frequently grown there with wider spacing, yielding a taller plant (6') and larger leaves.

I'll post more specific info, once I have it.

Bob
 

deluxestogie

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Basma

Garden20171126_3262_WLT_Basma_leafInHand_500.jpg


This is lovely leaf. Like all commercial Turkish tobacco today, it's not laid out as stacks of leaves, but just kind of tossed into a baler, and shipped out of Turkey. But with care, individual leaves can be uncrumpled, if you want to have a look.

But there's no need to do that. The stems are so tiny that, for my pipe tobacco, I just shred it all.

The Basma releases a subtle floral bouquet in the pouch, and equally while smoked. The smoke is very smooth, very mild, and unobtrusive, but does deliver a hint of sweetness, and a distinctive Turkish aroma. I've smoked several bowls of it straight. I enjoyed it so much that I kept forgetting that I was supposed to be analyzing its characteristics. My mind would just wander.

Garden20171126_3263_WLT_Basma_shredInHand_500.jpg



Samsun

Garden20171126_3268_WLT_Samsun_leafInHand_500.jpg


These Samsun leaves are so small (though larger than the Basma) that I initially wondered if it was Samsun at all. But, as you see above, the leaf has "shoulders", which we only see in Samsun's family of Turkish varieties (Samsun, Bafra, Samsun-Maden, Trabzon, Bursa).

The color is a bit darker than that of the Basma, and its aroma is not floral. But it does reveal a soft, "Turkish" aroma in the pouch, and a fuller one when smoked. The Samsun produces a richer, slightly edgier, fuller smoke, with a greater throat "hit", if you inhale it. It's burn is sluggish, typical of Samsun, but burns sufficiently well on its own for smoking straight.

Compared to my own, homegrown Samsun, the WLT Samsun is considerably milder and, frankly, better. I would be inclined to blend it, rather than smoke it straight, since it would compliment Bright Virginia leaf. Hardcore Samsun smokers will likely love this right out of the bag. This small Samsun can be shredded, stems and all.

Garden20171126_3269_WLT_Samsun_shredInHand_500.jpg


Bob
 
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