Buy Tobacco Leaf Online | Whole Leaf Tobacco

How do I Make Pipe Tobacco from Whole Leaf?

Status
Not open for further replies.

leo

Member
Joined
Jul 26, 2017
Messages
12
Points
1
Hi!
I'm a new user, I never bought raw tobacco...
I would like to know if exist an how to about it... How to start what I have to do...

I would like to order a couple of pounds of virginia tobacco because I'm a virginia lover,
I usually smoke McClellaand.

So:
Can I smoke it immediately?
I have to process it in some way?
I have to age it a little?

And the more "impolite" question: how is it comparing with McClellaand virginia tobacco?

Best regards,
Leo
 

greenmonster714

Well-Known Member
Joined
Sep 10, 2016
Messages
1,351
Points
63
Location
West Central Alabama
Re: How to...

Welcome to FTT. I'm assuming you smoke a pipe. WLT is a great place to start. If you are outside of the US ya may want to check out import rules. Any tobacco you get from WLT will be well aged and ready to go. You will have to remove stems before you cut/chop/grind it up for blending. Yes, you can consume it right away. The flue cured Brightleaf is a good start. Adding some Turkish, Burley, dark air, or Latakia for English blends. There's a good thread on recipes in the pipe section. Once you try whole leaf you'll be spoiled..lol. Enjoy the site.
 

leo

Member
Joined
Jul 26, 2017
Messages
12
Points
1
Re: How to...

Thank you for the quick answer!
I'm not a super fan of EM...
If I bought a couple of pounds to create an em... I can smoke it for years!!!

I'm italian but I live in Austin, TX...

My idea is to buy a couple of pounds of virginias and blending them together...
And of course I want to make my own plug :)
 

deluxestogie

Administrator
Staff member
Joined
May 25, 2011
Messages
23,931
Points
113
Location
near Blacksburg, VA
Welcome to the forum, leo. Which specific McClelland blends do you enjoy? That would help define the ingredients you need, and assist other members in recommending what to purchase.

You can look at the Pipes and Cigars website for particular McClelland blends, then click for (vague) details of the ingredients: https://www.pipesandcigars.com/shop/bulk-tobacco/1800126/?f_Brand=McClelland+Bulk

As GreenMonster mentioned, the tobacco from www.wholeleaftobacco.com is ready to use, after removing the central vein. Certain pipe ingredients, such as Perique and Cavendish usually have to be made by you, though the processes are easy and fairly straightforward.

Aromatic flavoring (casing) is easy to add, but it's challenging to duplicate a specific commercial casing.

Bob

EDIT: I forgot to mention that your own home-made pipe blends can often be not only equal to a commercial blend, but also better.
 

Smokin Harley

Well-Known Member
Joined
Aug 25, 2014
Messages
2,573
Points
48
Location
Grant ,Alabama
Leo, welcome to FTT . I grew some Virginia in my first grow of 2015 and after building a kiln and aging it since then , I'm actually just now getting into use of it .
 

DistillingJim

Well-Known Member
Joined
May 23, 2016
Messages
357
Points
28
Location
UK
I strongly recommend making or buying some perique if you're playing with Va blends Leo. Things can get very bitey without it.
 

leo

Member
Joined
Jul 26, 2017
Messages
12
Points
1
Thank you so much for all the information.
I want to start with something easy:
1) buying some virginia and smoke :D - I love mcclelland red cake, I want to buy some red virginia and taste it
2) I want to make my own plug - Maybe mixing different type of virginia
If every thing goes well
3) start to blend VaPe, Va and some orientals...

I have no time to grow my own tobacco... (no time and no space) so...
 

deluxestogie

Administrator
Staff member
Joined
May 25, 2011
Messages
23,931
Points
113
Location
near Blacksburg, VA
You have room and time to make your own Perique. http://fairtradetobacco.com/threads/2873-Really-Easy-Perique-Press It will have to sit around for 3 months, so now is as good a time as any to get it started.

A reasonable choice of whole leaf for making Perique would be a Maryland or Burley variety. The variety you put in determines the potency of what comes out. You can make Perique with any variety. I haven't tried it with Red Virginia.

Bob
 

leo

Member
Joined
Jul 26, 2017
Messages
12
Points
1
Hi everybody I'm back!!! Finally I have some time to dedicate to make a plug!
I just bought a pound of red leaf and some perique...

Unfortunately I lost all my docs about how to make a plug... My PC is broken!!! :-( and I'm using the phone...

I built a press...

Now... For what I remember:
1) remove the central vein from the leaf
2) spray it with a mixture of water, brown sugar and vinegar (witch proportion???)
3) stack the leaf and press...(how long???)

4) what else???

I bought some perique too... Mixing with the Virginia what proportion do you suggest???

Help!!!
Maybe linking some how to...

Thanks!!!
 

DistillingJim

Well-Known Member
Joined
May 23, 2016
Messages
357
Points
28
Location
UK
I wouldnt use vinegar personally but otherwise it sounds about right - There's no fixed term for the press but I find a week works fine for me. I would start with 20% perique and cut/add from there - I know some guys here use more
 

Charly

Moderator
Joined
May 1, 2016
Messages
2,209
Points
113
Location
France
I think you should perhaps begin to blend a small batch, without the press, to find what proportions you like.
Once you found something you like, you can try a bigger batch under the press.
 

deluxestogie

Administrator
Staff member
Joined
May 25, 2011
Messages
23,931
Points
113
Location
near Blacksburg, VA
With unpressed pipe blends, I use a ratio of 3/8 Perique to 5/8 Lemon Virginia. Since red Virginia is not quite as acidic as the Lemon Virginia, @DistillingJim's 20% seems like as good a place as any to start.

The tricky part about pressing plug from a happy non-pressed blend is that the pressing process alters the taste to some extent.

Bob
 

leo

Member
Joined
Jul 26, 2017
Messages
12
Points
1
Thank y'all so much!

My idea is:
Press 1/2 pound Virginia
Press 1/2 pound VaPe
And smoke :)

Any rule about the ratio between water, vinegar and sugar?

@deluxestogie how to blend two tobaccos?
Just put together in a jar, shake and wait?
(How long???)
 

Jitterbugdude

Moderator
Founding Member
Joined
May 22, 2011
Messages
4,266
Points
113
Location
Northeast Maryland
That's a lot of tobacco to press. What if the final product is something you do not like? Try mixing smaller batches (shredded) first. When you find a combination you like then scale it up to a 1 pound batch.

Also, Do not expect this to taste like a McClellands blend per say. They add a lot of flavorings (like all blenders do) to their tobacco.
 

leo

Member
Joined
Jul 26, 2017
Messages
12
Points
1
I know, McClellands is gone.
I would like to have a good Virginia to smoke... And a good VaPe.

How you can understand I'm new in this world... :)

Ok, so:
1) Smoke just a bowl of Virginia.
2) press a little amount of Virginia and smoke
3) mix Virginia and perique in a jar and smoke
4) press a VaPe and smoke

How long I have to keep the mix in a jar before smoke it?
:)
 

deluxestogie

Administrator
Staff member
Joined
May 25, 2011
Messages
23,931
Points
113
Location
near Blacksburg, VA
I agree with JBD about initial batch sizes. 50% Perique will likely make your head spin. Also, my instinct tells me you should maybe nix the vinegar. I'm not sure how that would improve anything--unless you really like a ketchup taste in your tobacco. The flue-cured and the Perique are acid against base, respectively. The vinegar will alter that balance, as well as add a noticeable vinegar aroma.

If you are layering whole leaf segments for pressing, then the layers are the blend. Press it, then cut and slice to flake.

If, instead, you are intending to shred it first, dump it all into a 1 gallon Ziplock bag, inflate the bag, and then shake and toss it for about a minute. A pressed shred will make a crumble cake when pressed.

Bob
 

leo

Member
Joined
Jul 26, 2017
Messages
12
Points
1
For what I red, the vinegar is used to avoid mold... Not to improve the flavor...

For what I remember:
Water for the moist
Sugar to stick the tobacco together
Vinegar for the mold
 

deluxestogie

Administrator
Staff member
Joined
May 25, 2011
Messages
23,931
Points
113
Location
near Blacksburg, VA
Purchasers of commercial pipe tobacco blends expect the tobacco to be squishy and remain squishy for a long time (or forever). Because of that unfortunate expectation, manufacturers add various anti-fungal agents. In the case of McClelland, vinegar was apparently used as one of their anti-fungal agents in their squishy tobacco. Hence the "ketchup" smell of Frog Morton, etc.

Good news. Home blenders who make their own pipe blends know to store the tobacco in a somewhat drier state, so that it doesn't mold. If it gets too dry, a very slight mist of water remedies that. So home blenders don't need to smell vinegar. They get to smell tobacco instead.

Bob
 

leo

Member
Joined
Jul 26, 2017
Messages
12
Points
1
Ok I'll do my best, I'll apply the kiss method:
Keep it stupid and simple!
No spray. Just the leaves... :)
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top