Blend Recommendations for WLT Sampler + Latakia

[ProZachJ]

Lay it on me. My first WLT sampler plus a lb of Latakia arrives tomorrow, what blends should I try first?

For context:
I'm currently enjoying early morning pipe every morning and switching between C&D engine 99 and Awakened Elder in the evening. EMP I've really enjoyed from the moment I opened the tin till the last bowl. 99 started out tasting a bit too bitter but after an ounce or so I'm enjoying it decently. Elder tastes insane (in a good way), starts off tasting like pure soap, gets sweet in the middle, and smokey at the end.

The more I smoke these blends the less I enjoy blends that I formerly liked... Lane1Q, HGL..etc

 

[deluxestogie]

The matrix below is ordered by percentage of Latakia.

Bob

 

[ProZachJ]

Oh man! Its like Christmas.

 

[deluxestogie]

When you open the bags, carefully trim off the seal at the top with scissors. Then you can roll it down, and hold each of them closed with a pair of wooden clothespins.

Bob

 

[ProZachJ]

When you open the bags, carefully trim off the seal at the top with scissors. Then you can roll it down, and hold each of them closed with a pair of wooden clothespins.

Bob

What about taking out a portion for use and then putting the remaining portion that I intend to store for a while through my vacuum sealer?

 

[jclif43]

Oh man! You have opened Pandora’s box. Enjoy the journey.

 

[deluxestogie]

I am unfamiliar with the impacts of a vacuum sealer on tobacco.

Bob

 

[ProZachJ]

I didn't use the vacuum part, I just resealed the bag.

 

[ProZachJ]

1. I had fun.
2. My entire house smells like Latakia. Fine by me, not as much my better half
3. I struggled to be consistent with my cutting, need better knife.
4. I think if I am going to mix by weight I need to try to get the moisture content more close between the varieties. Seemed like a gram of some varieties was a bunch and others a tiny amount. Maybe I should just mix by volume?
5. Now I guess I just wait for these blends to do their thing for a week or so? I put them under a big pile of books.

 

[GreenDragon]

3. I struggled to be consistent with my cutting, need better knife.
4. I think if I am going to mix by weight I need to try to get the moisture content more close between the varieties. Seemed like a gram of some varieties was a bunch and others a tiny amount. Maybe I should just mix by volume?
5. Now I guess I just wait for these blends to do their thing for a week or so? I put them under a big pile of books.

Many of us struggled with this too when starting out. Some of my thoughts:
#3 Practice makes perfect A sharp, heavy knife works best for me, such as a large chef's knife or a Chinese Cleaver.
#4 I've done it both ways. Now, if I'm starting with whole leaf I will weigh it, roll it together into a cigar, and chop it up. But if I'm using pre-shredded leaf for a blend I just measure by volume, usually with a tablespoon.
#5 I like to try a bowl immediately to see if the pH balance and taste are to my liking. If not, adjust and try again. Once I'm happy, then I will press and age for a week or three.

 

[ProZachJ]

I decided to try them today for just that reasoning. Smyrna Bright right now....

If this gets better with age I'm in for quite the treat! It's pretty good now.

I'll try the Burley Baby later this afternoon

...thanks a ton @deluxestogie

 

[ProZachJ]

My level of happy is getting absurd here. Based on the blends ingredients and initial smell I thought these two would be hard for me to taste a difference between...wow was I wrong. So many different flavors in Burley Baby. Much less overall mouth coat feel, some almost carmel sweetness. I'm probably talking to the choir but hopefully y'all get a smile from watching a new convert from commercial blends discover what you already know.

 

[ProZachJ]

Tonight's blending session:

American Cream
Damascus Sun
Smaug

 

[OakBayou]

Tonight's blending session:

American Cream
Damascus Sun
Smaug

You're gonna like that Cream.

The VaPer I blended was a hybrid of Skree and Smaug, and it was amazing. Fresh Perique is really something unique you won't find in a tin.

 

[ProZachJ]

This morning the pouch aroma of Damascus Sun made a lilith play to seduce me into abandoning my plan to smoke these in the above order, but based on the above recommendation I stayed with the plan.

I found American Cream to be very smooth and well balanced but every once in a while I could almost taste the ember slip off of the va lemon and onto the dark air making for an enjoyable two note smoke. Definitely a good pipe for clenching and almost ignoring while I attended to my morning plant and animal caretaking routine.

...the sun will rise later though...that smell

 

[ProZachJ]

Today a long lost friend was returned to me and I decided that it was the perfect opportunity for trying the Damascus Sun. I had received this pipe as a gift from a customer of mine who was a pipe smoker and found out that I was too. I accidentally left it in a desk drawer at my former employer when I moved on, but an ex-co-worker was kind enough to gather it up for me when that thing that happened in 2020 occurred. 4 years later, we had lunch today and I got it back

 

[ProZachJ]

Smaug had me searching. When I smoked it too fast, too slow, too hot, or too cool all I could taste was a single note of smoke, but every now and again, when I had it burning just right, often while pushing on the tamp it would open up and give me a few puffs with a suddenly surprising and delighting complexity, then just as soon as it came, it was gone and I kept puffing and tamping in hopes of finding it once again.

 

[OakBayou]

Smaug had me searching.

I've found that, especially for two variety blends like VaPers or the dark-air ones like Cream and Marudnik, that pressing the blend down in a jar at letting it rest for a while, two weeks or so, makes a big difference. It gives the tobaccos time to ferment and marry their flavors. No need for noodle presses or anything fancy, just put it in the smallest mason jar that will hold the volume you blended, press it down with your thumbs (clean hands) with some pressure, and jar it up. Then forget about it for a little while. See if that makes a difference in finding flavor.
There's also plenty of threads here that talk about more involved pressing.

 

[ProZachJ]

My first adventure "off the chart". I want something between Smyrna Bright and Burley Baby...trying to find that every morning smoke so I can mix up a big batch.

Bright 'n Burley
Latakia: 4
Oriental (Samsun): 2
Lemon VA: 4
Red VA: 4
Dark Air: 1
Burley: 1

Smells good, I can't wait to see how it tastes in the morning.

 

[ProZachJ]

Sampler Report

The four 25% Latakia blends that I have tried in search of a morning pipe to accompany my plant and animal chores have all been good. I mixed each one in the evening and let it sit overnight before trying it the next morning.

Smyrna Bright
Burley Baby
Bright 'n Burley
Smyrna Half Bright (replaced the lemon portion with 50/50 lemon:bright)

By 1/2 bowl all of them are excellent, but the first 1/3+ each suffered from a "rawness". For the Smrynas it was an overall "mouth coat" feel lessened in the SHB but still there. For the burleys it was a back of the mouth tingle in proportion to the amount of burley. For a mid day smoke I'd not mind it whatsoever, but for the morning smoothness is the goal.

Progress

Encouraged, but not quite satisfied, after sampling each blend, I'd roll it tightly in a freezer bag and place it under a stack of a few encyclopedia volumes. This morning after 48 hrs under the stack I pulled out BnB for another go, about 75% of the rawness is gone and after 1/4 of the bowl it was no longer noticeable. Now I'm getting excited...

then I will press and age for a week or three.

Its almost like you guys know what you are talking about! If current trends track, I think I'm going to have a hard time choosing between BnB and SHB. Maybe I just have two morning blends on my hands.