Customer comments

[FmGrowit]

I'm looking to purchase a gift certificate from you for Christmas. Is that possible to do on the website?
Thanks!

Hi Monica,

I'm happy to let you know I have installed a Gift Certificate option on the website. The button is on the Home page just under the current promotion (near the top of the page)

Let me know if there is anything else I can do for you.

Don,

Great! Thanks so much!! My Dad will be thrilled with his Christmas gift!
Have a great day.

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Thank you Thank You Thank You!!! You've made the day of someone very special to me. Have a wonderful Holiday.

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Don,

Merry Christmas! A big thank you to you from me.

I am new to smoking whole leaf tobacco. I started with your cigarette sampler
which was great as it gave me an idea of each type of tobacco.

I have found that I prefer a blend of 3 parts VA Red, 1 part Burley, 1 part
Turkish/Oriental Prilep.

I just received my 3rd order from you and the tobacco smells heavenly. And to
top it off, a free pound of tobacco, free shipping and samples of the threshed
VA and burley!

Are you sure your name isn't Santa Clause? LOL

When I started with whole leaf, I found your forum and that convinced me to
order from you. I can't compare WLT with any other place because I have only
ordered from WLT and plan to do the same in the future.

Thank you for the great service, fast shipping, and most of all - the wonderful
tobacco.

Best Wishes,

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[FmGrowit]

Thanks so much, your a doll. Appreciate it.
Happy New Year!

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Hi,

The shredder arrived today in great shape. I set it up and shredded a few leaves, stuffed a few tubes, and I am as happy as I can be.

I have been using the branded, bagged tobacco for a number of years and recently found the quality dropping off dramatically - on all brands. I got tired of picking pieces of stem out of the bag before I could stuff it, and the tobacco seemed harsher than it used to be.

This shredder does an excellent job of shredding the tobacco, very much like the bag stuff used to be, probably better. I sure missed the old stuff. Now all I need to do is figure out the best blend for me. My first attempt was just okay, but I know I can do better.

Thanks a bunch. This made my day!

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[FmGrowit]

OH MY GOD!
How can you folks ever improve on what you are doing at this pace?
received my order for mixed cig tabacco leaves. was astounded with product! blessed with quick delivery! thirwled with general opprotunity to blend my own!
how can you folks possibly ever ever improve?

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Hi Don,


That's wonderful news. Thanks much and keep up the good work. The tobacco has been wonderful. It has taken me awhile to figure out how to roll a good consistent smoke but I think I have finally done it.


Cheers

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Average bale of Maduro Wrapper is 117 lbs. Average bale of Piloto Cobano Viso weighs 125 lbs. Average bale of Mata Fina filler 157 lbs. Average is 133

 

[FmGrowit]

Last month, I purchased 2 Lbs of your organic light. I do not know who your supplier was but honestly after wasting 2 Lbs to the trash, I don't think I can trust ordering from you guys any more. I got the worst diseased stomped on rotted, moldy and ful of fungi. There was NO SALVAGING this. It looked like it should have been trashed to begin with. NEVER AGAIN.


Hi Mrs Customer,

I'm sorry to hear of your bad experience with the Organic Light tobacco. We don't sell any organic tobacco and after looking up your name and email address, I couldn't find an order for you. I think you might have us confused with "XYZ Company" or "EIEIO Company", both companies produce many unsatisfied customers.

Do you have an order or invoice number so I can try to find if you did order from us?

Thank you,
Don Carey

I am sorry to have put you through all that, and still glad as it turns out a good mistake on my part. I want to tell you how glad I am I accidentally found you. I also think that my best impression I had was when you spoke to me on the phone. Then the product is awesome too. Sorry, I wanted to tell you but have had very busy week. I am learning how to blend the different tobaccos, so interesting. THANK YOU for your phone call.


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Excellent purchase,Excellent Quality! I hope I have a supplier of whole leaf tobacco for a long time. I have been processing leaf and mixing my blend for over 5 years. Thank You for Quality Product.I will be back...Ron

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[FmGrowit]

I received my order today Monday..thank you Don


I am from rich valley Virginia, i remember when when I lived on my grandfather farm, and i hand pick tobacco and graded it then hang up in a barn to be cured, sold it to the tobacco company. You have made my past come back by having a tobacco leaf in my hand. I still have my high school blue and gold corduroy FFA jacket, When i put it on, worn with pride, a national FFA tradition. The future of agriculture. I still wear the FFA jacket every day – it’s a call to duty, a call to excellence."
thank you...God bless.

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I received your tobacco sample and was so impressed that I bought the 11lb bag of threshed burley. I was e-mailing you thru my friend's e-mail and he placed the order under his name (Steve), hence the confusion.

Your reputation precedes you. Very impressed and the threshed tobacco is easily one of the best smokes, if not the best, I've ever had. Thank you!

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[FmGrowit]

Hi Don!


Just wanted you to know that this order of "Virginia Red Leaf" is awesome! This is the kind of leaf we are accustomed to getting from your company!

Thanks--

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Thanks Don, I thought that was how you handled it. You know, I just want to say it sure is good to do business with you guys. You have always answered my emails promptly and the speed at which you get my orders to me is just awesome. I am disabled and can only walk a few feet at a time. So I do just about all of my shopping online. Getting some people to answer an email is almost ridiculous at times. How they can keep a business is amazing to me anyway thanks for you help and I will talk to you next month with my order.

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In hand this morning. Super service. Thanks.


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[FmGrowit]

Don,

Thank you so much for your response. I will keep an eye on the site and place orders as the new stock comes in. I can't wait for the Dominican Ligero to come in. I have a blend that tastes like toasted marshmallows and cocoa that depends on that leaf that everyone just loves. 1/2 leaf Corojo seco, 1/2 leaf Nicaraguan Habano seco, 1 leaf Corojo Viso, 1/2 leaf Dominican Ligero, Dominican binder, and PA Oscuro wrapper in a 5x50 perfecto. I have tried minor changes to the blend but it never comes out right unless it has all those leaves in those proportions.

You have a loyal customer for life here, I much prefer the cigars I roll with your leaf to commercially made premiums that cost over $10/each.

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[FmGrowit]

Don,
I believe I spoke with you on Wednesday morning about my shipment not moving. I was the one who used the wife's card and she has the hard to pronounce ******** name, . Thanks for your help, the shipment arrived yesterday with no problems. It came USPS even though I did pay for UPS but please do not worry about the refund difference. I got my goods in faster time than I expected from UPS so I'm good. I'll remember next time to choose the USPS choice. I remember during our conversation that I told you I was a customer of your competitor. I was a professional buyer for Harley fir years and I used to work in quality also. Due to my background this I tend to look at vendor performance as if I was not retired. If you are interested this is what I notice with my first "*Whole Leaf" order.

1. Super fast shipping from whole leaf compared to what I'm used to. With the competitor I normally wait 2-5 days for the order to be picked and then another 4-5 for UPS delivery. Thus time was 6 days total, order to receipt, much improved.
2. Packaging on the whole leaf order was superior with the heat sealed package compared to what I'm normally used to. I used to a 2 mil bag with clear shipping tape.
3. Beautiful product with no dust or scrap in the package from Whole leaf. Normally I get about 50-70% leaf and the remainder is scrap.
4. Perfect hydration from whole leaf. Normally I get over-hydrated from my old supplier. Sometimes I think they may do that as to weigh the package down, thumb on the scale routine but that's probably just my impression.
5. Wow...I only opened the red but boy, it sure is a nice smoke by itself. I don't think it could be improved on. Plus the quality of the leaf is perfect. I'm a gardener myself and my old supplier sent me some pretty questionable product with obvious dirt, insect damage, mold and the like. This order you sent me was noticeably different.
6. When I was concerned about a lost shipment, Whole Leaf responded to my phone call and were very professional. When my competitor was faced with a lost package nobody answered the phone on several attempts and I discovered the answering machine is set to 12 rings. When I finally reached their customer service I was belittled and they dismissed any responsibility. I'm still waiting on their resolution but in the mean time, I have a shipment from Whole Leaf. I kick myself in the backside wondering how I suffered over the years.
7. The only thing I can see as a possible improvement to whole leaf, is if they would sell tubes. I know that's how I ended up with your competitor, because it was a one stop, one shipping charge stop. I think they use that as a "lost Leader" because they charge under normal retail on tubes. I'm ok though, at least I can actually get great product from Whole Leaf.
Again, thanks.
Regards

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Hello,

I wanted to drop a quick note and express my appreciation for the quality leaves I received last week. I'm somewhat new to cigar rolling, and I have not been real happy with the leaves I've received from other suppliers. The binders are about 50% usable, and the filler is so dry it crumbles when it is being rolled.

I ordered the Sumatra binder.....what a pleasure to work with. There are very few holes, and the leaf is thin, yet durable without a lot of waste and very fine stems. Perfect for a rookie like me! And the binder leaves are big enough to roll a 7 inch cigar....awesome! Coming out of the cigar mold, the cigars were almost good enough to leave the wrapper off.

My favorite leaf (so far) is the filler Paraguay Flojo Africa Viso. This leaf is so big I had to consistently trim back my batches so they would fit in my mold. They are thick and long, perfect for making a "golf cigar". I'm enjoying one right now....a slow, even burn and an incredible taste and aroma which reminds me of a high-end cigar. But I know better....it was rolled by a newbie. The leaves stand on their own.

The best thing of all was the fresh smell of both the binder and filler. The binder had a neutral, tea-like smell, while the filler has a smell of licorice with very fresh tobacco. It was everything I could do to keep from taking a bite out of one of them.

The 1 and only suggestion I would make would be to use a bigger bag to ship the tobacco. I keep my supply in the bag with a hydrostone when I'm not using it. The tight bags make it easy to damage a leaf while taking it out. If you remove the entire bunch, it's likely you will damage the leaves trying to put them back in. I transferred the filler to a bigger bag I got from another vendor, and I'm going to do the same for the binder. It's just a nice-to-have....there are pros and cons to using a bigger bag from a hydration standpoint, I know.

In short, WELL DONE. I'll be back for more when I have room in my humidor. Thanks for the great product,

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[FmGrowit]

Customs adjustment request document

Hi Don, thanks for the pdf, everything went well. we received the order.
Hope it wasn't too much trouble.
Thanks again.


George

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Just got my latest cigar leaf In from WLT. The tracking said it had been sent to an evaluation centre after it crossed into Canada for extra assessment. Well, they didn't even open the package. I gotta say, things sure have gotten better since my first order some 4-5 years ago. Orders get to me faster and the last several orders hadn't even been "tampered" with by any inspectors. Thanks for all the work you've done to supply us with all this wonderful leaf.

Thanks,

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[FmGrowit]

Dear Don,

Thanks for answering my many questions and for your superior product and your A-1 service.

I look forward to the arrival of your all natural flue cured…

Sincerely

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Don:


I have been growing my own tobacco and was in need of a proper shredder to process my crop. I ordered a "heavy duty shredder" from your web site. Ordering products on the internet is frequently an "Iffy" proposition. I am pleased to say I received my shredder in (for the US Postal service) warp-speed, and in good working order. It has been doing a good job for me. The only criticism I have is a minor cosmetic one, and that is, that one of the little caps that cover the nuts on the assembly was missing.


I sent photos of said shredder "in action" to my friend, who also grows his own tobacco, and he was convinced that he should buy one. I haven't heard from my friend for a while, but I'm sure he is satisfied with his purchase.


Just today, I have just ordered a parcel of whole leaf tobaccos to use primarily for blending with my existing stock. The burley segment of my crop didn't work out as well as I had originally planned, hence part of my order is for burley tobacco. As I mentioned previously, buying goods on the internet....My burley tobacco seeds suffered from poor germination. I complained to the seed company a while ago and he offered to make good on that.


I am looking forward to receiving my tobacco order, and using my new shredder to make some new blends.


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Your leaves are awesome. Way better quality, cheaper, and faster delivery than your competitor.
Im about to get a couple more people going organic.
Thanks so much. Have a great weekend.


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Thank you for the sample of dark air tobacco,just want to say your tobacco and service are fantastic...thanks


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THANKS! You have the best customer service imaginable!

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[FmGrowit]

Just wanted to let you know that I am very happy with the tobaccos that I purchased from you a few weeks back. I just got around to processing it for blending this morning and your tobacco is better than your competition by several orders of magnitude! I worked up some flue-cured Virginia of yours and then some of theirs. Your leaves were beautiful; theirs looked more like scraps. No kidding. Thanks!

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I received the shredder today and am extremely happy with the shred and how much it enhances the taste of the tabacco! It was well worth the wait and money spent!


I always felt this was premium tobacco and now I can really taste it!


I really appreciate the samples of your new tabbaco! Thank you very much! Please feel free to send me samples anytime! I will be happy to taste it!


Thanks again,
Roy

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Got my package already thank you!!! Will be ordering from you alot more in the future. No more waiting over a week for my package to be put together and shipped from l*** ***y. Your product is also WAY better than what I've received from them in the past. Thanks again!!!


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[FmGrowit]

Re: Balkan Sobranidje

Dear Don,
Thank you very much for your kind reply and help. I have prepared as per instructions accordingly.


Should you be interested in hearing a review of it as a cigarette tobacco, please read below on some of the most notable elements.


- Casing: I was very hesitant on using the casing part. Primarily because I initially researched and landed on your and Paul's side in my quest for a natural additive free product. However, I think it does a wonderful job at keeping the line of fire smooth. I think the real shine of it is the consistency it achieves across a batch. I have sampled the blend from different places after its ready and the taste is consistent across the whole batch.


- Temperature: it burns cool and well. In common with pipe tobacco however and unlike cigarette tobacco normally, the slower and cooler the drag, the bigger the rewards.


- Flavour: the flavour is both simple and complex. It is simple in that the smoke is very consistent. It is complex, however, in that it is able to layer its different flavours and aromas both when inhaling and exhaling. There is no "mixing" of flavours, but rather a symphony of different pieces that play in an order.


- Final impressions: while I absolutely love the current product, I think it has room to shine more. Not because it lacks this improvement, but because there is always room for improvement. I feel that it can improve with a higher content of spice and aroma, perhaps more on the orientals side (prilep maybe). Additionally, I feel the only area it may lack is the latakia. While Latakia is an acquired taste, I love how it manages to blend beautifully here. I do feel its readily and easily interrupted by the rest, and I think an extra dash would do a great job in adding an extra ghost of complexity to this already beautiful blend.


I can't wait to sample more of your tobacco, and I think I'm going to consider buying large batches for aging, pressing and other experimentation.


Regards

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Great job people! I ordered from Whole Leaf for the first time last week for making my own chewing tobacco and was super impressed with the quality of these leafs! Fast and inexpensive shipping rate. Your prices are good and I got free samples! (my wife smokes Marlboros and tried the Bright Leaf and Burley samples and loved them. She has decided to start rolling her own and will be placing an order soon) You earned a couple of loyal customers for sure.

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Just got my order in and I gotta say I'm stoked on the quality and way it's packed in individual pounds.
I'll be making my orders from here on.
Cheers!!!

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Dear Don, Just a word of thanks for the courtesy and great service. Also thank you for the sterling quality of your products. You conduct business in the good old American way and if all companies did the same, this country would once again be strong. God bless you and again, thanks...


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Thank you Don,
I must say you have great products. I enjoy them everyday and will continue buying from your company! Thanks for your help with the back order...

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[FmGrowit]

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"my package did not go through customs now i have to pay 100 euros for 1 lb of raw tobacco its a JOKE !"

Your order was incorrectly assessed. If you don't want to file for a re-assessment, simply refuse the package and it will be returned. Once your order is returned, we will issue a refund for the tobacco.

The correct assessment rate is 5.5% of the invoice. Tariff code 2401.10 (unmanufactured tobacco).

Thank you,

"I just received my order! Had to pay no tax or charge thank you informations about the tarif code! The quality is awesome and I will be a recommended customer in future,!
Thank you for the a+ service folks"

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I really enjoy doing business with WLT but I have a cigar recipe that I like alot which uses double Nicaraguan Binders. Is there anyway you could start carrying them? Both me and my friend would order a few pounds each from you if you could stock it. Right now the only place we can get it is from "XYZ company" and I absolutely hate doing business with them. They have terrible customer service.
Would be awesome to completely eliminate them as a source for my tobacco.

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[FmGrowit]

Good day,
My package has arrived. Although tracking said it was delivered to my mailbox on the 16th. It did come yesterday.
Sorry for any inconvenience.
AND although I have yet to roll any...your leaf looks much better than the seller I was currently using.
Thank you
and once again my apologies for any inconvenience.

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OH just a quick note to say I found your product very superior to my last "vendor". EXCELLENT QUALITY. Very happy customer.
have a wonderful day.

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[FmGrowit]

I've been rolling my own cigars for 3 years now. I started out with leaf only tobacco as the company I used. Then I found yours. You guys are awesome. Not only do you have more variety but you have the quickest shipping hands down. Used to take me at least a week sometimes a week and a half from Leaf only. You guys ship out next day sometimes even same day and it's here within 2 to 3 days. But the real reason I'm writing you is the Cibao Valley Vuelta Abajo Habano tobacco. Do not lose that supplier. That's tabbaco turns my ordinary cigars into extraordinary cigars. I would appreciate a heads up if you feel you will be not getting that tobacco for a while,I would like to stock up. Thanks again for the quality and great service.

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[FmGrowit]

Latest shipment arrived today. BRILLIANT!

You are such a pleasure with whom to deal. Never any sort of Canada
Border Services hassles. You understand shipping to Canada. You work
FOR me, not against as the other guys do.

You are now my only source of tobacco - may that relationship last as
long as I do!

Thanks too for the extra goodies. I do not do cigars but the freebie
cigar leaf samples smell like they might be just fine in a pipe.

Cheers and continuing thanks for your SERVICE - a word which seems to
be going out of fashion!

 

[FmGrowit]

Q: "Just wondering if you can get Canadian Organic Tobacco leaves?"

A: "I'm sorry, we do not sell organic tobacco. The word "organic" doesn't mean what it used to and has become nothing more than another money grabbing racket for big government. We will not participate in their extortion scheme."

Q: Thanks for your reply, Don.
I just got my order of “lemon” tobacco and it tastes and smells just like the “organic Canadian” being sold by your competitor. I’m perfectly satisfied. Your shipping charge is a lot less too. The only thing that pains me is that Canada customs tags on a $10 inspection fee and I have to ask them why they’re charging sales tax on the shipping charge paid to USPS! They also dinged me around $1.50 for duty when that’s only supposed to kick in at a kg. which is 2.2 lbs. not 2 lbs. that I ordered. Not only that, they kept my order there for an extra 5 days.
Best,"

 

[FmGrowit]

Here's what a boutique cigar shop that I sell to thinks of the new Cameroon wrapper.
"We haven't made a Cameroon Cigar in over 5 years because the recent harvest of Cameroon Wrapper has not been up to Santiago standards. Well that's changed and we are back in the Cameroon business. This years release is spectacular! We just created a new blend worthy of this leaf. Stop by and grab (1) We will be in full production of Cameroon in a couple weeks."