Hello from Canada

[Loupin]

Hello everyone!

I came across this great forum looking for info on what to do with raw leaf. I was gifted what appears to be some variety of Virginia from asia and managed to make it smokeable thanks to you guys. It's very tangy, more citrus than hay - still a bit harsh so I use it as a blender but I'm learning haha.

I'm looking to try more with raw leaf so I plan to order some from wholeleaftobacco. (From what I've read on here, it seems tax won't be an issue in Alberta?). What tobaccos would you guys suggest for a small order? I would like to try blending tasty cig and aromatic pipe tobaccos.

 

[Yvan the terrible]

Welcome from Edmonton.

 

[ChinaVoodoo]

Welcome to the forum. I'm in Edmonton. The proper assessment of WLT is $1.57/kg +gst +customs processing fee. I have several times received my shipments without any charges, and others with the proper charges. I know it occurrs, (rarely), but I have never been wrongly assessed. I usually order 4lbs +/- 1lb.

An essential is the Virginia bright leaf. It's excellent straight, and if you want to make cavendish, you will need it. I might get two or another bright leaf,

I would also recommend balancing that out by blending it with the Maryland.

This recommendation was based on suggesting a "small order" of full bags. Take a look at the blends.

If you were to get 3 different tobaccos, i would get Bright VA, the MD, and the stacked Basma.

If you like a fuller French / Nordic cigarette, i would consider the Dark Air.

I personally really like the perique.

 

[deluxestogie]

Welcome to the forum.

Bob

 

[Alpine]

Welcome to FTT

pier

 

[GreenDragon]

Welcome from Texas! If you want to dip your toes in the waters I think the best value is to get the sampler of 10 American and Turkish tobaccos and a 1/2 lb of Perique. That will give you a 1/2 lb of every leaf you could need to blend any pipe or cig.

 

[Loupin]

Welcome to the forum. I'm in Edmonton. The proper assessment of WLT is $1.57/kg +gst +customs processing fee. I have several times received my shipments without any charges, and others with the proper charges. I know it occurrs, (rarely), but I have never been wrongly assessed. I usually order 4lbs +/- 1lb.

An essential is the Virginia bright leaf. It's excellent straight, and if you want to make cavendish, you will need it. I might get two or another bright leaf,

I would also recommend balancing that out by blending it with the Maryland.

This recommendation was based on suggesting a "small order" of full bags. Take a look at the blends.

If you were to get 3 different tobaccos, i would get Bright VA, the MD, and the stacked Basma.

If you like a fuller French / Nordic cigarette, i would consider the Dark Air.

I personally really like the perique.

Thanks for the recommendations and the customs info eh - recent tobacco tax change is insane so this helps. Yes, the small order is going to be about 4lb with a simple shredder so I'd be surprised if there's any issues at the border.

I've made some cavendish with the asian virginias but it's still pretty tart so I will try some bright VA along with the Maryland Burley for a base.
I usually roll Peter Stokkebye blends so I'll take a look at the Basma and Dark Air which I think are in them. Will definitely go with a bit of perique to help spice up some other pipe tobaccos as well.

Welcome from Texas! If you want to dip your toes in the waters I think the best value is to get the sampler of 10 American and Turkish tobaccos and a 1/2 lb of Perique. That will give you a 1/2 lb of every leaf you could need to blend any pipe or cig.

I would love to order that sampler but the weight *might* raise some eyebrows at the border. Maybe if I ditch the shredder it can work. Thanks!

 

[MarcL]

Welcome to Fair Trade Tobacco.

 

[GreenDragon]

I don’t have a shredder. I just use Bob’s cigar method. Roll leaf into a cigar shape and cut into thin coins with a sharp knife or chaveta. Then chop up the coins. Or you could make two separate orders

 

[ChinaVoodoo]

Not that I'm trying to convince you either way, but i have a shredder, and I rarely use it, and usually do what @GreenDragon does. I do find the shredder useful for cigarette making as well as long term storage because you can easily fit shred into glass jars, where you know it won't dry out. But a pipe worth or an ounce or so of pipe tobacco, the cutting by hand sort of adds to the ritual.

 

[Loupin]

I don’t have a shredder. I just use Bob’s cigar method. Roll leaf into a cigar shape and cut into thin coins with a sharp knife or chaveta. Then chop up the coins. Or you could make two separate orders

Not that I'm trying to convince you either way, but i have a shredder, and I rarely use it, and usually do what @GreenDragon does. I do find the shredder useful for cigarette making as well as long term storage because you can easily fit shred into glass jars, where you know it won't dry out. But a pipe worth or an ounce or so of pipe tobacco, the cutting by hand sort of adds to the ritual.

Yeah I was kind of iffy on the shredder to be honest. Last time I just folded the leaves and used scissors but it wasn't as thin as it wanted it for cigs so I ended up using a coffee grinder and it worked ok. I'll definitely try the cigar coin cut with a razor next time.
Agreed, the prep process is a neat experience rather than a chore.

Quick question, how do you store raw leaves?I have some leftovers I just put in a ziplock with some moisture but is it better to shred them up for storage and aging?

 

[ChinaVoodoo]

I use the bags the WLT comes in. I roll the end up and use masking tape to keep closed.

Ziplock doesn't work very well at all because even the freezer bags aren't thick enough to keep the moisture from migrating through the micro-pores in the plastic.

Heavy gauge industrial shipping / parts bags from shipper suppliers work for medium term storage, but the contents tend to dry out over winter when our home interiors are bone dry.

For homegrown, I use buckets.

One day i will build a walk in humidor.

 

[Charly]

Welcome to FTT.
Nothing to add to the good advices already given above

 

[deluxestogie]

Shredding with a cigar method, I'm able to produce a shred that is about 2 mm, without too much effort. With focus, concentration and ancient yoga breathing techniques I can get that down to about 1.5 mm. A fine cigarette shred is 0.8 mm or even slightly less.

I roll the "cigar", then flatten it under pressure from my hand. I slice it using a chaveta (actually a Kuhn Rikon 6" Kulu blade). I would be afraid to use a razor for this task. How you then split the resulting coins will determine the shred length.

Bob

 

[Hasse SWE]

Nice to see that You decided to create your profile here. Think you have found a lot of new friends here at this moment..