Dating back over 8,000 years, tobacco use is rooted in American history. Much like fine wine or a beautiful painting, tobacco mixing is an art form and different varieties will suit different tastes.
While finding which tobaccos are your favorites is ultimately the result of trial and error, it can be difficult knowing where to start. In this guide, we break down the various types of pipe tobacco so you can start your journey toward finding the best pipe tobacco for you.
Contents
Choosing a Pipe
As important as selecting a tobacco type is selecting a tobacco pipe style. You should like the way the aesthetic look of the pipe and how it feels in your hand. If you find it ugly or uncomfortable to hold, it’s not the pipe for you.
Luckily, there are hundreds of varieties of pipes for your to choose from at many price points to suit your budget. You should base your final pipe purchasing decision on quality. Check for dents, misaligned parts, and fillers that indicate poor craftmanship.
For well-made premium pipes at any budget, head over to tobaccopipes.com and buy these pipes.
Types of Pipe Tobacco
Almost every tobacco available for purchase is a blend of two or more different varieties of tobacco. The different tobacco leaves come from places all over the world and are mixed to create unique flavors, different burn rates, and develop various mouthfeels.
Some of the most common tobaccos blenders use are:
- Oriental tobaccos hail from Turkey, the Balkans, and Russia. The flavors of orientals are marked by their dry, dusty, and even sour scents and flavors.
- Perique is a somewhat rare form of tobacco that some refer to as “the truffle of tobacco.” It is only grown in St. James, Louisiana, and has a full, strong flavor with high nicotine levels.
- Latakia tobacco uses a special finishing process called fire curing. Produced in Cypress and Norther Syria, Latakia tobacco has a smokey, old aroma reminiscent of summer bonfires and worn leather.
- Virginia is by far the most popular variety used in pipe tobacco blends. Marked by its mild flavor and sweet notes, some people even smoke Virginia unblended.
- Burley tobacco contains little to no sugars so it is not as sweet as Virginia. Instead, it burns dry and is prime for additives like aromatics as it absorbs them well.
Additives to pipe tobacco also change its flavors and mouthfeels. Aromatics are blended into tobacco with sugars to produce deep, fruity, chocolatey, and other flavors.
Cavendish a common aromatic style added to Virginia and Burley blends using this method. The Cavendish treatment is often associated with cherry, vanilla, rum, and licorice aromas.
Some blenders even use alcohol like rum or whiskey to treat the tobacco and bolden the flavor.
Best Pipe Tobacco for Beginners
If you have never smoked anything before, you still might not be sure which of these types of tobaccos are exactly right for you. That’s okay. We recommend starting with the common, milder flavors at first.
Virginia and Burley blends are mellow for beginners. If you want to choose aromatics, think of scents and flavors you enjoy already and go for those.
Since cube and ribbon-cut tobaccos are the easiest to pack and have a consistent burn, you should begin with those before moving on to flakey tobacco.
Most importantly, don’t be afraid to try and fail and try again. Enjoy the process, be adventurous, and have fun!
Puff With Confidence
Now that you know how to select a pipe and the best pipe tobacco, you are ready to kick back, relax, light up, and enjoy. For more tobacco and smoking tips, check out our other blog posts today.
