SubtleWizzard
New Member
Hi everyone, I am very glad to be a new member of this community
I’m in my 50s and have been smoking for about 30 years.
I’m not really a straight cigarette smoker, I’ve mostly used pre-made cigarettes or tobacco as a base for another herbal blend I use.
I’m currently based in the Netherlands, where there are plenty of legal options besides tobacco.
Before that, I lived in Canada, where I got used to a particular brand, Matinée, especially the Matinée Subtle version.
For almost ten years, I used that tobacco, with the paper and filter removed, to roll my own smokes.
What I liked about it was how light and neutral it was > very little throat hit, almost like breathing warm air. That made it especially useful as a blending base.
Now that I’m back in Europe, I’ve spent a lot of time and money trying to find something similar.
I’ve read forums, asked around, and even tried getting help from AI, but without much luck.
I’ve gone through pouches, fine-cut, shag, pre-made cigarettes, additive-free products, and more, but nothing really hits the same.
The European market just doesn’t seem to offer what I’m after.
At this point, I’m thinking I may need to figure out how to recreate that smooth Canadian-style blend myself , something with almost no flavor at all.
Based on years of using it, my guess is that the blend is mostly bright and orange Virginia flue-cured tobacco, maybe with a bit of Red Virginia, plus a pinch of some air-cured leaf like White Burley or Maryland.
I know big companies keep their recipes secret, so that’s just my best guess.
The flavor is very neutral overall, with only a slight acidic edge, which is fine for my purposes as a blending base.
So I wanted to ask: do you think it would be possible to get close by buying raw leaf, casing it, shredding it, blending it, and maybe aging it for a few days while using the usual methods to smooth it out?
Or shall I more directly try to purchase carefully selected pipe tobacco to make my own blend instead ? Both maybe ?
I’ve attached a photo of the Matinée Subtle tobacco. As you can see, it’s a wild cut and fairly bright in color overall.
I’m in my 50s and have been smoking for about 30 years.
I’m not really a straight cigarette smoker, I’ve mostly used pre-made cigarettes or tobacco as a base for another herbal blend I use.
I’m currently based in the Netherlands, where there are plenty of legal options besides tobacco.
Before that, I lived in Canada, where I got used to a particular brand, Matinée, especially the Matinée Subtle version.
For almost ten years, I used that tobacco, with the paper and filter removed, to roll my own smokes.
What I liked about it was how light and neutral it was > very little throat hit, almost like breathing warm air. That made it especially useful as a blending base.
Now that I’m back in Europe, I’ve spent a lot of time and money trying to find something similar.
I’ve read forums, asked around, and even tried getting help from AI, but without much luck.
I’ve gone through pouches, fine-cut, shag, pre-made cigarettes, additive-free products, and more, but nothing really hits the same.
The European market just doesn’t seem to offer what I’m after.
At this point, I’m thinking I may need to figure out how to recreate that smooth Canadian-style blend myself , something with almost no flavor at all.
Based on years of using it, my guess is that the blend is mostly bright and orange Virginia flue-cured tobacco, maybe with a bit of Red Virginia, plus a pinch of some air-cured leaf like White Burley or Maryland.
I know big companies keep their recipes secret, so that’s just my best guess.
The flavor is very neutral overall, with only a slight acidic edge, which is fine for my purposes as a blending base.
So I wanted to ask: do you think it would be possible to get close by buying raw leaf, casing it, shredding it, blending it, and maybe aging it for a few days while using the usual methods to smooth it out?
Or shall I more directly try to purchase carefully selected pipe tobacco to make my own blend instead ? Both maybe ?
I’ve attached a photo of the Matinée Subtle tobacco. As you can see, it’s a wild cut and fairly bright in color overall.
