Hello From Alberta Canada

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Cheach

Cheach

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Good morning fellow tobacco friends! I just wanted to take a moment to introduce myself. I am a pipe/cigar smoker and amature tobacco pipe maker.

I hail from Alberta Canada (it isn’t -30 today!) and have joined up to start looking into growing my own leaf as prices get higher and selection become lower.

Looking forward to chatting!
 
deluxestogie

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Welcome to the forum. Start with the New Growers' FAQ, and locate some specific topics in the Index of Key Forum Threads (both in menu bar).

We'd love to see pics of the pipes you've made. You can start a new thread in the Pipe Smokers Forum. What kinds of pipe tobacco interests you?

Bob
 
Cheach

Cheach

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deluxestogie said:
Welcome to the forum. Start with the New Growers' FAQ, and locate some specific topics in the Index of Key Forum Threads (both in menu bar).

We'd love to see pics of the pipes you've made. You can start a new thread in the Pipe Smokers Forum. What kinds of pipe tobacco interests you?

Bob
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Thank you for all of the information. I’ll definitely take a look through the site as I am sure there is a wealth of knowlege to be had.

I piped up my first pipe just over 15 years ago, had the mishap of thinking aromatics tasted like they smelt. So after a very long time away I just recently picked it up again and am actually on the hunt for some non aromatics with rich flavour. Hoping to find some blends to satisfy the sweet thooth after a meal, something savory and a nice all day smoke; so I have some work ahead of me.

I have a couple of piped I made my first run in 2004 and just recently picked up a number of briar blanks and am looking forward to starting some new pipe projects this month. I’ll definitely post some pics soon!
 
Cheach

Cheach

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ChinaVoodoo said:
You have a month to get organized and figure out what and how much you gonna grow.
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Not having a particular tobacco flavour in mind I’m not sure where to go with seed selection. Even to find a nice base tobacco to trial this season for growing would be good, something mild in nic and that I could easily add a little flavour to. Like I said, it’ll be a learning season. Always open to suggestions.
 
deluxestogie

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For mild pipe tobacco, you can try air-curing a flue-cure variety, such as VA Bright Leaf, and cook it into Cavendish. If you plan on building a flue-cure chamber, you can create flue-cured Virginia of various stalk levels (Lemon, Bright, Red), and also make unique Cavendish from each. A mild burley, such as the Canadian variety, Harrow Velvet, can be just air-cured, and also made into a different Cavendish, but it's nicotine level will also be on the robust side. Likewise with MD 609. Adding any Oriental (usually sun-cured) expands your pipe blending options. And of course, you can use any variety to make Perique.

I would suggest ordering some flue-cured, Maryland, an Oriental and some Perique from Whole Leaf Tobacco

wholeleaftobacco.com

Traditional Pipe Tobaccos - Whole Leaf Tobacco

Carefully integrated and treated to achieve flavor that is unavailable in other tobacco products.
wholeleaftobacco.com wholeleaftobacco.com

or even their Balkan Tradition leaf blend kit, just to experiment, while you wait for Mother Nature.

Bob
 
ChinaVoodoo

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I have had success with a broad range of tobaccos. The best growing varieties in our area are what you're probably used to calling Virginias. We don't call them that in the forum because there are burley varieties that have the word Virginia in their names, and it's really confusing. So we call them rightfully as either bright tobaccos or flue cured tobaccos.

Flue cured tobaccos that have been flue cured are bright yellow to orange in colour and have an intrinsic amount of sweetness owing to high sugar content. When they are air cured, they lose that sweetness, and seem higher in nicotine, but are still interesting blending components, and in fact seem to make better black cavendish in my opinion.

Flue cured tobaccos often cause tongue bite because of their sugar content which produces an acidic smoke, so it's important to blend them with tobaccos with higher pH such as burley, dark virginia, and Maryland. This balances the smoke.

When I grow flue cured tobacco, I end up with both leaf which has been flue cured and air cured because i flue cure throughout the season as the leaves ripen, but when freezing comes at the end of the season the leaves which are at the top of the plant often aren't ready for flue curing, so I air cure them.

So I recommend trying a couple flue cured tobaccos and a couple air cured tobaccos (burley, dark virginia, or maryland).
 
Cheach

Cheach

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Alberta, Canada
Well, now that I’ve wiped the ‘deer in headlights’ look off my face, I can say I have got some learning to do haha! I’ll take a look at the link and the suggestions and start prepping. All the info and asistance is greatly appreciated.
 
Cheach

Cheach

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Messages
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Location
Alberta, Canada
deluxestogie said:
For mild pipe tobacco, you can try air-curing a flue-cure variety, such as VA Bright Leaf, and cook it into Cavendish. If you plan on building a flue-cure chamber, you can create flue-cured Virginia of various stalk levels (Lemon, Bright, Red), and also make unique Cavendish from each. A mild burley, such as the Canadian variety, Harrow Velvet, can be just air-cured, and also made into a different Cavendish, but it's nicotine level will also be on the robust side. Likewise with MD 609. Adding any Oriental (usually sun-cured) expands your pipe blending options. And of course, you can use any variety to make Perique.

I would suggest ordering some flue-cured, Maryland, an Oriental and some Perique from Whole Leaf Tobacco

wholeleaftobacco.com

Traditional Pipe Tobaccos - Whole Leaf Tobacco

Carefully integrated and treated to achieve flavor that is unavailable in other tobacco products.
wholeleaftobacco.com wholeleaftobacco.com

or even their Balkan Tradition leaf blend kit, just to experiment, while you wait for Mother Nature.

Bob
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Ordering tobacco in unprocessed form like this, I can imagine I’ll still be taxed the same as if I was ordering a tin from the states? Alberta gouges us pretty deep when bringing tobacco across.
 
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