Trying to make sense of the many varieties of Orientals

[fumo bro]

Many years ago, the local tobacconist used to sell a golden-brown tobacco that he referred to as “pure Turkish.” The aroma of this tobacco was completely different from anything else that I have smoked. The smoke had an EXTREMELY STRONG musty, spicy and somewhat foul smell to it. In fact, many people found the odor of the smoke to be very offensive; one on occasion while smoking a bowl of this “pure Turkish” tobacco at a cigar-friendly bar, a man (who was smoking a cigar) approached me and ask that I quit smoking this Turkish because he found the odor to be “intolerably offensive!” My mother would ask me if I had been smoking marijuana when she smelled the pungent odor that the smoke left on my clothes. Despite all this, I loved this tobacco and I smoked it constantly. It was very rich and exotic and satisfying.

At one point, I decided to quit smoking (for health reasons). Well, I fell off the wagon about 6 years ago, and, since then, I have spent an UNBELEIVABLY amount of time and money trying to locate this “pure Turkish.” I recently came to the conclusion that I will probably never find this tobacco due to the economic and legal constraints that have been imposed on the middle-eastern tobacco market. Most of the Turkish/Oriental tobaccos that I have tried over the last 6 years appear to mixtures of varietals (that is, blended Turkish ribbon). Some samples had a sweet and floral aroma and some maybe even a little spicy. But, overall, these tobaccos seem rather BLAND in comparison to what I was smoking many years back.

To get to the point, I have been compiling a list of Turkish/Oriental varietals some of which are listed as follows:

Drama, Samsun, Yenidje, Smyrna, Basma, Xanthi, Izmir, Djebel, Mahalla, Djubek, Kavalla, Trebizond, Katerini, Baffra, Sukhum, Bursa, Davalla, Shiraz, Dubeck, Djubec, etc…

Can anyone identify which of the above varietals (if any) have the same smoking characteristics as the “pure Turkish” that I smoked years ago? Upon reading descriptions of various pipe tobacco blends, I find that many blenders claim to include some of these “rare and exotic” varieties (such as, Izmir, Yenidje, Xanthi, etc.), but I am beginning to suspect otherwise. Finding authoritative information on Turkish/Oriental tobaccos is very difficult. Even the local tobacconists and members of my pipe club admit that their knowledge on this matter is lacking – and we all share the same frustration. I can’t make any sense of it! I would be very grateful if anyone shed some light on this matter. Thanks for reading my LONG post.

 

[kilted1]

I would encourage you to strike up correspondence with Mr Greg Pease aka Dark Lord if possible. He is as likely as anyone hear to steer you on the right path.

 

[pipetongue1]

Yo Fumo, I've been a puffer for a long, long, time and I still get confustacted!! Maybe Our Master Blender[ GLP], will chime in here, and finally put to bed our confusting! Ken :tongue:
Pacem en Puffing! :tongue:

 

[Benjamin Button]

I've been wondering this as well. I do love a good Oriental leaf in my blends, but understanding the true differences is a bit overwhelming.

 

[Ol'Dawg]

Here's a link with descriptions of various types of tobaccos that may help--
Tobaccos

Jim

 

[Wet Dottle]

Call McClelland and ask for samples of each. They seem to have the most comprehensive selection of oriental leaf. Then try each one and see if you can find something close to what you are looking for. It's possible that what your tobacconist was selling a blend, not a pure varietal. Maybe they can help you with that, too. Good luck with your search.

 

[the macdonald]

Ol Dog beat me to the punch on that link, then Wet Dottle, on the rest of my point, but her goes… The link is essentially the only concise description I have found. I have been exploring Orientals a little, but there is not a lot of blend that feature Orientals. Many use them as undercurrents or to flesh out a blend, but not as the headliner. The Grand Oriental series is the place to go to experience a specific Oriental, but even those blends are VA heavy IMHO. I find it difficult to tell sometimes where the VA stops and Oriental start, both tasting sweet and perfumey to me.

 

[pipetongue1]

Thanx Ol' Dawg, Ken :tongue:
Pacem en Puffing! :tongue:

 

[fumo bro]

Thanks for your replies. I was thinking of setting-up a website dedicated solely to Orientals as a resource of information. Lately, I have acquired some interesting documents and links that I would like to share and maybe other smokers could contribute any info as well. Of course, this would require time - something I don't have much of. As far as the McClelland Grand Oriental series goes, I have tried them all. These blends have provided me with some hints but it was difficult to decipher through the virginias. I enjoyed them nonetheless.