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Post by qmechanics on Mar 10, 2019 18:13:19 GMT -5
An interesting piece from pipestud's blog: www.pipestud.com/latakia-the-good-the-bad-the-ugly/ Not one given to hysteria or unsubstantiated fears, I wonder what information, not hearsay, have you uncovered? PS Pipestud also clearly states Cyprian Latakia has relatively recently changed. Is there any information one can offer on this point as well? I would not even bother with this if these ideas were not from a respected personality like pipestud. In addition, I have met a few fellow pipe smokers who are saying Latakia is in danger, with no solid evidence to offer. If this is another moment of hysteria, it would not surprise me (Unless solid evidence is forthcoming, this is my default position. ); a sign of the times we are in. Even so the pipe community's and my personal respect for Steve and his word is what fuels my concern. |
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Post by pepesdad1 on Mar 10, 2019 20:30:38 GMT -5
Read Pipestud's blog...bummer, but I have enough lat to last me.
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Post by Ronv69 on Mar 10, 2019 20:37:20 GMT -5
Well, that sucks.
Thanks.
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Post by roadsdiverged on Mar 10, 2019 20:42:32 GMT -5
I loved it at first, but have lost my taste for it. If it returns, I have a good bit stored away.
After reading that, I'm going to load up a bowl of Vintage Syrian. I suppose this was like shooting the Dodo Birds!
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Mar 10, 2019 20:43:57 GMT -5
Ohhhhh Nooooooo
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Post by trailboss on Mar 10, 2019 21:02:23 GMT -5
A pretty sad development .
Thanks for the post.
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Post by unknownpipesmoker on Mar 10, 2019 21:10:27 GMT -5
Anyone who knows me knows that I am a pretty dedicated English smoker. At my age, I don't have to worry about it disappearing much during my lifetime. Its you young bucks who have acquired a taste for it I worry about. For those of you young bucks who have mostly migrated to Virginias, VaPers, etc, it may be wise to keep your taste there for awhile. Or stock the hell up. And vacuum pack that bulk stuff. No matter how good your jar is, your tobacco won't last forever in there. No matter what jar and part of of the house I keep it in, jarred tobacco lasts at the most a decade or so. Maybe I am doing something wrong though. I don't know. While I type this, I am smoking some Mac Baren Vintage Syrian. The irony.
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Post by pepesdad1 on Mar 10, 2019 21:13:14 GMT -5
Anyone who knows me knows that I am a pretty dedicated English smoker. At my age, I don't have to worry about it disappearing much during my lifetime. Its you young bucks who have acquired a taste for it I worry about. For those of you young bucks who have mostly migrated to Virginias, VaPers, etc, it may be wise to keep your taste there for awhile. Or stock the hell up. And vacuum pack that bulk stuff. No matter how good your jar is, your tobacco won't last forever in there. No matter what jar and part of of the house I keep it in, jarred tobacco lasts at the most a decade or so. Maybe I am doing something wrong though. I don't know. While I type this, I am smoking some Mac Baren Vintage Syrian. The irony. That is some damn good tobacco! |
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Post by qmechanics on Mar 10, 2019 21:26:09 GMT -5
I have met and communicated with pipestud. He is as solid as they come. Even so, I still would like to know where the information is coming from. My next step is to send an email and ask Steve directly. PS He is a Patch member though seldom posts. |
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Post by sperrytops on Mar 10, 2019 23:36:53 GMT -5
Bad news. Now I have to look at cellaring the stuff.
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chasingembers
Senior Member
Posts: 1,909 
First Name: Duane
Favorite Pipe: My Growing J. Everett Collection, Fifteen Day Bruce Weaver Set, Meerschaums, Oguz Simsek Skulls
Favorite Tobacco: Black Frigate,Solani Silver Flake, Yenidje Highlander, Angler's Dream, Watch City Slices, Salty Dogs, Mephisto, Ennerdale Flake, Rich Dark Honeydew, 1792 Flake
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Post by chasingembers on Mar 11, 2019 0:34:44 GMT -5
Loved heavy Latakia blends for almost twenty years then one day I just couldn't tolerate them anymore. I have a lifetime's stash of Syrian if the mood ever hits so what ever will be, will be.
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Post by Dramatwist on Mar 11, 2019 7:23:13 GMT -5
...I'll smoke something else, then...
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Post by pipestud on Mar 11, 2019 7:30:37 GMT -5
Howdy Gang,
I sure appreciate all of the kind words and for you gentlemen taking the time to read that recent blog. And gmechanics, you and anyone else here can certainly email me directly at steve@pipestud.com, but it is not necessary because I am going to tell you that all I can say right now is exactly what was in my blog. I don't want to give away the information you will be receiving - which will include direct quotes from blenders who are well known and have solid as a rock reputations - that I will reveal in that blog. And by the way, that upcoming blog is still a work in progress. I darned sure want to have all of my facts straight before releasing the information publicly.
Also, I want to clarify what you wrote in your OP, gmechanics, when you said " Pipestud also clearly states Cyprian Latakia has relatively recently changed." I absolutely did not say that. If you go back and reread the blog here is what I wrote - " ... there are reports out right now indicating that what we are now receiving from Cyprus is not the same Cyprian Latakia – for a variety of reasons – that was processed and exported even just a few years ago." My next blog on the subject will address those reports and whether I believe them to be true or not.
Fact - Cyprian Latakia has not been made for years, but that does not necessarily mean there will not be more available in the future. Thanks again for everyone's kind words and trust. I promise that I will not state anything "as fact" that is no more than hearsay. That never has been and never will be my MO.
Steve
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Post by Dramatwist on Mar 11, 2019 7:35:21 GMT -5
Howdy Gang, I sure appreciate all of the kind words and for you gentlemen taking the time to read that recent blog. And gmechanics, you and anyone else here can certainly email me directly at steve@pipestud.com, but it is not necessary because I am going to tell you that all I can say right now is exactly what was in my blog. I don't want to give away the information you will be receiving - which will include direct quotes from blenders who are well known and have solid as a rock reputations - that I will reveal in that blog. And by the way, that upcoming blog is still a work in progress. I darned sure want to have all of my facts straight before releasing the information publicly. Also, I want to clarify what you wrote in your OP, gmechanics, when you said " Pipestud also clearly states Cyprian Latakia has relatively recently changed." I absolutely did not say that. If you go back and reread the blog here is what I wrote - " ... there are reports out right now indicating that what we are now receiving from Cyprus is not the same Cyprian Latakia – for a variety of reasons – that was processed and exported even just a few years ago." My next blog on the subject will address those reports and whether I believe them to be true or not. Fact - Cyprian Latakia has not been made for years, but that does not necessarily mean there will not be more available in the future. Thanks again for everyone's kind words and trust. I promise that I will not state anything "as fact" that is no more than hearsay. That never has been and never will be my MO. Steve ...thanks, Steve... |
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jitterbugdude
Junior Member
Posts: 229
First Name: Randy
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Post by jitterbugdude on Mar 11, 2019 7:43:11 GMT -5
And then we have this.... (link below) The guy that wrote this lives in Turkey and is a retired Professor of Agriculture.
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Post by Legend Lover on Mar 11, 2019 7:45:31 GMT -5
Thanks for your response, pipestud and for sharing your knowledge on the subject. |
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Post by Legend Lover on Mar 11, 2019 7:47:05 GMT -5
And then we have this.... (link below) The guy that wrote this lives in Turkey and is a retired Professor of Agriculture.
There you go...perhaps we're not in dire straights just yet. Thanks Randy. |
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Post by Ronv69 on Mar 11, 2019 10:13:58 GMT -5
And then we have this.... (link below) The guy that wrote this lives in Turkey and is a retired Professor of Agriculture.
I like this. Mexican Latakia! I have had many great smokes from Mexico. |
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Post by blackmouth210 on Mar 11, 2019 10:17:16 GMT -5
And then we have this.... (link below) The guy that wrote this lives in Turkey and is a retired Professor of Agriculture.
There you go...perhaps we're not in dire straights just yet. Thanks Randy. We very rarely are. But there is very little interest in a positive outlook. Nobody watches the weatherman when the weather is beautiful. A bad forecast is always the best way to generate interest. Not knocking pipestud or any one else. It's a general observation I'm making. |
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Post by trailboss on Mar 11, 2019 10:25:48 GMT -5
Keep in mind, that article about Latakia coming back is 4 years old.
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Post by Legend Lover on Mar 11, 2019 10:26:12 GMT -5
There you go...perhaps we're not in dire straights just yet. Thanks Randy. We very rarely are. But there is very little interest in a positive outlook. Nobody watches the weatherman when the weather is beautiful. A bad forecast is always the best way to generate interest. Not knocking pipestud or any one else. It's a general observation I'm making. I think it's a valid observation. |
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Post by PhantomWolf on Mar 11, 2019 10:34:00 GMT -5
I am a little pissed off to to be honest. Hell of a time for me to become a pipesmoker. Since I've been smoking, I've seen Dunhill and McClelland hang up their guns and now the tobacco itself is in danger.
Whatever. I have a nice enough cellar. And if I'm around 30 years from now and Cavendish is all that is available- I'll smoke the damn Cavendish. Hahaha
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Post by Legend Lover on Mar 11, 2019 10:35:14 GMT -5
I am a little pissed off to to be honest. Hell of a time for me to become a pipesmoker. Since I've been smoking, I've seen Dunhill and McClelland hang up their guns and now the tobacco itself is in danger. Whatever. I have a nice enough cellar. And if I'm around 30 years from now and Cavendish is all that is available- I'll smoke the damn Cavendish. Hahaha I've said it before and I'll say it again, if tobacco goes under, I'll work my way through Suki Tea. |
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jitterbugdude
Junior Member
Posts: 229
First Name: Randy
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Post by jitterbugdude on Mar 11, 2019 10:39:16 GMT -5
I still would like to see what pipestud has uncovered. There could be the real possibility that Latakia production has shot through the roof but all of it is being sent to the billions of Chinese smokers. If so, then yes there will be a massive Latakia shortage... for the rest of us.
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Post by sperrytops on Mar 11, 2019 11:10:04 GMT -5
I can breathe a slight sigh of relief. All good input. It certainly behooves us to understand the market behind the products we consume. We are indeed in a world economy and it is more complex than it ever used to be. Thanks to pipestud and qmechanics for getting this out there. Looking forward to more material from pipestud. Latakia is also a fascinating topic.
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Post by Ronv69 on Mar 11, 2019 12:01:04 GMT -5
I remember watching a video of the families that produced Latakia in Syria. It was a hardscrabbke, subsistence lifestyle. If the money getting to the farmers was consistent with the value to the pipe smokers then the situation could be more promising. Something like "Fair Trade Latakia". However, with all tobacco being branded as evil and under attack by all of the world's governments, I doubt that this is the last time we will hear about the end of one of our components. A hurricane could eliminate perique overnight. East coast multi generation tobacco farms are switching to hemp.
African unrest is a constant threat. In the near future I can imagine tobacco prices at illegal drug levels.
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Post by blackmouth210 on Mar 11, 2019 12:06:34 GMT -5
I am a little pissed off to to be honest. Hell of a time for me to become a pipesmoker. Since I've been smoking, I've seen Dunhill and McClelland hang up their guns and now the tobacco itself is in danger. Whatever. I have a nice enough cellar. And if I'm around 30 years from now and Cavendish is all that is available- I'll smoke the damn Cavendish. Hahaha It is a hell of a time to become a pipe smoker. Despite the setbacks there are some things that still make this a better time than nearly ANY other time in pipe-smoking history to enjoy a pipe. The positives are out there if you wade through the mess. Most importantly, don't focus on the doom-n-gloom. Despite rhetoric to the contrary, you have a better selection of pipes and tobaccos at your disposal than darn near any generation before you. And the quality is not bad if you ignore the hype about old blends being the best...there's a lot of sentimental tinting to many of those opinions. No different than an older person's opinions about today's music, film, children, society, etc. |
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captblack
Junior Member
Posts: 224
Favorite Pipe: Peterson, Tsuge, Savinelli
Favorite Tobacco: Aromatics and English Blends
Location:
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Post by captblack on Mar 11, 2019 12:22:58 GMT -5
I loved it at first, but have lost my taste for it. If it returns, I have a good bit stored away. After reading that, I'm going to load up a bowl of Vintage Syrian. I suppose this was like shooting the Dodo Birds! I cellared a few tins of HH Vintage Syrian for the reasons stated above. And it is a very good tobacco both on its own and for extra blending - as all HH varieties are. Syrian Latakia can still be found in some blends today, although the inventory remaining is on a decline to zero. Stock up while you can. Personally, I prefer Va/Pers and English blends, which are not in any danger today. But a bit of Latakia is always a welcome change of pace. |
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Post by roadsdiverged on Mar 11, 2019 12:44:13 GMT -5
I agree. As often as I smoke it, my little pound should last me a LONG time. Va's and Va/Pers are my preference.
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Post by PhantomWolf on Mar 11, 2019 12:47:16 GMT -5
I am a little pissed off to to be honest. Hell of a time for me to become a pipesmoker. Since I've been smoking, I've seen Dunhill and McClelland hang up their guns and now the tobacco itself is in danger. Whatever. I have a nice enough cellar. And if I'm around 30 years from now and Cavendish is all that is available- I'll smoke the damn Cavendish. Hahaha It is a hell of a time to become a pipe smoker. Despite the setbacks there are some things that still make this a better time than nearly ANY other time in pipe-smoking history to enjoy a pipe. The positives are out there if you wade through the mess. Most importantly, don't focus on the doom-n-gloom. Despite rhetoric to the contrary, you have a better selection of pipes and tobaccos at your disposal than darn near any generation before you. And the quality is not bad if you ignore the hype about old blends being the best...there's a lot of sentimental tinting to many of those opinions. No different than an older person's opinions about today's music, film, children, society, etc. Absolutely. I probably have over a hundred blends cellared. |
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