Esoterica Tobacciana St. Ives

This is really a cross over. The notes call this an "Aromatic English" but I still have not got all the classifications down. It is "English" in that there is Lat. VA, Oriental/Turkish, and Black Cavendish. It is not an English blend in the proper sense because of the casing and topping? These (more than 1 no doubt) are sweet. There is a fruity casing that reminds me a little of tangy citrus like an orange perhaps but that is not quite it. In any case it is not bad overall. The notes say that coffee has been added too. I cannot say for sure here. Yes, I do get a little bitterness and the Lat. is also a little lighter on the smokiness than I think it could be and I know that coffee can fight the smokiness of Lat and and dark fired too. Don't get me wrong. I can also taste the Lat., but it does not dominate. The VA and Cavendish are also present right beside the lat rather than behind it. The smoke is very mild and smooth but it did bite a little. Room note was unacceptable to the wife too for what it is worth.

For its vein, St. Ives is good. The trouble is it reminds me a bit too much of 'And So to Bed' which used to be tolerable before they dramatically changed it. Honestly, other than Penzance and Stonehaven, which I have not had the pleasure to taste again for well over a year, none of the Esoterica series really do much for me. They're not as aggressive as the Germain Royal Jersey series and just a bit too much moldy peat and brine to suit my tastes. If you're an Esoterica lover, St. Ives is a good selection, but it's for a very specialized palate.

Two and a half of five stars

New Review 08/16/10

Its amazing how a blend can change in 5 years and changed it has. I ordered an 8oz bag recently and St Ive's is no where to be found in this bag of St. Ives. Rather than the whimsical cross over blend of the past and in its place is an innocuous, bland replacement that carries none of the English or Aromatic qualities of its former self. The tobacco is good quality tobacco but its as if they forgot to blend in its soul. I'm changing my recommendation from Highly Recommended to not recommended with one caveat; its recommended as a blending agent for those bitey aromatics that sting. This makes a great blending tobacco since it has almost no taste of its own beyond dull tobacco. I've mixed it 50/50 successfully with one such blend and the results were great. The blend just tastes like a smoother version of the aromatic.

Review fr0m 8/28/05

Like Sceny, I have a hard time classifying this blend as it is a true cross over blend though if pressed, I would say it?s essentially an English with an Aromatic topping. Opening the pouch, a whiff reveals that familiar Esoterica aroma with a fruity note. It also has that typical Esoterica moistness, which some think is too much but I think is just right. Of all the Esoterica's I've tried, this is closest to Pembroke and if you like that, you'll probably like this. I happen to love Pembroke and this was a nice change of pace. It's is flavorful while at the same time being mellow and it's very much suited to an all day smoke. It has enough depth of taste to keep you satisfied without being heavy. The blend provides zero tongue bite from the top to the bottom of the bowl. Through the bowl, the flavors change slightly but without a lot of complexity. St. Ives smokes more like a refined English than any aromatic though oddly enough I find the room note to be more aromatic than English but only slightly so as both sides make their presences known. If you are looking for something different (or looking for something similar to Pembroke) give this a try. Simply wonderful!

The smoky, woody, earthy, sweet, incense-like Cyprian Latakia take a small lead. The smoky, woody, earthy, herbal, vegetative, floral, mildly spicy, sour, lightly sweet, rather fragrant Orientals play an important support role. The dark and golden Virginias provide some tangy dark fruit, tart and tangy citrus, earth, wood, bread, grass, sugar, light floralness, and small touches of spice and vinegar. The sugary, earthy, woody, lightly fruity black Virginia cavendish is a tad more noticeable than the other Va.s. Overall, the Virginias are secondary players. The apricot and bitter coffee toppings moderately sublimate the tobaccos. The strength is just past the center of mild to medium. The taste falls a couple of steps short of the medium threshold. The nic-hit is a rung below the strength level. Won’t bite, or get harsh, and has few rough edges. Burns a tad warm at slightly faster than a moderate pace with a consistent sweet and savory, floral, mild campfire and mildly muddled flavor. Leaves little moisture in the bowl, and requires an average numbers of relights. Has a lightly lingering after taste, and the room note is slot stronger. Can be an all day smoke for the veteran, and repeatable for the less experienced. Two and a half stars.

-JimInks

Picked up an aged bag of this some months ago and have smoked about half of it and gave away the other half. This is mostly a darkish brown color with some light specks in a weird cut that is a cross between a massively broken flake and a choppy ribbon cut. The smell in the bag is kind of nonchalant, with a hint of cloves and fruit.

A crossover blend with latakia and fruit - tastes like some sort of berries with some sour apricot thrown in. The description states coffee and I don't really pick up that taste exactly, but I do get a sensation of coffee bitterness within the latakia's smoke. Light latakia and the orientals are almost non-existent in taste but do show up in the room note. Throughout each bowl, I got a sense of stewed fruit which oddly enough was more pronounced with each relight for a few puffs. Stewed Relights - what a weird concept. The base Virginias seemed boring overall, with a few blades of grass, a clump or two of earth and a basic hay-like presentation. This one, along with most of the line, tells me that Stonehaven is their crown jewel. Penzance is good, too, but most of the rest of the line is inconsistent and odd, albeit kind of unique. I like the concept of the crossover blend but most of the time it just doesn't work for my taste buds. But try it if it interests you. It's a well put together blend, but doesn't generate any enthusiasm on my part.

Smoking Esoterica Tobacciana St. Ives is like eating an expensive steak for which you try to convince yourself that it deserved the amount you paid for it. Somewhat Recommended to the ones looking for a transitional blend between Aromatic and English (mostly English).

Smoked Honey! Yum! If someone took a honeycomb then hung it up in a Turkish smoke house for a day, then blended it with tobacco, this would be the result. I'm not huge on most Latakia blends; but this one is delicious and holds my interest as much as Frog Morton Cellar does. It's extremely under-rated in my opinion, as are most Esoterica blends that are not Stonehaven or Penzance.

If you like Latakia with a touch of sweetness, you can't go wrong here. Smoke it slow, as there is a rather high Virginia content (which adds to my enjoyment, I might add).

The blending house's description sounds heavenly but this stuff doesn't attain those lofty heights. It tastes and smells like cigarettes.

A very interesting tobacco, it is a bit like Pembroke Lite. If you find Pembroke too heavy, try this medium english blend. It is very sweet and the fruit topping is subdued, but like most sweet blends, it has more bite than I would like. The combination of sweetness, latakia, and fruit flavor reminds me a lot of hookah tobacco. If you like hookah tobacco, you will like this blend. If you want a real change of pace and like english blends, you will like this as an occasional smoke, as do I.

I do not wish to insult those before me here who enjoy this blend, but I must have lost my mind overpaying for 4 ounces of this "to try". I should have purchased two or, better yet, begged a bowlful to try at the shop first. It's a hybrid to be sure and one that misses the mark for me. But then I'm a straight English lover to start with. As an aromatic goes, it is one. As an "English, it sort of fits that as well. But the two do not marry well for me. Almost immediately after lighting this became very distasteful. I was rewarded with what would be an unpleasant (for hours after) aftertaste while I was smoking. I tried four bowls, at different times of day to the same result. It also while I was smoking, and after, left an odd gummy feeling in my mouth similar to that imparted by cheap, cut filler imported cigars. The 'frugal Hellene' in me dictates that I waste nothing however I know I'll never touch this one again. What to do with remainder of my test purchase? I might soak it in water and use water as garden fungicide or insecticide.