Good to start the day and even better in the evening after dinner in a large bowl.

Strenght wise it is satisfying and get me relaxed. The latakia is with you all the way down the bowl but stays in the background in a delightfull manner while you can enjoy the well balanced VA OR playing with your palate.

Very well done .

Original: This is probably one of the most difficult reviews I've tried, as this blend is extremely complex and -- like the other Two Friends mixtures -- singularly offbeat. In fact, I'm beginning to think I like the Two Friends blends so much because they seem to be an effort to create a product line that's truly original. B&B seems to be a sweet American/Oriental mixture. It's NOT an American/English hybrid like Barking Dog or Home From the Hills -- the latakia component is more muted and the intensity of the yellow VA and orientals is quite prominent. If you can imagine, say, GL Pease's Cairo artfully blended with one of the above mentioned blends (with VAs taking the place of burley), you'd at least be on the right track. Like I said, this one is hard to describe. As in the other Two Friends mixtures, the cavendish seems to be a key player in holding the components together and supplying a fine natural sweetness. This mixture is complex, subtle, and quite unlike anything else I've tried. On the more technical side: this packs easily, burns well and won't roast your tongue as long as you're careful.

You know that amazingly delicious taste when you're on the last five puffs of a Virginia bowl? This tobacco manages to keep that toasted VA taste, to a lesser extent, all the way through the bowl. There's also a distinct buttery flavor that goes well with coffee. Want some latakia flavor but want the wife not to bitch? Fire up some B&B.

Images evoked: a horde of baby pit pulls toppling over a child and licking his face playfully.

A cigarette is to be smoked. A cigar is to be enjoyed. A pipe is to be savored.

I rate this tobacco 9.0 out of 10.

With this tobacco, the slower the better. It lets it build, it keeps the bite down, and it gives you time to enjoy a fine blend.

This is a blend that could be smoked in the summertime when many Latakia lovers tend to set aside the beloved leaf in favor of something lighter. I believe Mr.?s Pease and Tarler planned this as more of a morning smoke, but personally, I would prefer it when I am more awake. There is so much going on with Bed and Breakfast that I would hate to waste it on a palate that is dulled and disoriented from a night of sleep abruptly ended by an assault with toothpaste and mouthwash. Mid-morning at the earliest for me - I don?t want to miss a thing!

Highly recommended for everyone from the newbie to the old pro.

Aroma: Smells like mostly Virginia, with traces of Latakia and Orientals. The Va. seems to be of the lightest persuasion, and has a ?grassy? aroma.

Packing: Packs easily into any size pipe.

Lighting: Lights easily, sometimes with one match.

Initial flavor: I can?t tell if this burns hot, or if my tongue is sensitive to some component of the blend. In most pipes, this tobacco starts poorly for me, then subsides into a more tolerable condition of smoothness. Not that it ever gets smooth, just a bit less harsh.

Mid-bowl: Seems to burn wetter than most blends, but maybe that?s my reaction to it. The blend never develops enough flavor to get me interested. I find this so poor a blend, that I mixed it with Stokkeby Proper English.

Finish: Due to the harshness noted, I can rarely finish a bowl of this stuff.

Summary: Simply doesn?t work for me as an ?eye-opener?. It left me with enough negative feeling, that I may never try any of the other blends in the line.

If you demand Latakia in all you smoke then B&B may or may not satisfy. I smoke about 75% Virginia/Perique blends and 25% English myself and am very fond of Nightcap to give you an idea where my tastes lie. I love B&B.

If you don't like Latakia much or at all, B&B can change your mind because it uses Latakia purely as a condiment and smokes like a complex somewhat exotic Virginia/Oriental blend.

Everyone should at least try this.