The taste follows suit - latakia up front followed by darker oriental flavors. Sometimes the oriental takes center stage. I realize that there must be some sort of foundation with this blend but I can't discern the virginias. I would have guessed a light burley base, but I'd be wrong! I enjoy the smoky complexity, but a little more sweetness would be very welcome. Just as I was about to guiltily pronounce myself a hopeless GLP fanboy, along comes Caravan (or, along comes me, as this one has been out awhile!) and makes me yearn for my favorites. There's nothing wrong with this one in particular; in fact, it's quite good. Perhaps my expectations are more at fault here, but I just don't taste what this one brings to the party. If this were a later GLP offering, I'd wonder if Mr Pease had run out of magic. It's good but it just doesn't seem... Peasian, somehow. But it's probably me. Granted, I could more easily recommended a dozen other Pease latakia blends, but give this one a try if you enjoy a killer room note and a plethora of middle-eastern leaf.

It smelled like a burnt building, the day after the fire. Surely, it was the deep, musty, rich latakia! I couldn't wait to smoke it!

Unfortunately, it all went downhill from there. The tin note was in no way indicative of what this tobacco would taste like.

Methinks the orientals overpower this blend. I like orientals; I like ketchup....but when there's more ketchup than beef on your hamburger bun, it's not so good.

You get a decent volume of smoke from Caravan, but it has little body. It is "light"- more like the consistency of steam, rather than smoke.[Much the same way as aros, which I dislike]

As for taste: It is WAY too peppery and "minty"[for lack of a better word]- reminiscent of a menthol cigarette- without the menthol flavoring...but leaving the same sharp, mouth-washy taste in your mouth. My tongue says "No sign of the virginias, anywhere!".

You can tell that it is made from the very highest quality tobaccos- but the blend just doesn't work. This is the only tobacco I've purchased thus far, which I just can not finish the tin. It's not just "not good"- it's bad. Yet, I keep the half-full tin around, just to sniff it occasionally!

I've come to surmise that when blending tobacco, you must either choose to blend for flavor, or aroma. You can't have both. I'd say Mr. Pease is going for aroma (which, is probably what sells the baccie, 99% of the time)- but I smoke for TASTE!

I had very high hopes for Caravan and all of the GLP blends I have tried....but for some reason, the GLP blends just don't seem to click for me- but of course, as with food or wine, it's largely a matter of personal taste. Me? I find the GLP blends to be ostentatious. Not enough tobacco taste/body...too much on the mixing of too many flavors. I think tobacco blending is similar to cooking, in that to achieve the best results, you need to use the recipe that accomplishes what you want to achieve with fewest ingredients- because once you add too many vying flavors, they compete with each other rather than enhancing each other.

UPDATE: Well, my tin of Caravan is over 6 months old now- Thought I'd give it another try, as many reviewers have stated that many of these GLP tobaccies improve dramatically with age- and sure enough, I could actually enjoy this baccie now! It has actually started to taste like it smells- but, it still has a disagreeable bowl note which ruins the enjoyment of what you exhale; Not much in the way of nicotine- so still, nothing to write home about- there are better tobaccos out there- and for the price you pay for this stuff, it should arrive ready to smoke, as opposed to needing to be aged. But at least i don't have to throw it out now.

From the tin description it sounds like a dream blend, but oh what a foul tobacco. I smoked this in 3 pipes thinking maybe it was just the pipe.

At the start there is a hint of urinal cake. Then I realized why it was called 'Caravan' - this isn't tobacco, it's dried camel dung.

Orientals? Yeah ok. Latakia? Lacrapia. Virginias? What?

Not a good flavor I could detect. Tongue bite. Ashy yukky awful yuk. Couldn't get the taste out of my mouth for days.

Unparalleled as the worst blend I've ever put in a pipe.

Sorry, GL

BTW, the label/date? on the bottom reads '052710.'

Taste & Aroma: Smooth, a generous hand has been used in adding the orientals and Latakia. Orientals provice a fragrant incense, with Latakia adding a barely perceptible smoky background. This is one where the GLP internet description is rather apt.

Room Note: Nice, smooth, and easy fragrance.

Overall: The cut is a bit stemmy, and the orientals are a little sour and wear on my tongue. 3 stars just barely.

Appearance: Hate to sound like a broken record but…GLP has this distinctive cut that’s little wider and stiffer than a typical ribbon. In my opinion, it works great, because I tend to pack fine ribbons too tightly. These dry-ish flakes pack nicely and help to maintain good airflow, contributing to a more even burn. It’s kind of rough, with some big chunks and stiff bits in there.

Aroma: The predominant aroma is the sour-ish note of the Orientals, that same essence found upon cracking a tin of Squadron Leader. The Latakia is obvious but not in the lead and by no means overwhelming. The dried grass-hay aroma from the Virginias lurks secretly in the background. Very nice.

Pipe 1: Peterson dublin Pipe 2: Nording Signature freehand Pipe 3: Danske Club volcano Pipe 4: Big Savinelli Canadian

Flavor: This is a delicious blend. The Orientals are definitely in the lead, with the smoky Latakia and everything else combined coming in second. Caravan is altogether as “complex” as Blackpoint, with the Orientals, Latakia and Virginias all adding to the mélange. The level of strength stays surprisingly consistent throughout the bowl even as the flavors continuously swirl and mix–the smokiness, toastiness, tang and sweetness.

At first light the Latakia seems dominant, but I think Greg is pulling a fast one on us here. The TR website description includes this statement: “Finally, just a touch of air cured leaf is added for body.” It seems to me that the air cured leaf and the Orientals conspire together to make this blend seem more Latakia heavy than it really is. There is some definite smokiness there, but from the visual appearance, there doesn’t seem to be much of the black leaf in this blend. If you think about what you’re tasting, I think you just might agree that other things are adding to the perception of the typical campfire smokiness that Latakia provides.

There is a very nice herbal-medicinal quality to these Orientals. I wish Mr. Pease would tell us more detail about exactly which of these leaves he’s using because I am not yet expert on picking out the various species of Oriental leaves in a blend. But I really like these in Caravan, which leave a very long-lasting and distinctive aftertaste.

The Virginias really are there just for structure, although I am assuming that they are the source of the mild lingering sweetness. This blend is very forgiving of puffing cadence. The intensity of the flavors can change with big changes of temperature but it is always a delicious experience.

I have mentioned before that I sometimes have a mild reaction against Orientals tobaccos, and this one will give me a sharp little tingle in my mouth if puffed aggressively. This is not tongue bite, it’s different. But that reaction is very mild in Caravan, and virtually non-existent in certain pipes. Certainly not something that will prevent me from keeping a few tins around. If we define a Balkan as a tobacco blend with predominantly “Balkan” or Mediterranean leaf, then this one certainly qualifies. This is not a Lat bomb, so if you’ve been averse to Greg’s big Lat mixtures, you may very well appreciate Caravan. But it is an Oriental bomb. I find it a good competitor to Squadron Leader and Skiff Mixture, a couple of my favorites.

Four stars for excellent execution and perfect balance. If you’re one to really think about what you’re tasting in a high-quality interesting blend, this one will entertain you for hours. Maybe years.

Old Dublin is my daily smoke but has to share the crown now with this very well made blend as i find myself more and more reaching for Caravan when i want something more subtle,creamy... i really don't know what makes this one better but it's a fact that my palate wants more of Caravan in the afternoon than anything else .

Greg, keep surprising us with this talented blending brain of yours.

Someone referred to the aroma of Caravan as a "lumberjack monk", which I think is brilliant. And accurate. This stuff is woodsy and complicated and exotic.

But what really makes it a favorite of mine is that it is restrained. One wonders continuously about just where the flavors in this come from. And those flavors change drastically throughout the smoke. It's been in my rotation now for many months. A strange gem.

Second to Blackpoint in sweetness, second to Samarra in a lowest to highest rank of Latakia content and second to none in quality.