Mac Baren Amphora Full Aroma

Mac Baren's Amphora Full Aroma is a nice OTC in the world of pipe tobacco. From the moment you open the pouch you're greeted with a delightful and rich aroma that sets the stage for a wonderful smoking experience.

This blend strikes a perfect balance between flavor and strength. It's not overpowering, making it suitable for both novice and seasoned pipe enthusiasts. The tobacco burns evenly, producing a satisfying smoke that's full of character.

What stands out about Amphora Full Aroma is its versatility. It's equally enjoyable in a leisurely, contemplative smoke or a quick break. The flavor profile is a harmonious blend of natural sweetness, mild spiciness, and a hint of chocolate, creating a delightful complexity that keeps you coming back for more.

The room note is pleasant and inoffensive, making it a considerate choice for those around you. Moreover, the moisture level in the tobacco i opened is just right, making packing and lighting a breeze, with minimal amount of drying before packing.

In summary, Mac Baren's Amphora Full Aroma is a tobacco blend that strikes a balance between flavor, strength, and versatility. It's a modest yet delightful choice that's perfect for moments of reflection and relaxation. It is in my rotation, and i am glad to have it for cold days, in indoors and outside.

Amphora is my time machine. It takes me back to 1973 when I started smoking my pipe. Only then it was made by Douwe Egbert. I loved the green pouch Rich Aromatic. It was my regular smoke until I was wooed away by Lady Latakia.

Now MacBaren makes the blend. And the green pouch Rich Aromatic is no more.

So I tried the red pouch to see if the time machine could take me back to 1973.

Alas, it did not.

I found this new version of the venerable Amphora to be essentially tasteless. The pouch aroma was still the wonderful smell of classic Amphora. But where was the delicious taste? At best it was only very faintly there.

A half-dozen different pipes I tried to see if I could capture that satisfying flavor. Regrettably, it was not to be had.

Reading the other reviews, I can only deduce that perhaps my tastebuds are the culprit. That in my old age I've developed a dumb tongue.

Whatever it is, I was sadly, very sadly, disappointed. One cannot relive the past.

I will give this 2 stars out of deference to my fellow pipers who so highly rated this blend.

I did discover that 7 parts Amphora red and 3 parts latakia do make a very tasty sweet-smokey pipe. You might want to try that.

If you normally eschew “drugstore” brands this is one that might win you over. You can find this stuff at various European convenience stores and magazine stands and it actually doesn’t taste like hot air. Definitely Burley-forward in its taste (lots of chocolate and maybe vanilla). Non-smokers say the room note is pleasant. Burns just any typical MacBaren tobacco so dry it out well, puff slowly, and be prepared for a lot of moisture upon combustion. Goes great with coffee and it’s mild enough to be a good morning smoke despite it being called a “full” blend. Burns nicely once dried with a typical (for me) number of relights. I would purchase this again.

Un tabac qui suscite souvent des avis contrastés, et sous-évalué. Pour ma part, je le juge excellent, mais il est sans doute plus complexe que l'on ne pourrait le croire. Il doit être fumé lentement, par petites bouffées, afin de libérer son arôme. Privilégier un gros foyer, car c'est du "broken flake". Globalement, la saveur est sucrée, chocolatée, avec des notes de marmelade. Ne pas se fier aux mauvaises revues : certains tabacs se voulant plus prestigieux ne souffrent pas la comparaison. Très recommandé !

The notes in the pouch are primarily of berries, some strawberry, some dark fruits. They don't jump out like strong aromatics, but are very light.

The smoke itself brings some of the same notes with a bit of grass and citrus from the Virginia and just a hint of cocoa and earth from the Burley tobacco.

As I like to do with other Amphora blends, I rub out the broken flakes as much as I can and let them dry for about an hour plus the time that they dry while being in the pouch. Once that happens, it smokes cooler than fresh, has less chance of tongue bite, and requires less relights without losing flavor. Otherwise, it smokes a little hot. Moderate-slow smoking pace. Loses just a bit of flavor towards the end of the bowl, but overall maintains the same flavor. Can be easily an all-day smoke.

Mild in strength and body. Perfectly balanced.

To sum up, I think that it's an excellent blend full of good flavor, easy to smoke, and has a good room note. In line with Amphora Virginia, Mac Baren did an amazing job here. As an evidence, I smoked this exclusively and didn't miss anything else. Easy perfect score.

90's Douwe Egberts - Amphora Full Aroma: Package states, "Over two centuries of craftmanship contribute to the creation of Amphora Extra Mild Cavendish: A blend of over 20 tobaccos, their natural characteristics enhances just by a hint of aroma. This aroma is comprised of the fragrance of natural ingredients. The Cavendish process weds, under well controlled humidity and temperature, all ingredients to an individual whole. Amphora Full Aroma: slow burning a fresh aroma of sweet character fully guaranteed by (signature)"

Package note of cocoa, floral and tangy fruit. Tobacco is a ready rub or broken flake of reddish brown, light brown and dark brown. Moisture content is great. Burns fast with few relights. The strength is mild to medium and nic is mild. Flavoring is mild to medium, with notes of Cocoa, Floral, Citrus and Fruit. most of the favors, except floral, petered out within the first 1/4. The flora diminished a little to the background in the last 1/3. Taste is mild to medium and mostly consistent, with notes of berry, floral, tangy citrus, orange peel/zest, tart dark fruit, acidic, cocoa, dry, fermented sour vegetation, sugar, nutty, earth, wood, mildly spicy, mildly savory, a sweet-toasted bread background note, and a peppery retro. Virginia is leading with Burley, Oriental/Turkish and Kentucky supporting. Cavendish is the process they put all the tobacco through. Room note is pleasant to tolerable, and aftertaste is good.

The key players here are the burleys and Kentucky that give this a very woody and nutty flavour. This compliments the chocolate casing very well. Secondary players are the Virginias and orange flavour that offer a nice citrus garnish to the chocolate. The Orientals are hard to detect, but gives an orange blossom note if searched for. This is a classic drug store pouch, and is well loved in Europe. It does have some bite if you attempt to use it as an all day smoke. It is better as an after dinner smoke as it offers a solid nic hit.

This is not my favorite chocolate based blend, but it is a great one. The tobaccos are not lost in a sea of aromatic casing, but instead are elevated by the thoughtful pairings that compliment the base flavours of each varietal.

This blend is the one on the Belgian pipe tobacco market I would rank as 4 stars. The thing is almost all pipe tobacco blends in Belgium are based on virginia which is absolutely not compatible with my mouth chemistry. This one contains virginia too but surprisingly it doesn't bite at all. Also, it is from MacBaren and all their blends are like a blowtorch for me. I like it because as I said no biting, nice slightly sweet taste which I don't get tired of, the burning time is around 25-30 minutes, it doesn't give a lot of moisture, and finally, it has an affordable price. The freshly opened pack can give a little bit of licorice taste but it disappears in a couple of days. The flavor is rich and with chocolate and fruit notes, completely opposite to Amphora's original. Tobacco gives nice and thick smoke and doesn't need to relight, maybe 1-2 times if it is not puffed regularly. It gives cool smoke and has the perfect moisture in a pack. When I smoke before going to bed I don't have an unpleasant taste the next day morning. So, it is a perfect blend for me.

I like this but find it a little too fruity. I used to mix it in the humidifier 50/50 with Erinmore mixture, a lovely balance of contrasts.