Mac Baren Amphora Rich Aroma

The burley is earthy, woody, nutty sweet with a very mild cocoa hit as the star component. The dry, earthy, lightly floral, herbal, woody, lightly sweet Oriental also sports a touch of spice in the background. The Virginia is a minor, grassy player with a little tart and tangy citrus. The hazelnut has a little richness to go along with dry, slightly toasted quality as it mildly sublimates the tobaccos. The strength is just past being mild, while the taste is in the center of mild to medium. Has a very mild nicotine hit. Won’t bite or get harsh. It has a light complexity, and the sweet, very slightly creamy flavor is very consistent throughout the smoke. Burns at a reasonable pace; very cool and clean. Requires an average number of relights, and leaves little dampness in the bowl. Has a very pleasant lightly lingering after taste and room note. An easy going all day smoke.

-JimInks

The burley is earthy, woody, nutty sweet with a very mild cocoa hit as the star component. The dry, earthy, lightly floral, herbal, woody, lightly sweet Oriental also sports a touch of spice in the background. The Virginia is a minor, grassy player with a little tart and tangy citrus. The hazelnut has a little richness to go along with dry, slightly toasted quality as it mildly sublimates the tobaccos. The strength is just past being mild, while the taste is in the center of mild to medium. Has a very mild nicotine hit. Won’t bite or get harsh. It has a light complexity, and the sweet, very slightly creamy flavor is very consistent throughout the smoke. Burns at a reasonable pace; very cool and clean. Requires an average number of relights, and leaves little dampness in the bowl. Has a very pleasant lightly lingering after taste and room note. An easy going all day smoke.

-JimInks

Amphora Rich Aroma (now only Amphora Rich) is an aromatic in the dutch tradition. To be clear, not a natural aromatic but a flavored mixture. Better than its most famous medium - bodied red sibling (Amphora Full), this one is really a perfect dutch aromatic blend. Virginia, Burley and Oriental with a sweet and rich casing but without cloying. Fine, pleasant, ideal for aromatic’ lovers and for all those who love a classic flavored blend. Three stars for aromatic’ lovers, two stars for everyone else and two stars and a half in my personal taste. Certainly to taste. Especially if you want to try the old classic aromatic Dutch school. For all these reasons, in my personal rating system (from 1 to 10) my score is 7 and two stars.

Out of the pouch it looks and smells quite similar to its brother Original Blend but sweeter. The smoke is different: RA lacks of that savory Kentucky edge present in OB, the taste is clearly Burley rounded off with a touch of Virginia and a mild sweetener ( hazelnut, they wrote...), maybe there’s too a pinch of Orientals. As every Amphora, RA is skillfully Cavendish processed so it’s very easy to fill and keep lit, gentle to the mouth without harshness or bites, little to none gurgles, room note isn’t a crowd pleasure but tolerable and it leaves in the pipe just a trace of sweet Burley. Not an enticing blend (and not intended to be) but not dull even, it’s a pleasantly mellow, warm and calming smoke.

I don't like Hazelnut Coffee, so I probably would no longer like this blend. But years ago it was a favorite smoke. My memory fades as the years go by, but I distinctly remember liking this blend because it had a tobacco taste and yet made for a great added flavor. If I ever found another pouch I would try it though.

Exactly as the name implies.

If you've already dabbled with Amphora Red (Full Aroma) then this does exactly what it promises. While Full Aroma is a completely wholesome, full-bodied and tasty blend in itself, this is indeed the "rich" version of it; just that little bit darker, little bit fruitier (plums, dates, raisins), little bit more full. Leaning a bit more on the aromatic side, the limited spicing used (such as the touch of cocoa/dark chocolate) is nicely counterbalanced by the tobaccoes used being of a bit stronger and fuller variety. Makes for a truly enjoyable, full and smooth smoke, especially in low temperatures or complementing a hot drink.

Instant favorite and will buy again given the chance. If the local gas station had this along with Red, I could survive indefinitely.

Amphora is probably the most widely commercialized pipe tobacco in Italy. If a tobacconist has to choose one brand of pipe tobacco to sell, it is probably going to be amphora, either full or rich aroma. They owe their popularity to good marketing policy, and because, as it seems, it is good value for money tobacco.

Opening the pouch, one finds mostly medium-to-light brown tobacco, quite dry and coarse cut, it looks more like ready rubbed or broken flake than ribbon. The smell from the pouch is not particularly pleasant, they added an an artificial, lightly sour sweetener, it vaguely resembles fruit, definitely not hazelnut like they say. The smoke is medium bodied, nice tasting, round, nutty, not too hot. The tobacco burns relatively well, although I had to relight a few times (maybe it's me). In the second half of the bowl I had some gurgles. No bite (but I smoked with an active charcoal filter). The room note is nothing to write home about but I had no complaints.

All in all, this is a more than honest pouch tobacco, good value for money, to be smoked on its own or mixed with other blends. IMO the rating should be somewhere in between 2.5 and 3, so I'm giving it two stars to re-balance the rating a bit.

PS The pouch says it is made under licence from Van Nelle, a Dutch RYO tobacco manifacturer...

TIP: it mixes very well with some crumbled Toscano cigar!

Tobacco flavor still shines through, topping adds some dark, nutty sweetness as an extension that doesn't feel unnatural. A hint of spiciness on the retrohale. There's a bitterness that increases throughout the bowl. Unpleasant aftertaste in the mouth. In my opinion fuller, rounder and more balanced than its brother Amphora Full. One of the better OTC aromatics if you don't mind the bitter taste.

I tried several packing methods, variable the dryness, tried it on briar and cob pipes. I even smoked it very slowly but sadly something in this blend doesn't agree with my tongue. I got slight tongue bite from the charring light already. The nutty and choco taste is there but my tongue all sore. I guess this wasn't for me. Maybe i could try to use it as a mixing.

This is my very cup of tea. I pretend to be a Burley lover, and this is mainly a decent Burley mixture. Everytime they call a tobacco a Burley/Virginia mix, you must know you'll find little Virginia and more Burley...I guess Virginia must be just more expensive. I love Virginia too, so finally I like every well done Burley/Virginia mix, with whatever percentages. As usual, also this mixture contains more Burley than VA, and is a nice Burley, even if it is not the best. And I've nothing to blame with, because for the price, you're getting enough quality here. I'm smoking this Amphora green now, after I had forgotten it for my last 20 years...because many years ago I did not find it so interesting Amphora tobaccos...guess I have been kinda snobby smoker. So, after many years, I got old and changed my mind, and I'm testing again many kind of cheap/drugstore tobaccos, and guess what, I'm actually digging a lot of hidden gold here and there! This nice easy tobacco will not disappoint a sincere Burley and Virginia lover, and will not bite his tongue. Easy to smoke, will need 1/2 weeks out of the pouch, in a glass jar not too much closed, because it needs to breth and to lose some moisture. In fact, when is just open, it's often too moist and difficult to smoke and keep lit. It is a good base to mix, whit something sweet (like vanilla) to make a more intense aromatic, or with some Latakìa to make kinda English Mix.

Addendum - After a week, after an entire pouch smoked, after I smoked it in different kind and brand of pipes, after all, I can say something more: It's definitively in my top 10. I must add the forth star, recommended to Burley enthusiasts...