Mac Baren Amphora Rich Aroma

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...

Another good Amphora series. Tastefull, Nut scent, cleary perceptible. Slow burning. Very good product. Fully recommended. Amphora Blends are now made by Imperial Tobacco Company. Unfortunately, this is no more easy to find in Brazil.

Trying this blend at the moment, had about 3 bowls of this stuff and i gotta say i like it! The pouch note isin't what i expected, i thought from the description, it will be some sort of sweet aromatic with alot of casing buuuuuttt.... that was not the case. It smelled of virginias and burley and some nutty scent but nothing over the top what so ever. Now, when i lit up this tobacco, in a large bowl might I add due to its corse cut and alot of broken flakes, the tatse struck me of hazelnut/walnut right of the bat with that great burley backbone and some virginia sweetness. It was a bit bitter in the intitial few puffs so i advise short slow puffs until the flavours mellow out a bit. Mid bowl is when i start enjoying the blend much more. Great for pairing with coffee and i imagine it will be a great burley based baccy to mix with others which i have yet to try! Overall for the price and value i like it, it isint something mind blowing by any means but for what it is its tasty.

A nutty burley-based tobacco with a very light hazelnut topping. Not too sweet. The light hazelnut flavoring never overwhelms the natural, nutty burley tobacco taste. Can be smoked all day without becoming tiresome. Room note is acceptable. Like all Amphora blends, it's fairly dry in the pouch with very little topping, but does need some drying time to bring out the subtle flavors. It burns well and doesn't bite (even after multiple bowls), plus has a decent amount of nicotine. Not really much else to say about this nice tobacco. It's a good, daily blend that you probably won't tire of. Amphora Rich Aroma compliments their Full Aroma blend nicely.

Despite I prefer the Original Blend I really recommend this one, for newbee pipe smokers in particular. Smooth, fragrant, simple and round, classical adjective for a classical tobacco: straight in taste, not much "addicted" with aromatized crap, but in the same time appreciable for the natural sweet taste. Sure there's some hazelnut aroma, but it isn't the sweet icecream hazelnut taste, is instead a natural dried fruit hazelnut taste that enhance the kentucky presence. An all day tobacco type, perfect with any type of pipe. In the beginning need some control for the charge and the lighting, but it's part of the game, and this can be, maybe, another "training" reason for I recommend this tobacco to a fresh new pipe smoker.

Type: Natural aromatic burley mixture ; Contents: Burley, Kentucky, Oriental & Virginia ; Flavoring: Hazelnut (very mild taste) ; Cut: Ribbon / Flake ready rubbed ; Humidity: Pretty moist and slow burning; Lighting: I say normal and constant burning but need some practice in the first time ; Pipe recommended: All kind are fine, but obviously for a full burley mixture experience a large bowl is mandatory, better with a chubby type. For some strange reason the meerschaum experience is not good as I expected for burley mix.

I used to mix the Amphora green with Borkum Riff Cherry then let it dry out a bit, it was my tobacco since the 80's till about 5?or more years ago. When I could no longer purchase the tobacco I quit smoking. Most people loved the aroma and the taste was of chocolate, hazelnuts and cherries. I generally smoked it in a bent pipe. Can no longer find the green and I noticed that Douve Egberts sold it to Imperial. Where I live in Canada tobacco costs over $20.00 a pouch so even now I seldom smoke. I have just bought Borkum Riff mixture with Cherry Cavendish which is OK so far but i miss the hints of chocolate and hazelnuts. We'll see how it goes.