HU Tobacco Soraya

I was lucky enough to have received a sample of this beforehand and I instantly loved it... now that it's available, I ran through my first 50g tin within notime!

The tin note is lovely.. the Orient really shines with its exotic, essential-oily spice and is perfectly accompanied by a smooth and creamy chocolate note that orginates from the burley. The Virginias and Cavendish add a tad of creamy sweetness to round things off and to bring balance to the force 😉 It really reminds me of autum and especially christmas... with christmas delishs (gingerbread/lebkuchen and other spiced biscuits and pastry), a warm tea, a comfy seat and a worthwile book!

In the pipe the Orientals showcases their pleasingly complex qualities, such as an essential-oiliness, exotic-dry spiciness, even some wood, and buttery, almost nutty notes, hints of sharpness..... the Orientals are really rich and versatile in flavors, which I love. Albeit its rich Oriental presence, this blend comes along quite creamy. I suppose this is achieved due to the addition of (10%) Burley, which adds a nice, creamy nutty- and chocolaty aspect to the smoke, besides a full-bodied earthy foundation. As well as a minor addition of black cavendish, which adds a smooth, creamy and not too sweet quality. The Virignia's smooth (honey-dew) sweetness rounds things off and balances out the natural richness of the Oriental leafs (of which varietals from 3 countries were used). The Perique is virtually unnoticeable to me, but I suppose it has its function for the flavor-profile!

I prefer smoking it in wide chambered bowls and I also prefer having time to really savour and explore this blend. Albeit me having smoked a 50g tin of this already, the Orientals keep surprising me with new, interesting notes.. Turkish/Oriental is some heavenly weed, when blended skillfully!

Has a surprisingly pleasant room note for an Oriental-heavy blend and not only the fact its the house blend of the forum I am an user at, but the abscene of Latakia makes this quite special as a blend to me! At least here in germany we only have 1-2 other blends with a rich Oriental presence, that doesn't also contain Latakia in the blend!

This is a Top-5 tobacco of mine now! Takes a comfty seat amongst my C&D Burley blends, and I'll cellar 2-3 tins (one of 1 year, the other 2-3 years, one for 5-10 years) to see how it'll age, as I have the feeling this will age just wonderfully.

|| Personal rating: 4-stars | Attempt of an 'obective rating' : 4-stars ||

The various tangy Orientals provide earth, wood, herbs, vegetation, floralness, spice, leather, incense, a lot of dry sourness and a touch of buttery sweetness as the lead components. The woody, earthy, nutty, chocolaty, creamy burley is a supporting player. The tart and tangy, citrusy, grassy, slightly floral and acidic honey dew Virginia forms the base of the blend as a secondary star. The raisiny, peppery, earthy, figgy, plumy perique is in the background. The lightly brown sugary, creamy black cavendish is in the background, but its effect in toning down some sourness and rough edges is a contribution. The strength and nic-hit are medium, while the taste is a couple of steps past that mark. Won’t bite or get harsh, but the spice content may playfully tingle the tongue of a fast puffer. Has a few small rough edges. Burns cool and clean at a moderate rate with a mostly consistent, complex, mildly creamy sweet and more sour, dry savory, ruggedly bold, deeply rich flavor that translates to the pleasantly lingering after taste and stronger room note. Barely leaves any dampness in the bowl, and requires an average number of relights. Not an all day smoke, and I recommend a small to medium size round bowl (pot, apple, author) to fully capture all the nuances inherent in this mixture.

-JimInks

Just collected a tin at a german pipe show. Major player are the orientals with a refershing sourish taste and a sweet undertone caused by the small amount of virginia and cavendish. The small amount of burley and perique are giving this mixture body and spiciness. I Love english blends with a high amount of orientals and I can recommend this blend highly! Never boring and always changing flavor. Very easy to smoke. No burn or bite even if you´re pushing. The perique taste get´s a little stronger at the end but it fits very well. This is a tobacco for everyone. For beginners starting with non aromatic or for the professional smoker as an allday smoke. One of the best orientals I have smoked without Latakia. Jumped directly to my top 5!

I received a sample from a friend for about 6 or 7 bowls, so this won’t be a review based on a full tin. Nevertheless, I’ll do my best to describe my experience with this very interesting blend.

So, first things first (as always)

First “tin” notes (it was actually held in a jar) I detected were of dried plums, which seemed a bit weird, but pleasant. The other “tin” notes I discovered when I opened the jar were of dark fruit but also chocolate, cocoa and hazelnut

The tobacco presents itself in a very fine cut ribbon. Bright virginia and a few smaller black ribbons.

First smokes are sweet, spicy, chocolaty, floral, and I personally think there is a small added flavor to this, though I wouldn’t imagine mr. Hans hiding this if it was. It’s probably because of the complexity found in these orientals that have been chosen and carefully blended.

The orientals can be spicy and sweet and woody and leathery. You find spiciness and sweetness in this one, but not much wood or leather taste like in other oriental blends like, I don’t know, London Mixture from Dunhill, which also has turkish tobacco. I haven’t yet smoked straight oriental tobacco to be sure, but what I can tell from this blend is that you can’t be sure which aroma comes from which tobacco.

If the orientals are really this complex, then I really really need to buy some straight oriental, though it’s also a matter of quality and region. But if they are so complex in flavor, i don’t see why anyone would need any casing and topping, except for the costs.

In my opinion, the virginia is in the front, followed by either the orientals or the black cavendish. I really, really can’t tell. This blend is complex!

There is a a little spiciness which can be from the perique but also from the oriental, but there’s such a dance of flavors that you can’t tell.

There’s also kind of a cinnamon and floral taste that I don’t know where it comes from: The black cavendish? The orientals? Or a casing/topping?

It is indeed buttery, even soapy at times, and that I dont like. It also delivers a little sour taste from time to time, which could be the burley. But, the good thing (for me) is that the burley is not easily detected, because I started hating it, especially since its low quality that is being offered nowadays. The little sourness like I said, I suspect to be the burley, but fortunately this goes away.

By the end of the bowl there is a taste of chocolate and hazelnut.

This is crazy! How many flavors this one delivers and yet how great they are blended! I would call this a semi aromatic if it was the case of a topping or casing.

Very easy to smoke, burns amazing, needs little to no relights, doesn’t burn or bite, doesn’t get the pipe hot, it actually gives a cool and creamy smoke. Leaves a perfect white ash and little to no dottle.

Since I can’t give 3.5 rating, I’ll give it a 4. 🙂

P.S.: I think aromatics fans would like this blend too.

Happy smoking!

This is without a doubt the best oriental forward blend (without latakia) that I‘ve ever tried. It‘s spicy and buttery, nutty and slightly sweet with a hint of pepper. The three different types of oriental leaf make sure it never becomes monotonous. It‘s actually quite complex! I cannot detect any added flavoring. Burns down at a reasonable pace and requires minimal relights.

Long story short, if you like oriental forward blends, I‘d say this one is a must try. Highly recommended!

Do you know what I think of when I open a tin of Soraya and smells it? Dog crap.Though a rather mild-smelling dog crap, if there is such a thing.

But much like cheese, I am of the firm opinion that the worse a tobacco smells, the better it will taste.

HU Soraya is a musty, earthy blend of that somewhat rare kind; Oriental-forward but without Latakia. It’s fairly complex, and you’ll notice both the earth and spice of the fine Oriental leaf and the chocolate of the Burley.

It smokes cool with no bite, and the taste intensifies towards the end of the bowl. I have noticed some cigarette-like undertones at the start of the bowl from the Burley, but nothing overpowering nor unpleasant, and it lessens as you smoke it. Nicotine-wise it's medium. This is a really good one!

Look in tin is of nice golden/brown leaf with sprinkles of darker brown ribbons here and there. Cold smell is nice, decent fruity and a bit sour. Packs well after drying just a bit and takes flames nice and easy.

First puffs of the bowl provide a lot of nice flavors tickling my palate. Dry fruits, a hint of Hay and some peppery spices combine great and make a round but overall still mild smoke. Spices play hide and seek with sweetness and fruit nuances creating a good up and down of flavors.

Sadly it appears that after half of the bowl all the beautiful tastes somehow drift away and leave just a base of joyless, dry savor. This even happened with all the different bowls I tried. Really nice in the first half then slipping away into a flavorless abyss.

Could be a really nice balanced and tasteful blend if all the flavors stayed until the end.

There is a lot going on in this blend, and it's masterfully balanced. The tin note immediately hits you with an intense sour scent. Oriental lovers will anticipate the first puffs of their loaded pipe. The three varieties of Orientals pack a lot of flavour and incredibly complexity — a lovely melody of floral, tart sour, a touch of woody earth. The perique offers just a hint of spice, the way it mixes with the floral notes of the Orientals reminds one of Persian Cuisine. Perhaps the reason for naming this blend Soraya is an homage to Persian culture, as it is a feminine Persian name. Exhale and the burley and cavendish is present on your tongue, a touch of sweet cocoa. The sweet Virginia is a vehicle for these other flavours offering a balance that prevents the Orientals from overpowering. The room note is a bit peculiar, a mix of pleasant scents as well as tolerable ones. I am thoroughly impressed with this smoke. I am a big fan of HU blends, but this one stands a bit taller than the rest. I strongly recommend trying this absolute gem of blend — 4/4

This is a blend I would recommend to fellow oriental lovers. Lately, the VaOr or VaPerOr, et al have had a surge in popularity. Unfortunately many suffer from an apparent lack in oriental leaf quality and diversity.

The oriental leaf in Soraya is front and center from the first light. Earthy sweetness, butter, light spice, floral notes, and salty ocean air are all flavors that develop.

I'm not a lover of burley due to its effect on my mouth. It tends to have a harsh, drying effect in my mouth and throat. I don't dislike the flavor though, and Hans has done a good job blending burley with the orientals to coax out the nutty cocoa character of the leaf without being overbearing at all.
The Virginia works as a solid foundational canvas for the orientals and burley to be expressed.
The perique becomes more apparent in the latter half of the bowl, adding a hint of pepper and nicotine.
The cavendish is minimal and works at rounding out the combination of flavors and binding them together to form the whole - Soraya.

Nice oriental blend without any latakia. I can't say I will buy this again, but I can say that it is enjoyable to smoke every now and then. Not a fan but not a hater either. 2 and a half.