J. F. Germain & Son Germain's Special Latakia Flake

A-mazing! After 2 tins the latakia content and ingredient proportions weren't all that different. Slightly so. The first one, with more latakia, leading me to pick up my second but both of them were beautiful. I have yet to see the enormous inconsistencies a few people have reported and I WILL keep occasionally buying this.

I think it is one for rubbing out completely due to the visible gold and black layers; the 'seperateness' of the components, despite the pressing they have had. Not one for stuffing. I'm not a stuffer anyway but it's not much of a 'melded', processed beastie, so I don't think it would pay you to stuff it either.

Drying out flat for at least 20 minutes is probably advisable too. Then I just pack it loosely in another tin for portability but this also helps with another little issue as well.

The latakia will break into grainy little crumbs while the rest will rub out to a long stranded ribbon 'shag'. Picking up from the flat drying position will separate out the components as the lat crumbs are so, well, 'crumby' that they will remain on the tissue or tray. Use a credit card for lifting those and then just shake your tin or jar all randomly but not violently, like you are mixing a cocktail or something (you kind of 'are', anyway) and this will distribute them nice and evenly throughout your woolly 'shag'. I find that the crumbiness of the crumbs, far from being some drawback, is actually a nice advantage because you get that 'increased surface area' effect; the one that lets fine powders dissolve quicker in solutions and makes flour more flammable as an air-bourne dust, etc. In other words: it burns very efficiently, thoroughly and tastily. Permeating and remarrying with the Turkish and Va and tempering the slightly sharp, bitter-sweet characteristics those leaves can sometimes have (in this case only very, very slight; see Squadron Leader for some outright 'yanging' sourness) and combining to a sublime, creamy, well-balanced, 'light-smokiness' that I keep wanting again and again.

Even my occasional Golden Sliced intake has suffered and my tin of it is drying out.

Cool burning and I have yet to be bitten.

Others can describe the flavours better than me but do yourself a favour and don't wait too long before trying it yourself. It is grand stuff!

When I opened the tin I was a bit bewildered at what I saw. A mass of flake and broken flake all mushed together and very wet. I dumped the entire mass in a bowl and rubbed it all out very thoroughly, let it dry a bit and jarred it.

Smoking this is a pure pleasure. The components are well married giving flavors of smoke and wood with wonderful sweet and sour notes. The smoke is very smooth, almost mellow, making it very easy on a retro-haler like myself. All three components provide near equal amounts of flavor. Nicely balanced. If this were more readily available I would add it to my favorites list.

Mild to medium in body. Medium in flavor. Burns perfectly. A truly fine English.

My tin contained Virginias and some Orientals, with no Latakia present at all. Tin note was an overwhelming sickly sweet stench of stewed figs and nothing else. There was also something very unpleasant about the smoke... Maybe it's the taste of disappointment?

Very disappointing experience, especially as I hear this can be a very good tobacco indeed.

It feels a bit unfair to give this a poor review after having a bad tin, but I feel that a tin of Latakia flake should have Latakia in it. I get the impression from other reviewers that variable quality is a feature of this blend. I may try again one day and will update this review then, but I doubt it.

I sent the tobacco back to Germains with a letter but received no response. The chances of me trying this blend again are even slimmer now.

This is one of those blends that I shy away from. Why? Because... I love the stuff and find it very hard to come by. This isn't anything like Penzance IMO. It remids me just a little of Squadron Leader with more Latikia. I am partial to flakes so it fills a need in my rotation. It is by no means a Latikia bomb. One other note, it must be dried out a lot before smoking so that it burns properly .... it can bite if too moist.

It is a well blended and typical English blend. The quality and blending skill is unquestionable. You can taste the Virginia and the Latikia is a bit forward but not overpowering ... the orientals provide just enough spice to keep it interesting but not particularly complex. A very nice tasting smoke that your really don't have to think about. When properly dried and properly packed it will burn cool right to the bottom of the pipe with only and occasional relight. Your pipe will be dry with only a bit of gray ash remaining. Thjis is an outstanding blend ... now if I could only get my hands on some more....

I am a big fan of Latakia infused slices, which I prefer to fold and twist or in a tall bowl a twist will do. The pressing enhances flavours and the burn. Even though it does take longer - a few more matches or a third of a tank of butane to light.

Upon opening the tin I did not find the tobacco overly moist. There is a fair bit of Virginia in this tobacco and the Orientals present a most pleasant aroma. Overall it is very well balanced and half way down the bowl it did change for the better with more of the Orientals coming through.

This tobacco is not a Latakia blast; however, the Latakia is blended very nicely, combusting in symphony with all of the other tobaccos. It is somewhat similar to Esotericas Penzance; however, not quite as full and rich. Certainly not a demanding smoke as Penzance sometimes is. I found it reminded me more of G.L. Pease Odyssey than Penzance.

To summarise, Special Latakia Flake is a wonderful blend to read a good novel by.

- Tabaco

Germain’s Special Latakia Flake - The flakes look like C&D “flakes” , broken apart like half flakes and broken flake . Some flakes look all black and some light brown . Like the tobacco’s weren’t mixed much before pressing. I just rubbed the whole tin out and mixed all the tobaccos together. Funky barnyard and hay , musty and fermented smell from the tin . Smells delicious. Very well balanced in the smoke . Soft smokey cedar wood and buttery earthy floral spicy incense with a sweet malty fruity citrus tang . The Turkish Orientals are exceptional . This is a Special Latakia Flake! Germain’s does it again . Some say these Germain’s blends are only raved about because of their rarity ? I think it is because they are so damn good ! I am a fan . Take into account this tin is 8 yrs old . 4

I have to say that I absolutely adore this flake! Amazing when fresh and Stellar when aged! It develops a sheen of crystals that glistens when aged. For a Latakia Flake, it is anything but a Lat bomb! The latakia here is sweet and smokey. The Virginia's used must be aged for not only do they have the typical grass and citrus they also provide an earthy-sweet stewed fruitiness. The incense, spice, and perfume of the Oriental's tie it all together. It can be prepared in any method, but do yourself a favor and cube cut it! It will smoke cooler and slower with more flavor than you could ever imagine!

In an age of astronomical tobacco duty, a pouch of this was a very generous gift from a friend. Its the first tobacco from Germain's that I've tried, and its quite nice!

The flakes are unusual, the different leaf appears to have been stacked in layers, with a seam of black latakia at the bottom of the flake, which has been crumbling off since I've had the pouch. The result is that it's not consistent from pipe to pipe. Would have been if I'd rubbed it all out at once, but that's not my style,and I suppose it made for variety having some pipes with a hint and some with a generous dose of latakia. The moisture content is just right, and the aroma in the pouch is like a light English mixture, smoke, hay, malt and wood. Not much of the mouldy funky aromas I enjoy in heavier blends like Nightcap.

It rubs with ease and takes the flame with no trouble, with an even burn. I didn't need many relights, and it burnt down to just a little more dottle than I'd see in an English mixture. The smoke has a dusty quality which seems to be from the latakia, more pronounced in bowls with more latakia. Aside from this it's mostly got a bready, malty flavour of Virginia leaf, with a little spice from the Orientals. Very much like a subdued English mixture. The flake preparation makes it burn a lot slower than a mixture would, which is nice. There isn't much development through the bowl.

In summary, a mild English in flake form, which makes for a slower burn and potentially some variation from bowl to bowl. Pleasant after breakfast with a cup of tea, but not an engrossing smoke for me to pay too much attention to. It strikes me as something of a gimmick, and won't be replacing any of my favourite English mixtures any time soon, but a pleasant change of pace for a chap who never looked a gift horse in the mouth.

I am a faithful man. I like to try different options in life, but when I find something I love, I stick to that. However, today I came back home from the Motzek tobacco store with my beloved Solani English mixture and a tin of Germain's SLF. I never tried Germain's tobaccos before, so, after reading the components of this tobacco, I opened the tin. The Flakes where loosely compacted and mildly wet, like grass at 10 AM, so I left the tin open while I was brewing some green tea without honey. Virginia tobaccos are often sweet, and I am already sweet enough.

I loosely packed the tobacco in my Peterson Christmas 2017 XL11 because the Latakias in it, and then I lighted my pipe.... What a pleasure. Smooth, delicate Latakia flavors arose since the beginning, without overwhelming my palate, and the sweetness of Virginias developed nicely along the smoking experience. Orientals where seasoning the mixture, giving it an exotic character ...Damn, I'm in love.

I'm lighting my second bowl. My wife is right, I'm smoking too much.