Tobaccos Savinelli - Armonia

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Pipestud (1829)	2003-01-13		Mild to Medium	Extra Strong	Overwhelming	Extra Strong

Seeing RebelPipesters review of this blend reminded me that I had planned on warning the group about this nasty stuff. I had, unfortunately, sampled a bowl a few months ago and guess I wanted to forget the experience so badly that I forgot to post my review.

I shall keep it short. Upon opening the tin I was repulsed. Why I went ahead and subjected one of my fine briars to this foul weed remains a mystery to me. Well, the fact is I did and it was a huge mistake. Almost every thought expressed by the above reviewers ran through my mind as I puffed on Armonia. Remove the "r" from the name and you've got my impressions of smell and taste of this miserably failed effort at creating a smokable pipe tobacco. (IMHO)

12 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Absurd (2)	2018-08-27		Very Mild	Extra Strong	Medium	Overwhelming

Warning: I smoke naturals normally and I like them better than almost any fancy concoction I have been trying from time to time so... consider this a biased review. End of Warning.

Man... I almost quitted pipes as this was the first blend I tried: I had bought my first pipe from Savinelli's shop in Milan, Italy... and I did a big mistake: I asked the seller for some advice regarding what tobacco to buy. He pointed me to this: the fruity hell.

I remember the casing as I was opening it: strong and intoxicating... I remember thinking that it would have made a wonderful room note.

I. Was. Dead. Wrong.

Hot, gurgling, steaming... and that casing... so persistant that I remember I couldn't get it out of my system for a couple days: everything I tasted (food, water, coffee, whiskey) was tainted by the fruity hand of this demon.

In the beginning I was trying to enjoy it, then the fruit smell overwhelmed me like a bad acid trip to a chemical orchard.

And the room note: so strong and sweet it gave me a headache... I couldn't stand it any more. I needed to sleep in another room until the fruit from hell decided to subsede. One bowl and I was done with this infernal stuff and, I thought, with pipe smoking.

Until a day I saw a pipe smoker whose smoke smelled good to me... I asked him what he was smoking: Comune. Been smoking that ever since every time I find it. All the rest, but for Savinelli Armonia, is for when I get bored. Savinelli Armonia will be what they will give me in hell when I get there if I don't behave.

EDIT: I remember that pipe needed quite a few bowls with Comune to forget the experience it had endured... Now I discover Savinelli gave out free samples of this... I am pretty sure they did so that you needed a new pipe as it would have rendered one of yours an instrument of evil.

Pipe Used: Savinelli Bent apple

Age When Smoked: As soon as I bought it.

Purchased From: Generic Tobacconist

7 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	JimInks (3046)	2014-04-10		Mild to Medium	Medium to Strong	Medium to Full	Very Strong

The Virginia is grassy with a little tart and tangy citrus. The burley is a little nutty, woody and earthy, and is slightly more obvious than the Virginia. The spicy, woody, dry, earthy, herbal, vegetative, sour and sweet Oriental/Turkish underscores the experience. The Kentucky offers a little chocolate, wood, earth, and nuts as a condiment. The artificial toppings are vinegary with an unpleasant apricot tanginess. The strength is a couple of steps past the center of mild to medium. The taste is a rung past the medium threshold. The nic-hit is a couple of slots past the mild mark. Burns a little warm and harsh, but doesn’t bite at a reasonable pace with a very consistent flavor. Leaves a little moisture in the bowl. Requires an average number of relights. Has a very unpleasant, lingering after taste and room note.

Apparently, the manufacturer has changed the formula since I reviewed it. Now, it has rum and chocolate toppings.

-JimInks

7 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	WillBrown (137)	2015-05-12		Mild to Medium	Medium to Strong	Mild to Medium	Unnoticeable

I approached this tin with even more trepidation than Da Vinci. The reviews for this blend gave me worry, especially the "ammonia" crack, but, I've had a lot worse tobaccos.

The tin nose wasn't too exciting, I could smell something like citrus, and something else that reminded me of a poor vintage wine. The taste was so-so, and it was next to impossible to smell the aroma as I was smoking this on a windy day. Really, this blend wasn't all that bad. Like most aro's it smoked a bit hot, especially towards the bottom. It came very wet out of the tin, so this blend is heavily cased, but, all in all, not the atrocious tobacco that many make it out to be. I'll give it a split right down the middle—2 stars.

Keep on piping!

Pipe Used: Leonessa Capri

6 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	DeathMetal.org (231)	2020-09-08		Mild	Strong	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

Summary: sweet-sour blend with a floral topping, above average for an aromatic.

Virginia-Oriental-Kentucky blends provide a unique sweet-sour flavor which has made them popular in the Netherlands and Norway, as well as to any pipe-smoker blessed with a functional mail system. Most of those use a light floral topping; "Armonia" expands upon that by adding Burley and Cavendish in the middle, making the blend both sweeter and slightly warmer and broader in flavor. I hate aromatics generally, but also hate injustice and failure to notice positive qualities, and it would be a shame to fail to notice the positive aspects of this blend. First, it is not too heavily aromatic; second, the underlying leaf provides a good deal of the flavor in the lower two-thirds of the bowl; finally, it achieves a mellow smoke which is nonetheless piquant and slightly spicy. Like most aromatics, it suffers from the "sugar effect" which makes it burn hotter, so you pretty much have to breath-smoke this one at a CSPAN pace. The topping comes from the "Prince Albert" school of throwing in multiple things, but I taste the floral essence and some kind of fruit topping that could dope out as strawberry or cherry depending on the time of day. I prefer this infinitely to the mainstream cherry aromatics which have left me questioning my life decisions that led up to selecting them off the shelf.

Similar Blends: Peter Stokkebye - Amsterdam (No.83), Peter Stokkebye - Norwegian Blend (No.80), Dunhill - Ready Rubbed (re-release).

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	BigFatBloke (4)	2017-03-24		Mild to Medium	Very Mild	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

I ordered this on a whim. And because I was intrigued, as a newbie, as to how a 'bad' tobacco was supposed to taste. My 50g tin came to me from those excellent fellows at smokingpipes.com. Upon opening, it was evident that the tin was far from new. Both the paper insert and the cardboard cover were stained with a mottling of tobacco colour, and had leeched out a little moisture from the tobacco itself. The aroma was the first surprise. I had been ready for the chemical nastiness others report on. I found the smell quite acceptable. A little camp fire, a little leaf mound, and the faintest touch of the claimed citrus. The leaf was a good mixture of light brown, dark brown and black. The cut is a little random, but I'm used to the uniformity of Dunhill blends, so I might be just a little over critical there. Tightly packed into its tin, it was perfect moisture level for an immediate bowlfull.

I used my thick-walled Radfords's bent briar, not wanting to risk sullying either the Dunhill or the newly acquired Savinelli with the awfulness I had been promised by other reviewers. It packed nicely, in three springy layers, and lit easily. Not much expansion from the charring light, and producing a thick cloud of white smoke on the main light.

So, what does it taste like?

Very surprisingly pleasant. Cool, smooth smoke. Not 'creamy' smooth, but not in any way harsh or bitter. The citrus flavouring is so mild as to be almost, but not quite unnoticeable. Smokey, with more of that camp fire thing going on. Fresh and grassy on the front, with faint notes of spiced pear(?) maybe. There's a spiciness in general and a warmth that suggests it would pair well with a decent single malt. The room note is not at all unpleasant or acrid, as I had feared it might be. Lightly packed in a good sized (large) bowl, it burned well, and not at all hot, all the way down. No gurgling moisture, and absolutely no tongue-bite.

As I said at the top of the review, I have no idea how old this tin is. Given the terrible reviews here, the boys at smokingpipes.com might have a ton of this stuff that they bought years ago, and can't shift. Some places say 'no longer available' for this blend. I hope that's not the case, because I should be sad to see it go.

Would I order it again? Well, I'm not the 30-plus tobaccos in rotation kind of guy, I'm really searching for two (possibly three) blends to make my own. One for daily use. One for high days and holidays. One for variety. But on the other hand, I might select two regulars (daily use and sabbath) and forage my way through others as a kind of adventure, an epic journey if you will.

Would I recommend this tobacco to a friend? Well, if I had any friends, that smoke a pipe, yes I would. Without hesitation. In a heartbeat. No contest. Yes. But maybe with the caveat 'buy it, store it a few years, THEN smoke it'

Remember, folks: If you don't smoke, and you don't drink, you don't live longer..... it just SEEMS longer!

Pipe Used: Radford's thick-walled bent briar

Age When Smoked: (?) not known

Purchased From: Smokingpipes.com

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	StevieB (2080)	2016-03-15		Mild	Medium to Strong	Mild to Medium	Tolerable

Savinelli - Armonia. Hmmmm; this has had a bit of a kicking review wise! Because of this, I was expecting a tobacco that I wouldn't insult a bonfire with. "It's not that bad"; that was my first impression. This lasted a VERY SHORT WHILE.

Armonia is best enjoyed un-lit; the tin contains a pleasant smelling, nicely hydrated mixture of dark, coarse ribbons. This is what lead me to my first positive view. But then I lit it; fun over.

I wouldn't go as far as saying the added flavour is too strong, it's just very unpleasant so even a tiny amount of it would be too much. Mind you, what added flavour I do get completely covers any of the natural tobaccos' identities. It's just a big, clumsy, mess.

A new paragraph for the worst points: 1. tongue bite.... ouch. 2. temperature.... scorching hot.

I'll keep this review quite short; it doesn't deserve a long one!

Not recommended.

Into the bin this goes!

Pipe Used: Peder Jeppesen

Age When Smoked: New

Purchased From: James Barber

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	SteelCowboy (685)	2011-12-01		Mild to Medium	Medium	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Upon opening the pouch, I was greeted with a strong aromatic combination of sweet and pungent fruit. If this was in fact made from all “natural” flavors, then something “natural” was rotting. It truly smells of overripe fruit. I was not going to give into the strong desire to quit right there. The appearance of the tobacco is inviting with light and dark ribbons and a little bit of broken flake. Upon lighting, this tobacco smokes very hot, very quickly and the taste is anything but natural. I like the occasional aromatic, but this may be the worst of the many I have tried. I always avoid reviewing a tobacco after just one bowl, but in the interest of saving my mouth and taste buds, one bowl is all I am willing to endure. I am surprised a quality name like Savinelli would allow its name on something this poorly made.

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2007-08-08		Mild to Medium	Medium	Mild	Pleasant

Don't know whether it's me or you,but i find many previous reviews unfair.IMHO this is one of the best tobaccos around. Exceptional flavoring, easy and pleasing to smoke,very little bite, unless you're very quick with it. Truly exceptional !

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	CypressDog (2)	2006-12-17		Medium	Very Strong	Overwhelming	Overwhelming

In my 30 years of pipe smoking this is one of the most ghastly blends I have ever attempted to smoke.

As others here have commented, Armonia is an extremely heavily cased fruity aromatic; just one whiff and my thoughts turned to the tongue bite that was sure to follow if I were to smoke this stuff. Not one to resist a challenge, I lit up anyway. It had the taste and aroma of hazardous waste combined with rotten fruit. After a few puffs I was done. I could not stand it anymore and wanted to quit before I ruined the pipe. The only thing in Armonia's favor is that tongue bite was not an issue since I wasn't able to smoke it long enough for that to happen.

I received the tobacco as a free sample pack with the purchase of a Savinelli pipe. It is unfortunate that there are probably some people who have purchased a Savinelli as their first pipe because of the free tobacco. If this were the first blend I had smoked, I would have immediately quit pipe smoking.

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2003-12-18		Mild to Medium	Medium to Strong	Mild to Medium	Tolerable

Beat me with a stick, but I have to say I like Armonia.

It does have issues, it is a bit too moist, and it will burn a bit hot if you let it, but in a large bowled pipe, it can be an extremely satisfying smoke.

The fruitiness gives way to a carmelized glazed pear taste through the bowl.

It isn't for the weak of heart, it isn't very forgiving!

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Gaius Baltar (25)	2017-08-23		Medium	Very Strong	Overwhelming	Overwhelming

Buy this tin next to others that discontinued in the store. Bad mistake. When opening the can, there was a strange aroma between vinegar and citrus, nothing pleasant. It was not moist, it burned well, it bit very little, on the tongue and at the end it warmed up and left a damp rest in the bottom of the bowl. The flavor of the tobacco at first was anodyne, indefinite, a pastiche of flavors. But the added chemical flavors were immediately manifested, horribly, almost disgusting. In the end I also have an unpleasant aftertaste in my mouth, which is slow to disappear. As was my mistake, I smoke it all as penance, arghh, I do not want to remember. IMHO I do not recommend it.

Pipe Used: Stanwell

Age When Smoked: 1/2 year stocked on tobacco shop

Purchased From: Tobacco shop from Barcelona

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	o3Ho3 (28)	2014-01-27		Mild	Very Mild	Very Mild	Unnoticeable

This is a blunt blend with nothing attractive or at least interesting for me... IMHO. The potential is enormous but somehow they fail to achieve that potential. Very sorry for that waste of time.

Pipe Used: always Peterson

Purchased From: corner street tobaconist

Similar Blends: nothing, or whatever nothing blend..

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2006-05-18		Mild	Extra Strong	Extremely Mild (Flat)	Tolerable to Strong

Blatantly evil. If Hell came in a tobacco pouch, this would be the stuff. Avoid this at all costs.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2011-08-14		Mild to Medium	Medium	Mild to Medium	Tolerable

I smoked this tobacco in the last Italian holiday.

Smell after opening the pouch 50g: After opening the pouch, one rises to meet a pretty intense aroma of sweet spices, which are intrusive but not unpleasant. In the background, something smells of tobacco for chocolate and orange.

Consistency of tobacco: The tobacco picture is quite dark and therefore presents itself in the ribbon cut (shredded fine cut). The mix itself is butter soft and fluffy. The filling of the pipe preparing, no problems, but it should not prefer to stuff firmly.

Smoke properties: When the gang Glutkissen is once set in, the smoldering tobacco down calmly and evenly. The quality of the tobacco is classified at the top. There remain no residue. But beginners and hastily smokers, I would not recommend this tobacco because it attract most attention and quiet, sipping needed almost. Caution that smokes Savinelli Armonia is very hot quickly. When I recommend a pipe with an average fill volume.

Taste: After the smell test, I would have expected a decent highly aromatic, but is definitely not the Sun The Savinelli Armonia tastes very mild and without question belongs in the category of light tobaccos. It tastes somewhat like chocolate, butter and a hint of orange and amarettini (amaretto cookies). The note comes naturally Virginia, very weak in the form of sweet hay or straw to light. The tobacco keeps its flavor to about half of the filling. What can you say that tobacco is very velvety, what you feel in the mouth and clear on the tongue. Kentucky and the Oriental one does not notice at all. This tobacco will be smoked with a filter. Without this filter is tobacco a disaster, because the condensate residue is real bad.

Conclusion: An interesting tobacco, which is definitely more like it for the morning hours and by the aroma of the Christmas season especially good job. Personally, he's too mild and therefore will not get into my bar tobacco feeder. If you have tried once but because he is not really bad.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Big Nick (74)	2011-03-04		Mild	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

I think the tin description is pretty accurate on this one. It's not great, but it could be a mild, unobtrusive all day smoke for many. Not exciting, but I can't say anything bad about it.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Denevei (58)	2011-01-08		Mild	Medium to Strong	Mild to Medium	Tolerable

I've only tried this tobacco in the sample packs provided by Savinelli, and have smoked several bowls of it. Both in pipes by Savinelli. Armonia is a blend of Virginia, Oriental, burley, and Kentucky tobaccos, topped with what Savinelli calls "natural" fruit flavors. I'll take their word on "natural," but only because I have to.

Both of my samples of this tobacco were dry. The pouches gave off a nice, sweet aroma, which was quite attractive. As a dry tobacco, Armonia loaded easily into my pipes. Lighting was pretty easy, as well. But as dry as it was, I was amazed by the amount of moisture that condensed in the pipes as I smoked.

The taste of Armonia is, unfortunately, not there. The pouch aroma gave me thoughts of a nice, easy aromatic. However, the flavor all goes up in smoke, leaving nothing but warm, thick air to come through the pipe. My tongue longed for flavor, but got none.

I think Savinelli should keep their focus on pipes. Then they should let someone else sell tobacco.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2010-01-09		Mild	Mild to Medium	Mild	Pleasant

A very good every day tobacco. Natural aromatic taste, a lot oriental tobaccos. Very good for the low cost

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2006-12-25		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Tolerable

Natural aromatic with full and woody taste, fails to give all the dark chocolate bouquet that is present in its scent, opening the pouch. Honest and well done tobacco, gives pleasant, but average smokes without emotions for complexity or quality.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2003-01-20		Mild to Medium	Very Strong	Overwhelming	Overwhelming

I received a free sample of this blend from Savinelli and was, to say the least, disappointed. I am sure that there are those pipe smokers out there who really enjoy this blend; I personally would rather be condemned to smoking nothing other than Erinmore Flake for the rest of my life than to ever have to even look at this tobacco. The corncob in which I tried Armonia was apparently ruined. Numerous bowls of one of my regular blends has done nothing to attenuate the residual effect of the Armonia.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2002-09-12		Extremely Mild	Strong	Very Mild	Strong

It has been said that pipe makers don't always make the best tobacco blenders. This blend gives ample support to that argument. Gretchen ran and hid giving it one bark out of five possible.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	L'Italiano (233)	2014-09-28		Mild	Medium	Mild	Pleasant to Tolerable

The quality of this tobacco is well below par, not to mention as regards the sugary, fruity taste. It is not foul or disgusting but this tobacco is dull, lackluster. In my humble opinion it could be a good choice for beginners and for cigarettes smokers who desire to change; but it would be a very bad pick for experienced pipe smokers. In my personal rating (from 1 to 10) my score is 4 and only a star.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2009-05-10		Medium to Strong	Strong	Overwhelming	Overwhelming

This was above and beyond the absolute worst stuff I have ever had. The pouch smelled of sicky sweet apricot vinegar. The tobacco was extremely wet and clumpy. The smoke was extremely bitey and left a burnt rubber flavor in my mouth. The smoke was rancid in the air and i had to stop smoking it as it was just horrible to smell. I will NEVER try this blend again. do not try unless you are really really gutsy.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2008-12-11		Very Mild	Medium	Mild	Very Pleasant

Perfect! It's a nice tobacco,with beautiful aroma. This italian mixture represents properly my country!

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	constantsmoker (65)	2006-11-18		Mild	Medium to Strong	Medium	Tolerable to Strong

A sample of this "tobacco blend" was included with a recent pipe purchase, and a day or two after reading the scathing reviews of this product. Coincidence? No, it was fate. Forwarned by said reviews, I divvied up the sample between my son and me. I don't think that we smoked this substance for more than a minute or two before we came to an unspoken agreement to give it the deep six and clean out our pipes lest any remnants spoil future smokes. Savinelli has put their moniker on a loser, IMHO. Update (Sept. 2014): Still abominable after all these years.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	DoctorThoss (146)	2006-11-07		Mild	Strong	Mild to Medium	Tolerable to Strong

It had been four or five years since I smoked any of this, and I recently came across a sampler I was given shortly after this blend was introduced (it was in the bottom of a small box loaded with pipe cleaners and balsa filters). I loaded it into a Grabow, curious to see if it was actually as bad as I remembered. It was. This is pretty close to being the worst tobacco I've ever put into a pipe. It's cloying, harsh, goopy, and has a bite that would make a great white shark flee in terror. The one "positive" note is that it has good burning qualities (in this case, though, that's a drawback since I can think of few pipe experiences more painful than actually completing a bowl of this). Hyperbole aside, guys: stay away from this stuff. It really is as foul as other reviewers have pointed out.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2006-10-30		Very Mild	Very Strong	Mild to Medium	Tolerable

Our pipe smoking pastime is composed of an incredible array of personal tastes and opinions, and, for that, I am grateful. If you enjoy this shredded material in your pipe when lit, then enjoy it to its fullest, by all means. However, If I am faced with a choice between smoking Armonia and freshly squeezed canine feces, I am hard pressed and an immediate decision is unlikely to be forthcoming.

aj

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2006-10-25		Mild to Medium	Strong	Medium	Strong

"Ammonia" might have been more appropriate the name. Vile. What did Mr. T. say in Rocky III? "Prediction? ..PAIN."

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2004-04-13		Very Mild	Medium to Strong	Extremely Mild (Flat)	Pleasant to Tolerable

Simply said: This is just another boring cased aromatic blend.It's billed as "natural".If you consider natural being 1/2 fruit casing 1/2 virginia and burley than I guess it's natural.I call it "Awful" and strongly suggest you look elsewhere...(I only wish there were a category WORSE than "not my cup of tea") Prep

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2003-01-21		Mild to Medium	Very Strong	Medium to Full	Strong

I too received the free sample from Savinelli and I too think this is terrible. The tobacco had an overwhelming, fruit-like smell when the packet was opened. This tobacco is indeed heavily cased. The first half of the bowl burned with a very strong room aroma and taste that matched the packet's smell. By the last half of the bowl it mellowed out some and had a mild, sweet taste. By that time however, I didn't want to smoke any more of this. I wouldn't waste my money on a pouch of this.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2003-01-13		Mild	Very Strong	Very Mild	Tolerable

This blend will fool you from the sample pack. It actually was a citric taste ala Blue Note in the sample, but burnt hot. It actually smoked half decent in a Dr. Grabow filter pipe mellowing out the flavoring. I bought a pouch of this stuff...

First, this stuff is very inconsistent pouch for pouch from the discussions I have had with other pipe smokers. My pouch was dry as a bone and smelled nothing like the sample.

It took over 6 months for the flavoring to mellow out enough to allow this to be smoked, even then the aid of a filter pipe or P-lip would only make this palatable in the least.

As far as aroma take the worst traits from Blue Note and Erinmore Mixture and mix them together, you have Armonia.

Save your money and buy a pouch of Captain Black, which by comparison is a quantum leap in quality...read between the lines. :)

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2002-09-11		Mild to Medium	Medium	Medium	Unnoticeable

Maybe this is an unfair review due to only trying the sample pack that Savinelli is mailing out to promote their tobacco, "Armonia".

Then again, if the sample pack doesn't grab you; why go out and buy a tin or a pouch of it?

Upon opening the sample pack, I sensed chocolate covered raisons. ....The next day, I still sensed the same plus a whiskey? ala "Borkum Riff smell".

Upon lighting and thru the top 3rd, I still was reminded of chocolate covered raisons. By half way, I started tasting a burnt chocolate. Near bottom, a charred chocolate/fudge taste. ...None of which, grabbed me.

No innocent bystanders were present to comment on the room note.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	tillmanj (73)	2002-07-12		Mild to Medium	Extra Strong	Overwhelming	Overwhelming

Tin Aroma: My first impression upon smelling this was; 'man! is this ever cased!' Very pungent, very fruity, with perhaps some hints of coconut as well. According to the marketing blurb about this blend, the casing is supposed to be 'all-natural fruit flavors', but I can ascertain nothing in the aroma that smells even remotely natural. Even the coconut scent has a chemical edge to it.

Physical Characteristics: A long thin ribbon cut, moist enough to stick together in great clumps. If seperated strand by strand, it packs moderately well, though it retains it's penchant for clumping, even after leaving it sitting out on my desk for a few days, a sure sign of a heavily PG laden blend.

Notes: This is crap, pure and simple. While I am no great lover of aromatic blends, I have smoked a good number of them, and have enjoyed quite a few of those. This, however, fails in almost every category. The room aroma is pungent and unpleasant, driving away friends, relatives, badgers and skunks. The astronomical moisture content guarantees the impoosibility of taking more than two or three puffs before relighting. The burn is uneven and haphazard, even with the most careful packing and tamping technique. The flavor, such as it is, wavers between burnt sugar, which of course, burns the tongue, and a gin distillery, both unpleasant in their own right, but geometrically more so when so inelagantly juxtaposed. Laid over top of this foul conglomeration of tastes is a healthy layer of hot steam, as this burns perhaps the hottest of any tobacco I have ever smoked. It is one thing to be careless when smoking a bowl of high sugar Virginia and find that afterward ones tongue is a bit sensitive, but it is quite another to have the entire inside of ones mouth screaming in agony before one even finishes the first third of a bowl. The only vaguely redeaming quality that this tobacco has is that due to the insanely high temperature it achieves, it does manage to burn quickly enough to spare one the unremitting torture that would be an average length smoke.

Verdict: Given the repellant aroma of this blend, the outrageous moisture content, the penchant for clumping into a sodden mass, and the extreme difficulty in keeping it lit, not to mention the scorching, asbestos like flavor and the room aroma that would be better used to test gas masks in the military, I would have to say that the person or persons responsible for this tobacco abomination need to be unceremoniously taken out back and beaten.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	JaWiBr (556)	2023-05-06		Mild to Medium	Medium	Medium	Tolerable

Older pouch with notes of apricots. Tobacco is a ribbon cut of dark brown, black, brown and a little tan. Moisture content is great. Burns moderate with few relights. The strength is mild to medium and nic is mild. Flavoring is medium, with notes of apricots. Flavoring is fairly strong in the first 1/3 before lessening. Taste is medium and moderately consistent, with notes of apricots, sugar, herbal vegetation, molasses, toast, spicy, bitter orange peel, vinegary sour, wood, very acidic, floral, spices, a very dry sour background note, and a peppery retro. Burley is leading with Flavoring, Kentucky, Oriental/Turkish and Virginia supporting. Room note is tolerable, and aftertaste is unpleasant.

Pipe Used: 2015 XXX Ashton Brindle Author

Age When Smoked: 8 years

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2009-04-28		Mild	Mild to Medium	Mild	Pleasant

This is a blend whose primary characteristic is the tongue-bite. Comes with a pleasant pouch aroma and smokes rather indifferently in terms of complication in taste. One of the few cases where I had to actually throw the tobacco away in the bin after a few attempts.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2007-09-28		Medium	Very Mild	Medium	Tolerable to Strong

Several years ago, I have smoked this mixture, and I was not impressed at all. It was heavily flavored(tutti-frutti), sickly sweet, tongue biting, and very mild. This newer(?) incarnation is mildly scented (chocolate + orange), not sweet but nutty, not biting and medium in nicotine strength. Tobacco quality seems OK but moisture level is high. I don't know if there is a difference between European version (which i smoked) and American version. PS. It does not DGT well.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	PipePaladin (78)	2007-05-06		Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

The truth is that I expected more from savinelli....Not a bad all-day smoke though; packs well and burns well with a mild woody taste. However, not the greatest of tobaccos here; you get what you pay for..

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2007-03-20		Medium	Very Mild	Medium	Tolerable to Strong

I do not know if everybody refers to the same blend. For starters, my pouch has somewhat different description from the one here (the last sentence differs).

The pouch has somewhat peculiar aroma - in between citrus flowers and choclate dipped slices of orange. I do not detect this during the smoke though. To this extent I agree with the observations of one more reviewer (only!!!). Even so, I did not detect any wood-burning flavor/taste or such, as he did.

More important, where I bought it from, the salesman characterized it as "base" - i.e. essentially non-aromatic. And I wholly agree. The blend (virginia and oriental) is similar to cigarette blends.

I did not get any tongue bite, and the resulting room note did note differ much from your average cigarette room note. Also, it did not burn hot.

The next few bowlfuls was more acceptable than the first one. Overall, I do not find anything fundamnetally wrong with it. I just do not like it much.

I mixed it up (about 50-50) with Brebia #4. The results is OK - but the room note may be somewhat too heavy (heavier that the note of each blend separately).

Skandinavik Regular is similar and more affordable than this - so I do not see myself ever buying a second pouch.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Bear0422 (2)	2004-04-13		Mild to Medium	Medium to Strong	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

I received my first puch of Armonia and have to say, I enjoy it. It has a nice flavor and aroma. As for the casing, it is hard to tell, but to my snses, I couldn't find any.

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