Just For Him Treebeard

I usually hate vanilla but the vanilla in this tastes very natural and slightly woody. This stuff is a cinch to smoke and does not bite one little bit. For me the taste is incredibly weak, tastes like you are smoking fog with a hint of vanilla. A real shame, if this had a stronger taste I think I would love it.

UPDATE:

I've given this tobacco an extra star. I found my sample in the bottom of my smoking box and decided to give it another go. As soon as I lit up I was teleported back to the first time I smoked it and I found the taste very comforting. The flavour has developed a little and I think that this would be the perfect blend for a late night smoke. I almost get the flavour of a Shisha pipe I once had in Turkey.

To all those who have tried it and not liked it - give it one more chance. This is a fine tobacco... a dessert tobacco for when you fancy a change of pace

UPDATE AGAIN!

I find myself pining for this stuff. I'm going to have to bite the bullet and order some more (I'm in the UK). What the hell, I'll give it an extra star 🙂

Aromatic fans will rejoice after puffing on this blend. It is mild, smooth, sweet and still tobacco tasting. It burned very clean and dry for an aromatic and I liked the added essence (although Vanilla would not have been my first guess).

Finally, the cut of the leaf (a cube cut), makes loading up a pure pleasure.

The tangy dark fruity, earthy, woody, bready red Virginias form the base of the blend. The burleys provide some nuts, wood, earth, a little molasses, and a hint of sharpness in a support role. The vanilla is mildly applied, and is a tad syrupy with a hint of the artificial. A dab or two of chocolate may be present as well. They mildly tone down the tobaccos. The strength and taste levels are just short of the center of mild to medium. Has little nicotine. Won’t bite or get harsh. Needs a little dry time. Burns cool, and slightly slow with a fairly consistent flavor. Leaves some moisture in the bowl, and requires some relights. The after taste is okay, but the syrup is a little distracting. Has a very pleasant room note. Can be an all day smoke.

-JimInks

These are my initial impressions, after three bowls of Treebeard.

This aromatic pushes the same question to my head as the others that I have tried:

"Is there an aromatic that exists which maintains a center?"

It seems to me that when tobacco is used for aromatics, it is almost completely unable to keep its original body and flavor. The tobacco merely becomes a vehicle to carry hints, whisps, flavor bombs, and goops. I would like to smoke an aromatic that holds its body / center as well as its unique topping.

You know Latakia eh? You know, "that one"? Has anyone ever questioned that they were smoking Latakia? I say not unless you lost your tongue in Nam. When you smoke Latakia, you say something like "yeah baby, LATAKIA!" You don't say, "What f-ing tobacco is this?"

So far, every "reputable" aromatic that I have smoked makes me go, "what F-ing tobacco is this?" I can taste the maple, the vanilla, the mystery casing, the sugar, but not the tobacco itself. The tobacco becomes a brown-grey tasting bog, with the Tollund Bog Man still buried inside of it. And you know what? If the Bog Man were to wake up inside of your aromatic, 3000 years after his death, the first thing he would say is:

"What f-ing tobacco is this?"

Here's a comparison:

I like Treebeard more than I like C&D's Autumn Evening, which is unfortunate, because I REALLY want to like Autumn Evening. But the truth is that they both have no center, and Treebeard wins because I can taste more of the goodies on top of the Bog Man.

As a huge fan of Tolkien, I wanted this blend to be as strong as Tolkien's legacy, and as strong as the character of Treebeard. As it is, it is nowhere near either. This blend should not be named Treebeard. It should be named after some inconsequential squib character that barely gets mentioned. The character should be one of those shady guys who lives in Bree and kisses Bill Ferny's a$s.

The name of this blend should be something like, "Mangar Turdburgle".

Not a huge aromatic fan, but this isn't bad. A mild vanilla that hangs around for most of the bowl, an easy, smooth burn, and a nice dry pipe at the finish. Had a faint cigarette flavour under the vanilla, not much else to say about the taste. I guess this could be a simple all day smoke if you dig vanilla. Also my friend's mother loved the room note, so that could be a plus for you married pipe smokers.

Never smoked it. But I just have to say that Miyanovich's review below is the BEST EVER on this review site, and has compelled me to look for some..

I'm off out to go find me some of 'Mangar Turdburgals' finest. If he still makes it.......himself.

X-D

I must confess that I am a sucker for a Burley and Virginia aromatic blend. Throw in some cavendish and I love that too. I have been smoking pipes since I was 16 and I’m now 53, so I guess I have some experience and although I’m still an adventurous Piper I have found certain blends of certain types of tobaccos that I KNOW will provide me with a “Perfect Smoke”. Paying attention to blend components as you get to know different blends is very important to finding YOUR blend-niche as a pipe smoker. In this forest of a blend you’ll find notes of nut, loam and dark earth with undertones of vanilla and hints of cocoa and a bit of fruitcake. You’ll also note that there is a true forward chord of that wonderful complex series of smells that only cured tobacco can provide....that aroma of dried fig....it shines through and sings clear. Well, to this blend....Treebeard.... I must say that it is one of those rare aromatics that tastes as beautiful as it smells. Of course part of this enjoyment factor leans on the pipe smokers maturity and ability to take ones time and do everything with a slowness and sense of joy. I mean Slowness and patience in everything from how you pack the bowl and light it, to how you sip the smoke and enjoy its every facet. So, channel Tolkien’s Treebeard and “Don’t be hasty”. Take Treebeard’s motto to heart and this blend will never fail to give you that ever sought after “perfect smoke”.

In closing, If you’re a previous or current smoker of cigarettes and you’re looking for a huge nicotine hit then this isn’t the Baccy for you.

I ordered a sample size of this with my recent order of Shortcut to Mushrooms. Upon opening the bag i got a sweet smell but it was hard to put a finger on it. Just sweetened tobacco. A good smell, don't get me wrong. I loaded it into a smallish meer, which i keep for sampling new tobaccos. I found it to be most but not too much so and it contained some "twigs." It took some effort to get Treebeard to lite. Very sweet flavor and casing is evident. Others have said "vanilla"& "chocolate" but I'm not getting that just artificially sweet. My wife is ok with the room note she says it is, wait for it, "sweet." Bottom line? I'll give Treebeard two stars. I would smoke it if i had nothing else but, I'm afraid, it will not be joining my regular rotation. If you like "sweet" though.... I shall try adding it a bit and drying it before smoking. I'll report back if there is any difference.

I honestly ordered this because I'm a fan of LOTR and the inherent connection between those books and pipeweed. Nothing spectacular here, there's a definite vanilla, sweet tin note when you open and the smoke is about what you'd expect from a vanilla aro. That's not a bad thing, if you looking for a full English punch, then this isn't the tobacco for you. I had let it age for about 11 months after my first smoke and that seems to have rounded the flavors out. There's a grassiness and nuttiness from the Virginia/Burley combination and it plays nicely with the vanilla top. Surprisingly the vanilla isn't that sticky sweet vanilla top, but a more almost savory vanilla taste. The pairings work well together and I enjoyed several bowls on concalls throughout my day. 2.5 stars for this one

Light casing, vanilla and walnut, maybe? A good smoke that there's really not much to. It does seem to burn hot and did give me some tongue bite when pulled hard. Stayed lit fairly well, not great.

I was left with a strong taste of almonds or walnuts on my roasted tongue after the bowl. Smoked down to a fine, grey ash with not goop and little moisture.

Not a bad tobacco, but pretty well forgettable. Not nearly as good as the other Middle Earth offerings from Just for Him, definitely my least favorite of the group so far.