Samuel Gawith Chocolate Flake

This Blend BITES in Every sense of the word. It Bites the tongue like a rabid wolverine, and it Bites as a Smoking Tobacco. I know I'm only a "Rookie" pipe smoker, but I'm arrogant enough to say "THERE IS NO CHOCOLATE!!!", at least to my damaged, undiscerning, unlearned palate. I decided to blend it half and half with a cut/shredded chocolate Phillies cigar blunt just to have some chocolate flavor. It killed the chocolate flavor of the shredded blunt. I like english blends, (love Squadron Leader) and arromatics (Lane's 1Q etc.) and naturals (C & D's) Serenity Series - Conmort) so I'm not completely Ignorant as to quality. Avoid this one, run backwards and throw rocks.

I have thought on this barely-aromatic as I was working thru my first tin and I am concluding this is some special gear; I really like this flake a lot. The flavor, the nature of the blend, has been hard for me to pin down so I drifted over to these reviews and read the words of others for inspiration and guidence. You know - plagerism.

The latakia this blend claims is almost invisible but, knowing it's there, I imagine it adds body and depth. Like other aspects of the blend, the latakia effect is key but suble.

The Virginia is rich and flavorful but shows itself with gently rounded edges and a just-muted brightness; no doubt this is a taming effect of the latakia.

Chocolate? I may not have ever guessed that's what's in it but not for the clever clue written on the top of the tin. Having mastered the obvious (in this case) I detect there is something else going on besides muted brightness and a touch of smokey depth - there is that hint of sweet and tar that completely absorbs my interest thru the second have of a bowl. Chocolate, if they say so.

I've never seen a flake that smokes this rich and feels so leathery but burns so easily. (If there is a touch of burley in this perhaps it rounds off the Virgina a bit more and makes this flake burn so nicely.) The first light is the hardest, and it isn't that hard. I've shredded it, crumbled it, mooshed it, folded and corkscrewed it into the bowl and it burns fine every time. I can't make it burn my tongue and it must take a pretty bad pack and some serious uber-puffen to overheat a bowl.

The tobacco has my idea of perfectly balanced elements, none of which control the flavor, but rather, all of which contribute to a new and unexpected conclusion. The whole is greater than the sum of the parts.

12/11/04 - Chocolate Flake (new tin)

Tin: In the tin, Chocolate Flake lives up to its name - big, pretty, dark chocolate brown flakes in typical SG style. A whiff reveals a bit of cocoa aroma, with full virginias underneath. The flakes have an oily feel to them, somewhat like 1792 Flake. Because of this oiliness, it's a bit hard to judge the moisture level, but at least a bit of drying is appropriate.

Pack: Rubbed out, the tobacco still feels a bit stiff (the oiliness again). It packs into the bowl reasonably well, but I needed a lighter touch than usual to avoid overpacking.

Lighting/Burning: Chocolate Flake lights and burns somewhat reluctantly, regardless of how much I let it dry out. Even on the occasions that I got a good first light, the pipe would die out a bit more easily than I like. I wouldn't call smoking this a struggle, but it's definitely not the friendliest tobacco I've come across either.

Flavor: Without a doubt, this is a VA flake - not an aromatic or a Latakia. The flavor is reminiscent of SG's Full Virginia Flake - lots of dark, low notes with little spice or zing. It's smooth enough, and fairly bite-free as VA's go. The chocolate flavor is pleasant and subtle (much less aggressive than the tonquin in 1792, for example). I can't taste the Latakia at all, though I can see how it fits into the overall richness of the flavor. The flavor seems consistent from the top of the bowl to the bottom.

Pipe/Technique: Chocolate Flake worked the best in my usual flake pipes - group 3-4 pipes with a medium to narrow bowl. A looser-than-usual draw helps with the burning. I gave this a few tries as a unbroken or semi-broken flake, but this only made burning problems worse, so I went back to rubbed-out (as I always do - I'm not very good at flakes).

Overall: I was really excited about this flake after reading the reviews, but it just doesn't work for me. Like FVF, I find the flavor monotonous. But even more so, something about the flavor is just muddy - the parts don't fit together somehow. Add to this the difficulty in getting a good burn, and the tendency to bite if you end up struggling with the burn, and I can't really recommend this. It's clearly good quality tobacco, and the flavor obviously works for some people, but not for me. 2/4

This is a new favorite of mine - a wonderful flake made up primarily of virginias, just enough latakia for some added body and a subtle, semi-sweet chocolate/cocoa flavoring. I prefer it to Bob's Chocolate Flake because it seems to have a greater depth of flavor without the slightly soapy/flowery aspect. Highly recommended.

Before going into the real story of this review, the most important part - the tobacco notes - should be quickly reviewed. This is a nice blend, led by the balanced Latakia leaf which adds to the overall chocolate character. It is not overly leathery, woodsy, or smoky, but more silky or creamy.

It is only mellowed by the other ingredients. However, I'm not getting any citrus or bread-like notes from the Virginia. The Burley probably adds some cocoa and earth notes. However, it isn't really distinguishable in the smoke. This is a Latakia-forward blend without it being considered a Latakia bomb. I only get some chocolate in the tin note, but nothing much in the smoke.

Now, for me (unfortunately) the big story is the mechanics. In order to enjoy tobacco, it helps if it is easily smoked. Well, Chocolate Flake is not. Many have commented that it comes in moist and recommend anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours of dry time. Well, even after couple of days my flakes were not ready. In fact, I forgot the tobacco in a tin can for two whole weeks, only to discover pretty dry tobacco. And even then (!) it wasn't easy to deal with and requires several relights. What's in this thing?

The trap is that once the flakes are dried up, it is harder to rub them out as you would with a fresher flake. So I got the bad news of both ends. To be honest, I really want to just finish this tin.

I considered giving it two stars because the flavor is not bad. It's ok. I'd like it more or less if it smoked easy. But in the end of the day if I can't actually smoke the thing, then I can't recommend that anyone gets it.

Mild in body and strength. Nothing complex here.

Will absolutely not buy again. I've dealt with blends that aren't considered easy to smoke but this was just the worst.

Well, I loved how Samuel Gawith mixed latakia with vanilla casing/topping with the Perfection blend, so I thought this Chocolate Flake should be as interesting as the that one. Unfortunately, not as much. Of course, the components are also different, Perfection has latakia, oriental and virginia and CH Flake has burley, latakia and virginia, so burley is used instead of oriental in CH Flake. And the toppings are different, obviously.

First time I’ve smoked this it was a bit different. I was with a friend and he gave me to smoke a bowl of CH Flake. It was interesting, I liked it, and back then, I did feel a bit of latakia. I repeat: A BIT of latakia. I’m not into aromatics, but when latakia and the aromatic are blended by Samuel Gawith, they result into something amazing. But this one is not near Perfection. Anyway, my friend offered to give me some flakes to try at home.

Well, the flakes have been put into a hermetically sealed jar, kept away from light and at a constant temperature. It’s been months since I’ve put them there, months since I’ve had my first experience with this blend, so now I’ll write this review based only on these four flakes that I have. So this should definitely be taken into consideration.

I also have no idea about its age, since like most Sam. Gaw. codes easily come off from the tin and get lost, and the code came off from this tin as well.

With that said, lets open the tin!!

Dark chocolate! Yes, this is what I can perfectly detect from the opened tin. A dark chocolate smell, cocoa, some grassy notes but very subtle and some green wood.. The flakes are quite bright, showing a lot of virginia aaaand... sugar crystals! Lots of sugar crystals on these babies. Few parts of the flake are darker, which should be the latakia.

Folded flake:

The flakes were still very well hydrated, so I took a flake and let it dry for 30 minutes. I wanted to smoke it first as a folded flake.

I’m not an expert in smoking folded flakes, I usually rub them up, but this one was easy to fold and stuff the pipe. Problem was lighting it. I always have this problem with folded flakes. Maybe I don’t know how to fold them or how to fill my pipe with fold flake, but it takes some time for me to light it and keep it lit, no matter what flake tobacco we’re talking about. It’s not the tobacco’s fault here, it’s me.

However, after I finally lit up my tobacco and started drawing, I felt a cold smoke with just a bit of cocoa flavor and some virginia notes. It ended up burning very well, didn’t go off at all, wasn’t hard to keep it lit, the smoke was cold and smooth, but just very little taste. It’s not how I remembered it when I first smoked it months ago. It used to be stronger in taste, I could detect a bit of the latakia, the virginia and the cocoa and chocolate notes, but this time they kinda faded. Now it’s like a VaBur with some casing/topping. A good combination of the two tobaccos, with little hints of cocoa and some sweetness from the virginia, but the latakia is absent.

Taste is naturally sweet from the virginia, soft cocoa and chocolate hints here and there, smokes cool (doesn’t get hot at all and doesn’t bite).

Room note is pleasant.

Folded flake (second one):

Once the flake started burning equally, it all went well. Burns very well for a folded flake, and indeed the taste changed when it began burning properly. A sweet natural aroma of the virginia is easily detected, a bit fruity at some point, some notes of cocoa and chocolate are there as well. Still no sign of latakia. It’s like a virginia with cocoa casing/topping and some burley.

I left it in my bowl so I could finish some work. As the flake sat more in the bowl (over 12 hours!!) I was surprised that the taste was more pronounced. Sweetness, chocolate and cocoa notes, some hazelnut and almond notes, also reminds me a bit of Amaretto Disaronno taste. Delivers a cool smoke. Virginia is the star. No latakia taste.

Room note isn’t very strong, but its very pleasant.

Rubbed:

Very easy to rub and fill the pipe, obviously easier to light but lets get to the point.

It’s quite dull and flat. Again, sweet virginia taste, haylike, and just a bit of cocoa and chocolate in the back. Cold smoke.

Final conclusion:

As I said, I’m not a fan of aromatics, but I kinda like this one. Not as much as I liked Sam. Gaw. Perfection but it’s still a good smoke, good tobacco, decent blend. I’d place this in the aromatics section.

Smells better than it tastes. Smokes well, doesn’t go off or get too hot, but still, it s very mild. Tasted better in folded flake

Nicotine wise, I’d say it’s mild to medium, most probably thanks to the burley which gives it a little strength.

I love to smoke it with a ice cream frappe or a cocoa & milk at night. It might go well with some Sheridan’s. A pleasant smoke for someone who doesn’t usually like aromatics.

The immediate tin aroma is deliciously fruity and creamy, with just a tinge of tangy Latakia and cocoa, but quickly fades. The flakes were, contrary to most reviews, a bit dry in my batch, so I moistened them just a bit, but stick together just as well dry and moistened. Be warned that the slight whitening in tobacco is only sugar, and not the unpleasant surprise of mould I primarily thought (thank you Oslo Pipe Club to get my mind at ease).

It produces a slightly more than medium bodied, creamy smoke, with grassy and spicy notes from the Virginia, delicious nuttiness and sweetness from the burley, and woody, earthy, and citric notes from the Latakia. All blend perfectly, without being too dominant. The cocoa is present, but plays only a minor role behind a superb taste of tobacco throughout the smoke.

It requires a few relights, but is worth taking your time with.

===UPDATE===

For a truly pleasant smoking experience, cube cut the flakes for a delicious velvety smoke that really accentuates the nuttiness of the burley!

Having other expectations from the tin description, I found something better. Dominant burley leaf with some spicy turkish stuff and some prompting latakia, enhanced with chocolate flavor, but not in a disturbing way for most not aro fans. The moisture content is higher than usual, but that is not a problem; you can either let it dry for 5'-10', or (for more risky pipe smokers) you can widen the smoke canal up to 4 to 4,3mm. The choice is your's. Higly recommended blend.

A very nice and balanced blend!once you crack the tin a nice and very natural smell comes out consisted of chocolate,cocoa in combination with some dark fruits and nuts.the blend moisture is medium and once rubbed it needs some time to dry out.packs ok and needs some effort to light.several relights are needed.while burning it has a complexity.the topping is present but never subtlimates the tobacco flavours.the virginias are the main players offering mostly dark fruits and some times grass and citrus notes.the burleys are sweet and nutty and the latakia are in the backround not always present with some smokey and woodsy notes.burns very slow and clean(depends how you rub it),medium hot with some moisture being created,to total ash without dottle.the nicotine level is medium and the room note pleasant.no tongue bite for me.in my opinion this is an all day blend wich refers to aromatic and non aromatic lovers.