Samuel Gawith Chocolate Flake

Well my friends I have to say that the search for my all day everyday smoke has ended right here. SGCF is to me one of the finest flakes I've put into a bowl and set fire to. I prefer to fold and stuff although rubbed out reveals a different side to this fine flake. Even though this is a Va base the Va for me is more of a side note adding some sweetness to the blend. The best part IMHO is the Burly, yes my friends Burly. Even though CF has been topped with chocolate it doesn't overwhelm any of the components in this blend but enhances them. The Latakia is more of bit player adding just a little spice here and there giving more flavor and body to the blend. Much has been said about CF by more sage reviewers than myself so I'll just leave this right here. I remain your brother in smoke

4/4 stars

I bought it in the 250gram box which contains a plastic zip-closure pouch which is permeable by air. Pouch aroma was of natural aged tobacco, yeasty and sweet with a faint cocoa aroma. Bear notice to the caveat emptor: ‘sold subject to loss by evaporation 250g’. So in truth as far as moisture is concerned you’re buying a pig in poke…

I was lucky to receive a box with almost perfect moisture to smoke straight away – not the usual Gawith wetness. The Flakes are brown colored and they rub out easily. They take to light easily and keep lit almost with no relighting to the end leaving a fine white ash. Fantastic behavior!

The smoke is also excellent, it burns slow, it is potent and flavorful with a combination of nutty Burley and natural yeasty Virginia taste and a faint aroma of ground cocoa. I only thought I noticed the Latakia after reading that it included some. Absolutely no bite, innocuous to pleasant room note. Maybe a little too strong for me to become an all-day tobacco, but I can sure enjoy a couple of bowls in the evening. An absolute four star tobacco!

Apparently I live in an alternate universe where every Samuel Gawith bulk box or tin I open contains tobacco at an entirely acceptable smoking moisture, so I load up pipes without a care in the world. No different with Chocolate Flake.

After it's lit, with this blend ... that is where the trouble starts. I'm just not sure where it fits in. The Latakia content is consistent with a light blend, so the VA/Bur component overwhelms it. This is not a problem with a better blended flavored Va/Or/Lat like Perfection, where everything gets a turn in the spotlight. The Virginia doesn't stand out like Full Virginia Flake. The Burley doesn't sing like Kendal Cream. The flavoring isn't outstanding like Firedance.

It just doesn't do anything particularly well. Two stars, and an E for Effort.

Like all of Sam's flakes it comes a little moist for smoking, so I like to pop the tin and leave the flakes inside for 24 hrs before jarring. The tin note is fantastic, it smells like quality drinking chocolate. Being a dense flake I rubbed it out before smoking.

I find the chocolate flavour subtle and it weaves in and out of smoke, when it appears it's a very nice genuine milk chocolate flavour. The latakia doesn't really jump out at the taste buds it's sits in the background adding a hint of richness to the smoke.

Unfortunately I also find an acrid note to the smoke which stays through the bowl, I find this rather unpleasant and for me it ruins the smoke. Pity because I apart from the acrid flavour I enjoyed the flake. I might just put a couple if tins away to cellar and to see if it looses that acrid note.

I love this delicious flake! This is truly my "sit-back-and-relax" kind of smoke! I am a big fan of SG flakes and was eager to try their Choco Flake. I have to say that my expectations were more than surpassed.

Tin aroma is one of the best I've experienced. Nothing overbearing or dominant but instead the VA, latakia and chocolate scents seemed VERY blended and complimentary and the flakes are long and thick, of a beautiufl dark brown color.

Although the smoke starts out rather thin, by the end of the bowl it has taken on a creamy mouth-feel. If care is given to drying and loading, Chocolate Flake can be pushed very hard before it bites back - but be warned, when it does decide to bite, it does so with a vengeance!

Very lightly cased, Samuel Gawith Chocolate Flake offers a very pleasant tobacco flavour. The latakia is dark but very smooth and muted. You can taste latakia all day long in this flake but somehow it is pushed back from the forefront without at all seeming diluted. In thinking back I'd have to say it was like the latakia had been perforated and then quickly passed thru a cloud of vaporous chocolate cream. That's it.

The burning qualities are exceptional - in fact, almost too good. The ash remnants are so fine that one must be extremely careful when tamping so as not to clog the airway. I would suggest you smoke this blend on a full stomach if you have any concerns about nicotine levels.

All in all I found this very easy and relaxing to smoke. highly recomend!

I picked up a tin of this and wasn't too crazy about it. I am thinking that I am just not into smoking chocolate although I do like to eat it. My experiences with chocolate so far are Boswell's chocolate cream, Molto Dolce (chocolatey) and Mac Baren's Honey and Chocolate (despised this one). This was different from the latter two in that the topping was more subtle. Something that I would usually like in an aromatic.

I did not really pick up any of the smokiness from the Latakia, so it must be used sparingly. There is no doubt some Lakeland essence in this that takes the chocolate in a different direction. Otherwise, the tobacco is great like one would expect from SG. Thick flakes in the tin that are well presented. A little difficult to light when fresh.

I am at odds on how to rate this one. Personally, I am at a two star, but objectively it is probably a three. I am holding fast at two stars though as I find this blend odd. I can see where some will and do love this blend, but I think that this is a narrow niche in the pipe world. I know that I won't buy this again, but I may come back and revisit this review after I have had a chance to smoke GH's bob's Chocolate flake of which a tin rests in my cellar.

Wet, wet, wet.

It's this form of tobacco that made the Brits bring in their tobacco purity laws in the first place. Could not believe just how soaked this blend was. Open the tin for a day or two to even think about keeping it lit.

I really couldn't believe the smell out of the tin when I opened it. The chocolate smell could stun a child from across the room. I'm normally not a great fan of the aromatics, and bought this one on a bit of a whim.

As with all SG products the tobacco just looks grand. Rustic and proud. Once dried out can be quite easily rubbed out. Let's just say that my whimsical bent was satisfied. Not a disgusting smoke by any means, and the tobacco quality shines through, but I won't be buying again

...More like chocolate fake. I'd rather spend my money on something else. I was looking for a really good chocolate tobacco. After the first bowl that went right out the window. It's not sweet and it hardly tastes like chocolate. It's not delicious in that way.

I love English blends, so I tried to forget about the adding of dark chocolate and just pack bowls and smoke it. Still sucks. I got bored with it. Smoked it just to get rid of it, because I feel like I paid too much for it.

puff puff pass...

Not really a bad tobacco. But it takes a lot of the smoker to get the flavour to come out. Once you´ve found it, it has a kind of pleasant soft and dry sweetness with hints of dark chocolate and latakia in it. But all in all the taste, although in itself good, is way too weak. If you prefer latakia, you´ll find better ones from SG, and if you´re more in to the sweeter market there are aromatics that give you the same taste but stronger.