Hearth & Home Ten to Midnight

I have trouble to pack well this tobacco at first, when i pack it without rubbed is hard to draw or make air pockets so i got a poor smokes and if i rub it first it burnt so hot on my pipes. The taste is quite dull, sour and i dont get anything until it reach the middle of the bowl. No special things and just flat, and no lasting after taste. I dont found an oriental spiciness that usually i got from usual english blends accept sour smokey taste and get more sweeter after it reach the middle of bowl. But this blend is not bad at all, from the name i think this blend is fit for evening smoke but according to my taste this blend is just fit at breakfast smoke, as first smoke of the day.

Great complexity of flavor. This tobacco deserves to be smoked slowly. The tin I received was a little dry for my taste, but it burned well right to the bottom of the bowl. I originally bought this to supplement my Penzance supply and have found this to be fuller flavored, but not as rounded. Will buy this again.

Although the dominant taste of Ten to Midnight is latakia, something elusive in the background (perhaps the Turkish) keeps me coming back for more. As to preparing this tobacco for smoking, I break it into small pieces and give it a brief whirl in the coffee grinder. Wonderful stuff.

A very warm and tasty English crumble cake. I would like to call it crumble plug because the bulk version is too dry and takes me a long time to break and prepare.

Tin note: just fragrant Latakia smokey aroma.

I totally disagree with Mr. big's review: There is no any bite and bitter aftertaste at all.

When smoking: burn slowly and cool; lots of campfire aroma; very creamy and as smooth as a train gliding effortlessly through the late night hours; not too much deep and complex.

Highly recommand all Latakia fans to buy the tin version because the bulk version is too dry.

DEEP flavor...a richness fills the mouth with a heavy smoke that leaves a mouth feel reminiscent of a bold cup of black coffee. This tobacco needed some tending to when I first lit it but after 10 minutes of fiddle faddeling it started to burn quite nicely and required zero relights. I enjoyed this tobacco outside at 2 am watching the dogs do dog things while drinking spiced dark chocolate raspberry hot cocao. Talk about a match!!

An enjoyable Balkan style blend! Latakia is strong and has a nice high note. This burns pretty good after I left it in the can for a while before jarring it.This one is just what I was looking for in terms of an enjoyable lat bomb. Latakia is the star player for sure but it comes through with a great flavor and the room note is pretty good.I can't set the pipe down with this in it because it's so good! I am very impressed with the Latakia used. I have to say that if you like Latakia, you will like this. It's not complex but it hits the spot perfectly some times.Fantastic and smokey. It actually smokes like it smells in the tin which is a rare occurrence. I am very glad I bought the big 8oz tin. I will definateley be visiting this one often! Non complex and it makes for a pretty long smoke. Really don't get much in the nic department and that may be one of the only negative things I can say about it. From start to finish you get a very consistent flavor and you may have to puff a bit faster than normal to keep her going but I like to puff fast anyway so it works nice for me. Currently rated as a a 2.9 star blend which isn't right. I came back to this after one year in the jar and i can't say it changed much but it burns better than it did. I'll give TTM the four star because it does what it's supposed to for what it is.

I am finishing a can of TTM and it has been pure delight from the first smoke to the last. An incredible and tasty blend with an intoxicating tin note that is balanced Latakia, Virginias and Orientals. I could just smell the tin all day long and never get tired of it.

The real magic begins when you light it up of course. Fragrant, smooth, absolutely bite-free, and cool. No heavy casing or topping. Consistent delicious tobacco tastes from the char light to the last wisp of smoke. You can taste each component tobacco as you smoke, but they are so perfectly balanced that it's just a very enjoyable smoke without one component dominating and overpowering the blend.

I smoke a lot of the more "pedigreed" English blends like Dunhill's and the like, but Ten To Midnight remains a special treat in my long rotation list.

I've never smoked Penzance so I cannot compare this blend to it. I CAN say that this is a very good choice for those who want a good strong English style blend with lots of Latakia. The description makes it sound real stout, but I actually found it pretty mild as far as nicotine content, and the flavors seem to mellow the further down the bowl you smoke. It reminded me of House of Lords by Hearth and Home, but without the Turkish tobacco. It packs easily, burns nicely, and creates lots of tasty smoke (smoked steak anyone?). It does go well with scotch, but I found it went best with a good cup of tea, especially after a nice meal.

Just be warned about the room note: While I enjoy the woodsy, smokey smell, my friends all did not find it very pleasant. I should have brought an aromatic, but was enjoying this blend so much that I wanted to share it. Smoke this in solitude, or in the company of other smokers who enjoy English blends; but bring your cherry, chocolate, and vanilla blends when it's social time!

This is a good tobacco at a great price in bulk. This is heavy on latakia.I enjoy the krumple kake , however, you must fully rub it out or else it tends to need frequent relights. I find myself puffing fast with this one, just because I'm greedy for more of its great latakia flavor, more of a bitter aftertaste than sweet. This tobacco has a little tingle that I can't fully identify, almost when you have a sprits of seltzer with your drink. Smoke it fast and it will bite, 6 months of aging should mellow this out. One dimensional with Latakia out front.

Update 9/6/11 Well It's been 9 months, and this still has a bite and is hard to keep lit. This tobacco smokes salty , reminds me of "Engine 99". I'm removing one star

Update 1/5/12 There it is, almost one year of aging to the day and the bite is gone and the Turkish begins to play. Latakia is out front , like an oil refinery having an outdoor Bar-B-Que. The Turkish has nice support but rather than a sweetness from the Virginias , I get a saltiness. Upon lighting you get an explosion of flavor, Latakia & Orientals ,but this fades fast at about a 1/4 bowl and it becomes ashey. Actually, if you tamp this out and relite, you get another explosion of flavor for another 1/4 bowl ( great northern winter feature for running out of the house when it's 20 degrees outside and smoking 1/4 bowls !!) Oh, and it I still have trouble rubbing this out, you get little nuggets ( like Grape Nuts Cereal) that don't burn real well.

Updated 3/20/12 Hope you can live with my updates but as this tobacco aged and breathed it has improved. Orientals play well and the latakia is more in the background, you need to sip this to get the most. I tried this against "Larry's blend" and LB is smoother but less lat. and I like it better than 10TM. However, 10TM is worth 3 stars.

Updated 10/26/12 One more update I promise, I like my Balkans with more Orientals and sweeter. This is hard to sip, it goes out, that simple.I'll stick with Larry's blend and won't buy this again.