Sutliff Tobacco Company 307: Mocha Strips

This week’s featured entry is yet another of the many Sutliff Tobacco aromatic selections available to tantalize our curious sweet-tooth smoking proclivities. A uniquely assertive cake-pressed formation constituted by a embolden mesh of determined Burley, aged Virginia, and an insistent stint of Turkish/Oriental all bundled in a Dutch-styled dosing of earnest, alarming coffee, and other unmentioned sweetening additives. Consider, for current purposes if you will, as I am myself, the featured Mocha Strips as your morning round of rousting Joe.

Mocha Strips is a peculiarly interesting looking tobacco by all practical appearances. It arrived to me in a tightly bound mass of beautifully variegated eighth-inch strips that showcased colorful pressed throngs of multi-dimensioned hues. Namely a brilliant, compressed palette largely formed by deeply fermented blacks, soiled browns and reddish dirty tones are intermittently spotted with randomly embedded slivers of bright yellows, copper, and tans, very tiger tail like.

The truth be known, these tobaccos appear to have been put through the proverbial ringer a couple of times and then sent back for more inconsequential squeezing. Accordingly, the evolved fusion of the assorted leaves is honestly quite singular. Rather toothy and surface coarse, Mocha Strips settles upon the dryer side of moisture as these exquisitely reduced pieces fall easily apart. With the practical expertise gained in lieu of repeated samplings, notwithstanding, I do recommend rubbing it out for better packing and burn performance overall, so do keep that in mind.

Frankly, there is no need to open the sealed pouch of this bulk mixture to get a formative impression of its fragrance as the strong aroma within transcends the confines of the challenged baggie. With the opening, however, a boldly perfumed decadence wallops the senses with little regard to restrained modesty. Chiefly, the properly sweet magnetism of thickened raspberry succor propels freely in commandeering the initial forward press. Underlying this overwhelming fruity note there is just a kiss of vanilla and alluring roasted dark coffee adding a more docile stimulating effect. Actually, this heartened aroma is pleasantly uplifting in impact. Further sampling does reveal a tinge of sharp bottom-based tart, softer exotic floral spice, an aged musty earthiness, and a hinting of buried tangy wood peeking through with reserve. A lively and expressive nose on the whole, thus foretelling the adventuresome tasting that was soon to follow.

Mocha Strips proved to be equally unconventional with the smoking as with the noted pouch essence. Yet, after a couple of trial bowls, I must say that this one was not too difficult to decipher as to its standing game. Being completely honest, nonetheless, there is some degree of engaging complexity and original nuancing that elevates the blend to a heightened status of legitimate intrigue. Undoubtedly an aromatic mixture in the sorting, these noteworthy features nonetheless stand forthright in distinguishing the blend as being atypical to the genre.

As a general valuation, it is true that the top-coatings do in fact premier the smoking experience within the first third of the bowl. However, in short order, these heavily administered coatings tend to marginalize into a posture of lessor vibrato allowing for all the hidden native goodness lying underneath to freely emerge with equalized importance. In taking more notice within the registration these native strains, especially the Turkish/Oriental and the stodgy Burley, surface to interplay nicely with the weakened additive influence. The sum result is an entertaining and reasonably balanced melange of reduced sweet dressings and the rather secure flavorsomeness induced by the influx of the natural tobaccos.

Striking the flame to this coffee tainted mixture, an exceptionally sweet element of bright sugary raspberry projects straight on, carrying with it a garnishing quality of flattering tartness. Masked with creamy vanilla support, an equally registerable node of dark roasted coffee that is mildly acidic, and sourly brash as a steeped espresso lurches forward in the supporting layer. Elements of bitter chocolate and sweeter nuttiness form the mocha chord’s standard character. As the smoking advances the importance of the simmered mocha note moves stronger with renewed confidence in effect taming the brash raspberry blasting to a more unassuming intensity.

Respecting the contribution of the native varietals, a darker wooded Virginian component provides the essential baseline in primary fellowship. Its remarking tends to move in a reserved manner showing a genuinely suppressed status. Having stated that latter point, there is a pleasing bit of sweet floral accenting that is noticeable still, along with some nice nuances of softer residual grass, comforting fruity tang and some inclusion of stewed black tea embellishing tinges.

After a series of appraisals my conclusions support that the Burley and Turkish/Oriental consistently fight for the foremost headlining within the main body of native presentation. In fact, as they are so densely coalesced, at times it was a bit difficult to cleanly separate their individual characters with the recorded tasting. Despite this noted observation, the Turkish/Oriental within the recipe appears to be a little more than average for a blending of this type as its influence is periodically more prominent, in effect exceeding the Burley’s calling at times.

Moreover, with the Turkish/Oriental the extraction is seasoned with sharp exotic evergreen-centric/thyme spice, musty wooden tones, and a gentle sourness marked with a vegetal affluence of the green cruciferous type, very colorful and poignant indeed. Similarly, the Burley also exhibits a darker earthy preference entering with charred smoky woodiness and a lighter cigar-like potency, staunch and brooding in undertone. Further characterization of this Burley leaf depicted with a passive sugared nutwood and clean minty highlighting that functions to round out its worth.

Well, if you have never partaken in a raspberry induced aromatic, let me tell you the sweet explosive stigma of the berry’s powerful blast tends to obliterate everything within a few marks of its source, this blend is no exception. Granted the thicker plumes of creamed fruity smoke are kindled with just a trace of cocoa-nut spice from the coffee additive, it is the bounding berry that forms the principal reckoning. Compounding this overt scent, Mocha Strips does also emit an equally influential essence of that classic Oriental exoticness twisting with the earthly “pipey” mocking coming from the pungent Burley that much is true. Pulled together by these impressive forces, this thick personified air stages with unrelenting permanence and magnitude thereby making this tobacco either nicely pleasant or crassly discomforting depending upon your sensitivity to strong invasive odors.

Mechanically speaking, the mixture does demonstrate inherent deficiencies in a few selective measures. Namely, the tobaccos tended to burn with the increased stoking of temperature. Subsequent, I did experience that obnoxious mid-tongue bare-knuckled bruising from the subject Burley. Furthermore, the smoking imparted just trace of chemical astringency on the lips, leaving them feeling artificially parched and drawn. Additional shortfalls were discovered within the transitions in the flavor streams as they tended to model a bit of roughness and ragged performance unfortunately. And last, Mocha Strips does tend to leave excessive thick dottle at the bottom of the bowl.

Now flipping the coin to the positive side, again the combination of the various native spicing remarks beautifully with the residual sugary tart and creaminess endowed from the coatings, arriving at a special featuring in taste that valued movement and colorful variation. Additionally, there is a wonderful side-stream note that tenders as exceptionally pleasing and the blend does leave that nice ghosting on the mustache and nose, if you like that sort of thing. When sipped with exaggerated pacing, the blend is in reality quite enjoyable.

Would I purchase it again? I would like to say yes, but the noted drawbacks kind of have me sitting somewhat on the fence honestly. It is a novel and favorably tasting aromatic that much I will strongly defend. So, if you fascinate over a free-spirited sweeter aromatic that bundles a respectable quality of native tobacco presence then perhaps Mocha Strips is for you. If not, then I would definitely say you should probably opt for another solution as the best reserve. 2.8 Pipes.