G. L. Pease Chelsea Morning

Tin note of smoky, tart fruit, and spices. Tobacco broken flakes are orangish tan, brown and darker brown. Tobacco is moist and could uses a little drying but rubs out easily. Burns slow with many relights. The strength is medium and nic is mild. No flavoring detected. Taste is medium and consistent, with notes of slightly sweet dark fruit, wood, dry earth, spicy, musty grass, floral, spiced bread, herbal sweet, a tangy lemon zest background note, and a peppery retro. Oriental/Turkish is leading with Virginia and Perique supporting. Latakia had the night off. Room note is pleasant to tolerable, and aftertaste is great.

I must admit I'm not one to enjoy my pipes early in the morning, as even though I tend to wake at a decent hour, I find I've other things occupying my attention. Perhaps this is a joy I can experience more often during retirement years should I be fortunate enough to make it that far. And if I do, G.L. Pease's Chelsea Morning will be a prime choice.

Chelsea Morning's tin note is fragrant, with an alluring mix of floral, sour, and smoky aromas wafting to the nose. The tobaccos themselves are many, with bright virginias and orientals being the bulk of the blend, but there is perique and latakia to be found as well.

The blend smokes rather well. Relights are moderate, and there is little tongue bite to contend with. This is meant to be a mild smoke enjoyed upon waking, after all, perhaps with a cup of coffee or over a farmer's breakfast. But don't mistake mild for boring. No, sir; this blend is savory and sweet, and carries surprising depth and complexity.

This is an English blend, but the latakia plays the role of laying the foundation, thus ensuring that the natural smokiness is omnipresent throughout the smoke. This helps anchor the naturally sweet virginias, which are vibrant and rich. The orientals take the most assertive role, offering a savory and slightly sour profile that hits the palette first, with the stewed fruit flavor of the perique ending the ordeal with a whisper and a pleasant after taste. This blend never tastes peppery or overly sour or sweet, but it is a very flavorful one all the same.

This is a masterful blend that has a very specific goal in mind, and accomplishes it with aplomb. Zesty, sweet, and interesting without being overwhelming or harsh. And like any good breakfast delight, this can, and should, be enjoyed at all times of the day. Wonderful!

First of all, let me say that with no other blend I have reviewed before, I have not had so much difficulty in describing it. I opened a tin of Chelsea Morning almost three weeks ago, and in that time I have smoked 4 ounces of excellent English tobacco, but could not describe it. There are several reasons for that, and I'll be sure to mention them below.

The 8 ounce tin was labeled "December 30, 2015." The appearance of the blend was a rather coarse cut in a coarse ribbon of even, almost monochromatic brown milk chocolate color. The tobacco has been sitting, maturing in a tin, for just under six years. I know that a great many fans of latakia blends believe that over the years, English blends lose flavor as the latakia, they say, becomes more "flat" and unexpressive. I don't agree with this opinion. Having smoked a number of tins of blends with 5-6 year old latakia, I'm sure this is a great age: the initial predatory note of smokiness exploding a bomb a couple of meters around goes away, and the tobacco flavor becomes more whole and complex.

That's what happened this time, too. The flavor of the blend - the primary quite complex, but very even, a bouquet of wildflowers, a light note of unsweetened apple, bitter chocolate, malt and stained oak logically add up to a flavor similar to that of a good Highland whiskey. But if you sniff longer, a sweet-smoky note of latakia with a spice of allspice pepper emerges. The aroma is very difficult to separate into individual notes, the time spent in the tin, it literally became one - as it is with an aged whiskey. I opened the tin a few times, poured the tobacco over and dried it a little in the air, and vice versa, moistened it a little - but the constituent parts of the flavor I caught with great difficulty and far from the first time. During this time I've tried half a dozen pipes - billiards, bents, large, medium and small. What I write below about the taste is a kind of averaging.

The taste is barley malt, a good note of cardamom and pepper mixture, a slight fruity sweetness, a little cream and cocoa, and literally a tiny bit of smokiness. The taste, quite dense, gives the feeling that the tobacco is stronger than it really is. I listened to the author and never stuffed the pipe tightly, so the blend smoked easily and coolly in any pipe. However, small pipes may not be able to handle it and may not reveal the full flavor due to the rather rough cut of the tobacco. The tobacco smokes quite dry and doesn't bite. The flavor is very calm - it's not the brightness of the balkan or the sweetness of the aromatics, it's a very smooth blend that turns into a little softer from the middle, losing its spiciness. However, I have noticed that different pipes exhibit different accents. In bents this tobacco is slightly sweeter and more airy, while billiards, on the other hand, makes it even drier and denser on the palate. Either way, the basic flavor doesn't change, but the difference is noticeable. The strength of the tobacco is a little below average, I did not feel the nicotine hit once. The tobacco leaves some moisture in the pipe. The ash is an even gray color, fine, the tobacco burns well.

The aroma of the smoke - a little wood, a slight smokiness, a sweet note. Probably not everyone will like it, but I can't say it's intrusive. The smoke is light, but the aroma stays in the room for a long time.

Bottom line: this is an extremely balanced blend for leisurely smoking. It would certainly be good for morning walks with the dog or with a cup of morning coffee. I liked it a lot, especially in the larger bents. I'm probably ready to buy it regularly instead of my beloved but more expensive Boutique Blend, and let it sit out for a couple or three years if it turns out to be fresh.

Presentation: Slightly chunky broken ribbon cut. There are some misconceptions about what ribbon is supposed to look like and this one is thicker than one might think, however not as chunky as some of the other Englishes offered in the GLP line. A very rich and warming mahogany brown and red with very little light or dark leaf noticeable.

Palette: One can immediately know that this blend is full of great orientals and some nice red VA. The bouquet is sweet and tangy along with a touch of spice. What I like about CM is that it isn't heavy on latakia and adds perique to the mix. On light up, the red VA and orientals are initially the main players, while the light handed latakia and a touch of perique keep things interesting.

Performance: Burns well, cool, and at a moderate pace. Mild nicotine and doesn't bother me to smoke two bowls in a row.

Conclusion: Chelsea Morning is another winner in my book. I tend to prefer my English/Balkans with perique (Sunset Harbor Flake, Nightcap). I find that it is right up my alley with the floral and tangy orientals and just the right amount of latakia. Definitely a staple in many peoples rotation. This is my second tin and I thin in the future I'll add some 8oz tins.

This review is for a first edition 2009 tin of Chelsea morning. Time has allowed the Virginias to fully ferment and present their tangy sweet earthy bouquet and has also allowed the smoky Latakia and Orientals to fully meld with the Virginias. The tin note also presents some small raisin and pepper undertones.

I had big expectations for this blend given all the positive reviews. However, I was left somewhat disappointed. Not by the quality of the leaf but by its lack of traditional Englishness. I knew going in it was going to be a light English. I was thinking more along the lines of Presbyterian but, to my palate it's much lighter than that.

My palette changes with the seasons and I was expecting a little bit more of an English forward blend. To me Chelsea Morning is more of a nuanced Virginia blend. Think of a VaPer slightly spiced with Latakia and Orientals. I usually don't smoke Virginias in the fall/winter as I like more heavier blend when it’s cold outside.

The moisture content in the tin was spot on as it took to the flame right away and didn't need many relights. To me CM is just too light. I know the Latakia is in there but I really don't taste it that much in the smoke. Once it a while I’ll get a sour note but it’s mostly sweet Virginia that I get. It’s very smooth to me and you can puff as hard as you want and will not even get the slightest bit of bite. The aftertaste is also very light and fleeting. It's an overall good blend definitely but, more of a summertime smoke for me.

Upon opening tin I was greeted with Smokey Latakia, oriental tangy fruitiness and sweet Virginias. First light is smokey Latakia and slightly fruity fig? As bowl progresses it quickly becomes Oriental forward with Virginia’s blending in and becoming very tasteful. Perique is there but only as a slight touch of spice. Smokes and taste complex, smooth and creamy to end of bowl. Very good! After 10 months aging Perique has come forward more and Virginia’s have become deeper and mustier. Very nice! Opened a 2 year old tin and wow! Virginia’s have deepened and sweetened much more and are even more forward with tangy/sour orientals an extremely close second. Perique rounds it out with the Latakia bringing up the very back. Just excellent. I should note that this is not just a morning smoke. Could easily be an all day and is excellent with the afternoon coffee or tea.

Beautiful to behold, pressed, then ribbon cut, can usefully be rubbed out a bit more before loading, but not absolutely necessary. Upon lighting, all the sweetness of the many constituent tobaccos, mains and condiments, hits my taste buds at once, but after a minute or two of sipped puffs, the sweetness subsides into lovely creamy Orientals among lovely Virginias, whose residual sweetness mingles with traces of smokey Cyprian Latakia and the sweetsour pinch of Perique for a wistful, reverie-filled smoke, with a medium nic hit that hasn't yet jostled wildly an organ to complaint. It will stay lit if mindfully, gently tamped. I've been rationing this tin out over several months and am close to reordering. Very satisfying, but Pease is also rather costly and doesn't sell in bulk. I'll get an 8 oz tin when I see it on sale again and add it to my rotation. I don't understand how anyone can describe room-notes while puffing, but my wife tells me that, compared to my preferred English and Balkan blends, Chelsea Morning is "benign, less pungent, significantly less offensive." That said, she must depart the screened-in porch, but not in great haste.

Been thoroughly enjoying the hobby of pipe smoking for about 5 years now, being one to enjoy the subtle pleasure of trying new blends often, I have endulged in just about every type of blend out there (English, VaPer, Burley, Aros and all the crossovers in between). I’ve seemed to settle my palate on the mild to moderate “English” blends as of late. My recent rotation including “Squadron Leader, EMP, Standard Mix, Boswell Northwoods and Countryside, GL Pease Westminster etc” . I grabbed up some “Chelsea Morning” and fell in love as some of the others felt “flat” at times and this mixture was brighter and sharper (Likely the Va’s and periques) still with the background of smoky Latakia. Interesting and worth pointing out, I was enjoying this so much, puffing away and treating it as a “mild” English, I may have underestimated it. Turns out, I ended up with quite the Nicotine Hit and had to end my pipe enjoyment early for some sugar and time lying down. Not sure if it was the circumstances, this specific batch (tin), my puffing cadence and lack of awareness that did me in (maybe all of the above) but be careful. Although and “mild” blend, it did me in. In any event, it won’t stop me from enjoying it (albeit with a little more awareness and respect for the blend) overall an excellent blend with more Va taste experience than the average mild English that can sometimes be a little “bland” .

I love a good early morning smoke. My favorite blend for this is a light English. While searching around to replace dunhill EMP, I found my way to Chelsea Morning. Nobody was more surprised then me to discover Chelsea Morning is a champion and does an early morning pipe better than EMP. It's flavor is deeper, more creamy, complex and intriguing. Each puff has a wonderful bready Virginia note paired with tangy or sour orientals which are then quickly enveloped by creamy Latakia with a smokey, nutty, earthy finish. The Orientals are far more pronounced and sour in CM and it's both more complex and unbalanced. Other reviews have identified Izmer Oriental. One can say it makes things interesting... or one can say it clashes and detracts. I'm of the former. The Latakia is lovely and lightly done. It balances harmoniously with the sweet notes in the Virginia. The Perique is peppery and shows randomly to good effect. CM smokes like a dream with billows of volumous flavorful smoke. You can puff like a freight train and your only punishment will be the domination of Oriental. Utterly relaxing, full of flavor, with a pinch-O-nic to start the day. Four stars!