G. L. Pease Chelsea Morning

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!

I've always liked Chelsea Morning from the first time I tried it, nearly a decade ago. It was my first introduction to blends containing Latakia. I could not have tried a better first blend as an introduction to Latakia. That aside, I am now trying this tin after 5+ years of a aging in the cellar.

This blend has plenty enough Virginia tobaccos in it to make aging worthwhile. It was always a mellow mixture, now it is extremely mellow and smooth. All of the constituent tobaccos blend their flavors and characters together in a harmony that is rarely so completely melded. It's difficult to focus on the parts because the whole is so perfect, like an orchestra perfectly executing the first movement of Beethoven's Pastoral Symphony.

I would still have given this blend the highest rating when it was new. But it needs to be said that it deserves an even greater rating after 5 years of age. To be honest, I didn't expect this would become this much better. I predicted this would happen to Triple Play, but not so much in Chelsea Morning. The take-away is simple. Put some back in the cellar, it's worth the wait.

Another excellent Tobacco from G. L. Pease. I would give this 3.5 stars. I have been a fan of Maltese Falcon and decided to give Chelsea Morning a try for something lighter and what a treat. Upon opening the tin you definitely smell the smokiness from the Latakia but also have the subtle sweetness from Virginia and to me I also got a slight note of spice from the Perique. The cut is a nice large ribbon cut which you can break up a bit but I had no problem loading. Out of the tin I found the moisture level perfect and it burned well with little need for relight and burned down to a nice white ash. The smoke itself was really enjoyable, you get the Latakia and Orientals up front but they are so smooth with no harsh bite at all. I got the Perique spice especially on retro hale but in general everything blended well into a complex but light smoke that went perfect with morning coffee. Towards the end of the bowl I did get some more sweetness from the Virginia and the after taste after smoking was really pleasant with more sweetness, almost caramel, vs. heavy fragrant Latakia you might get from other heavy blends. No tongue bite whatsoever and at least in my Peterson 106 Billiard this smoked perfectly and cool. I will definitely be putting this into my regular rotation. If you are a fan of G.L. Pease blends than no doubt you will enjoy the added complexity that Chelsea Morning brings to the table vs. other lighter morning blends.

EDIT JANUARY 2018:

The more I smoke this, the more I like it. The balance between orientals and sweet, sweet Virginias is just perfect, and the touch of latakia elevates it all. It still has a tendency to burn hot, but I also find that I am extra sensitive to bite from any tobacco. If I smoke it in a wide bowl, avoid packing it to tight and smoke it very slowly (preferably on a bench in a nice park, where the pale spring sun feels warm in the nippy air), it will be divine.

ORIGINAL REVIEW, JULY 2017:

This was the very first G. L. Pease blend I ever tried, and although I'm not an experienced pipe smoker, I immediately understood why people are applauding these blends so much.

Complex but easy going. If you want to, you can chase tastes forever. Oriental musty, Perique peppery and very refreshing refreshing, with the comforting sweetness of the Virginias coming through. The latakia is there and provides some of its smoky softness: there's too little of it to overpower the other components, but just enough for you not to miss it. This blend is, as the name suggests, a perfect morning smoke, but I often choose this blend at other times of the day too, provided I have time to sit down, smoke it properly and thoroughly enjoy it. This is one of the blends that I really enjoy, and which still intrigues and challenges me although I have smoked it quite a lot recently.

The smoke will stay delicious throughout the bowl, at least as long as you smoke it slowly: this beauty will bite you and ruin the rest of the smoke if you puff too hard or too fast. (As a fairly new pipe smoker, I have used the blend as an incentive for practising good smoking technique, as the gain of smoking it properly is utter enjoyment and the punishment for being hasty is corresponding amounts of pain and irritation.)

The tobacco will IMO need some drying out before the pipe is loaded. For me, this blend doesn't require any more relights than most other blends do. Leaves a little moisture in the bowl, at least when I smoke it in my Comoy's prince.

Let me start off by saying that after a few tins of this, I think it may be my favorite blend currently. It is very complex. You can smoke two bowls back to back and notice different things. To me it seems to start off with a range of Virginia's, and they seem to be the main player but the stage is quickly shared by orientals and a light Latakia flavor. It slowly gets stronger and smokier as the bowl smokes down. All the while, remaining to have a sweet and slightly spicy note to it. You can focus in on different elements and notice them more if you concentrate. This is a very contemplative smoke. It can easily be an all day smoke. Nicotine level is never overpowering, even when I smoke two bowls back to back, yet it feels full. The smoke is creamy and just plain delicious. A great blend for people wanting to try Latakia blends. I could not think of a better way to start your day then a cup of coffee and a bowl of Chelsea Morning.

What an awesome mixture!! I'm really starting to love G.L. Pease and his blends. This blend is so fragrant when smoked. In the tin you can smell the ripe tart and almost vinegar flavors of the red VAs, along with a earthy musty smell (good thing), accompanied by just a bit of smokeiness from the latakia along with a tiny amount of plums, spice and hay. The smoke is smooth and creamy and tastes of hay and tart virginias for the most part, but there are floral nuances and smokey notes from the latakia and orientals. Some spiciness tickles the back of the throat but ever so slightly...not as scratchy on the back of the throat or mouth like the dunhill blends. Even though I would call this a light english/lat blend it is also very deep and robust but elegant and light at the same time. Truly an amazing blend!

The more I smoke this the more I enjoy it. It's impressive how light and fragrant it is while being flavorful enough to be satisfying. It's very light on the latakia and I think is a perfect blend to smoke with your morning coffee (which is generally when I'll have a bowl).

Tangy, smoky, spicy, sweet, a bit more refreshing than on the dark and deep side. It is easy to handle, complex in taste and I’m willing to say there are numerous layers of taste to explore; the smoker can chose what he/she likes to focus on. Full of flavor and really satisfying, medium on the spot to me. About half way through the bowl it becomes creamier and nuttier. I like Chelsea Morning best after I let the pre-opened tin sit for a couple of days, sometimes weeks. It is because of this blend that I described Dunhill EMP as a bit flat and undefined.

I’m not saying this is a blend like no other. I say this does fulfill the promise others have made maybe just a little better, especially to the more experienced pipers.

I bought this one after going on a little Pease binge, this was one of the ones available that I had yet to sample so decided to dip my toe in it's veritable pond.

The tin note I found is a strange one, it strikes me as being of engine oil and meat, it reminded me of mechanics having a bacon sandwich while on a lunch break as tools lie across the garage floor beside a dismantled engine. The tobacco, as always, has rich darkly coloured browns with a few flecks of lighter notes dashing it nicely, I always love the colours Mr Please makes his tobacco. Packing is easy, in spite of some chunky ribbons and so is the lighting. The flavour is a mild one, the latakia is evident early on but is far from dominant as hints of fruit and more than a generous garnish of cream begin to kick in later.

This is a very mellow relaxing smoke that is just pure enjoyment, a good all day smoke, though I found myself smoking it more in the afternoon. It's more like some light Mozart than some rousing Tchaikovsky. Not one for determined lat-heads perhaps, but one for everyone should like it. Me, I love the stuff. Thank you again Mr Pease.