CAO Bella Vanilla

For me, the vanilla was nonexistent in flavor. A very mild, bland, forgettable smoke. On the plus side: there was no bite and the room note is good. Not interested in such a bland, flavorless smoke for the money this costs. Aero lovers would probably be disappointed in this.

Somewhat pleasant room note, but enough about its good qualities.

Bella Vanilla was a very disappointing smoke. The tobacco came wet and goopy, usually a sign that there will be some kind of flavor that will come through while smoking. Not so here. I detected no vanilla flavor, just a very mild, bland taste. The smell on my fingers and the taste in my mouth took me back to my cigarette smoking days.

As a newer pipe smoker, I am mainly exploring the different blends (I favor aromatic blends, although I am dipping my toes into the non-aromatic blends now) to find what I like. Opening the tin, what I smelled was vanilla. The flavor I tasted was vanilla, but it was subdued... I did not have any tounge-bite with this blend.

CAO - Bella Vanilla.

Sunday always seems a good day for an aromatic, something to add to the relaxation, so this morning I popped this open.

The ready rubbed mixture's free from any twigs or clumps, and has a good quantity of moisture to it. Mine appears to be mostly Virginia and brown Cavendish, there's almost no black pieces. Dark yes, black no.

I've mentioned before how I have a penchant for vanilla aromatics, and this is one of the best I've had. The vanilla tastes crisp compared to some of the heavier vanilla blends; I don't get a sticky feeling from it. There's a sweetness, too, from both the vanilla and the Cav', but this doesn't feel too fondant, it seems sharper. A bowl burns superbly, requiring hardly any re-lights, giving off a thick, cool, smoke. Tongue bite? None. A cup of Douwe Egbert's Hazelnut Coffee pairs perfectly with it!

The room-note's lovely, and the nicotine's mild.

Bella Vanilla? Four stars.

Highly recommended.

It came rather moist. The first few bowls were rather harsh and not so flavorful. After the tin had been open for a few days the harshness faded and the flavor seemed to come through better. The tobacco didn't seem to be of a great quality. I've had other vanilla aromatics that had better leaf.

CAO seems to make some of the better aromatics I've tried. Bella Vanilla is a mild, light aromatic. Very slight vanilla flavor comes through in the smoke but mostly the flavor is light cavandish flavor. Aside from the slight vanilla flavor this blend is a little on the bland side. Not too bad though.

The room note is fantastic. Sweet, light vanilla sugar scent. Very nice. Overall, Bella vanilla is one of the better aromatics I have tried. Its a little on the bland side, can bite a little if you are not careful, smells fantastic, just a quality aromatic. Hasn't convinced me to swing toward aromatics but for a change of pace its not bad.

This is the one an only CAO product I have smoked and this knocked my socks off! Cant wait to try some others in their line. Never would have bought this on my own. Wife was travelling and went to an upscale baccy shop and this is what they recommended. Had she not got it for me as a gift, it would have taken me a long time, maybe never to get around to trying this. First off, the packaging looks like its some kind of foofy, loaded up perfumy stuff that only smells good in the tin and tastes like a car air freshener. What a nice surprise when I lit this up. It smokes as good as it smells in the tin, trust me. Nice plum and vanilla notes, but not overpowering. The key to this blend is that it is so understated. It does not smoke like a typical aromatic vanilla blend. The name is kind of misleading, which is the only thing I can find negative to say about Bella Vanilla! This stuff is awesome. Stays lit, perfect moisture content, no bit, tasty as hell and just a total surprise from what you think it would be. A nice "dessert" smoke. Not strong, just smooth and go ahead and smoke it hard, it wont bite! Gotta hand it to the wife on this one! Oh, and the room note is spectacular. If you need something to please the SO, this is it. Cheers!

Update 12-11-19 After aging, and after experimenting with several other aromatics, I am downgrading this one to a 3 star. I like it, just don't love it. The biggest thing it has going for it is a pleasant room note, which is not a bad thing. But for your own enjoyment, its just meh.

When I first started on this tin, I thought I had found something. I'm about done with the tin and I'm not sure if I'm going to get another one. It's ok but it gets old. Everyone once and awhile on first light you get this fantastic roasted marshmallow blast of flavor. However, that quickly wears off. It's a decent blend and I may pick up another tin down the road, but this wouldn't be my first choice...

Jarred this up quite a while ago, smoked one bowl of it and never smoked another. It wasnt really anything special. Lately I have been wanting a few mild bowls in the evening after smoking VaPer's and English blends all day. At first light, again nothing special, but after 3/8ths of the bowl down, it really exploded with flavor. I could now taste the Virginia and Cavendish as well as the vanilla, though it is very subtle. It has no real tongue bite, but I dont get that much anyways and usually sip my pipes. Sipping this one I had more flavors come through than when I puffed it repeatably. Not a bad blend, just not something I would reach for much. If I am in the mood for a vanilla aromatic I probably and do reach for Lane 1-Q. Its what I am trying to find flavor wise in this, but cannot find it.

I bought a few cans of this in 2011. Not sure when I opened this one but it has been some time. I just finished it. When I read that it had pure Madagascar vanilla I expected something rich and refined. The packaging did not match the vanilla flavor I was expecting. I must agree with quite a few of the other reviews in that there just isn’t enough vanilla for me. It is good, mild, but not something that I will probably purchase again.