Tambolaka Natural Tobaccos Tambolaka Pipe Tobacco

I was surprised to see that I had never reviewed Tambolaka before. It was about 3 years ago that I last had any (is it still being made?) and while I hated the prep, I absolutely loved the flavor and was excited when they started coming out with the pouches containing the rubbed out version. Perhaps the most full flavored (and full strength, too), Burley that I have ever smoked. The touch of cigar leaf was certainly noticeable, and I think that the combination of the two is what made this one a home run for me. Mysterious in where it comes from and how it is prepared, but that made the effect even more exciting. I ran out of mine long ago and still recall that deep flavor. And yes, a time or two while smoking Tambolaka, I did get the hiccups. Didn't stop me from smoking more though.

Summary: a strong Burley flavor with the darker tastes of Perique, almost dark-fired in its strength of taste.

In theory, this blend consists of strong Burley pressed and kept from air, which creates a slight fermentation effect. In flavor, this manifests as a rich tasting tobacco a slight spiciness, but also the dark taste of smoked tobacco without the overtones of smoke. This is rich and dark, full of flavor, which at first seems raw but then melds into caramel overtones which hover above a full and aged flavor. The presence of Nicotine is strong, but not overwhelming, about on the level of a UK rope, and as the bowl progresses, the dark edges meld into a warm and sustaining flavor which complements the easy burning and slightly spicy, full harvest taste of this tobacco. For me, this would be an all-day blend, with minimal bite and an internal density of flavor that makes every bowl a series of experiences, much like Semois and other highly refined Burleys. I hope this becomes available on a regular basis because I would smoke it all the time.

Thanks to Pipes Magazine forum member "bonehed" for this sample.

TL;DR: Get This. This is excellent. Might kill you though.

Indonesian tobacco growers managed to create something really close to a miracle, and if it would be any more common and easier to get, it put many many of tobacco producers to a great deal of shame

The combination of qualities in this tobacco is truly amazing: it is very soft, extremely complex in flavour and yet it is strong as hell.

I've received mine in its raw form: 3 inch long round stick about 1.5 inch in diameter, wrapped in very rough cord. The stuff was stiff as a brick and looked like it is made of dried-up clay, from outside there wasn't a single hint that this log has anything to do with tobacco leaves.

Some people asking whether they can simply rub it as you would do with a normal flake, and it is about as possible as rubbing a stone. It took me a very sharp and sturdy knife to chip a disk off the stick. Inside, it was as solid as outside, but very nice and oily. It is a tobacco in it's purest form: nothing added or taken away (however I did think that they might keep those logs a bit too close to compost heap when I was steaming and unraveling it)

It took good amount of steaming to get this thing to break apart, but once it started to do so, it definitely looked promising. I've separated it into very subtle and very oily, fermented tobacco leaves. Word of warning though, it expands A LOT: 160g stick probably will yield around 1-1.5 litre jar full of proper tobacco. Which then will need cutting and a bit of drying out. And you WOULD WANT to use rubber gloves while working with it, the amount of oilyness once it's steamed is astonishing.

And then I smoked it, a small bowl corn-cob pipe full of wide-cut ribbons. It took a bit of relights to get it started (probably could use a bit more drying), but once it was lit, it stayed this way, burning very evenly and cool.

The taste was amazing. Being a simple tobacco without any additives, the taste is so soft, rich and satisfying that I couldn't believe it. It does resemble a very, very good cigar (which is understandable since same tobacco is used for cigars). Despite the fact that smell during steaming was sometimes rather hideous, both flavour and room note are very nice. Prepared tobacco actually does smell like a tea somewhat.

It started with excellent earthly and somewhat fruity notes, and stayed excellent till the end of the bowl, with various smell nuances appearing along the way. It gives a hint of smokiness and pretty much every taste nuance that can come from tobacco during smoke, but stays unbelievably smooth and full-bodied all the way.

The smoke is thick and rich, very cigar-like but much softer and smoother. No matter what I did, be it sipping or puffing like a steam train, I wasn't able to overheat the pipe. There was no bite at all, no matter how hard I puff. It is cool all the way, and very little moisture was found on balsa filter, despite tobacco being very oily and rather moist when I packed it. It is unbelievable. I never smoked anything like it in my whole experience. God save you, by the way, if you decided to inhale it, unless you have lungs and throat of steel and generally you are a solidly-built robot. It probably would crumble lesser robots too.

It is also strong. No, it's STRONG. It is really surprising how something this smooth, soft and tasty can be that strong, it's almost if you are making love with Monica Bellucci, but in the end you realize it was Mike Tyson all the way and he actually was beating you pretty hard. I once made a mistake of taking it as a morning smoke on empty stomach and I was barely able to walk from a small bowl. Imagine having a really full-bodied churchill cigar, only in a small bowl and this probably would be it. Only stronger and tastier.

It probably would be nice in a blend with something (latakia?) to reduce it's strength, but frankly, I can't think of anything that might add something positive to the taste.

Get this tobacco. Smuggle it, steal it, buy it - if you are a tobacco aficionado, missing this one would be a disaster. Get it fast: there is no way something like this can exist long enough in modern world, it is bound to get worse, and if big tobacco brands realize full extent of this tobacco, they probably will bomb Indonesia to make sure no-one knows of it.

Commit war crimes in Indonesia and ask this as your last wish in front of a firing squad if you have to, but get it.

And don't smoke it on empty stomach, for god's sake. Also do not get the idea of smoking packaging rope too, i've tried it and it wasn't great at all.

Well, after a couple of dozen bowls, in a half dozen different pipes...this one is certainly a welcome item. To me it comes off as being sweet, smokey, and with a kinda strange undertow of an 'anise-raisin-hemp' flavor/aroma. It smokes cool and very, very clean and is totally at the ideal mositure level as it came, in the pouch. Super easy to light and get going. Haven't played with the 'stick' thing as yet. The stuff looks like last year's leaf mulch that's been left in the compost pile for a year, then nicely dried, and dyed to a uniform dark reddish brown color...just taking part in the description contest here. Whatever...it's totally heaven in the bowl. Dy-No-Mite!

A few on other sites have mentioned it as a blender, though I think it stands very well on it's own. Blending might be interesting, though, as it has a distinct likeness to an Oriental already with that smokey background and the musty sweet hempish notes. But I'm not a blender and I digress. I think I'll just enjoy it as is. It's unique, quite potent and overall one of the most significant new finds I've come across in a long, long while. Like I said above...it's heaven in the bowl.

Short Story: This is an instant classic.

I have the rubbed-out version. Didn't want to struggle with the cylindrical granitic blocks I've been reading about. Mine is quite dry, with tough little flakes that look like miniature black Corn Flakes. It packs beautifully, and because it's dry (I prefer all my tobacco on the dry-ish side) there's little worry about packing it too tightly. I crammed it in and there's still plenty of air flow.

I first smoked this fresh off the UPS truck five years ago. My memory is not that razor sharp for things like this, but I feel it's mellowed in flavor over the years. It's still strong but surprisingly smooth.

Yup, it's strong. If you like vitamin N look no further. I like to exhale through my nose when possible to get more of the flavors in a tobacco, but I don't really do that with this one - it's just a little too spicy for that, so it actually robs from the nuances in the flavor.

Speaking of flavor, it's similar in some ways to the strong ropes and twists. Some call it an "industrial" or "oily" taste, which in my opinion is a good thing. It's certainly unique, very earthy but not campfire smoky like a strong Latakia blend.

Tonight I'm enjoying it with a generous pour of Talisker 10 Year which actually stands up to the Tambo very well. This weed is a very good alternative to cigars, but be careful - one inch of this in a bowl about the same diameter as a cigar will put a noob on his or her tush faster than any six-inch stogie. And I like strong cigars!

Many talk about blending it with other tobaccos, but I am a purist and rarely do that. However, I am tempted to mix in a little pure Latakia to give it that smoky punch I love. I'll let you know how that turns out...

Loose, pre-chopped. WOW! Looks and smells like Jagermeister barfed onto the floor and soaked up by pieces of a cigar that got slammed in a car door a few times, allowed to dry, and then chewed up by a dog. I tried to rub it out. Bruised the palms of my hands, which were by then tingly and slightly numb from the nicotine. Put it in the mortar & pestle to no avail - just left some skid-marks. I contemplated going down to the corner Mexi-Mart to obtain a Molcajete (South American mortar & pestle hand-carved from lava, available at every bodega in Los Angeles), but curiosity got the best of me and I dropped a few of these unprocessesed black rocks into an unsuspecting Featherweight. Lit, puffed once, put it down. Dang. I'm going to have to learn some manners if I want to smoke this stuff. God help me if I accidentally inhale. Oh well, the hospital is only two blocks away, and the cell phone is handy. Lit again, puffed a few times. My nose burned and my eyes watered, but the flavor was starting to come through. My tongue was starting to get that bitter taste around the edges like I had eaten too many sweets. Puffed again, very gently, snorking by using the "humming-bird" technique with my tongue. Never thought I would use that in pipe smoking. Wow that's good. Like a Virginia / Burley blend digested by a vegetarian dinosaur. Slightly sweet, barely spicey, robust and full flavored. Light notes of chocolate & natural licorice. Burned all the way down to black-speckled grey ash, fully blackening a pipe cleaner that was used for cleanup. This is now at the top of my list. I will be ordering a meter of this in stick form. Loading the Featherweight again...

This is a great tobacco is pleasant to smoke. But, it's not for the uninitiated though. Be advised it's "HEAVY" with vitamin N. Until you get use to it be ready to go sleep like a log after a full bowl. Goes very well with good scotch! MMmmmm Tastey.

If you choose the 3 inch sticks (over the pre cut offering.) Be prepared to spend a bit of time preparing the tobacco. One stick filled 2 pint Ball jars. This was my first taste of its Vitamin N through contact absorption with my hands as I steamed, seperated, and cut the leaves. In a word WOW!

Others I have spoken with, like to blend the Tambo with Sugar Barrel, or some Carter Hall etc etc. You do owe it to your self to try it. Have some in your cellar, remember to share some Tambo with your fellow pipe enthusiasts.

Peace and Good Karma~

This tobacco is what caused me to shift from cigars to the pipe. Pure rich tobacco with a kick that cigars never had. I got the ready rubbed but would have preferred the arduous prep work the sticks would have demaned. Not an everyday tobacco. About once a week I'll fire up a tiny bowl of this, some rope, 5 Brothers, or SG 1792 flake for an N bomb. Mostly looking for Lat bombs, but need variety in my butt-kickers. Oh, don't mix this with 5 Brothers. Strong, but nasty tasting.

Over the past few months I've smoked this stuff almost every day. Every time I smoke it I seem to notice something new. It's a very dark, natural tasting tobacco. When you're first processing it (it comes in very tightly compacted "sticks") it smells very earthy & quite strong. It's very fun to smoke since it comes completely unprepared. You get to decide whether to fully rub it out or smoke it as a flake, or even as a disc. The only downside I've noticed to this stuff is that it's not real easy to get lit, once it's going though maintaining a bowl is quite easy & it burns all the way down to ash with minimal re-lights. It seems to smoke best when it's on the dry side, otherwise it can be harsh. It's something that needs to be smoked very slowly to be fully enjoyed, if you try to rush things you may get bit & you are almost guaranteed to not enjoy yourself.

It's the strangest thing, but this is the only tobacco that I've noticed an aroma of Black Tea, that's the only way I can describe it & it's WONDERFUL.

This stuff is extremely satisfying & will give you quite a nicotine kick if that's what you're looking for. I would suggest smoking it on a full stomach & while sitting down.

To sum up:

-smoke it dry -smoke it slowly -smoke it often

If you follow those 3 important guidelines you will be rewarded hansomely with an amazing & unique smoking experience.

4 out of 4.