Esoterica Tobacciana Margate

Amazing tobacco with similar flavour to Penzance, but not as full flavoured and a little sharper on the tongue. Enjoyed in standard and large bowls alike.

Legend has it, that this mixture contains only Latakia and Orientals , no Virginia , no Burley , no Cavendish. My tobacco guru fron the 1970,s would explain that this is not possible due to the poor burning qualities of the components used. Yet, this blend burns cool and full due to its shag like cut. Margate is superb, I love it. But, it is not an all day smoke. It's like eating too many pretzels, taste buds become fatigued. I now understand that the addition of other components in an English blend keep the taste buds refreshed. Like a fine beverage,enjoy in moderation. Excellent !

(Another review's not going to make any difference now ... but I want to belong.)

Lovely tin design with an old-fashioned looking sticker. "entirely made, blended and aged in the British Isles", although you can't buy it there. (Note to British residents: it works out cheaper to buy online from the States anyway, even when shipping is added, because they won't stand for UK-style taxes there.)

Well all I can say is this makes me proud to be British. they claim it's based on the old-fashioned way of blending, and I'll believe them although I wasn't around in them days.

The cut is more shag than ribbon (I think), and very easy to pack - although it must be mentioned that this tobacco comes verrry moist right out of the tin; I've heard of 'goopy aromatics', but a fresh bowl of this might be called a 'goopy Latakia'. It's wet and sticky. If you've got the patience, dry it out before packing every time.

For someone like me who's not especially used to latakia blends, the lat. content in this seems quite high, and the tin note is all camp fires and burned tires. The tin note, room note and actual smoking taste are all about identical for me, except that the room note (and ghost in pipe) has a sort of cigar-ish aroma, which was quite a surprise. The actual smoke is smooth, creamy, slightly salty latakia tempered by the orientals, and no VA sweetness to speak of (I'll believe them when they say it contains no virginia.) Latakia becomes more prominent towards the end, and there's a little bit of bite if you smoke it moist.

All in all this is just wonderful, and satisfying enough that I'm not going to bother trying many more latakia blends, since I've found something close enough to perfection to justify calling off the hunt. I've got my eye on some Germain's Special Latakia Flake as well, but unless the mythical Penzance makes a reappearance I'll be happy to stick with this for the foreseeable future.

A very nice, slightly sweet medium English with a fine ribbon cut. The sugary taste it leaves on my lips marks it out, similar in some ways to Solani's Luxury English, which I also like very much. Defintely a repeat and possibly bulk purchase candidate.

Oh my goodness. This is a sublime smoke, because it must have been formulated and blended by a tobacco virtuoso! As I understand, this mixture has not a shred of Virgina present, but it does have copious amounts of various orientals. I am extremely pleased by the cool and pleasant smoke that this tobacco offers to the smoker. I will smoke the hell out of this blend. You know what? I don't even prefer Latakia blends. I am a dedicated Virginia smoker! At the time of this review, I am deep in February, so that probably influences my smoking as I do tend to go for more Latakia blends during colder weather. It's just what I do. Moreover, the flavor is the typical, smokey Latakia interlaced with the spiciness of the orientals. I can only speculate, but I think there is a good amount of Yenidje in this mixture. This will not disappoint the smoker. Please treat yourself to this eminently clean blend. By the way, I have tried to get a bit of tongue bite off of these leafs, but so far it has been impossible.

No point repeating what other reviewers said here. Sweet, spicy, smoky, complex, never boring, always satisfying. My all time favorite blend.

Hi there. I'm writing because you want to read yet another Esoterica review. I'm not going to waste your time with this read. You've got better things to do. Like turn off the pc, get down to the pipe shop and get some Margate in your pipe. This is damn good stuff. May you never again long for Balkan Sobraine. I don't.

Um...let's see... Penzance, Margate, Pembroke...Or is it Margate, Penzance, Pembroke...Or is it Pembroke, Margate, Penzance. Ah forget it. You get the picture. Excellent Englishes all! You can't go wrong with these IMO!

The label on the Margate tin says "Best Full English." I would argue with the "full" part; to me, this is more of a medium English. That's not a bad thing. Margate is a flavorful blend indeed; there's a pleasing interplay of flavors from the Orientals and the Latakia. Some smokers find Latakia overpowering in many English mixtures, but that can't be said of Margate, while those of us who love the stuff won't be disappointed. The tin aroma is that deliciously smoky one typical of a good English mixture, as is the room note of Margate. It's not quite as potent as Dunhill's Nightcap, so even smokers new to English mixtures shouldn't find it too overwhelming. I like Margate a lot, and would recommend it without reservation to anyone in search of a flavorful medium English.