Newminster No. 400 Superior Navy Flake

Newminster No.400 Superior Navy Flake presents as the standard, rectangular flake, similar to Stokkebye's Luxury Navy Flake or many other bulk flakes on the market today. The nose is predominantly of sweet coffee and a touch of cacao. These aromas translate directly as flavors on the charring light. 

The true light continues with chocolatey, coffee and milk flavors for the first several puffs before giving way to a more traditional, if understated, Virginia citrus that lasts about towards the end of the first third before giving way to a toasty, burnt caramel flavor that lasts, supported by the coffee/mineral/earthy background notes, consistently through to the end. There's also a slight parchment note reminiscent of good burley. 

In a crowded field of Virginia flakes dominated by lemons and reds, full of citrus and tang, and with hay-like aromas, No.400 Superior Navy Flake stands out for its slightly Burley-esque flavor profile: toast, mineral, cocoa, parchment. 400 will bite if pushed, so the best approach is a soft, slow cadence to release the maximum amount of subtle flavor without a tongue scorch. Like most Virginias, one may be tempted to push the cadence to extract more flavor. But this approach doesn't work - its simply not there. Rather, the flavor profile manifests only in its subtlety, and is extracted with finesse rather than brute force. The smoke can be a bit hot at times, but dry. The finished pipe is left relatively dry with no slop. 

Overall a very good tobacco, a nice change of pace for the traditional Virginia smoker used to a more citrusy smoke, and a fantastic value. 

This is an excellent value in a Virginia flake. I smoked mine rubbed out and found it a pleasant slightly sweet Virginia without the distinctive cirtus/hay of a yellow Virginia and without the tart/heavy you find in a red Virginia. There may have been a little caramel in the flavor profile from the natural sugars, but I claim this is not topped at all. I was told room note was a little like a toasted bagel. That is friendly enough for non-smokers.

Initial impressions were LNF without the perique. I think LNF has a slightly "brighter" flavor profile though. This was good but nothing to rave about. I could smoke this all day but won't. If you like Virginias and want to try a basic Virginia flake, this gets a good recommendation. It is a solid 3 on my rating scale...

this is a light clean Danish flake, I smoked it unaged, and would compare it to iwan ries Danish flake . it is not quite as rich as dunhill flake, and not nearly as rich or complex as Samuel gawith best brown,...but a light pleasant smoke nonetheless. I do not sense any topping --although there is a hint of sweetness---probably natural Virginia tobacco sugars. I am normally a smoker of untflavored Virginia flakes ( I favor a touch of perique--like sam gawith st james - in the evening) and this is a very pleasing, possibly all day smoke. the price is certainly appealing when compared to the gawith prices.

I bought 2 oz. a year ago and, as braindead as I am, left it in the box that came from smoking pipes. I was sending a pipe to a friend as a gift and was going to reuse the box. Lo and behold, I found the baggie of tobacco with perfect moisture! Which may lead me to believe there is some PG in this, or I had the perfect ziplock from smokingpipes.com

The smell of this stuff in the bag is incredible. When I opened the package a year ago it gave the whole box this sweet caramel smell. But none of that transfers to the smoke. I doubt there isn't a casing on this tobacco.

The flakes are very thin and are rubbed out easily. Even if they're folded they tend to split with little to no pressure. Easy to light and usually burns down to a nice white/grey ash with little to no dottle.

The flavor of this is very peculiar. I see a lot of reviewers having experience with brown VA. It doesn't taste like the bag note at all. For tobacco frame of reference I would say Samuel Gawith BBF but with way less high notes. Very little citrusy notes in this tobacco. It has a very slight sweetness and a little tang. Almost reminds me the aftertaste of an Italian glazed chestnut.

One thing should be noted, this is nothing like Peter Stokkebye's Luxury Navy Flake. But if you want a nice all day smooth smoking VA, this is a great start. Also recommended to someone who wants to try VAs without the tangy bite they offer for some smokers.

This is a very nice flake that is produced in Denmark. Often referred to as a cheap compared to comparable brands and blends. I Love my Virginia's and this is no exception. Offered in a nice dense brown slices that rub out to small ribbons. It has a wonderful nutty sweet taste with mild complexity that a VA aficionado is sure to enjoy. This tobacco burns well but needs to be enjoyed patiently to avoid bite. The most redeeming facet of this tobacco is the price. Don't be fooled, like wine, pipe tobacco doesn't have to be expensive to be worthy of smoking. Sweet smokes gentlemen!

Newminster - No.400 Superior Navy Flake;

Star Rating = 3.75;

Rating Scores - 10 is the Best and 0 is the Worst;

Pouch Note = 9;

Room Note = 9;

Flavor = 9;

Bite = 8;

Burn = 9;

After Taste = 9;

Raw Score = 53;

Rated Percentage = 88%;

Comment = Smooth, medium Full Body rich natural tobacco Flavor, just a whisper of a Bite

I preface my reviews that I am a new pipe smoker. I am doing reviews as I learn for new smokers because most reviews here are articulate literature by seasoned smokers about flavors new smokers often cannot grasp. I hope my simplistic perspective helps new smokers.

This is my first straight Virginia. For those new to the pipe I suggest research and learn smoking with any other blends other than straight due to its propensity to burn hot and bite you. If you are trying straight Virginia just remember go very slow where you should always be on the edge of it going out. Even if you have to relight more often it’s better than over cadence. When you do relight only do so with 1-2 puffs. Be minimalistic to avoid heat. It is a very thin line between sweet flavor and ash with a straight Virginia.

Ok I really like this tobacco. Room note is difficult because I smoke outside and don’t really smell the room note. As others have already mentioned there is a sweet bread dough flavor mixed in with citrusy hay notes. The citrus is not like the fruit, but more an acidic sweet hint. Hay and grass are not my strengths but it is the natural undertone flavor that is ever present between spikes of sweet dough or sweet acidity. It’s not sweet, nor bitter, but a simple earth taste. It’s what corn flakes are to cereal, simple and clean.

Probably as with all straight virginia there seems to be an immediate feedback loop. If slow sipping I get sweetness, but if I go to fast it starts turning less sweet so I know to back off. This feedback loop is great for beginners like me to learn cadence. I probably had to relight about 6 times during the bowl because I preferred to stay on edge of sweet flavor vs staying lit.

I give it a 3 because I enjoyed it very much and will make this part of my rotation. It’s a great price at around $2.40 an ounce. I must reserve 4 stars for the great one in my near future.

In the pouch, I only smell typical grassy Virginia's, but when I put the flake under the nose, there is clearly a sweet topping, almost chocolaty. But in the pipe, there is some added sweetness, but it doesn’t get in the way of the Virginia flavor and whatever scent I associated with a chocolaty smell it didn’t translate to the smoke. Unlike my other two experiences with Newminster, I didn’t find any rough edges with SNF. The medium brown Virginia's take the lead for me with a few bright spots. There is a bit of a brown sugar and/or caramel note to the flavor. It will burn a little hot if pushed, but with the proper cadence, SNF offers very straight forward flavor with no complexity. After a few bowls I found myself wanting either a little Perique or Burley to keep things interesting. As with Superior Round, the big selling point to this blend is the cost/value equation. It’s a decent flake at a very decent price, but Stokkebye’s Luxury Navy Flake, I’m pretty sure made by the same company, is still my flake of choice when compared to SNF.

I havent seen a mention of a topnote [ ? ] This is a very nice Virginia flake . It is mild to medium and is very representative of it's style . It does have a mild topnote which I figure is rum . It has a slight edge to it that is a little sharp , which if not would have I'd have given this 4 stars . The citrus/hay flavors that you expect are all there and for me the topnote was apparent most all the bowl except for the last quarter . Burns fantastic . It's nice to have this available in bulk