Gawith, Hoggarth & Co. Bob's Chocolate Flake

I bought a sample of this as I was not sure if I would like it.

Pouch note was great. Mild chocolate with, I think, a very little Lakeland essence. I also thought a little alcohol(?). All this over a Virginia type aroma. So far quite good.

The flakes are dark and firm but rubbed out easily. I only rub out a little - I prefer it that way.

It took a bit of lighting. Note to self dry it a bit!

Once going the smoke was superb. Cool and flavourful. I could taste chocolate,a very little Lakeland, and good Virginia and latakia. Add the bowl progresses the Lakeland disappeared and the latakia became more noticeable.

This one caused my wife to comment on how nice it smelled! A rare event.

I'm quite a gentle puffer and finished with just fine ash. No dottle and no foul taste.

Time to buy a few tins I think.

Flake presentation is one put in a haste... Packs easily either rubbed out leaving big chunks. Burns evenly cocoa taste is through out the bowl with some occasional lake land aroma which plays role. Nic kick is as with all the G&H blends medium and in empty stomach it kicks high. Over all its a enjoyable smoke and if I wouldn't have smoked SG CF I would have Given three n half starts but it's not in option so I it's three. But well done G&H!

The taste is dusty in that it is reminiscent of cocoa powder. This burns long, and has a strong nic hit, but the Lakeland flavor keeps this from being a 3 for me. (Later edited as this blend grew on me quite a bit.)

You can view my video review of this blend here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yP4PRVOpgGw

The note in the tin is cocoa, which is very inviting. I rubbed the flake out and packed it loose, leaving room for expansion. Lit off rather well for a moist flake with no drying and once we're lit, it only required 2-3 relights all the way to the heel. I notice the smooth, velvety chocolate flavor, very mild and very cool. Seems I have to puff a bit more steady on this one but it never bites. Did not bubble, leaves little moisture. Smells great as well! I could get used to smoking this one more!

I purchased this Tobacco in Bulk from my local tobacco store, moisture was just right, no drying time was needed. The scent of the tobacco is a lot of dark chocolate / Cocoa, this nearly completly covers the odor of the tobaccos. Altough in the background you can smell them. I really like this smell in my nose even tough i normally prefer tobaccos that are closer to nature/unscented. Packs easily: personally i get the best results in just rolling/rubbing some bigger chunks to a ball-like thing and stuff it into my bowl with some extra of finer rubbed out tobacco on top. Lightning is easy, one or two false lights and it burns easily.

Let´s get to the taste: I get this beautiful smell of cocoa/chocolate transferred to the smoke - which melts with the Latakia to a sensational bittersweet chocolate aroma. There is a bit sweetness in this but it´s never cloying. I notice at any time that i´m smoking tobacco and not a piece of burning chocolate - so i wouldnt call this a real-full-on-aromatic. The Virginia is a nice base, i just don´t get much of the 10 % burley inside. Maybe my "pipe senses" aren´t that refined yet. Around the half way point of a small to medium pipe the bittersweet chocolate aroma diminishes more and more and the Latakia kicks up and adds more of the typical smokiness. After, or let´s say between 2/3 and 3/4 of the bowl the chocolate flavours nearly vanishes and it tastes more like a not too strong VA/LA blend to me - still can´t taste much of the burleys inside. When i smoke this tasty flake, i´m lusting for this well balanced, semisweet chocolate aroma, so i enjoy it more out of smaller pipes because the "mid way point" where the cocoa flavours diminishes appears "later" on the scale of things - if that make´s sense!? Or let`s say the second half in smaller pipes, with less or none cocoa taste, is shorter. For me it would be even better if the cocoa flavours would last longer, maybe i should try smoking two half bowls instead of one 😉

Summarized this is definitely in my top 5 blends when i want to smoke a well balanced and tastefull semi-aromatic. It´s the first (semi) aromatic-blend which i like. All other noticeable scented/cased Tobaccos wasn´t for me yet. Worth a try for sure! NOTE: I can´t rate the room note because i just smoke outdoors.

It's a great tobacco! Very good,solid, firm and serious tobacco taste complimented by slight lakeland flovours, and slight chocolate. Latakia presence is clear, but just as a little condiment:noticeable, but not too much. I like it! Even if i prefer much flavoured lakelands, exemple Ennerdale, i can smoke Bobs Chocolate with great satisfaction. Very good burning qualities, no bite, solid tobacco taste, slightly lakeland flavoured, medium to full body and strenght, sometimes and if properly smoked.....with cigars characteristic. It can be a great all-day. It has a sweet taste, but in the dry side, never goopy, never syroupy or cloying like modern industrial aromatics. I think this is not an aromatic tobacco: this is a damned good tobacco , slightly flavoured in the british old style. A country, old fashioned style, that you can appreciate or not. If you do, you will love this Bob. If you are not a fan of lakeland flavour (i adore it) you can experiment some kind of pipe-ghosting, even if much much much little compared with full flavoured lakelands.

First time I tried it , my first thought was " strange"... Second time it was " interesting" .... Once I finished my first tin was " already finished?". Yes , this is a peculiar tobacco. I could not really catch it, but I could not either stop smoking it. And I bought it again and again. It's not an aromatic smoke of a common standard. It has Latakia, but more as a smoother than a predominant character. Chocolate or Whisky not not a real taste, but more like a reminiscence . A rather seductive blend, but as some mysterious beauty it's reluctant to be analyzed or classified. A non rational pleasure.

A lovely Lakeland English Aromatic. This is not a sickly sweet American Parlor Tobacco. Opening the tin reveals a pleasantly mild and fragrant rough flake with overtones of whiskey. These flakes rub-out easily and smoke brilliantly when properly aged and dried. This blend delivers a nicely fragrant and smokey taste from the Latakia that plays superbly well with the various flavoring used, which includes light notes of chocolate, vanilla, and whiskey. The floral notes are very, very mild and most noticable at the start; however, they quickly blend into the whole and enhance the blend brilliantly. A truly excellent English Aromatic that I would highly recommend for the apprentice and master smoker alike. Cheers...

This is a revisit from many years ago. I'll start by saying the tinned version I have had in the past and the bulk version I bought locally seem very different from each other. The bulk version is much more of a soapy Lakeland experience compared to what I have had in tins.

Not too moist, but will benefit from a good rubbing and allowing to sit on a plate for a little while.

The smoke is cool, gentle, and flavorful. The tiny bit of Latakia claimed to be in the flake is not intrusive, but complimentary.....and I am not a Latakia guy. I normally avoid the stuff and am drawn to clean Va leaf spiced with burly, perique or mild oriental additions.

No bite, no burn, not sure if it will ghost the hell out of my briars, but I have salt and alky at the ready.

After I work my way through this ounce, I MIGHT be moved to jar up another few ounces.

I have avoided most big soapy blends as being overly floral and off putting, but this may be a good starting point for someone looking to explore the Lakeland essence.

Funny thing is, the chocolate wasn't apparent for me until well after I was done smoking. Go figure....

I don't know that I would call this a very aromatic blend. However, the topping it does have mellows th lakeland scent making it a really nice smoke. The nicotine level is high, just like I like it.

Another blend I was dying to try, but could never get a hold of. Went to be tobacconist the other day and he gave me a few bowls worth of his own personal stash. He said he had aged it for a good three years prior to opening the tin. I thanked him very much, and came back home eager to dive in.

Because I didn't have a lot of this weed to play with, I picked my favorite meerschaum pipe to get the cleanest flavors I could out of it.

Man, what a delightful smoke. The chocolate is there but very much at the back, and you get the sweet smokiness of the Latakia. An extremely well balanced blend that smokes smooth and cool, and covers your palate nicely with thick, luscious smoke.

I will make it a mission to find more of this, I enjoyed it very, very much. If this is an aromatic, then I'm a fan. This is how all aromatics should be.

Top notch.

Every time I smoke this tobacco I appreciate its elegance and its balance. I mostly smoke EM's, along with few ARO's, and this one ticks most of my boxes at once. I would hardly ever consider a chocolate-flavoured tobacco, if not made by GH. The flavouring is there only to make the tobacco even fuller, even rounder. It tastes like chocolate in the same way the best Assam teas do. I always use my tobacco grinder on the flake. The result is easy to smoke even when fresh from the newly opened tin. It burns without problems and never bites. I think it's perfect in late afternoons or after dinner.

A very nice tobacco. Mild to medium in its flavour and with no tongue bite of any sort whatever. Bowl lasted an hour.

I gave it 20 minutes of drying time and it worked reasonably well. An extra 10 minutes might have served well as well, but minimal re-lights all said.

There is a clear chocolate flavour to the blend, but it is neither understated, nor overpowering. It also has something of a nuttiness in the background. Perhaps something akin to walnuts or beech nuts?

In terms of the form of the tobacco, it wasn't what I am used to when I think of a flake. Namely it was rather loose and not in the usual form. Still, it is a minor point as what matters is how it smokes.

All said, I'd class this one as a success. A nice blend for when you want a bit of flavour, a slightly milder smoke and without the worry of tongue bite.

I would definitely buy it again though it would'nt be a regular go-to. There are better chocolate blends out there, like Lane 1 Q.

Easily loaded, burns great. Found it to be wayyy too mild for my tastes. The Latakia is minimal and so is the chocolate. What I got was mostly straight tobacco. Although high quality, it jist didn't suit me.

This is one of those tobaccos I suspect you either love or hate. I love it and like all G&H blends the quality is excellent. The name is perhaps misleading...and someone in one of these reviews made mention of Mexican mole sauce. And its an apt description. This isnt sweet chocolate...and its also hardly an overpowering note anyway....but a savory taste. Almost like Chipotle. And the latakia, also a minor note, adds even more to the smokey quality of the taste. Its moist, yes, but not unsmokable even right out of the tin. There are hints of vanilla and something that might be whisky. But its a high quality tobacco and one I crave pretty regularly. Not an all day smoke, but one you might reach for more than once a day.

I love Lakelands and this one is an old favourite. The pouch note is chocolate cake doused with grandmother's perfume, and the same notes are present in the smoke, along with some smoky Latakia and sweet yet stout Virginias. I admit that this all sounds quite disgusting on paper, but it works, eventually, and assuming that you approach it with an open mind.

This is one tobacco that is hard to define. On opening the tin I was hit with a scent that appears to be common with Lakeland blends, it has been described by some as floral and others as soapy, maybe with the addition of Toquin. it is very noticeable and a turn off for some, but not me..it's just unusual and intriguing. After going back some years for reviewers comments I came across a description that I think describes it perfectly..Earl Grey tea. And, I like Earl Grey tea. I cannot find the 8% Latakia taste that some notice, and the complexity of the tobacco choices also leaves me perplexed..what the heck am I tasting? I believe the Virginia component comes to the front along with a very mild sweet taste of maybe vanilla, and that Lakeland essence that others find annoying. I do not get the chocolate note that a majority of reviewers find. In any case this has to be sampled and half the people with hate it and the other half will love it. I find this a very agreeable distraction from the strong English/Balkin blends I favor. Rubbed out an dried for a short time gives a good burn with little bite.

In the tin, it smelled like an English/VA with a faint chocolate aroma. The taste was like a cross between an English and a Virginia. I could barely taste any chocolate at all. However, the room aroma is undeniably chocolate. If you like a real strong tobacco flavor but are forced to smoke aromatics around other this is the perfect compromise. Smokes especially well in a meerschaum.

i will not do a standard review because i think there are enough already, just a few extra notes. I enjoyed the soapy flavour because thanks to these reviews, and the previous bowl or two i have smoked of this flake, i was expecting it. I still call it soapy but mean that in a way that distinguishes it from other blends/brands, rather than a bad thing. I doubt everyone is going to enjoy this blend however, it is fairly mild all round, and if that soap smell puts you off i cant see you getting into it. Packing it light as suggested was a good idea, i also rubbed it out fairly militantly and left it strewn out on a paper towel for an hour or so before i packed it.

the middle of the bowl hinted at a presence of latakia, but if i was not aware it was in the mix i may not have even noticed.

I also cut off one slice of a petersons 3p's cube and rubbed that into the mix, i think this probably provided the nic hit i noticed when i finally left the beanbag an hour and a half later. Accompanied successfully by a few cups of lapsong souchong tea.