VCPÖ Selection Nr. 3 English Mixture

Now here we do have a gem i never thought would return to the modern tobacco market. A Java based english blend.

Upon opening the pouch you will be greeted by the smell of old times. At first the Java comes along rough and rustic, the Latakia strongly is there and the Virginia tries to hide behind those two. Over time the pouch aroma mellows out nicely and it loses all its jumps and bumps. I think it is that rustic smell that led to the demise of Java based blends, for it certainly could not have been for the taste or burning properties.

Packing and lighting is easy, due to the high Java content it takes the flame on willingly. The burn itself is on the very fast side, but always smooth and cool. Very, very hassle free.

I just opend the pouch out of curiosity and really wanted to smoke just one bowl, but ended up smoking it empty straight away. Taste is smooth, mellow and round, yet at the same time rustic and not at all polished. At no point it tries to hide what it is.

At first the Latakia's earthiness and smokiness is clearly in the front, but around half the bowl the Java boldly takes the lead, underlined by some very fine sweetness. It tastes sort of mellow in the center and rough on the edges, i don't know how to describe it any better. Also there are some very nice floral notes to be found. Taste develops nicely over the course of a bowl and changes often times. It never, ever is boring and tastes down to the very end. If smoked from a clay pipe it suddenly and very strongly tastes like Sumatra cigars. So you kinda have the choice to settle for either pipe or cigar taste with this blend.

Room note is like sweet smelling campfire amber. Aftertaste is sweet on the tongue and earthy on the palette.

The only beef i have with this blend is that, just as with the Nr. 4, there were lots of crumbs in the pouch.

One thing this blend is not: a summer blend. During the heat months it has a tendency to nip a bit if smoked too hot and then to turn bitter. But if you manage to cool the smoke down again, then those negatives dissipate again quickly and its just as nice as usual.

So, do i recommend this blend? Yes! Yes i do. This blend deserves a four star rating and be it only for being a true example of a dying breed. I really wish this blend where available in other countries than Austria as well (if you want a pouch really bad, contact me, i am willing to support blends like these). It tastes nice, burns well, is suited for anyone that is after real tobacco taste and i wish more makers would create blends like those again.

A note on the side: this is one of those blends that teach us that Planta *is* able to produce nice blends and also produces blends that no one else does anymore. Please go on their webpage and download the pdf file listing all the blends they make. You will be surprised! The old rule applies: if the Planta logo is readily visible on the label then the blend is basically unsmokeable, if it is nowhere to be found then your holding a class-a tobacco in your hands!

I picked up just one package last fall in Vienna and had not opened it until a week or two ago. I can't put it down -- it's incredible! My favorite English ever, and up there with just one other of all the tobaccos I've smoked in the past 50 years. I'm going to try to get another pouch, and I may need help because I'll be ordering from Ohio and shipping here. Anyone give me a handle on best way to do it?

I was given this tobacco after asking for a good english blend (EB). So I decided to buy and try.

Pouch Note is - gasp - smoky, woody, a little sour and a little sweet. In Austria there's a kind of ham called Schwarzwälder Schinken and it smells pretty much like this. Hm, I don't eat meat but thank god this is not meat and I ain't gonna eat it too.

So in my pipe it went. The bigger junks were no big thing and can be smoked as is or be broken down. To me the cut is nice enough. The Java keeps his promise of burning like a champ, not too fast or too hot but quite reliably. The campfire taste is what you expect but there's a creaminess inside that really turns this into a sacred mess of the fallen heroes in Valhalla. Yes this stuff is an allegory of life for it is creamy and sweet but also harsh and rough within, they tell you. And it will not stay the same, it's rapidly changing and the end might be bitter.

Sorry but this one is pretty good. Anybody who wants to try different EBs and has the possiblity should not hesitate to buy it. I'm no big fan of EBs but this blew my socks of and even my girlfriend puffed a little and said she really liked it. I highly recommend it.

EDIT: Opened the pouch today and found the tobacco moldy. I heard it's been known to happen, although It never happened to me and it was a bummer because I like this blend. I will take measures to prevent this from happening to the next pouch. I thought people might wanna know about that