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I see on several online tobacco sites people stating that codger tobaccos are cheap. Not that I see. Most of the major companies that sell in bulk seem quite a bit cheaper. Captain Black Royal is $7.60 to $8.60 for 1.5oz pouch. Is that cheap? Am I missing something?
I don’t think you’re missing anything. Some of the older bulk blends (Sutliff Super Value and Admirals Choice brands) are very inexpensive, but I don’t see where the truly old brands are much less expensive than many tinned ones and definitely more expensive than many bulk blends.
Codger blends are cheap compared to premium blends. Some of the reason why prices vary have to do with the packaging. Bulk tobaccos are usually packaged in zip lock bags, cheapest packaging. Codger blends are usually pouches or tubs, middle of the road packaging. Premium blends are usually tins, most expensive packaging. There are other reasons for price differences, but packaging does account for some of it. Boy I must be really bored digging up and answering questions of yore! 😆 🤣 😂
In Europe, it depends on what you call a codger blend. I also think the quality of the tobaccos used in the blends has an great impact on price.
The "old man" tobaccos such as Three Nuns, Capstan, Orlik etc are some of the more expensive brands, and from what I can see in the tobacco itself, they tend to be of higher quality (few if any veins / sticks).
If you go to something like Mac Baren Dark Twist, you come across a vein or stick every once in a while. If you buy it in the 50g pouch, it is 20% less expensive per gram compared to the 100g tin.
The cheaper pouched aromatics (Alsbo, Borkum & Riff etc) usually have more than a few veins, so likely they are not using the higher grade tobaccos, and their toppings / sauces are not going to be the best either.
I don’t believe what you are describing, finding “veins or sticks” is an indicator of quality of tobacco leaf, but rather the quality of processing of the leaf. All tobacco leaf has what is called a “rib” or “mid rib” in the tobacco industry. That is the spine running the length of the leaf. A common part to leaves which are primarily divided into a left and a right part on many plants. The part that is used is called the “lamina”, the actual leaf, minus the rib.
All tobacco leaves regardless of quality have them. On the larger leaf varieties, Virginia, burley, those used in cigars, etc., they are removed by machine. Small leaf varieties, such as orientals, the leaf used in Perique and others have ribs, but being small, they are not removed during processing. In cigarette production, the rib is often processed to appear and burn similarly to the lamina and is blended back in to the tobacco.
Being removed by machine, it is inevitable that some rib may make its way into the processed tobacco. More care in processing results in less rib. I do understand why rib material in tobacco is sometimes associated with lower quality tobacco, since leaf that was damaged during picking, drying and storage is often more difficult to remove the rib from than nicer looking whole leaf, so more ends up in the processed tobacco. But again, it’s a result of processing quality. It’s a fine distinction, but I thought it was worth mentioning.
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