Adding a throat hit to burley

[Bex]

Hello, old friends!! I’m not sure where to put my tale of woe, so hopefully this is the right place.

My tobacco growing ended a few years ago, as the weather where I am is just not conducive to growing it…..sadly, because after a rough learning period, I had gotten the curing of virginia and burley down to a ‘science’. In the meantime, I was buying leaf, first from the UK (which had a great product) and then, after UK regulations went into effect, from Germany (where the product was touch and go). I can no longer get the product from Germany any more. Being in the EU, I can find NOWHERE that sells leaf and will ship to Ireland.

OK, sad story over….here is my problem. I’m left with a German mix that gives me no ‘throat hit’. And left with a load of my own tobacco that does the same. So I’m reading about what to ADD to my blend that will satisfy that. Casing?? Or I’m reading about herbs that will provide this (one site says blackberry root….and I’ve got a load of blackberries). I found Bob’s analysis here:
Flue-cured tobacco causes tongue bite (toward the tip of the tongue) because of its lower pH (greater acidity).
Burley causes "throat hit" because of a combination of its much higher nicotine and higher pH (lower acidity).

So, is there something that I can add to my blend to cause the higher PH?? Is this what will give a throat hit?? Amusingly, when I try searching for this, the only people who appear to be having this discussion is vapers (and the recommendation is adding more propylene glycol…. Say no to antifreeze!!)

Hoping someone has a recommendation!!

 

[deluxestogie]

Good to hear from you, @Bex.

You might download the "smokeless" book, linked in the Key Forum Threads. Many of the recipes discuss various ways to increase the pH (make the tobacco more alkaline). It's worth noting that bringing the pH up to 7 (neutral) may make a difference. Misting a small test batch with a weak solution of baking soda may alter the nicotine release.

Coriander and or dandelion tea are slightly bitter (alkaline). Beverage "bitters" are bitter (alkaline). You could also test steaming some of the German mix into a Cavendish, which tends to draw pH toward neutral.

You might also experiment with adding some dried, shredded coltsfoot leaf, or trying coltsfoot tea as a casing. (It's not particularly healthy to drink.)

Wildflower Colt's-foot Irish Wild Flora Wildflowers of Ireland

Irish Wildflowers and wildflower images lore and background from Ireland a personal collection of compiled by Zoe Devlin

www.wildflowersofireland.net

This is just my guessing.

Bob

 

[Bex]

I’ll take your guessing over most people’s ‘facts’…lol….Thank you for your suggestions. I was researching and researching on the internet but really could find nothing at all regarding tobacco…just vaping. It dawned on me that I knew of a place where professionals congregate, and perhaps I could find help there.

I must admit, I do miss the adventure of wanting to be self sufficient regarding my ‘habit’, and was rather proficient in my success with virginia (I have an absolute load of this, of my own crop). I don’t have quite as much burley, but smoking it is like sucking on a straw. Will download the smokeless book….and I do have baking soda in my cupboard. I’m glad that there are options!! Thank you (as always) for your guidance and responses.
Just think this all started for me when, once upon a time, I came across someone who was curing tobacco in a trash can….!!!!

 

[Bex]

Ugh….another indication of why it was so difficult for me to learn how to cure….I’m in the ’key forum threads’ but don’t see the smokeless book….????

Key threads in the FTT forum

Bookmark This Page for Future Reference This is a list of threads that have been nominated by forum members to be particularly useful. The list will be updated as suggestions are added. Tips on Using the FTT Forum How to post pictures Seven Moral Rules Found All Around the World Cannabis...

fairtradetobacco.com

Is it the instructions listed under snus???

 

[deluxestogie]

Sorry. It's up near the top. The title is Snuff, Snus and Chew: a recipe book.

Bob

 

[Bex]

OK, thanks!!! I see it.

 

[Old Gasman]

Being in the EU, I can find NOWHERE that sells leaf and will ship to Ireland.

I assume you've tried Tabacblatter in Germany?

 

[Bex]

That’s the same company as ITC. Last year I made a small €40 introductory order from them. You have to do it by bank draft or wire transfer, as they will not accept any other mode of payment. I first had to add them to my wire transfer list with my bank….and my bank refused this twice and as they said the company was questionable. They are in Germany, but the bank information is in the Netherlands. I finally got the bank to approve them as a payee, and sent off my €40. I began to get emails from them, that the order was waiting but they had not received any payment. This went on for MONTHS. I sent them copies of the wire, etc., etc. Finally, someone in that company actually contacted their bank in the Netherlands, and found that the €40 had been sitting in the bank for all this time. They issued me a refund. After all of this, considering that there was something ‘cosmic’ warning me about this company, I decided not to pursue them and re order.
The guy that I had originally been ordering from in the UK was getting the tobacco I think from Bulgaria. The stuff was excellent and I never had any problem with it. It was fairly expensive, but worth it. It came in vacuum packed bags and the weight was always correct. The stuff I then began to get from Germany was quite different. The company was Eurotabak. It was shoved loose into a cardboard box, and the quality was iffy at best. They were selling ‘fire cured burley’…I remember questioning that kind of burley curing on this forum, and no one had ever heard of it. I would have liked the situation with ITC to have worked out, but in a perfect world, I would really like to find the original supplier in Bulgaria…..

 

[Old Gasman]

That's a shame, I ordered from Tabacblatter last year and everything went swimmingly.

 

[Bex]

Did you have to do the wire transfer? If you think their product is good, I might try again….What did you order…for cigars or cigarettes, etc. And since you’re not in the EU, how did you get around customs???

 

[Bex]

That's a shame, I ordered from Tabacblatter last year and everything went swimmingly.

I’ll try again…..Did you have to do the wire transfer by bank? Since you’re not in the EU and the UK has cracked down on leaf, how did you get through cusTom’s??? And as importantly, what was their product like?????

 

[Old Gasman]

Sorry for the delay. If I remember correctly European banks use a system called BACS. I simply followed their instructions and made the payment online through my bank. As for the customs, well maybe I was just lucky. However there's hardly a week goes by without strikes or traffic chaos at the channel ports so I figured maybe they had bigger fish to fry. Just in case I only placed a modest order and was prepared to forgo it if it was seized. As for the quality, well this was my first venture into loose leaf tobacco but it looked good and smelt good and it makes a nice smoke. The product was well packaged and it was delivered by courier promptly.

 

[Bex]

Thanks for the reply. Maybe I’ll try a transaction with them again. Customs shouldn’t be an issue with Ireland as we’re all in the EU. It would be nice if ITC actually uses the Bulgarian (?) product that I was originally getting with the UK vendor, as there was never any issue with the quality of the leaf. Eurotabak was always iffy at best. I haven’t yet tried the baking soda idea to improve the Eurotabak stuff that I have. I’ve been using what’s left of my UK leaf that I’ve hoarded for a few years. Funnily enough, I find that with the Eurotabak product, my sinuses used to go crazy and I was congested. But with the UK stuff, I get none of that. Strange…..

Edit: just for reference, my original attempt to pay them was through a US bank. What a nightmare that turned out to be. I’ve just tried now, with my Irish bank. I made the payment to ITC International GmBH (instead of ITC Tobacco GmBH!!). I imagine that the word ‘tobacco’ would be, well, somewhat of a red flag, do you think?? LOL. Hopefully it goes through. ITC has only ONE kind of burley for sale….’burley gold’. I ordered a kilo of it (no need for the virginia, as I have loads of it). Fingers crossed.

 

[Old Gasman]

Good luck and be sure to let us know how you get on.

 

[Bex]

Just a fast update…..so far so good. Tabakblatter has received my payment and are processing my order. So it appears that removing ‘tobacco’ from the wire transfer didn’t cause any difficulty on their end. Good, as if I continue with them, I’m sure that the word ‘tobacco’ would cause a problem. Anyway, will give an update on the burley I receive. Fingers crossed that it’s what I’m looking for!
And thanks Old Gasman for giving me that push to try them again…..

 

[Old Gasman]

Don't count those chickens yet my friend but it's looking good for you.

 

[Bex]

LOL….I suppose a question that I do have is what kind of tobacco did you order from ITC? For cigarettes or other? And what did you think of it???

 

[Old Gasman]

As I said, it was my first foray into loose leaf tobacco and I bought 1kilo of Virginia and half a kilo of Oriental and Burley. I like to smoke roll ups although having said that I don't smoke a great deal, one 50g packet lasts me a month. I still have a few packets left from my last trip to the Canaries and once they're gone I'll start on my loose leaf. I also smoke a pipe on occasion and I've made Cavendish from all the varieties which in effect gives me 6 types of tobacco and I've enjoyed all of them so far.

 

[Bex]

In other words, you have not tried any of the ITC product yet?? It would appear from your first sentence that this would be the combination for ‘American style’ cigarettes. ??? Anyway, if/when you do try it, please advise what you think of it. I was initially a Marlboro smoker for years, before going into leaf, so I like (and am looking for) a ‘full flavored kind of smoke…….

 

[deluxestogie]

When you give up, and finally decide to build a sturdier hoop tent, add a few plants of Little Yellow (a dark air-cured variety), to adjust the hit.

Bob