Quote Originally Posted by NeverBend View Post
You talkin' 'bout me?

I agree with you about tar processed Latakia They use a lot of propylene glycol to keep it moist and adhere the tar to the leaf and it makes it gummy and that taste comes through, at least to me and apparently to you too. The propylene glycol holds moisture so it increases the weight artificially.

Have you bought any latakia from the whole leaf dealers that you've purchased from? I'd be curious to know if it's tar free.

The latakia from Gawith Hoggarth is very nice but you need a lot more in a mixture than you do with the tar latakia. Much cleaner taste.
I've actually got both kinds - something from a B&M, and the remains of a pound of "whole leaf" lat (actually broken pieces thereof). The latter is much better overall. It's what I use in my homemade concoctions. The B&M stuff I'm just using it up, here and there adding it to an existing blend to spice it up a bit.