reviewing Tobias' VA/MD Flake

[GWBowman]

When I received an opportunity to smoke some @Tobias Lutz homemade flake, I figured I was in for a treat and was not disappointed. He used Fire Cured Lemon Virginia and Maryland 609.



It's a beautiful medium brown and yellow.



I'm sure the pictures don't do it justice. After rubbing some, I have smoked three bowls over the last four nights in three different pipes.



I smoked two of the bowls with water and one with a vodka/cherry/diet coke. It's a light but tasty smoke. The sour is immediate with a light lemon taste on the middle to back of the tongue that lingers on the tongue and roof of the mouth. Feels slightly oily on the roof of the mouth in a good way and I enjoy the taste well after blowing out all the smoke. There is an added spicy taste toward the back of my mouth and very prominent on the retro-hale. Peppery without an outright pepper taste. Certainly not black pepper, closer to white. This never bit me, and my technique is bad and lends itself to biting easily. One time I over heated it and the temperature of the smoke was uncomfortable but still can't say I receive any bite.
This is a delicious tobacco that could easily be an all day, everyday smoke.
Thank you very much for this opportunity and if this ever goes to market, I want a heads up.

[gordo1473]

That looks amazing. Tobias is a great botl

[Tobias Lutz]

I'm glad you like it, George. I've been pretty busy lately, but I found time to swing by the package store and get half a dozen airplane bottles to use for topping when I can squeeze in my next batch of flake making.

[Bruck]

Looks good! @Tobias Lutz - what do you use for a press? Unabridged OED?

[Tobias Lutz]

Looks good! @Tobias Lutz - what do you use for a press? Unabridged OED?

When the dictionary isn't available I use several volumes of the Talmud

I'm still using the crocks and oak press plates that are compressed by 4" c-clamps. Ghetto-fab...but it seems to work

[Bruck]

I'm going to need a new press soon - a while back I was showing my son, who doesn't know his own strength, how I make flake and had him do the actual pressing. He pressed it so hard it bent the ramrod (I didn't that that was possible). I've had to do some Canadian engineering on it to get it to work at all after that. Unforch, Harbor Freight won't sell the ram rod assembly separately.

[penna stogey]

Kuddos for T-man..Well done.