From Milton M. Sherman's "All About Tobacco":
"The major groups of aromatic Turkish tobaccos, as stated by Frederick A. Wolf, of Duke University, are:
1. Xanthi
2. Kavalla
3. Smyrna or Izmir
4. Samsun
Each group derives its name from the city or production center from which it comes, and within each group, there are numerous varieties. The exact identities of each type of Turkish tobacco are further complicated by the fact that similar tobaccos can be obtained from geographically different regions; and yet in a single region, more than one type of tobacco may be grown.
It should be pointed out that because of the shifting population in the Macedonian areas due to wars and changes among the ruling factions, the peoples of Greece and Turkey immigrated to new areas and set up communities named after those they left. Therefore, there is much similarity in the names of cities and towns in both Greece and Turkey -- names that also refer to the tobaccos they produce."
BH sez...I've always heard that whether a tobacco is Smyrna or Izmir depends on where the same species is grown...Greece or Turkey. And depending on which hillside it was grown two piles of Izmir might look and taste different from each other. So supplier A's stuff could be different than supplier B's.
You might call C&D or Peretti's, etc. and ask about sources. Just a thought.
