Preparing Flake Tobacco

[Winslow]

I got this in an e-mail today;

There are many ways to prepare flake style pipe tobacco (pressed and sliced) for smoking ... here are a few. First you'll need a good flake pipe. A good flake pipe has a narrow, deep bowl. Preferably 5/8" - 3/4" diameter x 1"+ deep. The most basis way prepare the slices is to put them in the palm of one hand and cover with the palm of your other hand and rub your hands together until the flakes break apart. This is called "rubbing out". Generally, the more you rub out a flake the more mellow it will be and less you rub out the flake the more intense the flavors will be....This is the whole flake method. First note in which direction the "grain" of the tobacco is going in the flake. Cut a piece or pieces of flake *against* (at 90 degrees) the grain and equal to the depth of your flake pipe. Take the entire flake of tobacco and roll it up into a fairly tight tube or roll. If done correctly the ends you have cut will be the *long* ends of the tube. The diameter of the roll of flake tobacco should be slightly less the diameter of the tobacco chamber of the pipe you will be smoking. If not, roll another piece of flake over the first. Place the roll into your pipe and press it down with a tamper with just enough force to flatten the top. Light as you normally would and enjoy!

Winslow :sunny:

 

[Dock]

I used to rub out my flakes by about 50% or so before loading up a pipe. For some reason one day I simply folded them into the bowl as was suggested in the e-mail you got today . I was blown away by the difference! The flavor was so much fuller and the buring rate was obviously much slower which is a BIG plus for a fast pufffer like myself. I can't imagine ever going back!

 

[pipetongue1]

Stuff & Puff guys!! :tongue: Ken

 

[Eulenburg]

Stuff & Puff

Yeah! That's what I generally do with the V&P flakes I love. But I sometimes cube the flake if I want to tame it a bit, as with Peterson's Irish Flake.

 

[shootist51]

I used to rub out my flakes by about 50% or so before loading up a pipe. For some reason one day I simply folded them into the bowl as was suggested in the e-mail you got today . I was blown away by the difference! The flavor was so much fuller and the buring rate was obviously much slower which is a BIG plus for a fast pufffer like myself. I can't imagine ever going back!

That's the real attraction to flakes for me. It's like having 3 or 4 different tobaccos in one pouch, depending on how you prep it :lol!:

 

[kilted1]

I find that my preparation of Flake tobaccos varies widely depending on the blend, and the condition OF the blend. Some flakes almost defy the fold and stuff method for me, SG FVF bulk being the best example I can think of. I buy my SG blends in bulk, which generally means 4-6 inch long fairly thick flakes, which for me invariably require some rubbing. Other flakes, most especially those offered by GLP are usually broken flake, which lends itself very easily to fold and stuff methodology. Thin very pliant flakes such as Solani and Wessex offerings and several by McClelland also lend themselves readily to the fold and stuff method. When flakes have been opened awhile, and lost moisture content, I'll often fully rub them out which for me seems to facilitate re-hydration when smoked.

Condor is a story almost all its own for me. When freshly opened it seems almost too moist to the touch, and being a very thin and pliant flake, stuffing it often for me ends up with it gaining too much moisture while smoking. I therefor roll each of several flakes up into loose balls and insert them on top of each other in the bowl, assembling a two or three layer loose plug of sorts, gently tamped as it burns seems to yield the best results.

ipe:

 

[jlong]

This is good advice. I tried this with some SG Chocolate Flake and it seems to smoke better. With SG Chocolate Flake, I discovered by accident that letting a freshly plugged bowl sit over night before lighting, drys out the flakes better than drying them before plugging. I get an even smoother tastier smoke. Less biteyness and bitterness.