Rob,
Good thing you stared a new thread, we were a little of topic on the Stanwell thread Agreed!
Bro, we have the same problem up here. I think one of the only worthy tobacconists in the country would be Wesleys in Jhb, Rosebank Mall. www.wesleys.co.za
Colin has just got the Dunnie agency back and he stocks a great variety of pipes.
That would be that, so it is not just a Capetonian thing.
It may be good to start this thread as it is way over due. Believe it or not, I had the opportunity to chat to the great master Greg Pease and he was encouraging me to put up a thread on Pipe lore in RSA.
Back to the subject at hand. All baccy shops here in Pretoria (and there are 4 in and around the University of Pretoria where I work) Suck!!!!!!
Owners are not up to speed with anything. They have no idea that baccy can be cellared for example and do not see the need for importing good tobacco as our OCT crap seems to sell real well, eg. FOX ,JOCK, ASSEGAI etc.
House blends are even worse!!!!! All local blenders here use a VA base tobacco which Muddler and I have figured out come from Van Erkoms in Potgietersrus, we think!. They are the largest producers of baccy here. All the stuff is top dressed with some kind of musky sent which is really off putting. This nasty sent is evident in all private blenders stuff right across the country. What is the worst is that some of these guys are importing good stuff like Perique, Latakia and American Burley which are of high quality. They then add this musky VA to each blend which is real bad.
We were under the impression that it was just in blends made in Gauteng province but under closer inspection, Sturks blends have the same varient which is just as bad.
Muddler was on about the rave reviews Sturks was getting for their Bulkan blend. I brought up 200g of the stuff.
It contains high quality, lat, basma, and other oriental variants but again the blend is spoilt by this horrid musky dressed VA.
Now the fact remains. Why are our local tobacco's so bad then when compared to other countries.
We are a couple of KM south of one of the worlds biggest VA producers - Zimbabwe.
International tobacco prices are fixed in Dollar. The A grade VA is for export only to the US and Europe.
The Z grade worm infested, bottom of the barrel stuff is reserved for us. (poor exchange rate $ vs ZAR)
Here I have no proof but I am under the impression that the quality of the tobacco is masked by heavily top dressing it.
The other reason for our poor baccy is that there is just not enough competition among blenders or large tobacco producers in RSA. There is thus no bench mark and ignorance is bliss.
The worst thing that could have happened to me was to sample some good imported tobacco sent to me by the BOB and that which Muddler and I have acquire via 4Noggins.com
I have since been dedicating myself to slapping together a cellar full of imported stuff. It has been almost a year since I have smoked anything local.
I am even willing to say that I will stop smoking pipes if as soon as I can no longer indulge in the imported good quality stuff.
Brothers send me the good stuff, Muddler and I continue to import from 4NOGGINS where Muddler is well connected.
We think the noose will tighten in future but for the time being we hoarding like mad men.
The only quality imported tobacco we get here, and it is scarce, is some of the Peterson's range and not all of it either!
We cant get 3P plug here for example.
We think the import hereof will stop in the near future due to the high prices. I now put a part of my salary aside to buy 2 tins of Peterson tobacco each month like clockwork. UNI FLAKE and IRISH OAK.
Ignorant South Africans are quite happy to smoke crap in crap pipes!!
EG. FOX in a Keyser........ as far as I am concerned, bad baccy, low grade pipe!
We have a Professor here who has a pipe collection of 50 crappy pipes. He has been smoking Jock OTC for 30 years. He stores his pouches in the fridge to keep tobacco fresh...........
He has never ventured out of this comfort zone.
He has no idea of a flake tobacco, what is perique etc, he saw a ziplock with FVF bulk in it on my table in the office and asked me if I had been hunting because the thought the flakes were Biltong (Jerky)
I offered him some and said he was not interested. When he found out what it cost he asked me if I was MAD!
I have nothing against this outlook on pipes and smoking in RSA or againt people like the dear Prof I have just mentioned. I choose not to be part of this clan as the pipe cuts a little deeper for me than this!
I got tired of hitting my head against a brick wall and being frustrated all the time. I now choose to hang out with my own kind here on BOB, where Muddler and I feel right at home.
I take this opportunity to thank all the brothers for their support and countless shipments of tobacco sent over here.
To my buddy Muddler, the Baccy GURU who has smoked almost everything out there for sharing info and assisting in my pipe education.
So Rob, you seem to be a man great aesthetic, hop along for the ride, we need more people here like you bro!!!!!
:cheers: :cheers: :cheers: