I seem to have a perennial problem with a bunch of latakia congregating en masse at the bottom of a tin or batch, out of proportion to the blend. This happens for me both if the blend is commercially prepared or home mixed. How do you guys deal with this, and what would you suggest to remedy the problem? Or is this just the nature of the wonderfully smoky beast?
keeping latakia in suspension
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PressuredLeaf
Well-Known Member
If you can, pressing the into a plug, then slicing into flakes works very well for me. If you press dry enough, and with enough pressure the Latakia pretty much dissolves into dust.
I’m not sure about a regular ribbon cut, maybe shag cut the other leaves to act as a sort of net?
ChinaVoodoo
Moderator
I have the same problem because I'm not patient enough to fully rehydrate my poorly stored latakia before I shred it. I imagine if I didn't create excessive crumbles to begin with, it would solve half the problem. The other half of the problem I go with the technique the wife uses on chip bags: turn it upside down and shake it. It feels wrong though because I'm no doubt creating more broken chips tobacco. I have also tried making a press cake. If it's done really good and solid, it works. But then, I've complicated things.
Are you guys pressing just the latakia into a plug/cake, or are you pressing the whole blend?
Would like to stay away from shag cuts for several reasons right now, but that is an idea, kinda like lanolin caught in wool..
And thanks for your responses.
Would like to stay away from shag cuts for several reasons right now, but that is an idea, kinda like lanolin caught in wool..
And thanks for your responses.
Latakia settling from a pipe blend is a perfect demonstration of the "Brazil nut effect." (A searchable term in Google) Shake the mixed nuts, and the Brazil nuts end up on top of the smaller nuts. It is the result of "flotation" when particle size, shape and density differ within a mixture. With pipe tobacco, shred floats above the crumbled chunks of Latakia.
The reason C&D's Pirate Kake is sold only as a press cake (looks like a chunk of dark fiberboard) is to prevent its 75% Latakia from settling. You break off a small chunk, then crumble it directly into a pipe. Latakia has settled from my tins of pipe tobacco since the early 1970s. I have not found a way to shred Latakia that resembles other components of a blend.
Bob
EDIT: correction--Pirate Kake is called a crumble cake.
The reason C&D's Pirate Kake is sold only as a press cake (looks like a chunk of dark fiberboard) is to prevent its 75% Latakia from settling. You break off a small chunk, then crumble it directly into a pipe. Latakia has settled from my tins of pipe tobacco since the early 1970s. I have not found a way to shred Latakia that resembles other components of a blend.
Bob
EDIT: correction--Pirate Kake is called a crumble cake.
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ChinaVoodoo
Moderator
I make the blend and press it together.
Making Press-Cake
Part 1. Press cake differs from flake in that it is shredded tobacco which has been pressed, where the latter is pressed plug which has been sliced. Why make press cake? Two reasons: it's easier to blend with, and it's easier to evenly apply pressure to. Here is my mold. I cut a piece of...
The above thread shows how I did it, starting with whole leaf, but the principles are the same. A little extra moisture and lots of force on shredded tobacco makes it stick together.
Other ways to make press cake include a calking gun and a tin can, or simply vacuum sealing it.
PressuredLeaf
Well-Known Member
I’ve only ever pressed blends, never straight Latakia. Another advantage of pressing is you get some good homogenization from the extreme pressure. So, even if things settle out a bit after rubbing the flake, the flavor profile tends to be pretty consistent.
My setup is pretty crude, but it works well. 3” ss304 square tube, a piece of square oak cut and sanded to fit, and a crappy hydraulic press.
Here is a blend at 40% lat by weight.
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