Latakia (tobacco)
Encyclopedia
Latakia tobacco is a specially prepared tobacco
originally produced in Syria
and named after the port city of Latakia
. Now the tobacco is mainly produced in Cyprus
. It is initially sun-cured
like other Turkish tobacco
s and then further cured over a pine or oak wood fire, which gives it an intense smokey-peppery taste and smell. Too strong for most people's tastes to smoke straight, it is used as a "condiment" or "blender" (a basic tobacco mixed with other tobaccos to create a blend), especially in English, Balkan, and some American Classic blends.
Latakia is the result of a process whereby the leaves are cured over controlled fires of aromatic woods and fragrant herbs. Latakia is mainly grown in Cyprus and northern Syria. After the leaves are harvested and dried, they are hung in tightly closed barns and smoke-cured. Small smoldering fires of oak and pine fill the barn with smoke, and covering the leaves with smoke particles.
Latakia was “discovered” when a bumper crop resulted in surplus, and the excess tobacco was stored in the rafters. The peasant farmers traditionally used wood for cooking and heating in the winter. The smoke-cured tobacco's unique flavoring and taste was discovered the following spring. Latakia produces a very rich, heavy taste, with an aroma that has a “smoky” characteristic. Latakia is an ingredient of traditional English mixtures. The content can vary from a few percent to about 40-50%, or even more. A few smokers like it at 100%.
A modern perfume called Fumerie Turque (Turkish Smoke) was created by French company Serge Lutens, reproducing a fragrance in emulation of Latakia tobacco.
Despite this apparent setback, other manufacturers such as McClelland, MacBaren and Solani have been able to continue to produce pipe tobacco blends containing Syrian Latakia.
Tobacco
Tobacco is an agricultural product processed from the leaves of plants in the genus Nicotiana. It can be consumed, used as a pesticide and, in the form of nicotine tartrate, used in some medicines...
originally produced in Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
and named after the port city of Latakia
Latakia
Latakia, or Latakiyah , is the principal port city of Syria, as well as the capital of the Latakia Governorate. In addition to serving as a port, the city is a manufacturing center for surrounding agricultural towns and villages...
. Now the tobacco is mainly produced in Cyprus
Cyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
. It is initially sun-cured
Curing of tobacco
After tobacco has been harvested, it is necessary to cure it before consumption.- History :Uncured tobacco was often eaten, used in enemas, or drunk as extracted juice. Tobacco contains naturally occurring nicotine which is highly lethal. One drop of pure nicotine can be fatal if consumed.Curing...
like other Turkish tobacco
Turkish tobacco
Turkish tobacco or Oriental tobacco is a highly aromatic, small-leafed variety of tobacco which is sun-cured. Historically, it was cultivated primarily in Thrace and Macedonia, now divided among Greece, Bulgaria, the Republic of Macedonia, and Turkey, but it is now also grown on the Black Sea...
s and then further cured over a pine or oak wood fire, which gives it an intense smokey-peppery taste and smell. Too strong for most people's tastes to smoke straight, it is used as a "condiment" or "blender" (a basic tobacco mixed with other tobaccos to create a blend), especially in English, Balkan, and some American Classic blends.
Latakia is the result of a process whereby the leaves are cured over controlled fires of aromatic woods and fragrant herbs. Latakia is mainly grown in Cyprus and northern Syria. After the leaves are harvested and dried, they are hung in tightly closed barns and smoke-cured. Small smoldering fires of oak and pine fill the barn with smoke, and covering the leaves with smoke particles.
Latakia was “discovered” when a bumper crop resulted in surplus, and the excess tobacco was stored in the rafters. The peasant farmers traditionally used wood for cooking and heating in the winter. The smoke-cured tobacco's unique flavoring and taste was discovered the following spring. Latakia produces a very rich, heavy taste, with an aroma that has a “smoky” characteristic. Latakia is an ingredient of traditional English mixtures. The content can vary from a few percent to about 40-50%, or even more. A few smokers like it at 100%.
A modern perfume called Fumerie Turque (Turkish Smoke) was created by French company Serge Lutens, reproducing a fragrance in emulation of Latakia tobacco.
Availability of Syrian Latakia
Though Latakia tobacco from Cyprus seems to be plentiful in the present tobacco market, the prevalence of Syrian Latakia in boutique tobacco blends seems to have diminished of late. Several popular pipe tobacco blends produced by Cornell and Diehl, manufacturers of the G. L. Pease tobacco blends, ceased the inclusion of Syrian Latakia following a warehouse fire in late 2004 which destroyed most of their stock of Syrian Latakia:
In the morning, our leaf processor's warehouse containing nearly all of the available Syrian Latakia that was brought into the country burned to the ground. A few pounds remain here and there, but of literally tons of this sublime leaf, all that is left is ashes and dust. As bad as this is for us, it's far worse for the importer, who still owned the majority of the leaf lost.
The business impact is obvious. All of the Syrian Latakia containing blends, from both G.L. Pease and Cornell & Diehl, can not be produced. Whatever is currently on the shelves is all that there is, or will be in the foreseeable future. Trade relations with Syria are somewhat sensitive at present, and while we're working through every possible channel to replace what was lost, we have no way of predicting when we'll be able to get another shipment.
Despite this apparent setback, other manufacturers such as McClelland, MacBaren and Solani have been able to continue to produce pipe tobacco blends containing Syrian Latakia.