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Russ's Chocolate Covered Espresso Bean
pwkarch
Master
in Tobacco Talk
Early afternoon yesterday I received 3 ounces of this blend in the email along with some "replacement" blends to keep the active jars near full. I had been waiting for the CCEB to come back into stock at Pipes and Cigars and when I saw it Tuesday night I jumped on 3 ounces. The envisioned aroma and taste of those ingredients really fascinated me and made me think wonderful things.
In fairness to the blend, this tobacco had been just hours before in the little bag in which it arrived, and maybe 2 hours after moving it to a Mason jar. This in and of itself could very possibly have a negative effect on my analysis, but being the adventurer that I am, I forged ahead knowing that my smoke could be hampered slightly. I will note that while working yesterday I had filled my pipe about 2 or 3 hours before hand.
My pipe selection was a MM Mark Twain cob which I love especially because of their performance every single bowl. The tobacco out of the jar was somewhat damp and spongy, so I assume the drying time worked out to some degree. The aroma of the tobacco (and the taste of my "tamping" finger) was unquestionably light chocolate with an underlying coffee aroma. My wife, who does not like my pipe or cigar aromas actually identified the flavors and actually said it smelled good.
Upon first light it snapped and popped due to the dampness of the tobacco even after some drying time as noted above. Once the burn got below the ash line that stopped. The first half of the bowl was very smoky, and it had a very pleasant sweet taste and aroma but I can not say it was distinctly chocolate or espresso, nor can I say it was a combination of the two (or can I as I have never tasted this combination before). The taste and the aroma of the first half or so was very enjoyable.
The second half of the bowl or so was where it really kicked in to fourth gear for me. There was a distinctive and somewhat light taste of unmistakable dark chocolate which was what I was waiting for. There suddenly was a background taste of coffee that came about at the same time. Many tobaccos mystify me as to how they can turn in flavor from one second to the next, but in this case I am glad it did. The second half of the bowl was very nice and was certainly worth the time spent. A decent weather evening on the screen porch and a new found friend, what was not to like.
The bowl burned down to about 3/4 of the way with a decent size glob of dottle starring me in the face. The pipe remained cool to the touch as it should with a slow smoking cadence, and the ash just fell out with gravity when upended.
In conclusion I found this blend to be very enjoyable. I have to think that the experience would have been much better had I dried the tobacco longer or waited perhaps several weeks or so for the maiden voyage. I know I will try this selection again in the weeks ahead to test my theory. This is not an 'in your face" aromatic like so many others, it is a subtle almost hint of its' advertised components. It keeps you puffing to find the "sweet spots".
I would buy some more of this blend in the future. I read a lot of good stuff about these Russ's blends and after this experience, and what I look forward to when this tobacco rests and dries out a little, I am going to try some other of Russ's blends. I did not expect CCEB to become my new "go to" but I like it as a strong diversion type tobacco like so many of my jarred tobaccos. I would suggest that anyone who has a like for either / or both Chocolate and Coffee give this one a taste drive.
In fairness to the blend, this tobacco had been just hours before in the little bag in which it arrived, and maybe 2 hours after moving it to a Mason jar. This in and of itself could very possibly have a negative effect on my analysis, but being the adventurer that I am, I forged ahead knowing that my smoke could be hampered slightly. I will note that while working yesterday I had filled my pipe about 2 or 3 hours before hand.
My pipe selection was a MM Mark Twain cob which I love especially because of their performance every single bowl. The tobacco out of the jar was somewhat damp and spongy, so I assume the drying time worked out to some degree. The aroma of the tobacco (and the taste of my "tamping" finger) was unquestionably light chocolate with an underlying coffee aroma. My wife, who does not like my pipe or cigar aromas actually identified the flavors and actually said it smelled good.
Upon first light it snapped and popped due to the dampness of the tobacco even after some drying time as noted above. Once the burn got below the ash line that stopped. The first half of the bowl was very smoky, and it had a very pleasant sweet taste and aroma but I can not say it was distinctly chocolate or espresso, nor can I say it was a combination of the two (or can I as I have never tasted this combination before). The taste and the aroma of the first half or so was very enjoyable.
The second half of the bowl or so was where it really kicked in to fourth gear for me. There was a distinctive and somewhat light taste of unmistakable dark chocolate which was what I was waiting for. There suddenly was a background taste of coffee that came about at the same time. Many tobaccos mystify me as to how they can turn in flavor from one second to the next, but in this case I am glad it did. The second half of the bowl was very nice and was certainly worth the time spent. A decent weather evening on the screen porch and a new found friend, what was not to like.
The bowl burned down to about 3/4 of the way with a decent size glob of dottle starring me in the face. The pipe remained cool to the touch as it should with a slow smoking cadence, and the ash just fell out with gravity when upended.
In conclusion I found this blend to be very enjoyable. I have to think that the experience would have been much better had I dried the tobacco longer or waited perhaps several weeks or so for the maiden voyage. I know I will try this selection again in the weeks ahead to test my theory. This is not an 'in your face" aromatic like so many others, it is a subtle almost hint of its' advertised components. It keeps you puffing to find the "sweet spots".
I would buy some more of this blend in the future. I read a lot of good stuff about these Russ's blends and after this experience, and what I look forward to when this tobacco rests and dries out a little, I am going to try some other of Russ's blends. I did not expect CCEB to become my new "go to" but I like it as a strong diversion type tobacco like so many of my jarred tobaccos. I would suggest that anyone who has a like for either / or both Chocolate and Coffee give this one a taste drive.
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