Manufacturer Description:
A rich chocolate sauce has been added to this blend of air-cured Virginias with a hint of Latakia. "The Kendal Mayor´s Collection"
Characterisation:
After opening the tin the Chocolate Flake appears in two rows of slices in SGs typical dimension of 7.5 to 2.5 cm. The slices are dark brown with a few brighter speckles. The consistence is something unstable, so that the slices crumbles rather quick. The tobacco feels smooth and a little bit too dampish. The smell is clearly Latakia and chocolate flavour - even before light up an interesting combination!
Plugging:
In case of an fresh opened tin, one should take out the required portion of tobacco and leave it for 1-2 hours on the air to decrease the moisture a little bit. Then the Flake can be easily stuffed with the smoker's preferred method. The Chocolate Flake should be stuffed loosely. Due to the soft, slightly unstable consistency one can quickly tend to stuff the tobacco too tightly.
Light up:
The Chocolate Flake, depending on the freshness, needs several attempts before a satisfactory glow. It is advisable to ignite the tobacco with 1-2 flames, and then wait until the glow is gone out again. Then you should plan the surface with the tamper and re-ignit with 1-2 flames. Depending on the need it may be neccessary to re-ignit after a couple of minutes to obtain a uniform glow.
Smoking properties:
The Chocolate Flake is rather good-natured. It glows down slowly and cool, even if it's smoked with a little less attention. Latakia and chocolate are also recognizable in the taste, while the aroma is almost constant until the end. The chocolate flavor is rather similar to cocoa and not sweet! In the last third the slightly tangy Virginia is also something more noticeable and gives the tobacco another interesting note. Despite the relatively high humidity of the tobacco it develops remarkably little condensate, which is probably due to the slow burn. The strength of the tobacco is more to classify medium, whereby it's at any time of the day very well tolerated. After burning down a fine, medium gray ash remains.
Redolency:
The redolence of the Cocolate Flake is pleasant, despite the Latakia, which is due to the chocolate flavour. The smell of dark chocolate is recognizeable, without being intrusive aromatic. So the Chocolate Flake should be largely socially acceptable.
Conclusion:
The Chocolate Flake is a dark brown, dampish flake with relatively few bright speckles. The discs are a bit unstable, but very soft, so that the tobacco can be stuffed easily. Due to the high humidity light up of the fresh tobacco is a little more difficult, but then it glows slowly and cool. Taste and redolence are clearly influenced by Latakia and chocolate aroma, the smell of the flavour is rather pleasant. At the end of the filling is also the Virginia noticeable and gives the taste a little tangy character. The handling is easy, so the Chocolate Flake is recommended for experienced connoisseurs as well as for curious beginners. If one like the taste and smell one is certainly superior to make the Chocolate Flake to an all-days-tobacco.
Copyright © 2012 by TECON GmbH
with friendly support of Heinz-Günter Döteberg
