American Blend: What’s in the World’s Most Popular Tobacco Blend?
What is a Blend Tobacco?
The English word “blend” means something like mixture, compound, or in the world of tobacco, also cut. American Blend stands for a classic American tobacco blend. In fact, this creation was first developed in the early 20th century by the R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company in North Carolina (now the second-largest tobacco manufacturer in the USA).
The first American Blend cigarette brands were, by the way, Camel (also from the R. J. R. Tobacco Company) and Lucky Strike. Today, the term is primarily known among pipe smokers and roll-your-own enthusiasts, while the iconic mixture has even reached the form of American Blend Liquid for vapers.
What Does an American Blend Taste Like?
The popularity of the tobacco blend is undoubtedly due to a taste that harmonizes with various preferences. This results from the typically three-part composition. Lighter tobaccos play a significant role, so certain pipe tobaccos, for example, are ideal for beginners.
American Blend tobacco products generally taste mild to slightly sweet. The mixture is complemented by a spicy note – though only in small amounts and without being dominant. Aside from this, there are often variations where American Blend is enhanced with flavors like cocoa or nutty notes.
What is an American Blend Made of?
The basic makeup of American Blend tobacco is comparable to the traditional formula of a perfume: a dominant base note interacts with an impressive heart note and the top note as the fleeting yet special element. In this order, the following blends are typical for American Blend:
- 60% Virginia tobacco
- 30% Burley tobacco
- 10% Orient tobacco
Is There a Specific Blend for American Blend?
While the tobaccos listed above and their respective proportions represent the original American Blend tobacco from the early 20th century, there are now many different variations. Therefore, when purchasing an American Blend tobacco, you will not necessarily find the one original blend. Instead, it is worthwhile to try various products from different manufacturers.
The flavor of an American Blend may also turn out much spicier and more intense, as, for example, more Orient tobacco might have been used. Some products feature Burley tobacco as the largest component in the mixture, preserving the basic mildness but omitting the subtle sweetness of the Virginia tobaccos.
Virginia Tobacco
Virginia tobacco is initially a generic term for all large-leaf, light yellow and sweet, i.e., very sugary tobaccos. However, this tobacco does not come from Virginia in the United States, as the name suggests. Virginia tobacco is simply named after the U.S. state of Virginia, where it was first cultivated.
Today, several hundred varieties are grown worldwide, with new ones being added every year. Virginia tobacco (like Burley) grows on medium-heavy, fertile soils, such as those typically found in Germany. Virginia varieties are now also the majority of tobacco production in Germany.
The most important varieties of Virginia tobacco are:
- Virginia Helena, characterized by a light color and low nicotine content. This tobacco is primarily used in American Blend mixtures.
- Virginia Gold is the slightly spicier variety of Virginia tobacco and has the same smoking characteristics as Virginia Helena.
- Virginia Golta offers high leaf quality and good resistance properties.
Processing
Virginia tobacco is not fermented in the industry but undergoes an alternating process of moistening, drying, heating, and cooling. This is called "Aging" (maturing) and "Redrying" (which is close to roasting).
Due to its orange-yellow color, which it gains from hot-air drying, it belongs to the lighter tobacco types. Additionally, it is usually sauced and flavored (also called "flavoured"), meaning it is soaked in a solution containing sugar and flavoring, then dried again.
Taste
The tobacco is given a special taste and aroma through the aromatic substances. Nowadays, natural aromas such as rose petals, clove wood, honey, or molasses are added, as well as chemically and artificially created flavors.
Pure Virginia Tobacco at Cigarworld
Especially pipe smokers can experience the effect of Virginia tobacco without mixing with other varieties and thus discover its unique taste. Pure Virginia tobacco is excellent as a pipe tobacco for beginners. Cigarworld offers a range of products for this. For example, try the slightly darker Black Virginia Pipe Tobacco from Rattray’s British Line or the Meistermischung Pipe Tobacco No. 88 with fully ripened Virginia flakes for your individual composition.
Burley Tobacco
Burley tobacco is essentially the central flavor carrier in most American Blend mixtures. Burley tobaccos range in color from light brown to dark brown, due to a lack of chlorophyll. It is a large-leaf and air-cured tobacco.
When it comes to Burley tobacco, there are two types to distinguish:
- White Burley tobacco: lighter and sweeter
- Kentucky tobacco: heavier and stronger
Processing and Taste
The air-curing process largely removes the sugar from the tobacco. This gives it its characteristic brown color and a cigar-like taste. Burley tobacco requires heavier soils and more intensive fertilization than Virginia tobacco. The best Burley is grown in the USA, Central America, Malawi, and Uganda.
Burley tobacco is one of the most commonly used tobaccos for cigarettes and pipe tobacco. While it is cultivated worldwide, the typical growing areas are in the USA, especially Kentucky and Tennessee.
Pure Burley Tobacco at Cigarworld
In its pure form, Burley tobacco is suitable for both smoking alone and for creating individual blends. Cigarworld offers a variety of products for this. Ideal for you are, for example, affordable 50g cans of pipe tobacco like Pure Burley by Robert McConnell or No. 1 Burley Blend by House of Smoke.
Oriental Tobacco
Oriental tobaccos form the final touch in the American blend, contributing significantly to the full flavors of the blend with their spicy tobaccos (dark tobaccos like Geudertheimer, Kentucky). Oriental tobaccos are generally used to refine and round off various tobacco products.
Processing and Importance
This tobacco thrives especially well in hot regions like Turkey, Greece, and the Middle East. Interestingly, Oriental tobacco plants grow relatively low, not exceeding 40 cm, while Virginia tobacco, for example, grows on plants up to 2 meters high. Furthermore, since the harvest is often hand-picked, the production quantities are relatively small compared to other tobaccos.
Most of the Oriental additions in today's tobacco blends actually come from China, which is now the world’s largest tobacco-growing country.
Oriental varieties are among the most versatile tobaccos and also form the basis for many different pleasant aromatic, mild, and sweet pipe tobaccos with an Oriental flair. The important significance of Oriental tobacco lies, among other things, in harmonizing the full smoking flavor, and due to their high content of sugars and aromatic oils, they also slow down the burn rate.
Taste
Since Oriental tobaccos tend to ripen darker due to their growing regions, they tend to offer stronger, more intense, and spicier flavor notes. Additionally, there is a noticeable sweetness due to the sugars contained. The nicotine content, however, is comparatively low.
Oriental Tobacco at Cigarworld
Since Oriental tobaccos are produced in relatively small quantities, there are few final products that are free of tobacco blends. Furthermore, pure Oriental tobacco would produce quite an intense flavor without a balancing mildness.
Nevertheless, you can find some oriental blends at Cigarworld. Experience the spicy nuances specifically with the Oriental Square Pipe Tobacco by Robert McConnell or with the Pipe Tobacco No. 16 Oriental Mixture by House of Smoke.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is American Blend Liquid?
Liquids are generally the fluid that is vaporized in e-cigarettes. There are many different flavors. American Blend Liquid is meant to imitate the taste of classic American Blend tobacco mixtures.
Can the individual tobaccos (Virginia, Burley & Orient) also be smoked alone?
Each individual tobacco can generally be smoked on its own. It should be noted that the respective flavors and tastes may be experienced differently than in a blend. For example, Virginia tobacco burns very hot, which can sometimes result in a noticeable sharpness when smoked pure.
