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Do you fold and stuff or rub out? Which is best? Ive tried both ways and have generally found that folding and stuffing produces a cooler smoke, allowing the more subtle flavours to come through. Rubbing out the flake often lends itself to a hotter smoke and the subtle flavours are lost in the burn. The only downside with the fold and stuff method is the amount of relights sometimes needed. Now, I don't mind relights but there is a limit before it can become a nuisance. Perhaps the most difficult to get going are the as Samuel Gawith tobaccos with moisture levels being ridiculously high. This is a common complaint about their tobaccos where many have criticised the manufacturer for increasing the weight by adding excessive moisture. It's a damned shame because the SG tobaccos are very good - just a rip off.
The benefits to flake lie in the fact that it tends to keep longer, being compressed together right up to the point of using it and having none of the rag end bits littering the tin towards the end. I was very aware of this as I approached the bottom of a 100g tin of Vanilla loose cut where I was left with little else than Cavendish, which burned hot and tasted crap.
I recently learned that flake tobacco is cut into thinner slices than a ready rubbed tobacco, giving rise to the hotter burn when rubbed out. Ready rubbed tobacco is not packed as tightly during production (to allow for separation of the ribbons when tumbled) and is cut thicker for a cooler burn.
In short, flake is manufactured for the purposes of smoking as a flake. If you like rubbed out ribbons then ready rubbed is the way to go.
At the moment I'm smoking a SG 1792 which I have folded and stuffed. I can immediately tell the difference to previous bowls where I have rubbed it out first. The tobacco is sweeter and more mellow and I can detect the vanilla-like, chocolatey, flavours of the Tonquin bean extract. I am, however, becoming a bit tired of relighting it and may have to refill my lighter soon.
The benefits to flake lie in the fact that it tends to keep longer, being compressed together right up to the point of using it and having none of the rag end bits littering the tin towards the end. I was very aware of this as I approached the bottom of a 100g tin of Vanilla loose cut where I was left with little else than Cavendish, which burned hot and tasted crap.
I recently learned that flake tobacco is cut into thinner slices than a ready rubbed tobacco, giving rise to the hotter burn when rubbed out. Ready rubbed tobacco is not packed as tightly during production (to allow for separation of the ribbons when tumbled) and is cut thicker for a cooler burn.
In short, flake is manufactured for the purposes of smoking as a flake. If you like rubbed out ribbons then ready rubbed is the way to go.
At the moment I'm smoking a SG 1792 which I have folded and stuffed. I can immediately tell the difference to previous bowls where I have rubbed it out first. The tobacco is sweeter and more mellow and I can detect the vanilla-like, chocolatey, flavours of the Tonquin bean extract. I am, however, becoming a bit tired of relighting it and may have to refill my lighter soon.
Perro, el Perro
don TJ and the 
Coros
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