(nods sadly). I am such a hopeless dick.
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Thanks Dub, I have something for the wish list; Paulo Becker
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That is spectacular.
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I can attest that Moo is indeed a dick.
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As if anyone REALLY needs a 2nd opinion.... :-) Thanks Scott. You're a dear.

My mother is gonna hit you over the head with a rolling pin.
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My latest haul from pipesandcigars.

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Penzance and on of my Mario Grandi pipes modeling for the camera.

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Very nice Tyler, I have stayed away from Esoterica as I did not like Penzance much at all but I think I should try some of their other blends.
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yep, they hve some other very good blends. Penzance is a super heavy latakia blend. they have a nice mild va/per that smells/tastes like figs and raisins, called Dorchester.
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Penzance and Margate are two of my favorites. :-)

I have heard really good things about Stonehaven. Never had it, but I believe it is a Va or VaPer.

Either way, they make some good quality tobac.
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I like heavy Latakia blend but in my opinion Penzance is carried by it's reputation. I participated in a blind review on ICC and almost everyone gave Penzance so-so to bad reviews. On the other hand I know a ton of people who love it, just never appealed to me.

I do want to try Dorchester and Stonehaven though.
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Brand: Esoterica Tobacciana
Blender: UNKNOWN
Tin Description: A marriage of air-cured leaf and Burley with selected dark Virginia. Hard pressed and aged to produce brown flakes with dark undertones. A traditional English flake favored by experienced pipe smokers.
Country of Origin: UNKNOWN

from www.tobaccoreviews.com
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Man this is cool. Am hoping to contribute soon with pics and experiences!!!
:-)
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really? i must've missed that blind review over there.
hard to not know what Penzance is once you've had it.
i don't like Latakia blends much, and that one is my favorite.

it will be interesting to see what everyone thinks of the 2 blends in the "blind taste challenge" here. :-)
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dorchester sounds tasty!
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Wow that tinned Penz looks nothing like what I get from the B&M from bulk. They open the 8oz bags to sell by the oz, and so far everything I have gotten from them has been damn near solid black in color!!
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I thought it looked very light in that foto, too. Wondered if it was the photo exposure or if Pez is starting to go blonde
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There was obviously post processing done in the photo, though it was more in line with a target of color accuracy than color manipulation.

One possible idea is that this Penzance looks lighter because of the dark tones surrounding it and the lighting setup. The black point is set to the black in the stem, so the blacks in the photo should be true.

I will look at my Penzance when I get home and the photo again on my calibrated monitor and tell you how far (if any) it is off.

-Tyler
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Looking at it on my monitor and comparing it to the real thing, it is slightly darker. It looks like in post processing I must have lightened it up a bit. I didn't have it at my desk for reference like I would have if I was shooting a product for a job or something.

Though, it is more of a dark brown than a black, at least the sample I have (which is from the tin, obviously).

-Tyler
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Here are a couple shots of flakes of penzance from my jar. Bought from the B&M in Oct '08.

Both of these are just the flakes laying on my desk with my desk lamp over the top of them. No editing of either other then to resize the pic.

1st one is with just regular indoor light flash on a 5mp sony cybershot camera. Still looks alot darker with alot less lighter streaking then the one MFM posted:
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Second one, one more shot, no flash. Pretty much looks just like it does to the eye laying there on my desk. MUCH darker!
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Very interesting! Perhaps that tin is fairly young? I know the B&M had the bulk bag that mine was from open for quite some time in a jar on the counter (months). And this sample I have had at my house for the last 4.
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