Oriental Pipe Tobaccos

Pipe tobaccos are classified as "Turkish" or "Oriental" if the flavor of the blend primarily comes from tobacco varietals cultivated in Cyprus, Syria, Turkey, or the Balkans region (Greece, Macedonia, & Thrace). Only when the primary composition of the varietals are those cultivated in the Balkans region, should the blend be classified as a "Balkan."  Turkish/Oriental varietals include:

•  Drama, Izmir, Komotini, Samsun, Serrus, & Xanthi - cultivated in Macedonia

•  Basma, Katerini, and Yenidji - cultivated mainly in Greece

•  Bursa and Cavella - cultivated mainly in Turkey

"Latakia" is the name given to the processed Shek-al-Bint and Smyrna Oriental varietals (cultivated in Syria and Cyprus, respectively).  As such, Latakia is an Oriental tobacco type.

You might find this blog post by Greg Pease and this blog post by Bob Tate at PipesMagazine.com to be interesting reads on the highly debated mystery of the Balkan blend classification.

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Below is a list of the Turkish/Oriental pipe tobaccos available at The Story Teller's Pipe©.  Since the percentage of each tobacco leaf used in a blend's composition is not made public, we classify all Oriental-forward tobaccos as "Oriental" and known Balkan varietals are indicated as such.

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