This brings up an interesting question about some of these “tinned” tobaccos. I recently ordered this exact tobacco, the Solani, and I will clip here some comments from a PM that went back and forth from my mentor @Kinnikinnick about this subject.
I post this here to help tp perk up the ears of all NETers out there, that sometimes things are not what they seem at first
Filtering my Solani Aged Burley over the next couple of days
I just received my tin from Cup O Joes but this labeling doesn’t sound like what I thought I read on the reviews ? I don’t remember anyone mentioning these licorice and chocolate toppings ? - Did I get the right stuff ?
The review at tobacco reviews states " A very natural blend with absolutely no additives or flavors - a true burley blend."
Hummm… guess I should have read a little further down the page where this appears:
At first: This flake ISN’T unflavoured NOR UNSUGARED! - K&K states on their website “Chocolate Flavouring”, and only mentions White Burley as ingridient.
It would be nice if the vendors of tobaccos had their facts straight and didn’t just copy and paste descriptions which are incorrect or out and out lies.
On the other hand, it’s a safe bet to say that tobaccos, minus the ones you might grow yourself, have some kind of man made product on the leaf (ie: pesticides). So, when/where do we draw the line with regards to the tobacco we use for making NET?
Me? I’ll admit… I do turn a blind eye to what might be on the leaf from vendors/manufacturers… tinned or whole leaf. In the end… I’m not a purist. However, it would be nice if the vendors/manufacturers would be up front about exactly what is on the leaf. But, WHO AM I KIDDING! We’re talking about folks who sell a known carcinogenic plant product to humans.
Oh well… Me = (as I inhale some very tasty vaporized Dunhill Royal Yacht!)
Here are some excerpts from a 2013 report (found in Section II - Pesticides in Tobacco, on doc Page 3):
Tobacco is produced by a large and powerful agricultural industry that makes significant use of pesticides to protect the growing crop and harvested tobacco during curing, manufacturing, and storage. As many as 16 separate applications of pesticides are recommended by tobacco companies just in the interval between greenhouse seed sowing and transplantation into the field … By the early 1990s, there were at least 37 pesticides approved by the EPA for use on tobacco crops in this country, although since that time many of these materials have had their registrations for use in tobacco cancelled … While EPA approvals address requirements for worker protective gear and health monitoring, application rates and frequencies, pre-harvest intervals, and other factors, the EPA has determined that pesticide residues in finished tobacco pose a negligible incremental risk to health when compared to the direct effects of nicotine and other combustion products in tobacco smoke. The EPA has chosen to not regulate pesticide residues in domestically grown tobacco, and it does not issue residue level guidelines for tobacco products at this time. … in 2011 when this law would seem to have been enforceable, the FDA issued a statement to the tobacco industry that included the following statement: “To determine whether there are pesticide residue tolerance levels applicable to domestic tobacco, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) consulted with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). According to USDA and EPA, under their laws there are currently no established tolerance limits for pesticide chemical residues that apply to domestically grown tobacco." … in this country pesticide monitoring has been largely left to the discretion of the industry, with few exceptions, described below. The U.S. tobacco industry is known to have vigorously lobbied against stricter pesticide controls and public disclosure of residue levels (McDaniel et al. 2005). The situation in the European Union is similar. … The EPA regulates which pesticides can be applied during production and subsequent manufacturing, but in general it has not regulated pesticide residue levels in the final products of domestic producers.
After ~7 weeks of room temperature maceration (only) of 1 Oz of C&D Red Virginia Ribbon in 200 mL of PG (split into two small mason jars), the aroma of the extract is distinctly “hay-like” (and not particularly inspiring) - as opposed to Kinnikinnick’s (and my own initial previously performed) ~8 Hours warming (at ~125 *F) followed by ~4 weeks, both of which have a distinctly pleasant and rather interesting “fruity” aroma. Will be (more objectively than so far) comparing taste-results in a small RDA allowing flavor comparisons. In this (C&D RVR) case, it seems that the ~125 *F initial warming phase is (probably) a desirable procedure - with or without any possible decompositions/reactions. Perhaps a somewhat lower warming temperature for a somewhat longer warming time might be in order (in an attempt to address above temperature concerns) ?
I’m of the opinion, the warming procedure aids in releasing certain quality characteristics of the leaf, which are otherwise left undiscovered using a room temperature maceration process. But, to each their own…
Hmmm. I’m pondering the juxtaposition of the following related comments posted by 50YearsofCigars:
“Reactions” that would evolve the heat that I had described - but not a statement of “no chemical reactions”.
The situation (surrounding advisable maximum heating-phase temperatures) being complex, and potentially different for various tobaccos, perhaps 110 *F (maximum sustained) is an advisable (conservative) limit ? It would be nice (if it may be possible, via either theoretical and/or empirical means) to arrive at a particular (deemed “safer”) temperature multiplied by time duration product to work with and apply (for each tobacco blend, etc). Perhaps leaf-bits “scald” (in their own sort of way) as temperature approaches 120 *F …
As mentioned, leaf-bits (in PG) seem to become a bit “crispy in texture” for the first few hours (at ~125 *F).
Hats off to GL Pease “Haddo’s Delight” ! It (with just a touch of White Burley along with Virginia base, fairly strong Perique, and a touch of Cavendish) has been the item to add to my “Triton” blend of NETs extracted from three individual pipe-tobacco blends. Thank you kindly for the reference ! Va / Per / Cav / Burley !
Surviving the Dark Ages of The Alkaloidal Inquisitions with The Nicotine Winter Follies (2020):
Fragrant things there now are in the earth, whether roots, or herbage, or woods, or essences which distil from fruit and flower grew and thrived in that land. With such blessings the earth freely furnished them. -Plato, Critias
My first NET was made using pipe tobacco from the giant jars in the local tobacco shop. The end result was crappy tobacco taste (more like paper) and flavor casing. I was not impressed but not giving up. I decided to go with top shelf pipe tobacco and that’s where it got a lot better. Here is the list, Peterson’s Irish Whiskey is still a favorite, the whiskey taste is mild and the tobacco is sweet and spicy.
GLPEASE Navigator is very smokey and sweet, almost too sweet.
C&D Autumn Evening is excellent if you like aromatics. Maple is the star of the show here.
Peterson’s Irish Flake is my favorite so far. Just about the strongest pipe tobacco I’ve ever used in a NET. VERY in your face tobacco flavor.
Solani Aged Burley Flake is still brewing- to be continued…
Ratray’s Sterling Flake is still brewing- to be continued…
Methods to the madness…most tins of tobacco are 1.5 to 2 oz.
I use 4 oz jars, break up the tobacco by hand, put in jar, fill with PG until it covers the tobacco, after a day make sure PG is still covering tobacco, add more PG if needed. Cold maceration time I use is 30 days and have good results. I have 2 that I’m macerating for 90 days just to see what happens, my guess is they will be more earthy/grassy. I haven’t done any heated maceration because i fear it will add more unwanted particles and chemicals. I purchased a lab filter on Amazon for around 50 bucks, comes with a hand vacuum pump and filter paper. Worth every penny to filter out as many particles as possible. Don’t use VG to extract tobacco, the flavor is non-existent!
I mix it 35% NET/ 65% VG. Shake n Vape worthy but gets better with steep. Adding nicotine isn’t precise though, depends on the nicotine content of the tobacco used. I make mine a 3mg/ml and i think it really turns out to be about 5mg/ml (Irish Flake is Strong in itself)
I use RDA/RTA’s because NETs Gunk up coils so quickly. Kylin M, Profile Unity.
I will filter the 90 day maceration next week and post the results here.
I do the same technique as you, but usually let them sit for 6 months. I have gotten great flavor from the regular store pipe tobacco that way. Agitate the tobacco every couple of days or so. Works for me.
I have to say… Solani Aged Burley Flake has been an ADV NET fav for me, quite some time now. It’s one of the few (150ml at a shot) extractions, which I have bled the extract jar dry and happy/excited to start another round.
The other honorable mention of the same ilk, would be Daughters & Ryan Picayune; another nice heart burley blend. It is fairly inexpensive, but still a very nice tobacco for extraction purposes.
It’s good stuff …don’t know where you’re reading reviews, but of course, one thing to think about… Most of the reviews about tobacco are from actual folks that light fire to the stuff , inhale the burning leaf, and then give their options about their experience. That’s great and all (not)… Now, there’s a big difference between inhaling burning tobacco leaves and vaping the extraction of a leaf. What’s that difference, one might ask? I’ll tell you.
One is, you’re not killing yourself slowly with every lung full of tar you intake into your body when you set fire to the leaf. I’ll elaborate on this if anyone can’t figure it out for themselves.
Next, we as NET vapers, can actually taste what the leaf actually tastes like, as it rolls across our tongue and wafts through our olfactory senses.
Point being… take tobacco reviews from tobacco smokers with a front end loaders worth salt. It tastes incredibly different as a vape… so, so, so much better than if you set fire to it. But, reading reviews from smokers is a good place to start.
I do agree, tobacco never tasted so good until I started vaping it instead of smoking it! The Solani Aged Burley Flake was a suggestion by someone on reddit, I haven’t tried it yet. I have enough NET to last a while, so now I am letting them sit longer as advised by my fellow NET makers. I don’t get many opportunities to browse for good tobacco suggestions, been too busy. I buy about 3 small cans at a time and I will be placing an order soon. So far Picayune is the only one on the list.
Although I’m typically a non-aromatic tobacco fan… this one doesn’t reek of the casing flavor applied to the tobacco; Brandy, being the casing, is minimal at best. It is the awesome flavor of the tobacco itself (hints of black walnut, dark chocolate, and dried fruits), up front and center, which is stellar.
I cellared quite a few GL Pease choices a while back… this is the first of the bunch; not disappointed!
Kinnikinnick
We’re talking about folks who sell a known carcinogenic plant product to humans.
(as I inhale some very tasty vaporized Dunhill Royal Yacht!)
… it’s what makes the vapor taste so good!
, inhale the burning leaf, and then give their options about their experience. That’s great and all (not)… Now, there’s a big difference between inhaling burning tobacco leaves and vaping the extraction of a leaf. What’s that difference, one might ask? 
It tastes incredibly different as a vape… so, so, so much better than if you set fire to it. But, reading reviews from smokers is a good place to start. 
