As I get more into Virginia flakes and their blends, I notice that they seem to burn more slowly than burley blends. Sir Walter and PA, for instance, smoke more "eagerly" and produce quite a bit more smoke, given the same puffing rate and same size pipe bowl, than the Virginias do. Of course the cuts are different. The Virginias I've been trying, the Luxury Twist Flake and the Superior Navy Flake, are, well, flakes, whereas the SWR and PA are ready-rubbed. Is it the cut that makes the different burn rate, or the kind of tobacco, or both? Or neither?
Burley vs. Virginia: Burn rate?
- Thread starter Benzadmiral
- Start date
My guess would be the density of flake is a much more controlled slow burn, even when rubbed.
A lot of air space around very thin sections of ribbon cut.
A lot of air space around very thin sections of ribbon cut.
Those are all burn factors, along with moisture levels, and whatever the blend may have been cased or topped with. Even surrounding ambients play a part in burn rate.
Most OTCs can be fast smokes if you let them. But they pay you back with easy loading and lighting (especially on the go) and a cheaper cost. That’s the trade off with them.
Most of what people refer to today as VAs are of the brighter varieties. And most of it comes from North Carolina. A more traditional red Virginia is a very different leaf.
How it is cut makes the biggest difference. Shag or ribbon cut will burn a lot faster than broken or rubbed out flake.
AimlessWanderer
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Pine burns faster than oak, in logs the same size, yet oak sticks burn faster than pine logs. Likewise, the form makes a huge difference in pipe tobacco, with shag being the fastest, and chunks of dense plug being the slowest.
In my experience virginia blends are some of the slowest burning blends there are. My main Burley experience is with semois, and that stuff seems like the bowl is gone before I get the match put out.
All things considered, I deliberately smoke virginias slower to get the most flavor out of them, which may explain a lot.
All things considered, I deliberately smoke virginias slower to get the most flavor out of them, which may explain a lot.
Virginias have a much higher sugar content in them than a Burley, which may retard the burn rate.
But of all the factors affecting burn rate, cut is probably the most influential in my experience. Big logs are going to go a little longer than a bundle of sticks, so to speak.
Plus virginias smoking fast, tend to have a lot of tonguebite. At least in my experience.
But I smoke slow, even the semois in a moderate bowl, I get 30-40 min of smoking time. And that is indeed one of the faster burning tabaccos,together with coopvaert (baai tabak, mixture of virginia, burley and javana).
But I smoke slow, even the semois in a moderate bowl, I get 30-40 min of smoking time. And that is indeed one of the faster burning tabaccos,together with coopvaert (baai tabak, mixture of virginia, burley and javana).
