November 8, 2014

Hospitable Heukelum 2014

October 12th it was time for the annual “mother” of all the Dutch/Belgian Pipe Smokers forum meetings. The one in a town in the Dutch province of Gelderland called Heukelum, inside brewery “‘t Kuipertje” and organized by Martin: the Heukelum meeting! For weeks the forum was buzzing with anticipation and whole check-lists of what to take with you were made so nobody would forget anything. Meanwhile Martin was busy collecting the entrance money: €26.50 (± $33). A bargain if you ask me because for that sum you not only gain access, you also get two drinks, there is a big BBQ with all kinds of tasty fresh meat, sauces, salads and baguettes and last but not least you get one bottle of special forum-beer with a label designed by myself! Whoehoe!

Johnny

Unfortunately for some the entrance money still was too much. Recently forum-moderator and respected member Johnny went through some tough times (private stuff) which left a hole in his finances. My good friend Ed, Mark and I said that he could drive together with us to Heukelum but Johnny was not sure if he was able to manage it money-wise. We were all bummed out because after a tough time there is nothing better for a pipe-smoker than a cosy, relaxing pipe-smoking meeting. Suddenly we got a mail from a happy Johhny, he was going! Apparently he got a message from Martin which said that all his expenses already were paid for. And that is the true heart-warming spirit of the forum.

Shrewd judge Jos

So on the day itself Ed first picked me up, then we went to the Deventer train station to get Mark and somewhere along the way Johnny joined us. When we arrived in Heukelum we clearly were not the first. Lines of cars we neatly parked beside each other under which the gracious Volvo Amazon owned by Jos. He was one of the first I looked up because I had something for him and he had something for me. In my “Zestful Zutphen 2014” blogpost I wrote that Jos had bought a “smoking area” sign for me on a Amsterdam market. He had brought it with him and as a “thank you” I had not one but two presents for Jos. For a living he does something with laws so every time I smoke Orlik Golden Sliced and see the “shrewd judge” illustration on the tin I have to think of him. Jos often comes across like a person with some loose screws but beware, he is very, very “shrewd”. So I gave him a tin of Orlik Golden Sliced and a wrapped package. Jos had to laugh hard when he saw the contents of the package: a judge wig. He immediately put it on his head and looked amazingly shrewd to my delight. This week I mounted the sign on the door of my tobacco closet in my working-room.

Paul

Paul also had something for me. As some of you perhaps know he does whisky nosing & tastings under the name of Whisky Info Plus. On the latest Inter Tabac in Dortmund he had met a company who could print tables. “Hmm, precisely what I need for my nosing & tasting” Paul thought. “A nice bistro table with a picture of whisky-barrels and my logo”. Only, he once made his logo in Word and it was not suited for printing. So he asked me if I could re-make the logo as a proper illustration file. Of course I could, but for a price. “Some tobacco or whisky?” Paul asked. Since I was making it for a nosing & tasting of whisky I choose that. Paul gave me a round box with on it “Ardmore Traditional“. He explained a bit about it and it really sounded yummie in my ears. And it also tastes yummie, actually, I am having a glass of it right now while I am typing this. Thanks Paul!

Martin

I also had to see Martin, but not for anything smoking related. A week before the meeting I got a mail from him asking if I wanted buy a Dragon-clock from him. At first I said no, it had no room for it but then I looked to my pipe-cabinet. Hmm.. That clock would look nice on top of it.. So I asked Martin what he wanted for it. According to him it was pretty expensive new but perhaps some tobacco would suffice? As it happened I just had laid my hands on a bag of Esoterica Stonehaven, perhaps that was ok as a payment? Eagerly (I know he loves the stuff) Martin said yes so now the clock graces my pipe-cabinet.

Robert-Jan checking out the wares

A while ago forum member Robert-Jan visited me but he forgot to take with him a tin of Hajenius My Own Blend. I kept it for him until I had the chance to give it back. I also smoked some of it (I was allowed to) but mwah.. I did not like it, I was a bit under the impression that cheap tobaccos were used. So I was glad I could give back the tin at the meeting. Oh!! I silently cursed.. Robert-Jan had asked if I could bring a sample of Esoterica Penzance with me for him. And I had totally forgotten about it.. Of course I made up for it later.

Dre unveiling the new forum year-pipe

Some time later we were all asked to gather around. The time had come for the unveiling of the 2015 PRF forum year-pipe! Normally Shaun arranges the whole project but sadly he had been very ill this year (luckily he feels a lot better now).. Despite his sickness he managed to reach out for help and Dre answered his call. Dre (Andre) has very good connections with the Gubbels family from the Big Ben pipe factory and regularly visits the place. So he asked if they could mean anything for the PRF pipe project. Unfortunately Big Ben only fire up their machines for a minimum of 500 pipes and the forum can never reach that number. BUT they had an alternative solution. Throughout the years Gubbels kept Barbados shape pipe-bowls behind with an exceptional grain and we could have those! Plus they added a metal ring on top of the bowl which makes the pipe look even better. When Shaun and Dre told this and showed the pipe they got a very well deserved applause.

On the left me and Franz

After some chatting with a lot of forum members it was time to eat! As I told last year the meat provided is of excellent quality and comes from a nearby biological butcher. Just as I expected the beef was gone first, I also have to thank myself for that.. After dinner I sat down beside Franz. I am a bit of a Dunhill collector (if I can get them cheap) but he collects all kinds of English non-Dunhill pipes like Sasieni and Charatan. He has a stunning Sasieni prince and.. Wait, just a moment.. Sorry, every time I think of that pipe I have to wipe off my drool. I can’t stop admiring that one. Franz also had brought with him some Germain Rich Dark Flake which I never had smoked and was very curious about. Luckily I was allowed to take a sample with me so now I can finally compare it to its famous brother: Esoterica Stonehaven.

Gradually darkness fell all around us, the lights went on and I just had to think of the atmosphere Dutch painter and graphical artist Anton Pieck summons in his creations. Slowly one by one people were going home until just a few were left. I bought some more bottles of the tasty forum-beer (which was a bock-beer this year!) and we all helped owner Henk a bit with putting back some tables and chairs. Then we said goodbye to each other and thanked Martin and Henk for the wonderful day. Johnny was a bit quiet. Apparently upon entering the brewery he had received a stash of consumption-coins from Martin so he had free drinks all day long. But he also had gotten a small bag, a gift from our forum-Sint, Rob. I opened it and literally my jaw dropped, eyes went a bit wet and I immediately understood why Johhny was so quiet. The contents were a Winslow and two Dunhills under which a gorgeous gold-band shell briar. And that is also the true heart-warming spirit of the forum and I am proud to be a member of it.

Heukelum 2014 group

Henk and Martin, thank you for the organization of the meeting! Ed, Johnny and Mark, thank you for the pleasant rides! The rest of the members, thank you for a great day! All pictures were made by Klaas, Janneman and myself.

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August 11, 2013

The Old Tobacco Shop

Old Dutch tobacco shop

In a lot of ways tobacco-shops have always been different from other shops. They have got their own atmosphere, an atmosphere one might say of intimacy and quiet. How unlike many any other shops.. Ever been on a Saturday in stores like V&D and H&M? Hurried buyers and sellers, pushing customers wanting to be attended to as soon as possible.. Blah.. I get pretty stressed out in those environments.

The tobacco-shop of Willem Schimmel

In a tobacco-shop hardly anybody ever seems to be in a hurry. Here a person likes to talk about the goods to be bought. About their taste, smell, quality and (very important) price. The intimate relation between the tobacconist and his customer originates from this. A relation one finds almost nowhere else these days. The seller who knows his customer’s taste and preference. For example, tobacconist Willem Schimmel knows that when he has a new sweet aromatic, he does not need to bother me with it. I like the more natural blends. I never understood the buyer who puts his money on the counter, saying: the usual… On which the packet of tobacco, the box of cigars or the cigarettes are pushed towards him so he can leave the store in a hurry. Relaaaax…

The true smoker loves to have a look round first. He enjoys the almost mysterious fragrance which you can smell in every tobacco-shop while he is fascinated by the articles displayed. When I walk into Willem’s store I directly go to the back and quietly look at the collection of pipes, displayed on several moving boards. Then I sit down on one of the chairs and wait for Willem to take tare of the customers in the shop. Usually one of his colleagues provide me with a cup of coffee, a glass of water or even a glass of whisky. When he is done he walks over to me, we shake hands, he asks how I and Ellen are doing and we chat away. That is how it used to be and still is in many tobacco-shops. Even though both the inside and the outside of the stores have undergone considerable changes in the course of time. We all know the modern tobacco-shop, where lots of brands of tobacco, cigars, and cigarettes are neatly packed on shelves or in open boxes and are asking to be bought. In glass show-cases there are pipes, expensive lighters and tobacco-pouches while on the counter the cheaper lighters invite one to light up a cigarette. But what was it like long ago? From prints and descriptions one may form a pretty accurate picture.

Small tobacco cutting machine

Originally tobacco was sold by the grocer-chemist, after all, tobacco is a stimulant. But around the year 1630 there was a change-over and the selling took place in the intimate sphere of the tobacco-inn. Thus the dear old inn became the place where tobacco and smoker became true “lovers”. On and behind the counter of such an inn there were rolls of twisted tobacco. These were being cut into pieces by a small cutting-machine. The pieces were then stacked behind the counter. The scales that were present point to the fact that the retail trade did not take place by length, but by weight. As it still is today.

Recreated interior of a 17th century Dutch tobacco shop

The combination of shop and inn continued throughout the 17th century. But it appears that as early as the third quarter of the 17th century, these two gradually parted company. As the preparation of tobacco was perfected, the inside of the shop varied. The increased use of taking snuff had a big influence. During the whole of the 18th century and the first half of the 19th century the interior was affected by methods of storing snuff and pipe tobacco, necessary for the sale. Besides that, there was always the sale of pipes and other smoker’s requisites. Since the middle of the first half of the 19th century the fact that cigars were being sold was getting strikingly noticeable in the interior of the shop. Today cigarettes and cigars are the most important items in many tobacco-shops. A lot still have a board with some pipes on it and some pipe-tobacco but the profound knowledge of those items is often sorely lacking..

Front of “De Compagnie” tobacco-shop in Breda

In the 2nd half of the 18th century tea, coffee, cocoa and tobacco were sold in the same business. This combination also originated in the public drinking and smoking places. Between 1670 and 1690 many coffee-houses were founded in the Netherlands. Just as it once was a long time ago in Turkey, coffee and tobacco became inseparable. These coffee-houses developed into a kind of “drinking and chatting houses”, different from the older tobacco-inn where liquor was generally sold. In the coffee-houses no liquor was sold at first. At about the same time the fashion came of drinking tea. Which gave rise to the forming of tea-clubs. Thus tea was also sold in the coffee-houses. But not only the finished product was to be enjoyed there: the “raw material” was on sale here too. The combined sale of tobacco, tea and coffee continues up to the present day in a few tobacco-shops. A nice example is “De Compagnie” which is situated in the lovely city of Breda.

Statue of Amerongen tobacco planter

Ok, let’s use the DeLorean DMC-12 car from the Back to the Future movies to go back to the year 1780 and visit a tobacco-shop in a town bearing the name of “the Amerongen Tobacco-planter” (“De Amerongensche Tabakker”). The shopkeeper also sells tea and coffee but let’s focus on the tobacco. In front, near the door, we see a statuette representing an Amerongen tobacco-planter. It holds a bunch of tobacco in one hand and a something that looks like a carrot of snuff-tobacco in the other one. Remember, in these days a considerable amount of snuff is still being sold. In the “Amerongen Tobacco-planter”, the snuff is kept in jars of the nicest Delft blue, which draw our attention immediately when we enter the shop. Snuff is sold in small quantities from those jars. At the back of the shop is a small hand-snuff-mill and on the counter is a large rasp. In this way the shopkeeper can deliver the snuff as fresh as possible.

Tobacco-casks, lined with lead

The pipe-tobacco is kept in casks of which there are a dozen in the shop. These casks are numbered from 1 to 12 and contain the various finer qualities. The cheaper and more ordinary kinds of tobacco are stored in some larger barrels. This way of storage guarantees the right condition of the tobacco. The shopkeeper is able to prepare the mixture his customers choose, each according to their taste. In the best shops the name of every customer is entered in the “mixture-book”. This way the composition of every client’s special mixture always is at hand. The old Dunhill store was famous for this and the My Own Blend concept was based upon it. Also every shopkeeper got his own “spécialité de la maison” (speciality of the house, house-blends). Thus the “Amerongen tobacco-planter” is famous for his “delicate, genuine Oronoco tobacco” (“delicate opregte Oronoco toeback”) which the shopkeeper prepares according to a very old recipe. Today tobacco-shops in for example Germany and the USA still have their own house-blends.

Cartridge block, for the shaping and filling of packets of tobacco

The twisted tobacco is cut on the cutting-frame and is put in the cartridge-block, in which the bags are shaped and filled. Beside the cartridge-block are the sheets of paper, ready to be made into bags. In the middle they bear the trade-mark of the tobacco-dealer. Finally the filled bag is weighed on the brass scales which have the shape of an upside down helmet.

Old Dutch tobacco shop with on top a statue of a Turk as eyecatcher

Behind the beautiful brass-clamped walnut desk the money is changed. When the customer (who also bought a dozen churchwardens) has left the shop, the shopkeeper enters the amount of money received in his cash-book by means of a goose-quill. After that he fills his own pipe. He lights it by means of the glowing embers in the brazier on the counter. Then there is perfect peace and quiet in that shop in 1780. Only occasionally do we hear the sound of a horse. The blue snuff-jars with brass lids reflect the rays of sunshine entering through the paned windows. In this peaceful atmosphere the shopkeeper waits for his next customer.

May 30, 2013

A visit to Amsterdam

Rijksmuseum Amsterdam

Yesterday it was time for a long planned visit with my girlfriend Ellen to the Dutch capital: Amsterdam. After a dreadful, cold and rainy spring we were in luck, the weather finally was good. Not too cold, not too hot, a blue sky, just perfect for a day of culture and shopping.

After a longer-then-necessary train-ride (trains are very often delayed in The Netherlands) we arrived at Amsterdam Central Station. To our surprise outside the station we saw our former queen, now princess Beatrix. She just walked inside the Beurs of Berlage to attend some award ceremony.

One of the the most famous Dutch paintings: the “Nachtwacht” by Rembrandt van Rijn

First we went to the recently renovated Rijksmuseum. The distance from the Central station to the museum is about 3 km. Of course you can take a bus or tram but it is much more fun and cheaper (and healthy) if you walk. The direction-signs are very clear and when walking you can much better see all the old buildings and soak up the atmosphere.

Rijksmuseum library

I won’t go into providing lots of information about the Rijksmuseum, after all, this is not an art-blog. But if you click on the links I already provided you soon know what you need to know. A visit to this historic building with it’s vast and excellent collection is mandatory if you are in Amsterdam. The museum has on display 8,000 objects of art and history, from their total collection of 1 million objects from the years 1200 – 2000. And among those are some masterpieces by Rembrandt van Rijn, Frans Hals, Vincent van Gogh and Johannes Vermeer. Beware, it can be very busy in the museum. But if you like some peace and quiet you can go to the Rijksmuseum library.

Next after the museum it was time for me to do some shopping. Amsterdam has several tobacco-shops, here are the ones I know of:
– Sigarenmagazijn Berkman. Singel 528, 1017 AZ Amsterdam, tel. 0031 20 62 33 751, video on youtube
– Hajenius. Rokin 92-96, 1012 KZ, Amsterdam, tel. 0031 20 623 74 94, Hajenius website
– Davidoff. Van Baerlestraat 84, 1071 BB, Amsterdam, tel. 0031 20 67 11 042, video on youtube
– Hartman. Leidsestraat 58, 1017 PC, Amsterdam, tel. 0031 20 624 51 50, Hartman website, video on youtube
– Hartman. Beethovenstraat 88, 1077 JN, Amsterdam, tel. 0031 20 67 05 770, Hartman website, video on youtube
– Van Lookeren. Gelderlandplein 143, 1082 LV, Amsterdam, tel. 0031 20 644 10 62, Van Lookeren website

Amsterdam also has a pipe-museum. If you are a pipe smoker (which I hope!), this visit is a must, it is maybe the last museum of its kind in Europe.
– Amsterdam Pipe Museum. Prinsengracht 488, 1017 KH, Amsterdam, tel. 0031 20 4211 779, Amsterdam Pipe Museum website

Sigarenmagazijn Berkman

The two shops on the top I visited yesterday. Sigarenmagazijn Berkman was the first one. Pretty easy to find, walk straight ahead from The Dam until you reach the Bloemenmarkt. Turn right there, walk a few hundred meters and than it is on your left. You can’t miss it because of the large sign on the outer wall. Inside the shop is pretty small but very cosy. The owner is a very nice man who makes you feel welcome at once. He laughed when I asked him about some vintage tins he should have. I wasn’t the first one from the Dutch / Belgian pipesmokers forum to ask about those. Luckily he still had some nice tins of De Graaff Seamen’s Club, a red Virginia mixture for a cheap price. Also he had tins of Samuel Gawith’s Perfection for little money compared to the current prices. Unfortunately I had to cut short the friendly conversations we had because Ellen was waiting outside. She never goes inside tobacco stores..

Pantaleon Gerhard Coenraad Hajenius

The second shop I visited was Hajenius, the most well-known of the Amsterdam tobacconists. Also easy to find. Walk straight ahead from the Dam, the street there is called Rokin. After about 500 meter the store is on your right hand.
Some history: On September 4, 1826 Pantaleon Gerhard Coenraad Hajenius opened his tobacco and cigar store in hotel De Rijnstroom at the Dam. In 1868 the store moved to another spot on the Dam, due to the widening of a nearby street. The business prospered, more and more diplomas and medals at international exhibitions were gained and thus a high reputation was acquired. The house Hajenius developed into a purveyor of many European monarchs. In 1914 the company was forced to move again to its current location on the Rokin. This time for the construction of the clothing store Peek & Cloppenburg. A year later the store was opened with much grandeur.

Hajenius outside © Roel Wijnants

The new Hajenius building was designed by the brothers Van Gendt A.Lzn. It consists of a functional and modern for that time concrete skeleton with a traditionally styled exterior of natural stone. Above the entrance is the carved royal arms, a reference to the time Hajenius was purveyor to the royal household. On the outside the name Rijnstroom reminds us of the previous buildings of the firm.

Hajenius inside

The rich and stylish interior, also designed by the Van Gendt brothers, remains almost entirely original. The walls and the counters are covered with various kinds of marble, wooden panels and decorative brass-ware. The decorated and gold and bronze colour painted ceiling is divided into compartments. On the ceiling are two colossal brass chandeliers that date from the time that Amsterdam was still lit by gas. The big tobacco jars on the shelves of the display cases are made of Delft pottery and are painted with Chinese scenes. In the back of the store is a very beautiful foyer where you can smoke and enjoy a cup of coffee or something stronger.

The My Own Blend chamber at Hajenius

Since the beginning of this year Hajenius also has a My Own Blend chamber. In short, the name My Own Blend was first used by the renowned Paul Olsen in the 1930’s. The core of all this is that pipe smokers can get their own personal tobacco blend mixed. Personally I think the concept was inspired by the famous Dunhill My Mixtures. More than 35,000 pipe smokers since the 1930’s had their own blends made and one of them is King Frederick IX. In the “recipe database” are over 10,000 different recipes!
But… in The Netherlands it is forbidden to sell loose tobacco. They solved it by making the My Own Blend chamber a toll-free zone. When the tobacco comes in it belongs to the Scandinavian Tobacco Group. That stays that way until the blended mix is put in a tin and a Dutch tax-seal is glued on.

The different tobaccos are being put together

The selected tobaccos are being put together

So of course my main target at Hajenius was the My Own Blend chamber. When I entered the store I saw two people behind the big marble counter. An elder man and a young attractive girl. I turned to the geezer and asked if it was possible to get an own blend made. “Of course”, he said, “my colleague will help you”, while pointing at the young girl. Ehrrr… ok, nice.. I stood there, sweaty and smelly but the girl stayed a total professional. She and I walked to the room and I was allowed to go in and make some pictures. In the small chamber stood about 50 big numbered translucent jars with all kinds of tobacco in them. From several Virginia species to Kentucky and burley to orientals to latakia.

The selected tobaccos are being blended together

Then they are mixed

The first thing the girl asked me if I liked aromatic or natural tobaccos. Natural please! I asked if she had the ingredients I wanted, of course I already had a recipe in mind. She produced some papers with numbered tobacco descriptions on them that corresponded with the numbers on the jars. But, I must say this, she did not need those papers. She had memorized what was in the jars and even knew the tobacco descriptions by heart. Besides that the girl told me she was trained by Scandinavian Tobacco master-blender Lasse Berg, quite impressive. I also asked if the concept was successful for them. She answered that in Denmark the concept (of course) did very well but that it here still had to take off. Well, maybe they first should update their website I said to which she vaguely murmured something..

Finally the mixture is put into the tin

After I hastily went through the descriptions (remember, Ellen was waiting outside..) I knew which tobaccos I needed. Some golden Virginias, red Virginias, orientals, black cavendish and latakia. The girl fetched the corresponding jars, weight off the quantities I wanted, put those together and started mixing them. “Hmm.. Is there not too much latakia in there?” She asked. *Sighs* Women and latakia… “No there is not too much latakia in there”, I said. “Together with the other tobaccos a nice balance is created.” When the different ingredients were well blended the girl put the mixture in a 100 gr. tin and sealed it off with a lid. She then produced a Dutch tax-seal and glued it over the tin and the lid. “What is the name of the mixture?” She asked. “Ehm.. Arno’s Mixture 665” I said. In girly handwriting she wrote that on the tin. I asked if the recipe and name of the blend could be saved. Of course that was possible and she put the data in the computer.

My Own Blend “Arno’s Mixture 665”

So if someone comes into the Hajenius store he/she can now ask for Arno’s Mixture 665. It is a medium Balkan blend with deep red Virginias, fresh golden Virginia’s, assorted orientals, Cyprian latakia and a bit of black cavendish to round it all out. Remember that if you buy it you should let it rest for at least week and preferably longer. This because the used tobaccos still have to “blend” together. I also found the mixture somewhat dry, so a bit of moistening can do no harm. The price for such a custom blend is €25,50 ($33.05, £21.80). Pretty expensive but considering the whole experience I thought it was very fair.

After I came back from Hajenius it was halfway the afternoon and Ellen and I decided to go back home. We both saw what we wanted to see that day. We stopped in Deventer, where we live nearby, to go to a restaurant to nicely round off the day. It was hot enough to eat outside so after a tasty dinner with lots of smoky, grilled meat, I was able to light up a pipe while enjoying a cup of coffee. Ahhh.. Life is good.

EDIT 28-9-2017: Sadly sigarenmagazijn Berkman has closed its doors some time ago..

April 15, 2013

The quest for forum tobaccos – Part 1.

The Dutch/Belgium Pipe Smokers Forum logo

This year the Dutch/Belgium Pipe Smokers Forum exists 5 years. Because of that last year the idea arose for some special forum tobaccos to celebrate the jubilee. Of course I had to open my big mouth and I became responsible for the creation of those tobaccos and the artwork. Why? Because it is a dream of me to see a blend which is created by myself is made available for others.

Rudi and me talking

So how do you accomplish this? In comes Rudi. Rudi is the retired owner of a big pipes and tobacco shop in Middelburg. Now for fun he runs a website on which you can order what he once sold in his shop: tobaccoshop.nl. Because of his past Rudi has a vast knowledge about the world of tobacco and he still has the connections. He also has a passion for pipe smoking. That way he was willing to take the financial risk for the forum tobaccos. Of course Rudi would get a little percentage of every sold tin. My work would be for free, a labour of love. I don’t care so much for money.

Poseidon, which was going to be the latakia mixture of the forum tobaccos

My artwork for Poseidon, the latakia mixture of the forum tobaccos

After a meeting with some other forum members we came to a few conclusions:
– 30 kilo of tobacco had to be made by a foreign pipe-tobacco manufacturer. Here in The Netherlands there are none left.. Belgium also has none so the obvious choice was Germany. DTM to be precise. Well known for their aromatic tobaccos like Sweet Vanilla Honeydew and their American History Mixtures. Why them? Because they were flexible enough to produce such a small batch of tobacco and invest some time in the creation of the recipes together with me.
– That 30 kilo of tobacco was to be divided into 3 blends: an aromatic, a Virginia based one and a latakia mixture.
– Together with DTM I would create the recipes and first samples. Then I would smoke those and report my findings so the recipes could be altered. After the second round a panel of smokers from our forum would test the tobaccos and report their findings to me so the final versions could be made. The ready tins would get labelled with my artwork (that I already had partly finished) and tax-seals would be placed before shipping to Rudi who would sell them to the forum members.

The mid 19th century redbrick industrial building where DTM is located

At the end of June last year my good friend Ed (forum nickname St Patrick) and myself drove off to the German town of Lauenburg. We would stay there for 2 days and visit the DTM factory which is located just outside the town near the river Elbe. Soon after arrival we were greeted by master-blender Andreas Mund. Managing Director Dr. Heiko Behrens was not there so he took it upon himself to give us a guided tour. Every corner of every room was shown to us, no secrecy. We were allowed to touch everything, ask everything and smell everything and we did just that. An amazing experience!

Ed, Andreas and myself

After the tour Andreas excused himself. He was busy and would discuss the forum tobaccos the next day when Dr. Heiko Behrens was also there. So Ed and I walked around the wonderful DTM shop (with an old interior from 1920) where you can sample and buy all of their tobaccos and more. The main salesman in the shop is Michael Apitz which some of you may know, he created the famous Sweet Vanilla Honeydew mixture. Besides a very, very nice man Michael is also a walking pipes and tobacco encyclopaedia. I learned a lot from him regarding the creation of aromatics.

The next day we met the very friendly Dr. Heiko Behrens (“please call me Heiko, everyone does”). Together with Andreas we spoke about the forum tobaccos. “Why don’t you take some of our excellent tobaccos and re-label them?” said Heiko. I explained him my dream of a self made mixture which he understood. In the end I was given permission to make 3 mixtures together with Andreas! I told him what I wanted and he immediately went to his lab to prepare some samples. Just before Ed and I went home we got samples of two of the forum tobaccos (the latakia mixture and the aromatic). The third one was a flake and it takes a while to make that.

In the next two months I smoked the two samples and wrote down what I liked and did not like about them. At the beginning of September I phoned Andreas, told him my findings and also mailed them. Then it became very quiet.. I e-mailed Andreas a couple of times, phoned but no reaction. I had no idea what to do. Be more persistent in contacting him? Get angry? Just wait? I was dependent on the guy so I really did not want to piss him off. It was not until the beginning of December that I got an e-mail from the other Director, Maria Sousa. She said that they no longer wished to cooperate in the making of the forum tobaccos in the format that I wanted. I could use existing tobaccos of them and maybe perhaps change them a little bit.. I still don’t know what made them change their minds.. So I contacted Rudi and asked him what to do. Pull the plug with DTM he said. We go look further.

After some discussions we decided to ask if another German pipe-tobacco manufacturer was interested: Kohlhase & Kopp. Famous for making the European version of Ashton tobaccos, Peterson, Rattray’s, Solani and McConnell. In the mean time I asked master-blender Hans Wiedemann from HU Tobacco if he was willing to help. Hans has a vast knowledge about the creation of new tobaccos and has good connections with Kohlhase & Kopp. But a talented man like him has to be paid (which made the forum tobaccos more expensive) and I could sense he was not really enthusiastic to participate in the whole process. However, if I had any questions whatsoever I could always knock on his door. Things were also not going smooth with Kohlhase & Kopp. They only worked with existing tobacco importers. So Rudi asked if Dutch importer Pronk was willing to import the forum tobaccos, put a Dutch tax seal on them and send them through to him. And they were willing. Downside of this all were the extra costs. Kohlhase & Kopp manufactures excellent but pricey tobaccos. Pronk also wanted their share for putting on the Dutch tax seals. In the end it all bounced off on the fairly small amount of tobacco we wanted, only 30 kilo. Such manufacturers are used to quantities like hundreds or thousands kilos. Besides I think the extra work with me (the creation of the recipes) also scared them off.

At the Heukelum meeting Rudi and I spoke to each other once again. Rudi has good connections with yet another German pipe-tobacco manufacturer: Planta. Well known for their Black Vanilla and Presbyterian Mixture. Rudi phoned them and said I could send a mail. Which I did at the beginning of March this year. Now we are halfway April and I still have not heard anything from them.. To be honest I think it is the same as with Kohlhase & Kopp: the low tobacco quantity and the extra work for the creation of the recipes scared them off.

Now Rudi has mailed Samuel Gawith twice to no avail. Also through a friend I am waiting to hear if J.F. Germain has any interest. But to be perfectly honest I have lost my faith.. The quantities are too small and no tobacco manufacturer wants to have extra work with the creation of the recipes in these times of economical crisis. Maybe I was naive to think that those companies would easily cooperate. It is all about money, money and money. I understand that, companies have to make a living, but still… Where has the passion for tobacco gone? Must it all be strictly business? I guess so.. Dreaming is no longer allowed.

The only thing I can do now is to go to Hajenius in Amsterdam who have recently built a My Own Blend bar. There I can design a mixture, or several mixtures and let those be written down so other forum members can buy them. Better than nothing I guess..

Surprisingly enough the quest for forum tobaccos continues in part 2.

Dutch Pipe Smoker

Tag Archives: my own blend

Hospitable Heukelum 2014

The Old Tobacco Shop

A visit to Amsterdam

The quest for forum tobaccos – Part 1.