Cyprian or Syrian? (Part I)

5th February, 2010: Posted by glpease in Tobacco, Editorial

I’m going to grumble a little. And possibly even rant. It’s my column. I can do that. No one will criticize the reader for stopping here, but there may be something informative, and my grumblings can occasionally be amusing, if not downright endearingly sharp-witted, so you may want to read on anyway, forewarned of what is likely to come.

The past five years have hosted continued discussion about the availability of Syrian Latakia, why can’t I get any, who has it, what blends it’s in, why some manufacturers seem to have no problems with supply, whether or not the whole warehouse fire situation was a ruse, and on and on. There seem to be a great many experts who know more about the supply of unobtainable leaf than I do. If you really know someone in whose basement bales of this mysterious supply of Syrian leaf are sequestered, please, be so kind as to make an introduction so I can get some. Seriously.

Does anyone really think that I would not produce my Syrian blends if I could get my hands on leaf of the right quality? One person actually accused me of making the whole “shortage” thing up, that it was some grand, deceptive and conspiratorial marketing ploy. How this would actually benefit me continues, to this day, to remain beyond the reach of my comprehension.

Here’s the deal. Some manufacturers bought into the same batch of vintage Syrian leaf we did, and were able to secure their supply, in their own warehouses, so the fire that took ours did not affect them. They still have theirs; it wasn’t a small quantity. They have a supply that will last years. When they run out, the situation might be different, but it probably will not be, depending on what happens between now and then in Syria, and with tobacco production in general. But, it’s not promising.

We’re a tiny minority, we pipe smokers, in the global tobacco trade, and few will listen to us as we bleat our pleas for continued production of something that is not as profitable as other crops. Latakia is not cheap to grow, harvest and fumigate, and there are lots of things that can generate more cash for far less effort.

And, consider the environmental issues. The Syrian government placed a moratorium on Latakia production in 1960 because of the massive toll it was taking on the native hardwoods and shrubs that are burned to fire-cure the stuff. There’s just not that much arable land in the area, and natural resources were being consumed at an alarming rate. Though the moratorium was lifted in the 1980s, and production resumed to some extent, it’s not even close to pre-1960 levels; demand is lower, due both to a decrease in the pipe smoking population, and the sharing of that reduced demand with Cyrpus, where the bulk of the world’s Latakia supply has been produced, beginning with Syria’s 1960 exit from the market.

With relatively low demand, and environmental issues on the table, is it any wonder the stuff is unobtainium? According to insider sources, generally known to be very reliable, Syrian Latakia is simply not being produced, has not been produced for several years, and it’s not likely to be produced any time in the foreseeable future.

Importantly, what is absolutely certain, at this time, is that there is no Syrian Latakia available to me. (That last qualifier is important.) I know two producers who actually have some of the good stuff, and I have tried, to no avail, to get them to cut loose with a bale or ten. No dice. Can’t say as I blame them. They can’t get any more, either, though only one of them tells the truth about that. Even at double the price, they’re not dealing.

There’s more to say, so this will be continued in a future column, but I’ll close here with a bit of advice. We’ve seen a lot of things come and go, and even more things change. Nothing in the world is permanent. With all the pressures against tobacco of any kind, coming from all directions, buy what you enjoy, and buy enough of it so that you don’t have to feel too bad if it becomes unavailable in the future, or if it’s forced to change by external environmental or regulatory pressures. Thirty years from now, if there is still a place in the world where you can enjoy a pipeful, you’ll be glad you did.

[Part II]

-glp

11 Responses

  1. dopealope Says:
    February 5th, 2010 at 18:50

    The rumor I heard was that you personally lit the fire that burned down the warehouse so that you would no longer be able to produce some of your most popular blends, hence causing them would to fetch atmospheric prices on ebay. How you profit from this, I’m not entirely sure, but I’m sure it’s pretty devious.

    /snark

  2. Eric Cioe Says:
    February 5th, 2010 at 23:20

    Tangential question: how does the Syrian unavailability affect you as a pipe smoker rather than as a tobacco blender? Which of your blends do you miss, and which don’t you miss so much?

    I know I’ve found a couple of Scandal tins under $50 in various places, and got a tin of Raven’s Wing last year for $10(!). I’ve got two more tins of Scandal laid down, one of which will be opened to celebrate Opening Day of baseball season this year. I’ve smoked a decent amount of those two blends, and to me they’re outstanding, with Scandal being my all-time favorite.

  3. glpease Says:
    February 6th, 2010 at 1:43

    Eric, that’s not an easy question. Of course, it’s well known how much I loved Scandal, but the others, Raven’s Wing, Mephisto and, especially, Renaissance were also special. I think Renaissance may be the one I miss most, actually. Its complexity was wonderful, and the combination of both Cyprian and Syrian leaf gave it not only something special, but also longer legs. In the long run, it will keep its structure longer, probably, than the others. I do have a few tins of each. Time will tell.

  4. Robert Bittner Says:
    February 6th, 2010 at 7:47

    I’ve read enough about recent tobacco history to understand just how rare and wonderful that Syrian was that led to your blends. I’m thankful I got to sample more than a couple of tins…and grateful that I still have 11 more in the cellar. But I hope the constant fretting (among pipe lovers) over your particular store of gone-but-not-forgotten Syrian doesn’t lead anyone to overlook some truly delightful Cyprian blends that are, for the moment, easily within anyone’s reach. If we can’t find deep satisfaction in a bowl of Westminster or Odyssey, something is very very wrong. . .

  5. Rick Says:
    February 6th, 2010 at 12:09

    Oh, the irony. I sat down to enjoy a bowl of McClelland Syrian Super Balkan just as I decided to check if you had written something new at the Briar & Leaf Chronicles (don’t worry Greg, I buy several of your blends - Odyssey rocks!). The real shame of it is that I’m sure if enough time, money and resources were available a very close substitute could be produced somewhere else (Cyprian latakia obviously being quite different). But I doubt if every pipe tobacco blender in the world got together that it would be feasible. The industry is just too small. And what’s sad is that your old blends are still out there is some quantity, but few (including myself) could justify $50 - $150 on a tin of tobacco. I wonder if your/C&D’s competitors are thinking ahead to what will happen when their supply runs out, or if they’re just happily taking a joy ride until the tank runs out of gas?

  6. Vito Says:
    February 9th, 2010 at 15:48

    Greg: Thanks for that. I have consistently and tenaciously scoured the web for any and all news about the availability of Syrian Latakia—not as a component of Syrian-infested weedages marketed by blenders who have bales of the stuff in stock, but as a raw commodity that is still in production. There is no evidence to suggest that ANY Syrian is being produced, in any quantity.

    As far as I have been able to tell, that has been the case for some years now. If it were not so, Syrian Latakia would still be available as a blending tobacco; yet, there is none to be had at any price in that form. I’ve concluded that the existing supply is finite, and that the only explanation is that it’s simply not in production any more.

    If that is the only conclusion I can reasonably reach based on the best available information I can find (with my limited, non-expert access), I certainly have no reason to doubt the accuracy and quality of your information, which must certainly be superior to mine. Of course, none of that is as compelling as your point about the utter irrationality of any assertion that you would deliberately NOT produce SyriLat blends if you could…er, unless one presumes that you are in business to NOT sell tobacco. Sheesh…

    While your confirmation of the Syrian Latweed drought is not good news to those of us who are self-confessed Syrian Latakiaholics, it does corroborate the wisdom of the very strategy you advised—namely, if there are Syrian Latakia blends we like that are still available, it would be prudent to gradually stock our cellars. Those who follow that strategy will reap the rewards many years hence when the unbelievers find themselves sadly SyriLatless, wishing they had placed a bit less stock in cynical and irrational notions and a bit more in simple common sense…which, apparently, isn’t so very common at all.

  7. glpease Says:
    February 9th, 2010 at 16:01

    Vito, my advice goes towards the moderate stockpiling of any blends that one takes a fancy to. There is very little likelihood that the supply side is going to improve over time, given the current political climate surrounding tobacco in general. We, as pipe smokers, were once mostly off the radar screens of the fascists, but that’s no longer the case, evidenced by the very existence of H.R. 4439.

    So, it’s not just Syrian containing blends that are ultimately endangered, but tobacco in general. I’m not an alarmist, but prices will never be lower than they are now, and things could get progressively out of hand, ultimately resulting in greater difficulty acquiring many blends we currently take for granted, if we can get anything at all.

    My advice has always been to purchase two tins for every one that you finish, allowing the creation of a good cellar without too much pain. I think, maybe, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to make that three for one, or even four.

    -glp

  8. The Briar & Leaf Chronicles » Blog Archive » Cyprian or Syrian? (Part II) Says:
    February 9th, 2010 at 20:05

    […] Steering this slightly back on track to discussion of Syrian Latakia, and the crux of this particular biscuit that began with Part I… […]

  9. Vito Says:
    February 10th, 2010 at 11:05

    Greg: Right…for every 8-ounce or 1-pound tin of Quiet Nights, Samarra, Kensington, Barbary Coast, Embarcadero, Odyssey, Key Largo, …etc., three or even four more. Got it.

    Your point about where this is going is well taken. In fact, your comment, “There is very little likelihood that the supply side is going to improve over time, given the…fascists…” puts the matter into sharp perspective about the way it’s happening. They don’t have to outlaw tobacco; it will suffice to tax it out of existence. This is simple economics, not rocket surgery. When the transaction cost exceeds the value of the transaction itself, no one will buy. If no one buys, then there will be no reason for anyone to produce. And once the producers are gone, that’s the end of the product—an entire industry…obliterated.

    “The power to tax is the power to destroy.” — John Marshall, U.S. Supreme Court Justice, 17 U.S. 327

    I understand the difficulty of speaking the truth about an issue like this without sounding like an alarmist. In your case, I suppose there’s the additional risk of being accused of “self-serving” motivations, although it’s hard to comprehend how anyone could expect a producer to stand by and idly watch (much less condone) the gradual, inexorable destruction of his entire industry.

    Legislation like H.R. 4439 is typical of the increasing political trend in which there are far more things (and politicians) to vote against than to vote for. I generally take a dim view of political action, but self-defense is different. I have signed the petition against H.R. 4439, and mailed hard-copy letters to my Congressional representatives in the House and Senate. I urge everyone to do the same.

  10. glpease Says:
    February 10th, 2010 at 11:13

    Well, Vito, in fact my tempered alarmism is a bit self-serving. It’s not that I want to sell more tobacco than I otherwise would, it’s that I’d like to stay in business blending tobacco at all. And, if all this nonsense continues, and it will, the cottage industry will be the first to perish. I’m already learning how to say, “Would you like fries with that?” in several languages, so I’ll be ready for a higher paying position when the (t)axe falls.

    “Viltu kartöflur með það?”

  11. W. T. Kan Says:
    May 14th, 2010 at 17:36

    It is unfortunate that you have to endure the slings and arrows of outrageous tongues (apparently not connected to cogitating brains) that accuse you of causing a fabricated shortage. Although you don’t need it, my sympathy. Unjust accusations have a way of stinging a place where mere words of sympathy can’t comfort.

    Your critics should consider the greater pipe smoking industry and how the lack of growing markets is causing the whole to slowly die of attrition. Just west of Syria on the Anatolian Plains of Turkey the mining of block meerschaum and carving of meerschaum pipes is slowly dying. One problem that plagues the meerschaum industry is lack of labor. Young people leave the small villages for higher paying, less risky and more exciting high tech work in the cities. This leaves only the old men to descend into primitive mines to extract meerschaum nodes using only hand tools. There are also very few new pipe carvers.

    If meerschaum pipe demand were to skyrocket new life would probably be breathed into this cottage industry. The irony is that, according to a Turkish meerschaum retailer living in the United States, the quality of blocks is getting better as miners descend deeper. Also, there appears to be a second meerschaum source southeast of Eskiseihir (sole current source of Turkish meerschaum blocks) in Konya.

    What your dilemma as a blender and the meerschaum pipe producers have in common is shrinking markets. No market, no sales, no production. And we spiral down to eventual oblivion. Perhaps it is time of a little “pipe evangelism?” Based on my experience, it doesn’t take much to make a dedicated convert. In particular, show cigarette smokers the enlightened way of the pipe. You are adding years to their lives.

    Sorry for pontificating on your soap box. One last encouragement to you, Mr. Pease. As we say in Hawaiian, “onipa’a,” stand fast.

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