Latakia tobacco () is a sun-dried and smoke-cured tobacco product. It originated in Syria and is named after its major port city of Latakia, though large production has permanently moved to Cyprus due to varying and compounding sociopolitical issues within Syrian borders. Latakia was potentially discovered by accident when a bumper crop resulted in surplus tobacco; the farmers stored the excess tobacco in the rafters of their home, which at the time was an effective way of preservation as the smoke from the open wood fires used for heat and light would slowly dry and cure food over time. This process of moderate temperature smoke curing is one of the defining factors of its complex aroma.
When Latakia is burned, it has a characteristic wood smoke aroma accompanied by floral sweet undertones. Latakia is traditionally found within pipe tobacco blends, although some avant-garde cigar and cigarette producers use it as well. The majority of pipe blends use Latakia as a condiment, a tobacco that does not represent the majority of the blend but is instead used to add complexity and to control its burn rate.
Overview of Oriental tobacco
Tobacco grown within the arid desert climate of the Middle East and Mediterranean is known in the tobacco industry as Oriental tobacco. Compared to the tobacco plant most commonly grown in the Western world (Nicotiana tabacum) which is on average and has up to 24 forearm-sized leaves, Oriental tobacco plants consists of Nicotiana rustica which are roughly to in height with up to 100 palm-sized to hand-sized leaves, as well as Nicotiana tabacum; though the climate tends to produce smaller sized plants of approximately to in height. Historically, both Syrian and Cyprian Latakia use varieties of N. tabacum and N. rustica, though many modern commercial producers use Nicotiana tabacum.
Syrian Latakia
There are many debates on the specific type of tobacco seed or variety used to produce Syrian Latakia and there is little data as manufacturers at the time either did not keep record or they were purposely destroyed by the company. The decrease of production within Syrian borders during this time has made it difficult to say for certain that one seed is valued more than another. Moreover, there is a physical difference in the same varieties grown within farms at higher elevation in the hills as opposed to lower elevations in the plains; with the latter producing larger plants than the former. However, there is a common consensus that Latakia was first produced using a variety of Nicotiana tabacum called shekk-el-bint (a variety with narrow leaves with a length of to ), or the Turkish Yayladag variant as the original.
The sun-curing process differs from normal Oriental production as the leaves are not stitched together. The leaves remain on the stalk of the plant and are kept whole, including the flowers. They are then either hung between trees are simply laid on the ground to dry over a period of three or more weeks. From there, they are moved to store houses before being purchased by brokers to finish the smoke-curing process, sometimes called fumigation.
Fumigation is carried out in the mountains of Syria inside of simple barns (akin to a smoke house) made of brick or block with earthen floors and no ventilation. The tobacco is hung inside on rafters and fumigated using one or two firepits dug into the ground. There is more debate on which species of woods and brushes are used for this process (though Carob, Scrub oak, Aleppo Pine, Turkey Oak, Valonia Oak, and Lebanon Cedar are commonly found near the barns). From accounts in the early 19th century, Quercus ilex or holm/holly oak was used. It is also commonly thought by Western tobacco blenders that some processors use a variety of material found growing near the barns and do not make a particular recipe or blend. Furthermore, it is important to note that large pieces of hardwood are not used. Instead smaller branches, twigs, and leaves are used. Once fumigation is completed, the rough Latakia is re-hydrated, bulk packaged, and sent to the port of Latakia. the process of fumigation and later hydration increases bulk weight by ~15%.