Starbuzz mmmmmmmMARLETTE!

[ioannisds]

I tried this flavor for the first time last night, and it is in danger of knocking my previous favorite, Starbuzz guava, off the throne. WTF is marlette, you ask? Well, I asked Ali over at Social Smoke the same thing, and he described it as a "mixed" flavor, NOT fruit, kinda woodsy. Well, that is exactly what it is, but I'll elaborate a bit.Cut is almost like Al-Amir, very fine, with a bit of grit like Bubble described in his review of the Social Smoke Blend. On breaking it up, I couldn't find a single tree branch to toss out. It smells pretty much just like it tastes, so let's get on to the tasting bit. I used my Social Smoke Egyptian hookah, foil, and one 40mm Three Kings. My heat management technique is to take the full lit disc (not broken up), put it on one side of the bowl, and PATIENTLY wait for that area to develop a bit of smoke. Then I move the disc a quarter of the way around, and do the same. I continue this process until the ma'assell is smoking well, and then I just slow down the movement around the bowl. This has worked out the best for me. Allthough it takes a little longer to get the bowl going, the smoke is more flavorful, thicker, with no harshness to be found. I throw on another disc once the first has done it's job.Enough science. I cannot describe exactly what this ma'assell tastes like. The woodsiness that Ali described tastes to me almost like a very mild incense, with maybe a little earthy taste tossed in. Very unique flavor. There is also an underlying sweetness to the smoke. The closest thing I can think of to describe it is bubble-gum or candy, but that does not even begin to do it justice. It is a very unusual mix, but I think that is why I like it so much. Very satisfying flavor for me. Smoke thickness was good, but it took me a little bit of time to get the bowl going. Good things come to those who wait and all... Another thing that stood out to me about this tobacco is that the flavor lasted almost the entire session (close to two hours). This is very unusual in my experience, with most tobaccos losing their flavor quite quickly after the first 45 minutes or hour.Anyway, you all owe it to yourselves to at least give this a shot. I am a big fan of ma'assell that is a bit different from the usual straight fruit flavors, and the marlette fits the bill perfectly.