I
likes me my tobakkee, and I when I saw the flier for CIS International
Tobacco I knew I would have to go to there. I'm a smoker and I enjoy
tobacco. I make no apologies for it because tobacco is not only my
addiction it's a hobby. I've smoked pipes; all manner of cigarettes
both foreign and domestic; cigars; and for about a five year period I
made my own cigarettes using a machine that stuffed loose tobacco into
empty cigarette tubes. Someday I hope to grow my own tobacco. I can
talk about drags and draws; I know the difference between a creamy smoke
and a bitter smoke. I do warn anyone who thinks about taking up this
hobby: “If it becomes more an addiction than hobby it might be best if
you stopped.” That said I am an aficionado of all things tobacco
related.
When I walked into CIS International Tobacco I expected nothing more than the usual; I thought it must be like all the other area smoke shops. From the flier, I thought there might be more varieties of loose tobacco for someone like me to taste and try. They even advertised blends; I've made some interesting blends myself over the years tobacco blends and tobacco and mint/clove blends, but I've always had to make do with the small variety of loose tobacco the local smoke shops had to offer. I was excited to see what new cigarettes I might make and taste. Then I saw the machine:
You tell me which is sexier.
I didn't want to let my excitement show, so when Raffi offered me a cigarette rolled by his machine I accepted it instead of immediately oohing and aahing over the machine. I enjoyed the cigarette. It was a firmly packed King size regular; I don't know what the tobacco was, but it was a strongish one just a tad harsher than a Camel but still well below the torment of a Gitane. When I finished, I made my deal with Raffi for 200 Menthol Lights and watched the machine in action.
We chatted all the while to pass the time. The machine is a convenience but still a far cry from the kind of automation one can see at a cigarette factory. Raffi mentioned the price tag of a machine like that and my eyes bugged out a bit. I'm happy enough with the machine; it's still a lot more convenient than my own maker. We talked about the laws and regulations surrounding tobacco. I noted the high price of cigarettes in New York, and he told me of the real high price of cigarettes in Australia. I don't envy them who smoke twenty dollar packs of Marlboros. I still miss the days of two dollar packs of Marlboro Reds; imagine that, I used to buy cigarettes with a fiver and still have change for a coffee.
About halfway through I took a place at the machine feeding it cigarette tubes. That cut down the time of rolling your own significantly. When all my smokes were made, Raffi put them in a plastic bag with a small plastic egg filled with a damp napkin to act as a humidifier. A small slice of citrus rind serves the same purpose and imparts a slight tang to any cigarettes stored this way; a better makeshift humidifier is fresh mint. It imparts a crispness to those cigarettes. Outside I smoked my first cigarette and enjoyed it immensely.
So if you're ever down at All-Star Lanes or Starbucks and run out of smokes skip the drug store and the gas station and go give CIS International Tobacco a chance at the corner of Eagle Rock and York to change the way you enjoy tobacco.
CIS International Tobacco
4400 Eagle Rock Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90041
When I walked into CIS International Tobacco I expected nothing more than the usual; I thought it must be like all the other area smoke shops. From the flier, I thought there might be more varieties of loose tobacco for someone like me to taste and try. They even advertised blends; I've made some interesting blends myself over the years tobacco blends and tobacco and mint/clove blends, but I've always had to make do with the small variety of loose tobacco the local smoke shops had to offer. I was excited to see what new cigarettes I might make and taste. Then I saw the machine:
You tell me which is sexier.
I didn't want to let my excitement show, so when Raffi offered me a cigarette rolled by his machine I accepted it instead of immediately oohing and aahing over the machine. I enjoyed the cigarette. It was a firmly packed King size regular; I don't know what the tobacco was, but it was a strongish one just a tad harsher than a Camel but still well below the torment of a Gitane. When I finished, I made my deal with Raffi for 200 Menthol Lights and watched the machine in action.
We chatted all the while to pass the time. The machine is a convenience but still a far cry from the kind of automation one can see at a cigarette factory. Raffi mentioned the price tag of a machine like that and my eyes bugged out a bit. I'm happy enough with the machine; it's still a lot more convenient than my own maker. We talked about the laws and regulations surrounding tobacco. I noted the high price of cigarettes in New York, and he told me of the real high price of cigarettes in Australia. I don't envy them who smoke twenty dollar packs of Marlboros. I still miss the days of two dollar packs of Marlboro Reds; imagine that, I used to buy cigarettes with a fiver and still have change for a coffee.
About halfway through I took a place at the machine feeding it cigarette tubes. That cut down the time of rolling your own significantly. When all my smokes were made, Raffi put them in a plastic bag with a small plastic egg filled with a damp napkin to act as a humidifier. A small slice of citrus rind serves the same purpose and imparts a slight tang to any cigarettes stored this way; a better makeshift humidifier is fresh mint. It imparts a crispness to those cigarettes. Outside I smoked my first cigarette and enjoyed it immensely.
So if you're ever down at All-Star Lanes or Starbucks and run out of smokes skip the drug store and the gas station and go give CIS International Tobacco a chance at the corner of Eagle Rock and York to change the way you enjoy tobacco.
CIS International Tobacco
4400 Eagle Rock Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90041
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