SAMUEL GAWITH PLUG & FLAKE PRODUCTION

Samuel Gawith is most famous for its flake production with blends like Full Virginia Flake and St James Flake being some of the most sought after tobaccos produced. 

Samuel Gawith’s flake production goes back well over 100 years, when leaf was being packed into strong wooden molds and then subject to great pressure for weeks, under blocks wound down by massive wooden screw presses. This consolidated the leaf into a thinner square cake and then a steam powered guillotine would cut this into slices or flakes. 

And the process has not changed much to this day. The guillotines are now powered by electric but are still the original machinery but the massive old wooden presses remain. Instead of being cold pressed for weeks, for most of the blends, the cakes of tobacco are cooked under pressure before being allowed to cool slowly. 

At first gas powered presses were used and now electrically heated, hydraulic presses are utilised. 

Our Samuel Gawith Plugs and Flakes are made following the same overall process as Gawith Hoggarth flakes (and plugs) but use only 2 or 3 different leaf varieties. And any topping is added after the cake has been formed and cooked, towards the end of the production. Again the process is all done by hand, using very old machinery and the leaf and cakes must rest overnight between each stage. The flavourings are then applied by hand using a small brush to carefully cover the surface of the cake with the flavour before the hard pressed tobacco block is cut into either plugs or sliced into flakes. 

Plugs are cooked for a little longer to give a darker appearance and a slightly different character. 

In order to produce the unique flakes that Samuel Gawith is known for, the process cannot be rushed. 

Flake and Plug tobacco is historically linked with sea-faring and likely originated from the need for sailors to need a compact and long lasting way to store tobacco for extended sea voyages. Tobacco would be treated with rum or other sweet liquids and spices to preserve it and impart a unique flavour. This is the where ‘Navy Flake’ came from and Samuel Gawith’s Navy Flake is one of its oldest blends, dating back to the 1880’s, along with Virginia Flake and Brown Flake. 

Flakes have a slow-burning quality for a long lasting smoke and the practice of cutting and preparing flake is part of a much loved tradition amongst pipe smokers.