China Red Enhanced Herbal Smoking Blend blew me away with its amazing scent and perfect flavor, but my love of it doesn’t stop there! Fantastic relaxing and euphoric effects accompanied every puff along the way, making China Red Enhanced a smoke you don’t want to miss.
Arriving in the latest batch of samplings is a packet with a foolish grin, a silly thumbs-up, and a Fu Manchu moustache that just doesn’t quit. It’s China Red Enhanced Herbal Smoking Blend, a new blend manufactured by Oldest City Enterprises.
Using a pair of scissors to snip the top of the resealable packet open, I pry open the zip seal and am instantly greeted by a powerful yet lovely, fruity raspberry scent. It’s not sickly sweet at all, but instead truly reminds me of the pure essence of a raspberry. I could smother myself in it; it’s almost like the scent of a raspberry sorbet. So utterly good, refreshing, and delicious. Just…wow. If the blend itself is even half as wonderful as the preburn scent, I’ll be a China Red Enhanced fan for life.
Oddly enough the ingredients don’t list raspberry, which leads me to believe the scent I find myself digging is actually passion flower after reading the ingredients, which are: A proprietary blend of Damiana Leaf Extract, Blue Lotus Extract, Wild Lettuce Extract, Passion Flower Extract, Hops Extract, Skullcap Extract, and Wormwood Extract. Be it raspberry or be it passion flower, China Red smells great regardless.
Visually, China Red Enhanced is a mix of dark green and dark brown herbage, most of which (if not all) is clearly extract. It’s dry (not overly so) and not sticky, but appears relatively fresh. The pinkish red bits of passion flowers really stand out, adding a gorgeous bit of color to the whole blend. Excited to take my first couple of puffs, I roll up an herbal cigarette and get to burning this impressive looking (and smelling!) herbal smoke.
Originally I was going to go the pipe route with China Red, but I had a friend show up and few things are as enjoyable as socially passing an herbal smoke back and forth, so I switched methods and have absolutely no regrets about doing so. The first puff of China Red was the harshest and I’m still left a bit unsure as to why as the rest of the cigarette smoked down without even the slightest of a cough issuing forth. Inhaling and exhaling comes natural, and holding the smoke is no problem at all. I suspect that the paper used might have caused that first harsh puff – I used a Juicy Jay’s Blackberry Brandy paper, but since I didn’t notice the harshness again, it might just have been my lungs reacting to the first invasion of smoke upon them in the day.
Relaxation at its finest is the mood set and checked by China Red Enhanced. I felt alert, active and awake, yet decidedly calm at the same time. A buzz of relaxation was all about me, the atmosphere and life in general took on a much kinder nature, gentle even. I smiled, laughed and grinned with my friend, and had a jolly good old time with China Red inspiring us in our merriment along the way. The taste itself wasn’t too strong – I admit using a Juicy Jay’s Blackberry Brandy might have hindered my ability to clearly taste it, but lightly sweet with a subtle fruity taste would be the best way to describe it. Good, nothing crazy flavor wise, making it an easy smoke for anyone to enjoy.
The relaxing, euphoric effect was definitely the boldest and most desirable aspect accompanying China Red, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. Loads more relaxing than any tobacco cigarette could ever be, China Red Enhanced is a top herbal smoke if relaxation is the feeling you’re after, and if that describes you you’ll want to give this blend a chance, I certainly will be doing so again!
Pros:
-delicious raspberry scent is amazing
-nice, subtle fruity sweet flavor
-relaxing
-euphoric
-socially fun
Cons:
-duration could be longer (about 30 minutes currently)
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