Has this ever happened to you?

Since getting into pipe smoking about a year ago, my favorite blend has been Amphora English Blend. To me it tasted like a cavendish-forward blend and very different from the smokey campfire-smell of other English blends. I was suspicious because of the fact that it didn’t taste like an English blend, and reviews online said it was a very Latakia (I think) forward blend.

Oh well, I liked it so I bought another pouch. That one smelled and tasted the same. Cavendish-forward flavor with a figgy pastry scent.

Fast forward to a couple weeks ago, I bought two more pouches. I opened them up and took a whiff and it had that strong campfire smell like other English blends. The smell and flavor profile had completely changed. I even had my wife smell the jar that the previous pouch had been in, then had her smell the new pouch and she immediately knew the difference.

Have you ever had a blend completely change on you? I am wondering if a mistake was made at the factory and they were accidentally putting their black cavendish blend in the English blend pouches and shipping them out that way. Not likely, but it’s the only explanation I can think of.

Funny thing is, I also tried amphora’s black cavendish blend when I first started and did not like it because it had that campfire blend like a scotch whisky. Now that I have more experience, I know that cavendish should not smell like that.

What gives? It feels almost like a Berenstain Bears Scenario.