RETRO SMOKING ✅ TOBACCO EGBERTS 44 from 1970

I bought my first "student" pipe in 1970. In an effort to save money, I chose a small specimen without a manufacturer's label. Although it has a briar bowl, it only cost 10 Czechoslovak korunas (Kčs) at the time. I later added a metal ring to the cracked stem and slightly bent the mouthpiece. I smoked Dutch tobacco DOUWE EGBERTS 44 from it. It was labeled as pipe tobacco, even though it has a very fine cut similar to cigarette "shag," which suited the small pipe perfectly. It wasn't too strong or flavored, and it could be bought at "Tuzex" for 2 bony. Tuzex were stores where goods that were generally unavailable in Czechoslovakia were sold until 1989. Payment was made with Tuzex vouchers (bony), which could be obtained on the black market for about 5 Kčs per bon.

In May 2026, after 56 years, I stuffed the same tobacco Egberts 44 into the same pipe. I am a witness—not an expert—so I can only state that it was a pleasant nostalgic smoke. Finding a substitute for this pipe tobacco with a "cigarette" cut is difficult, also because in 1998, Douwe Egberts sold its tobacco division. Anyone who wants to get an idea of what smoking Egberts 44 from the 1970s was like can stuff a small pipe with the commonly available cigarette tobacco Mac Baren Amsterdam Original.