Since I only had a small amount of green leaves this year, I decided to try my hand at making Chimo.

This product is nearly impossible to order anymore so it was high-time I got busy on a recipe.

The basics involve boiling your green leaves, straining them, adding a little sweetener and cocoa and cooking down to a paste.

Here’s some photos along the way:

From Luis at Chimo El Toro. Hello Sir Schlef, I hope you are fine. Few things has passed these weeks, but always keeping in mind figth to get out chimo el toro to US. We sent our first consolidate shipment to US from Colombia, it ia too expensive but for awhile we get importer license in US. Now We will send box with 42 dozen consolidate to US to our point os distribution then will send to each customer, first we will sending the older orders.

Translated??  Taking new orders and able to ship??

@cobguy I will try to contact him again tonight. Sounds like he has a temporary liscence to sell here. I will try to find out more later.

Bravo! Looks like true Venezuelan. I imagine it was a lengthy procedure, tho.

Thanks @RS422, I sent an email as well.

@volunge, Thanks!

It wasn’t too bad since a lot of the time was just simmering. 

I could see doing this outside over a fire with really large kettles. 

~Darin

Is this how other products like 6P’s Shammah Afghani are made too?

@ar47 nope. Entirely different products and processes.

@ar47 chimo is essentially reduced tobacco tea, products like shammah afghani are made similiar to naswar, shown in video below. Anyone please correct me if I’m mistaken. https://youtu.be/6h9XeWsa-Aw

That’s a really cool video!  

With Makla / Shammah, etc, the leaf itself is used like in snus / dip.

It’s not uncommon for Makla to only contain 35% tobacco and the rest additives.

As rostanf said, Chimo is more of a boiled down tea and contains very few adulterants.

Dear Friends, after some serious problems in Venezuela as follow 1._ Airplanes of passengers or charges from Venezuela can not land in US, FedEx supend the services 2._ We were working to ship by sea, we had to let authorities know but the goverment got the company under investigation becouse they tougth there are billions of USD behind it. Now they let off the company. 3._ We found the way to continue still passing the Colombia frontier, but the cost are increase than ever, but is the only way to send the product for now We have now more than 100 dozen in US available for the older orders and new orders but we can

Dear Friends, after some serious problems in Venezuela as follow 1._ Airplanes of passengers or charges from Venezuela can not land in US, FedEx supend the services 2._ We were working to ship by sea, we had to let authorities know but the goverment got the company under investigation becouse they tougth there are billions of USD behind it. Now they let off the company. 3._ We found the way to continue still passing the Colombia frontier, but the cost are increase than ever, but is the only way to send the product for now We have now more than 100 dozen in US available for the older orders and new orders but we cant sell in the web page, we are delegating the point of sales to a distribuitor with ATF and FDA, you can write to franciscosalvatore@hotmail.com to ask prices and shipping. The older orders will be shipped next week.

Thanks @RS422!   :)>-

I’d love to try some of this but the whole shipping/smuggling situation is too complicated for my simple life

@ar47, once it’s all settled I’ll get some to you!  :)>-

I’m actually really used to this kind of “activity”.  LOL

Northerner seems to have it in stock. Is there a problem with ordering from there? I’ve wanted to try some, and realizing the situation in Venezuela I figure I had better act fast.

@KortKant depends on where you are. They won’t ship it to the States, for example.

@RS422 I emailed the person you mentioned above but never received a reply.

Here’s a video you guys might like. Small chimo producer. In Spanish. https://youtu.be/g-GtSQrlJi0

I thought it was an American company? They dont ship to certain states I noticed, but mine is not among them.

@SammyD13, I also received no reply and expect we never will.

@rostanf, thanks for that video! 

I found this video as well and it includes the actual plants used from the forest:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqNMGVSsVHA

@Cobguy, originally chimo is made with urao - an alkaline mineral, containing sodium sesquicarbonate (a compound of sodium carbonate, sodium bicarbonate and water, Na₂CO₃.NaHCO₃.2H₂O), mixed with tobacco at 1:2, 1:4 or other ratios in the second stage of preparation. Some manufacturers use only sodium bicarbonate, others - lye made from ashes; chimo with lye is considered the strongest.

Here’s the link to a very interesting Dorothy Kamen-Kaye’s report on chimo -

CHIMO: AN UNUSUAL FORM OF TOBACCO IN VENEZUELA (1971):

https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/41762271.pdf?seq=1

You need to sign up there to get a free access to the article, it takes just a few secs. It’s a long read, but really worth your time.

@volunge

@volunge, thanks!  I’ve actually made it twice now since my last post.  The first was fairly sweet and soft but the second batch was much closer to El Toro Chimo.  I’m off to go read that article now!