# Can I roll my own clove cigarettes? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 18, 2006, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-roll-my-own-clove-cigarettes/340567 "2006-01-18T22:46:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2006, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-roll-my-own-clove-cigarettes/340567/1 "2006-01-18T22:46:02Z")
I typically roll my own cigarettes but lately I’ve been buying packs of cloves. I want to be able to combine the superior elements of quality bulk rolling tobacco (additive-free, fresher and better tasting) with the clove flavoring. Can I buy clove powder (or whatever it is that are in clove cigarettes) to mix into the cigarettes? Are the cloves that you buy in the spice aisle the same cloves in cigarettes? ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2006, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-roll-my-own-clove-cigarettes/340567/2 "2006-01-18T23:34:53Z")
I do NOT know the proper recipes for making clove tobacco so I would strongly recommend getting more information on this before trying to make your own clove tobacco by adding cloves to it. I have NO IDEA what toxic effects cloves may or may not have and if it is possible to add too much to the point of being dangerous. > [@](#): > > Some cigarettes (known as kreteks, clove cigarettes, or simply cloves) have cloves blended with the tobacco. This is done to enhance the smoker’s pleasure by numbing the mouth and lungs and providing a mild euphoric effect. Lower-quality clove cigarettes simply have a clove essence added to the tobacco. > > SOURCE: [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cigarette](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cigarette) It does seem there is clove tobacco sold in a pouch for rolling your own such as here: [http://www.nationalguild.com/ZIGGYSTOBACCO.COM/Cigarette\_Tobacco.html](http://www.nationalguild.com/ZIGGYSTOBACCO.COM/Cigarette_Tobacco.html) Scroll about halfway down for “Filtra Fine Clove RYO Tobacco by Djarum” Note I do not have any idea about that vendor or product…just what came up in a search. ---
**Author:** ![jasonh300](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/46a35a/32.png) [@jasonh300](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jasonh300)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2006, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-roll-my-own-clove-cigarettes/340567/3 "2006-01-19T01:35:29Z")
I’ve tried mixing tobacco with crushed cloves and clove powder and it’s pretty awful. Nothing like the Sampoernas I used to like to buy once in a while. You might try wrapping some cloves or powder in cloth and putting it into the bag of tobacco and let it sit for a while. The tobacco might absorb the fumes from the cloves…kind of like putting a regular cigarette into a pack of menthols. Tobacco absorbs flavors and odors. ---
**Author:** ![Mathochist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c89c15/32.png) [@Mathochist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mathochist)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2006, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-roll-my-own-clove-cigarettes/340567/4 "2006-01-19T13:44:53Z")
> [@jasonh300](#): > > I’ve tried mixing tobacco with crushed cloves and clove powder and it’s pretty awful. Nothing like the Sampoernas I used to like to buy once in a while. Well, I’d say Sampoernas are pretty awful to begin with, but that’s a matter of taste 😃 > [@](#): > > You might try wrapping some cloves or powder in cloth and putting it into the bag of tobacco and let it sit for a while. The tobacco might absorb the fumes from the cloves…kind of like putting a regular cigarette into a pack of menthols. Tobacco absorbs flavors and odors. This might work better with a clove oil-soaked sachet. I wouldn’t use supermarket cloves for homemade clove cigarettes either with your suggestion or grinding them up. There’s just too many ways that “industrial” and “export” cloves could differ, and the two products aren’t necessarily the same thing at all. Really, I think **Whack-a-Mole** ’s link is a good place to start, or you could try asking around at a tobacconist’s. Unless, of course, this tobacconist is scratched. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2006, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-roll-my-own-clove-cigarettes/340567/5 "2006-01-19T13:55:53Z")
> [@Mathochist](#): > > There’s just too many ways that “industrial” and “export” cloves could differ, and the two products aren’t necessarily the same thing at all. “Industrial” cloves? What are they used for, making steel? ---
**Author:** ![Mathochist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c89c15/32.png) [@Mathochist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mathochist)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2006, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-roll-my-own-clove-cigarettes/340567/6 "2006-01-19T14:01:38Z")
> [@Fear Itself](#): > > “Industrial” cloves? What are they used for, making steel? No, for making clove cigarettes. It’s entirely possible that the cloves Djarum and Sampoerna use are qualitatively different from the ones you have in your kitchen (and definitely if you’ve only got ground cloves and not whole ones). You don’t think that every food-product company shops at the A&P with you, do you? ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2006, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-roll-my-own-clove-cigarettes/340567/7 "2006-01-19T14:11:39Z")
> [@Mathochist](#): > > It’s entirely possible that the cloves Djarum and Sampoerna use are qualitatively different from the ones you have in your kitchen (and definitely if you’ve only got ground cloves and not whole ones). I would think the cloves found in the A&P would be of higher quality than those used for the manufacture of cigarettes in Indonesia. Is that what you meant? ---
**Author:** ![Mathochist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c89c15/32.png) [@Mathochist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mathochist)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2006, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-roll-my-own-clove-cigarettes/340567/8 "2006-01-19T14:18:00Z")
> [@Fear Itself](#): > > I would think the cloves found in the A&P would be of higher quality than those used for the manufacture of cigarettes in Indonesia. Is that what you meant? No, I mean different. The qualities that make a good home kitchen clove are not necessarily those that make a good kretek clove. I’m pretty sure, for instance, that olives grown for oil are generally not the same as are sold for consumption on their own.