A Love Letter to Rolling Papers: The Ultimate Guide to the Best Rolling Papers for Joints

Let’s rewind the clock to the early days of rolling papers. The story dates back all the way to the 1800s with the famous brand Rizla, a name all seasoned smokers recognize. While the brand didn’t become well-known until the 19th Century, its origins can be traced back even earlier. The brand, founded by Jean Baptiste de Rizla, is often linked to a story where Napoleon disliked his soldiers using valuable book pages to roll their tobacco. While this tale is unverified, it’s clear that with rising tobacco sales, an alternative was needed and that’s when Rizla became the pioneer in rolling paper manufacturing.

In 1884, Zig-Zag stepped up to provide the next revolution for rolling papers. They introduced their iconic zig-zag folding pattern that made it much easier for smokers to grab one paper at a time and roll more efficiently. It quickly became the hallmark of the brand and then evolved into the industry standard. The next innovation also came in the late 1800s with Pay-Pay, among the first to introduce the gum Arabic line to the edge of the paper. This feature helps smokers easily seal their joints and is a staple in modern rolling papers.

While the core design of rolling papers has remained relatively simple, these early innovations set the standard for modern papers and have allowed rolling to become an art form.