"Kreteks are Indonesian cigarettes made with a complex blend of tobacco, cloves and a flavoring 'sauce.' They are often called clove cigarettes. It is believed that the name kretek comes from the crackling sound the cloves make when they are burned.
Kreteks were originally created by Haji Jamahri in the early 1880's for medicinal purposes as a way to deliver the eugenol in the cloves to the lungs, as it was thought to help asthma. It cured his chest pains and he started to market his invention to the village, but he died before he could mass market it. M. Nitisemito took his place and began to commercialize these new cigarettes. Today kretek manufacturers employ over 180,000 people in Indonesia and account for 95% of the world's clove market. In the U.S. cloves are popular with social smokers, artists and the goth and punk subcultures. Djarum Blacks, a black paper kretek, are often linked with the goth image, leading to the infamous saying, "I'm so goth even my cigarettes are black."
It is believed that the name kretek comes from the crackling sound the cloves make when they are burned. Interesting...don't know how "kretek" sounds like crackling of burning cloves, though... It reminds me of my satirical analysis of Randall Jarrell's Death of the Ball Turret Gunner, where I wrote that the first letters of each line spelled "FASIW", which represented the sounds of the cannons on the fighter planes attacking the bomber...and some people (including the teacher) bought it!
Djarum Blacks, a black paper kretek, are often linked with the goth image, leading to the infamous saying, "I'm so goth even my cigarettes are black."
Oh, I thought the saying was: "I'm so goth even my lungs are black." That's what my friends used to say.
Cover of Kretek: The Culture and Heritage of Indonesia's Clove Cigarettes by Mark Hanusz (ISBN: 9799589800)
Hope you're not offended at the comments on your handle, Kretek.