The flavor and aroma characteristics of the smoke of a tobacco blend incorporating Oriental tobacco are improved by subjecting that blend to heat treatment. Oriental tobacco having a relatively high sucrose ester content is combined with a second dissimilar Oriental tobacco material and/or a non-Oriental tobacco material to form a tobacco mixture, and that mixture is heated for a time and under conditions sufficient to reduce the concentration of sucrose esters in the Oriental tobacco. Tobacco blends having reduced levels of sucrose esters yield smoke that does not possess undesirable off-notes provided by pyrolysis products of those sucrose esters; namely, 2-methylpropionic acid, 3-methylbutyric acid and 3-methylpentanoic acid.