A real challenge

[punkpiper]

Right, so today, tonight and tomorrow, I will be attempting to convert a friend to pipe smoking. I will be attempting this with him never even having touched a cigarette before, let alone touched or smelt pipe smoke before. I got given some cherry cavendish from borkum riff he insists may be to his taste, but I know it wont do at all for more than just teaching him the basics without wasting a blend I enjoy heavily. After that I'll pop him some early morning pipe.Either way he can have the borkum riff and a corn cob. Any advice would be welcomed. Wish me luck gentlemen. For my next trick I'll pull a woman out of a hat.

 

[admin]

Pack the pipe for him. Don't tamp after every light. Remind him to smoke slow and to not inhale.

 

[ace57]

Have some bread and butter ready for Your friend for when His belly gets feeling upset, that seems to work for some.

 

[pstlpkr]

Have a couple of fingers of a really good bourbon on hand... to encourage a second bowl.

 

[schmitzbitz]

Keep a pot of tea, a carafe of coffee, or a jug of lemonaid handy - if his first time is anything like mine, tongue bite (or, more properly, burn) will rear its ugly head. And, to keep with Lawrence's wonderful suggestion, "Irish" them up some.

I would also send him off with a list of preferred websites; when my cousin was visiting from Japan, I got him onboard here (and a few other sites), but also sent him off with URL's to the better etailers, pipedia, etc., allowing him to explore the hobby on his own, when I wasn't around to constantly stuff new tobaccos in his bowl.
For me, EMP was a blend that I hated when I first cracked the tin; it took me a good half-dozen bowls before I could really appreciate the depth of flavours, and get away from the whole "sweaty horse" flavour. With your friend being a non-smoker, the nicotine level in EMP could be the kicker driving him away (I discovered EMP as the solution to getting a handle on a pack-and-a-half-a-day habit). I might be inclined to offer him up something a little milder and more subtle, perhaps along the lines of Balkan Sasieni.