Newbie Shopping List

[newbroom]

Matt, I guess you've found us out. It's all a hoax. We all write in rave reports about our pipe and tobacco experiences as a cover for failure. Smoke and ash.
No, really, sorry that you're having such a time of it. frozenchurchwarden may have hit on YOUR particular difficulty, though, in that your mouth is ultra sensitive to the experience and you brain is having doubts.
You should enjoy your tobacco from the moment you open its tin or bag, for its distinctive aroma/note, texture and color. Take your time. Re-light. Sip. Tamp. Play. Learn. It works.
I think for flakes you need to let them breathe with not too tight a pack. Learning process with all tobacco presentations is part of the fun.

 

[hiplainsdrifter]

I couldn't taste anything

Now here is a fun troubleshooting challenge.
So, what do you WANT a pipe to taste like? If you want it to taste like that delicious smell you get when a pipe smoker walks by, never fear, be patient and you will get it.
How does your tongue feel this morning? If it feels a bit raw or numb on the end (like when you slightly scald it on some hot soup), then your smoke was too hot- try not putting the stem end directly on your tongue. Form a small space above your tounge, and sip smoke into that area. Here are a few other ideas: Smoke outside. The fresh oxygen mixed with your smoke will get your nose into the game more. Drink a glass of water while smoking. This keeps your tongue cool and happy. Tamp several times through the bowl. Usually, if I am enjoying a good smoke and it goes flat, both in taste and smoke volume, it means I need to tamp. I also suggest not loading more than a half bowl, or plan on dumping the bottom half of the bowl. It is harder to have good technique toward the bottom of a bowl.

 

[withoutink]

Ok so my tongue is fine. My mouth still tastes like ash. The wife said my breath smells like an ash tray. No tongue bite. No numbness. No tingling. Just a little dryness and like I said the taste of ash.
I loaded a optimum earlier today. I took it slow. Watched a number of videos and I think I found out a few of my mistakes.
I was taking puffs that were way too deep. I also was still pupping away too quickly. Even though I tried to go slow. I also wasn't breathing through my nose while puffing. I also was exhaling too hard. Like I did when I smoked hookah.
How I corrected things.
I sorta understand what people meant by 'sipping' I'm trying hard to just take tiny puffs. And on the exhale, I'm just releasing the smoke as opposed to pushing it out quickly. I'm breathing through my nose as I draw. Keeping it in for a second and then just letting it escape on the exhale. I can now, on occasion taste something aside from soot. Progress!!
I still get this ash tray taste. But I can see a slight improvement. I have 1Q loaded as shown in the above video. That's super easy to load that way! The pipe ate the tobacco up!
Anyway I'm watching dr who. I have a glass of ice water and the pipe going. Nice and slow.
I think the tobacco may be a little dry. I have nothing to compare it to, no frame of reference. But it sorta appears dry. I'll take a pic later and post it. Maybe that's part of the issue. Anyway, thanks everyone for being so very kind. You have no idea how much I appreciate it.
Cheers
Matt

 

[withoutink]

I just received my order from Smoking Pipes, firing up a bowl of the Molto Dolce, smells great! Seems really wet/oily... Sputtered and sparked, I think I may have to dry this out a bit before lighting?

 

[hierophant]

Another thumbs up for smokingpipes.com from me. They're the biggest benefactor of my rekindled interest in the hobby.
I just finished the last of a tin of Molto Dolce and it is VERY wet and oily out of the tin. You can hear the sizzle when the flame hits it, but in spite of that it actually burns pretty well. You can dry it a bit if you want, but I didn't and didn't have problems keeping it lit.
A bad thing about it is that it seems to leave a lot of sticky residue behind, more so than other aromatics I've tried. No problem if you're burning it in a cob, but I smoked some of it in my Nording freehand which is now going to need a cleaning. Just a word of warning.

 

[frozenchurchwarden]

I smoke all my aromatics fresh, that wetness is your flavour.
Also note, pretty much every aromatic I've tried goes bitter about halfway down, it's a fairly sharp transition from one flavour to another. Sometimes I'll try to get a little more out of it, but usually I just toss what's left. The point isn't to burn everything in your bowl, it's to enjoy the smoke.

It can be a good exercise trying to get a little more flavour afterwards since that teaches you the importance of a controlled cadence (the pace of your puffing), I don't usually put up with it for long though.