Biting The Tongue That Feeds You

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mlaug

Part of the Furniture Now
May 23, 2010
908
2
Iowa
This morning I'm suffering from the worst case of tongue bite I've had in years. I will occasionally overdo with the pipe, especially on Sundays when I have more time to smoke, but yowza this was a one bowl burn off.
I generally smoke in the evening after the day's labors. By mid-afternoon I'm dreaming about the evening smoke and deciding on the pipe and tobacco combination. Anticipation usually leads to a great end of the day experience. I'm a big fan of the Uhle's blends and I dearly love Bishop's Move. It would be my desert island tobacco. In an order placed awhile back I had Golden Shag added to my list, Uhle's describes it as "Savory and smooth, the richness of the Perique and Turkish tobaccos is offset by a subtle sweetness. Ingredients: Virginia, Latakia, Perique, and Burley. Close to Bishop's Move but with a bit less Latakia.
Sounds like a winner! I decided to finally open this up and sample what I assumed would be a great smoke. Right off the bat I experienced a weird dry feeling around my lips...which only got worse the longer I smoked. Like an idiot...I kept smoking. The taste was very good, but I could tell I was getting bit. The pipe smoked cool enough, but something in this blend didn't agree with me at all. Before bed, I did the normal oral hygiene routine and could tell my mouth was fried. I woke up in the middle of the night and had to take a Biotene rinse break to try and regain some moisture in my parched mouth. This morning I realize I'm out of the pipe business for a while until this goes away.
One bowl, one bad burn. I've never been bit by a tobacco like this. Inattention will sneak up on me sometimes, but I can feel that and its easy enough to sit the pipe down and stop smoking it so hot, but this time it was more of a physical reaction than hot smoke.
I plan on trying this again, but science will be part of the input. I was drinking some lemon tea and wonder if the citrus acid in the tea reacted with the smoke somehow? Maybe its my body chemistry?
Meanwhile....ouch!

 

pipetrucker

Part of the Furniture Now
Sep 13, 2010
937
1
Following the white rabbit
Wow, sorry about the bite. Bishop's Move is my favorite blend. I have never tried Golden Shag.
I do know that shag cuts tend to burn a lot faster than ribbon cuts or flakes, so perhaps that was a contributor?

 

buckeye

Part of the Furniture Now
Nov 16, 2010
925
8
when i first started smoking a pipe i smoked captain black. nasty tongue bite, could not eat spicey food. would burn even worse. aromatics also give me bite but not as bad as captian crap. i mainly smoke english blends now. no bite. hope your tongue feels better soon.

 

collin

Part of the Furniture Now
Oct 29, 2010
881
2
Oklahoma
Hope your tongue gets better!
8O Allergic to Latakia or Perique? Perish the thought! 8O

 

wallbright

Part of the Furniture Now
Aug 22, 2010
845
2
I find that I have been getting tongue bite more often. This is in part due to that I go days without smoking now so I am a little over zealous with my puffing. Also, I have been trying new blends and I find that some blends bite more than others. I also have found some pipes cause tongue bite more than other. I had the worst case of tongue bite a few weeks back in which I could not taste for three days lol.

 

mlaug

Part of the Furniture Now
May 23, 2010
908
2
Iowa
Thanks for the condolences. Tongue is better...lips still feel dry. :(
I don't know what to think. Pipetrucker makes a good point about the shag cut of this blend. I hadn't considered this. I wonder if it was a lot hotter than I realized and smoking at my usual pace ( fine for ribbon cut blends and flakes ) made it burn my mouth.
I certainly don't discount the allergic reaction, but dang it...Bishop's Move is supposed to be very close with more Latakia and I love that smoke. I wonder if losing some of the Lat made the Peri bite me and I need both to balance the other out?
Then again, it isn't a shag cut. In fact, I can't remember if I've smoked any other shag cut blends before and had this problem.
In a couple of days I'm going to saddle up and do it again, this time paying attention and see what happens...and I'm going to stop if it feels like its going south. :P
One aspect of the hobby never fails to interest me. It is the wide differences between individual tastes and experiences with this weed. The skill in controling fire will give one a lot of satisfaction when you know you're "doing it right", but after that....its all about the taste. It was a surprise to me when taste was replaced with pain.

 

hilojohnny

Lifer
Oct 2, 2010
1,607
0
Sorry to hear of your sad experience, but I think your analytic approach is the correct way to proceed....it would surely be nice if you could learn something positive from this episode.... :?

 

strongirish

Can't Leave
Aug 20, 2010
343
1
Lake Conroe, TX
Sometimes it's just your body chemistry that gives you tongue bite. Also it can be the blend and how fast you smoked it. I love latakia, but it does not like me so i have to limit how much I smoke of it. Thankfully perique and I are best friends.

 

python

Administrator
Staff member
Apr 8, 2009
3,756
7,251
Maryland
pipesmagazine.com
Like Pipetrucker said; it could very well be the shag cut.
I understand that since shag cuts burn so much faster and can create a lot more heat that you should pack them tighter so that it will slow the burn of the tobacco down and in effect it will create less heat. Next time that you are in a curious mood to smoke some more of it, try packing it tighter.

 

mlaug

Part of the Furniture Now
May 23, 2010
908
2
Iowa
I had some PA today.
In a few days I'll try packing it tighter and see if I can slow the burn down
What is it about a shag cut that burns so fast?

 

jimbo

Starting to Get Obsessed
Jan 7, 2010
275
1
I guess it's just the physics of it. Like when you start a fire, you use some fine wood shavings which burns fast and hot to ignite the larger kindling. Then the kindling ignites the big log on top which burns slowly.

 

jship079

Can't Leave
Oct 17, 2010
457
2
I would like to first thank God that I have never really been bit. The only tobacco that every even got hot on me was captain black white label.Might just be my chemistry or that I dont smoke enough but I have smoked about 25 types in my short stint of enjoying pipe tobacco.Hell maybe I am just a natural and can pack a pipe and smoke it at the perfect pace.

 

unclearthur

Lifer
Mar 9, 2010
6,875
5
As Jimbo said it is the physics of shag that make it burn faster. Lots more edges exposed to the fire. Tight pack and slow easy draw are your best bets.

 

juni

Lifer
Mar 9, 2010
1,184
11
I read somewhere that some aloe juice will ease the bite. I haven't found any here though.

 
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