BACKGROUND;
In a previous post I compared the smoking qualities of 2 Mortas, a clay pipe and a seasoned briar with a single tobacco - SG Balkan Flake. I made this choice because it had been said that Mortas are particularly suited to tobaccos heavy with Latakia and I have been smoking the Balkan for many years.
At that time I found that the 2 Mortas smoked identically; like the acknowledged clay 'neutrality' they added nothing to the smoke but IMO allowed all the flavours of the Balkan to be revealed. In contrast, the briar, despite no obvious 'ghosts', seemed to 'absorb' some nuances of the Balkan taste.
Some forum members asked me whether the same might apply to other tobaccos. Below therefore I have repeated the test with SG BBF, my long-standing favourite Va flake. This time I used only one Morta since I am convinced that both my Mortas smoke identically.
HYPOTHESIS:
The Morta and clay will act neutrally and bring out all the BBF flavours whereas the briar will 'subdue' some of the nuances. The clay will burn my tongue and the Morta will thus become my favourite pipe for smoking BBF.
MATERIALS AND METHODS:
1. A good quantity of SG BBF, fully rubbed out. Because of the 'stickiness' of the BBF I left it on the prep board for an hour so it would pack easily into the narrower-gauged clay.
2. My Chris Asquith long-stemmed Lovat, with its pretty large bowl, smoked >20 times.
3. My James Upshall G-grade straight pot, again with a generous bowl. This pipe has only ever been used to smoke BBF (>30 times) because when I first got it it seemed to suit SG BBF.
4. A new high quality clay pipe - this time one with a 'nubbin' on the bowl bottom to prevent finger burn !! LOL
RESULTS:
These were somewhat as expected, but my conclusions were not.
- The clay pipe brought out the BBF flavours I know so well. But the 'grassy' element was much more prominent and there was a real 'floral' note which I hadn't really noticed before - the smoke was 'sharper'. These findings persisted throughout the smoke and the deep 'bass' notes did not really kick in to any great extent, perhaps because of the relative narrowness of the clay bowl. With its 'pinhole' tip, tongue bite became an issue.
- The Morta also brought out the 'floral' element, but it did not last long before it was dominated by the hay-like flavour and the deep 'loamy' bass notes that I love so much. The Morta gave a marvellous smoke - dry to the bowl bottom!
- There were no floral 'top notes' with the briar. The hay and loam kicked in quickly, and a much deeper Va sweetness was evident as compared to either of the other two pipes. This may have been because this pipe, over many BBF smokes, has become 'permeated' with deep SG BBF flavours. An analogy might be listening to a favourite rock tune on the original vinyl compared to a CD - it might sound better, at least subjectively, on the former, even if the latter brings out a wider range of notes !! LOL
CONCLUSIONS:
1. The Upshall G-grade briar gave me my best SG BBF smoke, perhaps for the reasons suggested.
2. I will continue to reserve this Upshall for SG BBF.
3. I will perhaps widen my policy of reserving certain types of pipe, or even specific briars, for distinctive tobaccos.
4. I will use my Mortas for all types of tobacco, and will employ clays to gain a (brief) unadulterated perception of the 'high note' tastes of tobaccos, especially those new to me.
FUTURE WORK:
- To repeat the experiment with a 'light' blend, like Dunhill's MM 965 etc
- To try the 'large bowl clay', suggested to me by a kind forum member, in order to test if deeper notes are thereby permitted to contribute to the overall smoke.
NB - These observations are subjective and 'pseudo-scientific' at best, but they are influencing my pipe smoking habits, twelve years in the making!! LOL
In a previous post I compared the smoking qualities of 2 Mortas, a clay pipe and a seasoned briar with a single tobacco - SG Balkan Flake. I made this choice because it had been said that Mortas are particularly suited to tobaccos heavy with Latakia and I have been smoking the Balkan for many years.
At that time I found that the 2 Mortas smoked identically; like the acknowledged clay 'neutrality' they added nothing to the smoke but IMO allowed all the flavours of the Balkan to be revealed. In contrast, the briar, despite no obvious 'ghosts', seemed to 'absorb' some nuances of the Balkan taste.
Some forum members asked me whether the same might apply to other tobaccos. Below therefore I have repeated the test with SG BBF, my long-standing favourite Va flake. This time I used only one Morta since I am convinced that both my Mortas smoke identically.
HYPOTHESIS:
The Morta and clay will act neutrally and bring out all the BBF flavours whereas the briar will 'subdue' some of the nuances. The clay will burn my tongue and the Morta will thus become my favourite pipe for smoking BBF.
MATERIALS AND METHODS:
1. A good quantity of SG BBF, fully rubbed out. Because of the 'stickiness' of the BBF I left it on the prep board for an hour so it would pack easily into the narrower-gauged clay.
2. My Chris Asquith long-stemmed Lovat, with its pretty large bowl, smoked >20 times.
3. My James Upshall G-grade straight pot, again with a generous bowl. This pipe has only ever been used to smoke BBF (>30 times) because when I first got it it seemed to suit SG BBF.
4. A new high quality clay pipe - this time one with a 'nubbin' on the bowl bottom to prevent finger burn !! LOL
RESULTS:
These were somewhat as expected, but my conclusions were not.
- The clay pipe brought out the BBF flavours I know so well. But the 'grassy' element was much more prominent and there was a real 'floral' note which I hadn't really noticed before - the smoke was 'sharper'. These findings persisted throughout the smoke and the deep 'bass' notes did not really kick in to any great extent, perhaps because of the relative narrowness of the clay bowl. With its 'pinhole' tip, tongue bite became an issue.
- The Morta also brought out the 'floral' element, but it did not last long before it was dominated by the hay-like flavour and the deep 'loamy' bass notes that I love so much. The Morta gave a marvellous smoke - dry to the bowl bottom!
- There were no floral 'top notes' with the briar. The hay and loam kicked in quickly, and a much deeper Va sweetness was evident as compared to either of the other two pipes. This may have been because this pipe, over many BBF smokes, has become 'permeated' with deep SG BBF flavours. An analogy might be listening to a favourite rock tune on the original vinyl compared to a CD - it might sound better, at least subjectively, on the former, even if the latter brings out a wider range of notes !! LOL
CONCLUSIONS:
1. The Upshall G-grade briar gave me my best SG BBF smoke, perhaps for the reasons suggested.
2. I will continue to reserve this Upshall for SG BBF.
3. I will perhaps widen my policy of reserving certain types of pipe, or even specific briars, for distinctive tobaccos.
4. I will use my Mortas for all types of tobacco, and will employ clays to gain a (brief) unadulterated perception of the 'high note' tastes of tobaccos, especially those new to me.
FUTURE WORK:
- To repeat the experiment with a 'light' blend, like Dunhill's MM 965 etc
- To try the 'large bowl clay', suggested to me by a kind forum member, in order to test if deeper notes are thereby permitted to contribute to the overall smoke.
NB - These observations are subjective and 'pseudo-scientific' at best, but they are influencing my pipe smoking habits, twelve years in the making!! LOL
