Hello New Tobacco Blend, It's a Pleasure to Meet Your Acquaintance

Generally I can tell now if its something I should like within the first bowl. It may not smoke properly from that first bowl, but after the first bowl I have a good idea that the blend will work for me. Then it's a matter of drying and packing and that can take up to 10 bowls or so for me to figure out (in particular the damn packing, I still suck at it).

If its a loose cut tobacco mixture, it usually only takes me 3 or 4 bowls to figure out whether or not I will like something well enough to order it again. Flakes and kakes are a different story, particularly kakes. How to big to break up the pieces, how long those pieces take to dry, how I need to pack in order to get the most out of the burning qualities, that can sometimes take up to an ounce (~8-10 bowls) before a blend really starts to speak to me. In the case of Petersons Perfect Plug, it only took me one bowl to know that it was way too big a pain in the ass to merit the flavor it gave me.

You usually know right away if you like it, but it is a good idea to try it a few more times with different pipes. I got a sample of Troost. I put it in a briar and found it ordinary. Put it in a cob and quite liked it.

In most cases I can tell if I will like something in one bowl. There have been exceptions to that with Old Dark Fired being the one that I really didn't like first time out but then loved it after drying it properly and giving it another shot. I have had a number of blends where I thought they were ok but after smoking 6-10 bowls decided that they were not good enough to make my rotation. In terms of drying and packing, since I smoke only flakes, I have it down to a science pretty much. I cube cut all my flakes and know exactly how much resistance I want in terms of packing. I know how much moisture I like so I dry the tobacco to that level. When smoking a new blend there is the getting to know you period where I figure out which pipes smoke it best and what the moisture level should be, but that is the fun part. I don't think there is ever a set number of bowls to figuring out any blend, you just have to experiment and find what works best for you. It is great when you get a blend and it just sings to you first time out of the gate, those are no brainers and I love when that happens.

I'll know if I like it within a bowl. It takes me about an ounce to figure out how much I'll like it, how to pack it, etc. I've yet to go from hating something to liking it. Closest was probably SWR. I went from hating it to slight dislike. I have no problem with the flavor, but it assaults my nose like breathing black pepper.
I also haven't figured out DAN's Blue Note. I thought I liked the first two bowls, but the rest just taste salty to me. It seemed fine mixed with some PA, but I really don't like it on its own. I'm thinking about giving the rest of the tin to a friend of mine who only smokes aromatics.

I always try a bowl or two right from the tin to see what's happening. If I need to dry it more, it needs a tighter or loser pack, which pipe(s) it smokes better in and which pipes it tastes better in as well. Just play around with it, that's the fun of the hobby.