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tarak

Lifer
Jun 23, 2013
1,528
15
South Dakota
Hey all. Do any of you ever have to "take a break" to let your mouth or palate recover?
Last week I smoked way more than usual for me when my brother stayed for a week. One of the first nights I seemed to get actual tongue burn....so after he left Sat morning, I gave it a Couple days off.
Friday I smoked Escudo, from an open tin approx 2 months old, seemed dry enough....and it was just unenjoyable. Like a harsh cigar.
After 2 days not smoking, I tried again last night. Capstan blue, dried for 1 hour, folded and stuffed. It was a flat, unenjoyable smoke with no sweetness whatsoever.
This morning my tongue again feels burnt. I've smoked both those blends before with no issues like this.
Thoughts? I'm thinking about taking a full week off....
Chris

 

pruss

Lifer
Feb 6, 2013
3,558
370
Mytown
Morning Tarak.
I smoke infrequently, a few times a month really, and every time I smoke I feel it in my mouth the day after. Typically this is noticeable as a general feeling of increased sensitivity on my soft palate, and on the spot on the tongue where smoke contact was most constant through smoking. These sensations aren't painful, but are noticeable even after one smoke. Interestingly, on weeks when I smoke multiple bowls (like when I'm camping) this sensitivity goes away rather quickly; meaning while I may notice the sensitivity on day 2, by day 3 it's all good. Whether this is a result of desensitizing, or building up tissue to protect the tongue, or my brain just deciding that this is okay behaviour, I couldn't tell you. Once I take a break from smoking my mouth returns to "normal" usually within 24 hours.
It wouldn't surprise me if your palate/mouth/tongue decided to say "no mas" after a weekend of heavy smoking, but I'd bet that it comes back fairly quickly.
Good luck with your rest period. Let us know how it goes.
-- Pat

 

cortezattic

Lifer
Nov 19, 2009
15,147
7,638
Chicago, IL
This sounds more like a body chemistry issue than anything else. Sometimes season and climate conditions, diet or minor variance

in general health and appetite for tobacco can produce such effects. Most telling is your reported inability to detect sweetness.

My only suggestion is to alter your diet in some systematic way and patiently wait for change. (I assume your pipes are clean.)
This is a great post, though. I'm eager to hear what others have experienced, and how they adjusted.

 

shaintiques

Lifer
Jul 13, 2011
3,615
227
Georgia
If I have a day of heavy smoking such as pipe club, I tend to get a,dry mouth for a couple of days and the roof of my mouth feels chalky. If I am just smoking one bowl however this doesn't happen. But yeah I will give my mouth a rest when it does.

 

tarak

Lifer
Jun 23, 2013
1,528
15
South Dakota
One thing I hadn't considered- before my week of heavy (for me) smoking, I had taken almost a full week off due to busyness. So I went from 3-4x/week, to 0 per week, to 2-3 per day.
Hmmm...

 

irwinmetro

Starting to Get Obsessed
May 31, 2013
205
0
Interesting. I find this more when I smoke in the morning, and almost never for my evening smoke. I've assumed it has to do with the comparative taste effects of toothpaste.
Maybe you should try smoking a cigar and then have a pipe the next day, perhaps by comparison you'll regain your sense for the pipe tobacco?

 

numbersix

Lifer
Jul 27, 2012
5,449
53
It doesn't sound too unusual, especially if you smoked way more than usual.
Smoke severely dries out your mouth, and if you relight often (esp with a butane lighter which burn extra hot), your tongue and mouth are subjected to extremely high heat.
Try switching to matches, or if you use a butane lighter (I do), don't let the flame touch the tobacco, let it hover over it. Then tamp often, and let the tamper act as a carburetor to limit the number of re-lights.
And of course, pack tight (but still leaving a decent draw) and get a good initial light going.

 

pipingruotsi

Starting to Get Obsessed
Aug 6, 2013
238
0
I would say that after burning your mouth, it's not a bad idea to limit or take a break to let the palate recover. Once, I took a two week break and when I returned the flavors were amazing! However, the nicotine was a little overpowering after that long and I got kinda dizzy....lol.

 

tarak

Lifer
Jun 23, 2013
1,528
15
South Dakota
Saintpete.....while we by no means went overboard, we did consume alcohol with the pipes, something I usually do not do for the reasons Rothnh quoted.
But it's not every week you get to be with your brother :)

 

zack24

Lifer
May 11, 2013
1,726
2
I smoked some Capstan Blue a couple of nights ago with Myers Rum and Coke instead of my usual Cabernet...Ended up with the worst tongue bite in recent memory- probably due to the carbonation...My fault for ruining perfectly good rum by diluting it with Coke....

 

flyguy

Lifer
Nov 20, 2012
1,018
4
Heavy latakia blends have a tendency to wear me out and desensitize my sense of taste if I smoke them too often. When that happens I have to take a break. It is important to know your own individual tolerances and take the necessary steps. It is always important to avoid tongue bite and to stay hydrated, as roth has mentioned many times.

 
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