This is mostly observation from experiences, both in and out of the tobacco world.
It seems that several blends happen to disagree so heavily with our body's chemistry that the all-too-feared tongue bite seems to range in intensity from mild to bleeding tongue. But it is not because of the quality of the tobacco which would cause these effects, it would be more because of alkalinity versus acidity (which would strike the chemist as quite familiar-- and I'm not a chemist). Chemical burns can occur to anyone regardless of the percentage of the population which seems to be unaffected from he same blend.
My first run-in with pipe tobacco occurred in the navy. The blend I had purchased happened to be my first blend, named Black Diamond, had a very great tin note. I had smoked this blend out of a meerschaum pipe. But after two bowls throughout the day, my tongue bite was so terrific that it caused my tongue to literally dry out, split and bleed.
I know that's quite graphic, but-- well, nothing speaks to me more than details. But this is something that I have forever kept in my mind when trying new tobaccos. Whether this blend had been made by W. O. Larsen or Stanwell, I can't answer that-- I just know to stay far enough away from this blend to ever risk that again.
Many people from tobaccoreviews seem to base their first impressions on the severity of their tongue bite. "Oh, this blend bites so hard! Avoid forever," and, "Made me vomit. Do not smoke. Stick with premium blends," seem to be the primary causal factor behind negative reviews.
But then again, aren't there snobs who dislike OTC blends strictly out of passion for bashing OTCs (and there's a way to say this that escapes me at present) "just because" it is an OTC, so there may not always be tongue bite involved in these reviews.
What do you think?
It seems that several blends happen to disagree so heavily with our body's chemistry that the all-too-feared tongue bite seems to range in intensity from mild to bleeding tongue. But it is not because of the quality of the tobacco which would cause these effects, it would be more because of alkalinity versus acidity (which would strike the chemist as quite familiar-- and I'm not a chemist). Chemical burns can occur to anyone regardless of the percentage of the population which seems to be unaffected from he same blend.
My first run-in with pipe tobacco occurred in the navy. The blend I had purchased happened to be my first blend, named Black Diamond, had a very great tin note. I had smoked this blend out of a meerschaum pipe. But after two bowls throughout the day, my tongue bite was so terrific that it caused my tongue to literally dry out, split and bleed.
I know that's quite graphic, but-- well, nothing speaks to me more than details. But this is something that I have forever kept in my mind when trying new tobaccos. Whether this blend had been made by W. O. Larsen or Stanwell, I can't answer that-- I just know to stay far enough away from this blend to ever risk that again.
Many people from tobaccoreviews seem to base their first impressions on the severity of their tongue bite. "Oh, this blend bites so hard! Avoid forever," and, "Made me vomit. Do not smoke. Stick with premium blends," seem to be the primary causal factor behind negative reviews.
But then again, aren't there snobs who dislike OTC blends strictly out of passion for bashing OTCs (and there's a way to say this that escapes me at present) "just because" it is an OTC, so there may not always be tongue bite involved in these reviews.
What do you think?
