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stanlaurel

Part of the Furniture Now
Jan 31, 2015
701
9
I am a new pipe smoker. I have smoked 10 bowls over the last 2 weeks. I am working through the usual issues for new smokers. Tongue bite, packing, re-lighting etc. I am working through these and I am enjoying myself. But here is my question. I like the 3 tobaccos that I have used but I don't seem to have very discerning taste buds. These 3 tobaccos seem very similar. I read reviews that talk about all sorts of subtle nuances and detecting 12 different leaves etc. Do I have a dull tongue? Or will my discriminating taste come with time? Will I be able to tell the difference between good tobacco and bad? Or am I not a connoisseur?

 

newbroom

Lifer
Jul 11, 2014
6,087
6,394
Florida
Welcome to the forums.
You've come to the right place with your questions.

What are the three? They may all be quite similar.
Or am I not a connoisseur?
You are most certainly not a connoisseur. That takes awhile for anyone.

 

warren

Lifer
Sep 13, 2013
11,699
16,207
Foothills of the Chugach Range, AK
The characteristics of some blends can be as subtle a some wines. If you are lucky enough to be blessed with good sense of taste, you can learn to discriminate. Others, like myself, have abused that sense over time. My tex-mex has to be very heavily flavored, I really only enjoy heavy, red, wines with robust flavor . . . I can tell you if I like a blend immediately, but would be hard pressed to identify any of the nuances of the individual tobaccos.
My advise: Scrap that tongue regularly and go for it. See where your sense of smell, sight and taste (they all work together) will take you.

 

stanlaurel

Part of the Furniture Now
Jan 31, 2015
701
9
I have tried Wilderness and Blackhouse, 2 english types which I like a lot but which I know are quite similar. But I also tried Escudo Navy Deluxe which is a VaPr and it tasted the same to me.

 

freakiefrog

Part of the Furniture Now
Dec 26, 2012
745
2
Mississippi
One of the things nobody tells you is how much smoke it takes to taste the tobacco. Most people when they first start think you should expel huge billowing plumes of thick hazy smoke. Small light puffs are all that are truly needed to taste the tobacco. When you take big long deep draws you increase the heat and moisture. The more smoke the more it coats your mouth the less you can taste.
But as you can see here by this video its not so. Einstein smoking his Pipe

 

mustanggt

Part of the Furniture Now
Dec 6, 2012
819
4
I don't have as sophisticated pallet as someone like our own JimInks. Look at all his reviews that he does here and at TobaccoReviews.com. I can discern some but not all. I am able to get what I like and don't like. You may develop a more discernible pallet but don't get discouraged if you don't. Just enjoy the experience and you'll enjoy the whole journey, which is what it is all about anyway.

 

phred

Lifer
Dec 11, 2012
1,754
4
If you're only 10 bowls in, it's not surprising that things taste the same. When I drank my first couple of beers, they all tasted pretty much the same to me, but after discovering Belgian Ales, I started to understand the differences between styles, and then the subtler differences within those styles. Same with Scotch, and now Bourbon. If you've spent time developing your palate in other areas, the process will be a little more familiar, but it still takes time.
I started with a few aromatic blends, and an awful lot of them tasted the same to me despite the different aromas in the jars. I took a dive into English blends, and that's where I started to see some of the subtle differences (I picked a sampler that included mild, medium, and strong blends on purpose). I'd smoked these for several months before I tried my first Va/Per blends, and by that time I could tell that there was a difference, though I'd have had a hard time describing it. I'm now 2 years in, and just starting to develop the vocabulary to describe what I'm tasting, and I'm nowhere near the level of other blend poets (such as JimInks), who have been doing this for much longer.
Don't worry about it overmuch - focus on technique to begin with, and try different blends with your focus being on "Do I like this?" rather than trying too hard to tease out the subtle essence of leather and plums that distinguishes a particular blend. It will come in time.

 

skagit

Lurker
Jan 27, 2015
23
0
Good topic Stan. I'm with you...at this point I'm happy to make smoke and look at the stars on the porch.

 

sablebrush52

The Bard Of Barlings
Jun 15, 2013
19,623
44,833
Southern Oregon
jrs457.wixsite.com
Some blends are pretty subtle, not flavor powerhouses. Virginia blends tend to be subtle, and descriptions of them as rich and powerful need to be considered within the context of their generally lighter flavor profiles. None of them will have the force of latakia and oriental blends.
To get the differences try changing blends between bowls, rather than having several bowls of the same blend. The flavor characteristics are revealed by the contrast between blend types. Once you're aware of the elements of a blend, further exposure to it may yield more discernment.
Freakiefrog's point about lightly sipping the smoke is an essential one. Plumes of smoke look great, but they often result in reduced flavor and increased tongue bite. The other thing is to exhale the smoke through your nose to get most from the flavors in the blend. This may not be as big a deal if you're smoking within an enclosed room as you're inhaling the smoke anyway. But if you only smoke outdoors, like I do, you're not going to get the full benefit of a blend's flavor without exhaling the smoke through your nose.

 

mso489

Lifer
Feb 21, 2013
41,210
60,433
stanlaurel, welcome aboard. My first question would be, do the blends you smoke taste good to you? Apparently

none of them taste particularly better than the others. But you have sampled pipe smoking just a little, not enough

to say yet, I don't like that, or I really like that. Maybe the blends you have are similar, enough to taste alike to a

new smoker. So smoke up what you have, over time, and perhaps differences will occur to you. Meantime, keep

reading Forums and the online tobacco retail sites to scout out what you might try in the future.

 

clickklick

Lifer
May 5, 2014
1,700
212
It takes time for your palate to be able to taste the nuances of flavors in the smoke. I remember when I first started an aromatic tasted like a Virginia which also tasted .like an English . . . like smoke. I couldn't discern any flavors at all. After sticking with it for a month I could start tasting things, two months in I could tell what type of blend they were. Took me a few years to actual start pulling subtle nuances out of blends.
Sable brush has wise advice. Smoke different blends types after one a other as opposed to the same type twice in a row if you are trying to discern the differences in flavor. Another thing that can help in the long run once you get more into it is dedicating pipes to certain tobacco types. I have pipe dedicated to just Virginia's and other pipes just for englishes. I keep a few on hand for just aromatics but you have to be careful because some of the stronger arms will ghost your pipe and you'All be able to taste remnants of that flavor in the pipe no matter what blend you are smoking.

 

unholy1

Might Stick Around
May 4, 2014
70
0
It takes time, my friend. Just like you cannot immediately appreciate high IBU IPAs or Cabernets, you can't really get the most out of complex tobaccos at the outset. Your palate will become more attuned with practice, I guarantee. It's magical when it finally "clicks". I made the mistake of asking for too much at the beginning. I put down the pipe for several months thinking that I would never go back. And that's after years of palate training with cigars!
Don't expect too much in the beginning and don't give up. You'll get there!

 
Mar 1, 2014
3,646
4,916
I say the first thing you should do is get five or six well reviewed blends in each major category (Virginia, Lat-bomb, English, Aromatic, and I'd say Lakeland since I am a fan of it now).

I realize that's nearly 30 blends and will take months to get through, but not every blend will tickle your taste buds like others, there has to be some spread and I've never heard of a sure way to get it right the first time.

I didn't add an "English" category to my review notes until I had tried almost 50 blends (though that was largely due to a misrepresentation of Latakia I got early on from a local retailer), and I still can't make a McClelland Virginia taste like anything but starch when everyone else adores them.

Keep trying new blends and see what sticks, don't be afraid to try something crazy because you just might like it.

 

stephenw

Might Stick Around
Nov 14, 2014
99
2
WV
I have tried Wilderness and Blackhouse, 2 english types which I like a lot but which I know are quite similar. But I also tried Escudo Navy Deluxe which is a VaPr and it tasted the same to me.
How many pipes do you have? If you are smoking a tobacco with a lot of Latakia in it, then every thing you smoke in that pipe will tend to taste of Latakia. The same goes for aromatics. A pipe used for something like Blue Note will cause most tobaccos to taste of Blue Note. I would suggest a new Missouri Meerschaum pipe for each type of tobacco and then you may be able to taste the differences.

 

dottiewarden

Lifer
Mar 25, 2014
3,053
57
Toronto
I am a new pipe smoker. I have smoked 10 bowls over the last 2 weeks. I am working through the usual issues for new smokers. Tongue bite, packing, re-lighting etc. I am working through these and I am enjoying myself.
It sounds like you are doing exceedingly well for someone only 10 bowls in!
Congratulations!

 

stanlaurel

Part of the Furniture Now
Jan 31, 2015
701
9
I have 5 briar pipes. 2 are still un-smoked. The other 3 have each had one tobacco in them. Is it ok to dedicate a Latakia pipe to Latakia types without being unable to appreciate the differences? I currently don't plan to smoke any aromatics. Can I follow an english/balkan in a Virginia pipe since Virgina is mild in comparison? Do all pipes have to be "dedicated"? Can't a pipe be cleaned and used for something else in most cases aromatics excepted?

 

newbroom

Lifer
Jul 11, 2014
6,087
6,394
Florida
Smoking a blend is like watching a movie or even better, listening to a familiar song. Sometimes you get more or new stimulation from watching it again. We all have our moments, we are all changing. It's a trip we can make more enjoyable by smoking a pipe, or not.

 

bigpond

Lifer
Oct 14, 2014
2,019
13
Don't worry, you're fine. Things will definitely improve as you gain a little more experience and expand your technique and exposure to a range of tobaccos. Don't waste a single solitary moment wondering if there's an issue with you or your tastebuds. Of course there is, you're both green!
Assuming you don't suffer from anosmia or a similar ailment, you have the requisite equipment to become a tobacco taster of the first order. All you need is a frame of reference and a bit of confidence. Fortunately, you don't have to wander far for the former.
Open the following page next time you fire up a pipe and see how it affects your perception of the taste and aroma of your tobacco. You may even be able to use it as a sort of flow chart, but not every blend is easy to pin down. Keep in mind that the majority of flavor will come from aroma (i.e. your nose, not your tongue alone). My advice is to try and focus on the big themes for now.
http://pipesmagazine.com/schmitzbitz/pipe-smoking/tobacco-flavours-and-nuances/
The "discernment of 12 different leaves" as you mentioned is not imho a reasonable or even worthwhile goal. Certainly, with time you'll be able to understand what a given leaf brings to a mixture but overall these are merely constituents within a mixture. And well blended mixtures usually take balance in to account.
/Personal bias alert: I've found that in many of the reviews I've read in which the taster has given such an accounting, he/she has often times had information directly from a blender as to a mixtures constituents. Furthermore, if you read any of the "blind tasting" threads here, you'll see that it's rare for someone to make fine distinctions in the absence of foreknowledge /end personal bias alert.
I'm running out of time but will just briefly touch on a few other points.
The most difficult aspects of pipe smoking for me have been getting a handle on tobacco density (i.e. pipe filling), smoke volume and cadence. Generally, I've found that you can't go too slow, you can't tamp too lightly and most off all, you can't fill a pipe too loosely. Youtube is a horrible place, in my experience, to learn how to smoke. Those folks blow smoke like they're burning oil.
A couple of things immediately jump out to me about your smoking. All pipes regardless if they are new or just new to you have a break in period during which time they will color the flavor of what you are smoking. If you find escudo to taste very much like wilderness, the taste of you pipe might be partially responsible. This is more likely if the pipes use the same bowl coating.

 

waxmojo

Might Stick Around
Aug 21, 2013
66
3
Read everything that has been said then go on the porch, make smoke, look at the stars, be happy and don't worry about it.

 
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