The Art of a Slow Sip

Slow little sips, Ember. If the pipe goes out, no problem. Just tamp and relight. Poop mouth sucks big time. I'm guessing your puffing a bit too much and getting a hot ashy taste?

You will Ember. It just takes practice. I've only been smoking a pipe for about a year and a half myself. If you look at my avatar you'll see I joined the forums in January of 2013. That's about when I first began this journey. I can tell you this... you joined the right forum. Never be afraid to ask questions and never be afraid to read the many posts here. You will learn a lot here in a short time.

Oh sorry.... when lighting or relighting just run the flame over the top of the tobacco good and even and your done. First light, or the char light will almost always go out on you. Of course that's just part of the process. The tobacco will expand a bit. Just tamp that down so it's even, and relight.

The art of slow sipping is everything when smoking a pipe and can be the difference between a great experience and a burnt mouth. When you sip, take very long slow sips, drawing as slowly as you possibly can. If you do this you will taste your smoke and all of it's nuances all the better. Smoking a pipe is about relaxation, it isn't a race to get to the bottom of the bowl, nor is it a volume of smoke competition, though if you sip properly every bowl will give you big billowing clouds. And I think it is important that you sip in this way when you do your lights. Guys seem to think that you need to puff puff to get it going, but in doing so what often happens is you burn your mouth right out of the gate and then the flavor profile is corrupted. Depending on the tobacco you may need 2 charring lights, but sipping will change your smoking life.

Welcome to the forum ember. This was the type of thing I was looking for in the very beginning also. I searched all over for a magic, breath 1, 2, 3, 4, puff, breath, repeat type of thing, thinking that there must be some way to track my cadence. But... this is really a tricky personal thing that you just have to develop. There are as many different ways to smoke as there are smokers. I will mostly breath smoke while clenching my pipe at the workbench, driving, or while working in the yard or garden. I just light it and forget about it, with just the taste as a reminder that I'm smoking, like chewing gum, and sometimes I will have my pipe still clenched for quite a while sometimes before I realize that I have finished the bowl.

And, then sometimes I will kick back with friends and hold my pipe and take a few slow long draws and then set the pipe aside while I talk or savor the flavor.
All in all, it will just take time to develop your style. If you have the opportunity, joining a pipe club or hanging out at a smoking lounge with other pipe guys helps. I think that this helped me develop my smoking the fastest, because we tend to mimic other smokers that we are around, unconsciously.
I hope this helps. All in all the key is to just enjoy yourself. No stress, just savor the smoke. There's no rules saying that you have to finish an entire bowl, or make billowing clouds of smoke, or hurry. I have no problems with tucking a half pipe in my pocket for later or setting a pipe down. Just don't get rushed. Enjoy yourself. ::

Welcome to the forums ember. Breath smoking - or your variation - is definitely a good way to go, but the main thing is to relax with the pipe. The more the pipe becomes an automatic extension of you, the more likely you are to just accommodate it - and the smoking process - into your natural demeanour. That in turn will slow you down and reduce/eliminate bite &c. That said, packing and lighting technique are vital. I used to pack way too tight and suffered as I struggled to haul the air through the tobacco. Then I lit too hard and effectively tried to keep the blend burning rather than smouldering. Dave (shaintiques) is right - the object is to get an even glow (the cherry) in the bowl and then slowly and lightly pull a draught across it to draw the smoke. A light breath of air is enough and will not only keep the blend alight, but will also usually rekindle the heat when you think the pipe has gone out. Less is definitely more. You'll encounter the challenge again and again as you try different types, cuts, and blends of tobacco, but that's a great part of the journey. You'll know you're getting there when you realise you're not thinking about it any more. The kind of thing the sensei would have used as a lesson in Karate Kid if it hadn't of been such an un-PC thing to do! Good luck and enjoy!
Andy

When you sip, take very long slow sips, drawing as slowly as you possibly can.

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OK, this is a revealing tip. When I hear "sip" I think slow and short, as in a "sip" of wine. And my pipes always go out quickly. Slow and long may be the ticket to better burn. Thanks!

There are some really great tips in this thread. I've been smoking for less than a year and still take wild guesses as to how I should pack, dry tobacco, light, and actually smoke. I find myself often trying puff on my pipe like I'm trying to suck a golf ball through a garden hose, and the bowl gets hot to hold, I get a ton of smoke right away, a lot of ash and bitterness, and then it dies.
When I try to "sip" lightly, I barely get anything and the pipe still goes out. It's not exactly relaxing to have to relight 10 times throughout a smoke.

Welcome to the forums, Ember.
+1 to what Coalsmoke said. I'm a fairly new smoker as well, and learning to pack took me a while - I consciously overdid it so that I could learn what I was doing wrong, and his packing method is the one I've sort of fallen into after finding that the 3-stage packing method simply winds up packed too firmly when I do it. I've had much better luck with a 2-stage fill and push, or the 'rotary' method (there's a video out there on YouTube somewhere showing this one).
And finally, don't sweat it if it doesn't come as quickly as you'd like. Even after figuring this stuff out, a change in tobacco or a change in pipes can end up with you relearning it all over again with that particular combination, as some tobaccos can take a tighter (or looser) pack than others, and some pipes simply draw better than others. I spent a frustrating couple of weeks last month burning my tongue every time I went to smoke, but then it all came together again and the last several bowls have been nearly perfect.

I, too, have been relearning the art of sipping having laid off tobacco for 30 years, Use to enjoy Virginia tobaccos but find Dunhill Flake and Orlik Golden Slices make me a little dizzy whereas Frog Morton Cellar does not. After reading these threads I realize that I'm for the most part smoking too fast and ending with BCM (burnt cinder mouth) mainly with the Virginias. There are times when I smoke it 'right' and get that full flavor I left behind 30 years ago. Am looking for milder tobaccos in the mean time. Maybe when I master the art if sipping I can get back to where I can enjoy my Virginias again.
Toadshade

I have a hard time with smoking slowly. Until this year I could never do it. But then I did get better at it, although to some extent still too fast. Usually if I was having a hard time going more slowly, if I concentrated on the pipe to the exclusion of anything else, usually working on the computer, I could do so. In the past month it's gotten out of hand. So back to learning again.
I think the reason for fast puffing is that the more smoke in the mouth, the more vivid the taste. Also, the oral instinct, our inborn desire to suck more than probably gets in the way.

As a newbie I was straggling with the meaning of slowing down and sipping. I have read a lot but could not understand what it really meant. This post finally made it more clear.thanks for all the informaiton and help.

It seems like you might be expecting too much volume in your smoke, and may not NEED to actually "relight" your pipe. If your pipe is actually going out, try breath smoking. It involves placing the pipe in your mouth and leaving it there- breathing naturally to keep the fire going.

Right on, Lostandfound. I agree.

I was just going through my old posts, and maybe this one will help - The Benefits of Slow Smoking

I am not touting this as some sort of expert. It is just my observations. Hope it helps.

Questions from other new members always help to clarify some aspects of pipe smoking. For me in this case, I more clearly understand the "sipping technique".
I cannot tell I much I enjoy this forum. I have never been active in any forum, but I am really interested with this one.
Keep it going friends!!