Why Do Latakia Blends Taste Like Soap To Me?

davedan · Mar 17, 2016

Hi guys,
Apart from SPC Mississippi River (which is my favorite blend that I can't get enough of!), every other blend containing Latakia tastes like soap to me? I've tried a lot! From SPC's Plum pudding to the frog mortons (all) and Balkan blue etc.
This is very strange indeed!
My favorite so far in order of preference:
1. SPC Mississippi River

2. Orlik Golden Sliced

3. Old Gowrie
I've also been told I MUST try SPC's Deception Pass as this will have everything I like so far so have ordered 3 tins.
Thanks for the input!

mcitinner1 · Mar 17, 2016

Well sorry about your inability to love some Latakia...but that's good!! It leaves more for me!! :nana:

deathmetal · Mar 18, 2016

Try drinking something different beforehand, either more or less acidic. Black tea is one of my favorites.

davedan · Mar 18, 2016

Just popped open a tin of FM Across The Pond and this is actually quite good! I understand syrian latakia is different and mellow? It's like rose/red grapes

I'm enjoying this one! I drank 7up beforehand if that made any difference lol?

metalheadycigarguy · Mar 18, 2016

Well the tobacco's listed as far as your preferences go are all Virginia based blends with only the Mississippi River containing some Latakia. As far as Plum Pudding, Frog Morton blends and Balkan Blue, those are all English/Balkan blends that are heavy in the Latakia. So it might just be your perception of what they're suppose to taste like more than the actual taste its self. Just a thought anyway.
Also what pipe are you smoking the tobacco in? Is the pipe cleaned regularly and do you smoke a variety of blends in it? Its possible that you're getting a ghosted taste which is affecting the tobacco.

davedan · Mar 18, 2016

I'm mainly using mm cobs - Freehand, Mark Twain and Country Gentleman! They get cleaned by 3 Vauen cleaners after each smoke and with 1 more cleaner before a smoke...I also clean the inside of the bowls a little with a cleaner too...Maybe it's just me lol

hawke · Mar 18, 2016

One thing is to try it in a brand new cob. I have never been able to get the taste of what I call "Lakeland" flavors out of a pipe that's been ghosted by it. I have heard that latakia will ghost severely but it not that pronounced to my taste buds.
Another point I'd like to share is my initial disdain for perique. The raw smell of it was exactly like dog poop to me. In fact I called latakia "horsebarn" and perique "dog poop". I had that thought in my head and I could taste that doggie bag stuff in it every time. I made a conscious effort to not think of it when smelling of pure perique and started noticing a sweetness and the fermented smells. I now like perique blends as well as latakia blends.

judcole · Mar 18, 2016

I gather you are a new pipe smoker. : puffy

:

Not everyone is going to like everything right off the bat. If you don't like lat blends, don't smoke them. Smoke what you enjoy. Gain some experience as a pipe smoker. Come back later to latakia.

It may be that it's not your cuppa. You don't have to like everything.

cosmicfolklore · Mar 18, 2016

What Jud and everyone else has said makes a lot of sense. I hated latakia right off the bat, especially the Frog Mortons with their added aromatic flavors. But, slowly I have found some that I really enjoy, but that took a few years and an open mind. Just smoke what you enjoy, and one day you'll smell someone else's pipe with latakia and you'll know when and what to latakias might start appealing to you. And, maybe it just might not be your thing, which is perfectly ok also. That's why we have tons of different blends.

sjfine · Mar 18, 2016

I'm not a coger, but I'm not a newbie either. And, I cannot stand latakia. It tastes like soap because it tastes like soap. Like Acid cigars.
More for them.
Bleah.

perdurabo · Mar 18, 2016

Soap? Incense comes to mind.

fitzy · Mar 18, 2016

I'm with my bro Hawke. I refuse to smoke lakeland blends for that very reason. And lakeland for me is the only tobacco that has a soap taste but everyone's chemistry is different.

clickklick · Mar 18, 2016

Listen to Hawke. Use one pipe for lakelands. Anything else you smoke in that pipe will have the same soapy floral ghosting flavor.
Start over trying the latakia blends with a brand new cob and keep it away from aromatics and lakelands.

aldecaker · Mar 18, 2016

The "soapy" taste in a Lat blend may not be from the Lat at all, but from another component. If you ever get a chance, grab an ounce of straight blending Latakia and try a few puffs from a neutral pipe. That will show what the Lat component in a blend is all about, without all the other flavors mingled in.

jessicac · Mar 18, 2016

Latakia is definitely an acquired taste. Much like other noobs, when I started on pipes, my tastes were more towards the aromatics. But on the advice of the tobacconist at the local B&M (that is now no more) I tried a couple of tins of lat.
My girlfriend is still at that aromatic phase, waiting for her to level up so we can both indulge in the lat.
Sometime during my second tin, the flavour hit me. I'm now a lat fangirl.

As for the soapy taste, I'm gonna go with the opinions above, that it's likely some lakeland ghosting and/or ingredient in that blend. Were the pipes new when you got them?

gtrhtr · Mar 18, 2016

I get s slight taste of soap from Lat. it actually shifts from soap to leather as the bowl is smoked. Latakia in a blend is something I'll smoke periodically and keep a tin of something with Latakia in it around generally, but it isn't very high up on my wants and desires list.

davedan · Mar 18, 2016

Nope, no ghosting! I have never even heard of lakeland blends...just the ones listed have been smoked in the cobs and the cobs don't ghost either. Just popped open a tin of FM Across The Pond last night and this is actually quite good! It's like red grape juice with rose...very mellow and unique but this one has syrian latakia....the soapiness is still there but this latakia is sweet in a very good way

frozenchurchwarden · Mar 18, 2016

This is a perfect example of why people should not describe Lakeland blends as "Soapy".

Lakeland blends are Floral. But I have gotten a Soapy flavour from blends like Ten Russians or Pirate Kake, sometimes taking on an Alkaline flavor when burning hot. The cleaning power of soap coming from strong Alkali, traditionally made from leeching mineral components out of Ash. Sound familiar?
Latakia can give an Alkaline flavor, similar to Soap.

Lakeland blends are flavored with Flower extracts. (Rose, Lavender, etc.)
The two couldn't be more different.

cosmicfolklore · Mar 18, 2016

The lakeland essence, when described as soapy, usually means that it has that fake rose-like aroma of those pink soaps that grandmas used to keep in their bathrooms.
Then there is a burley soapy, which is more like a back of the tongue sudsy-ness that can also be described as burned wax taste.
Is the latakia more like a bar soap flavor or dish-washing soap? Does it have a floral essence or lemony fresh sudsy taste?
I'm thinking that you're tasting the orientals in the mix. Some of them do have an odd flavor

frozenchurchwarden · Mar 18, 2016

"Soap" should be removed from the Tobacco flavor lexicon permanently and forever. It's just too vague of a concept and implies too many different things to different people.

Why Do Latakia Blends Taste Like Soap To Me?

Log in

SmokingPipes.com Updates

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

Site Sponsors

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

Might Stick Around

Lifer

Lifer

Might Stick Around

Lifer

Might Stick Around

Lifer

Lifer

Lifer

Part of the Furniture Now

Lifer

Lifer

Lifer

Lifer

Starting to Get Obsessed

Starting to Get Obsessed

Might Stick Around

Lifer

Lifer

Lifer