Same pipe, same tobacco, different experience

[mngslvs]

So I smoked my go-to – Marlin Flake – in the same pipe, a week or two apart. The earlier smoke was sublime, the sweet spot, what I think we all aim for. The next smoke was nowhere, flat, I stopped the smoke unfinished. This was the most dramatic example of something I’ve noticed from time to time – same pipe, same tobacco, different tasting smoke. There was a guy at one of the well known pipe/tobacco vendors who told me a long time ago that something like what you had for dinner can influence the taste of a smoke. I found that dubious, but perhaps he was right. Or maybe subtle changes in body chemistry could make a difference.
Anyone else noticed this phenomenon ? Any theories ?

 

[makhorkasmoker]

Many things can make a tobacco taste different from one smoke to the next. Humidity, temperature, your mood, the setting, etc. what’s more tobacco is not a uniform product, though blenders try to achieve that. One leaf of the same tobacco can differ from the next. And the state of the pipe changes. Maybe you have a little more cake in one smoke, less another, and there’s another difference. As someone who smokes pretty much the same tobacco every day, I appreciate the variety. Yes, there will be some so so smokes but also many different good ones

 

[warren]

You got a correct answer from the guy at the vendor. Your body chemistry, including the palate, can/will change from diet, illness, exertion, age for sure, and other stuff. Not sure why anyone would find that dubious.

 

[OzPiper]

Many things can make a tobacco taste different from one smoke to the next. Humidity, temperature, your mood, the setting, etc. Yes, there will be some so so smokes but also many different good ones

^^^^^ THIS

So many variables, not the least is how you pack the bowl.
Your mood is an important variable - were you in a relaxed mood or just had a fight with someone ? In a rush ?
And your health. I don‘t smoke if I don’t feel 100% as I find it has a negative impact.

If the bowl was less than satisfactory, dump it.
There is always the next bowl

 

[sardonicus87]

Hell, I've found that what I previously smoked in a different pipe affects things.

I also smoke Camel menthol cigarettes. If I have a burley based blend, for the whole rest of that day, the cocoa and licorice they use stands out more, as well as the oriental leaf in it. If I smoke a VA, the cigarettes later the menthol stands out more and if I smoke an English, then later the cigarettes taste sweeter.

The same is true in regard to pipe tobacco. I've found if I smoke anything in a pipe that's not burley and even 24 hours later I come back to that pipe with burley, it takes half the bowl before the burley starts to taste like burley.

Even the coffee I am drinking, the same coffee from the same bag, tastes noticeably different depending on what I am smoking with it.

Anything you consume affects everything else you consume, sometimes drastically, sometimes in more subtle ways. And when some things ride the line on subtlety (not saying Marlin flake is, never had it), it won't take much for something to go from sublime to subpar.

 

[Piping Abe]

Combination of the food you ate leading up to it and how hydrated you are.