Struggling to taste tabacco

[khiddy]

Not at all. I only said what I perceive. I do admire those with such sensitive palates though even if I can't understand what they feel and taste. They describe earthy notes, I taste grass.

Those notes come from personal associations of aromas and scents (“what does this remind me of? Where have I smelled/tasted this particular flavor before?”), combined with a trained nose and tongue to even sense the flavors and aromas in the first place.

It can be learned, and there are kits for training one’s palate if you wanted to go down that route. This is what wine sommeliers, brewers, high-end chefs, and food scientists do, among others.

 

[bersekero]

How can I learn? Sounds very interesting.

 

[bersekero]

For me, tasting the aromas of tobacco is like wandering through the forest for quite some time and suddenly coming upon a small clearing — and, strangely enough, beginning to actually taste some of the aromas. Some of them. Nothing like what I read in the reviews. Of course, I got here by following the countless wise pieces of advice from this forum. But I’m sure there are still other, even larger clearings out there that remain unexplored for me.

When I started two years ago, I thought one just gets a pipe and some tobacco and smokes. Over time, I began to realize that it’s an entire world, and it takes years to explore it. And maybe, in the end, that’s the magic of this hobby.

 

[khiddy]

How can I learn? Sounds very interesting.

There are aroma training kits for wine, spirits, and the like, search Amazon for options. But you can also get quite an education by walking through a farmer’s market and smelling the herbs and flowers on offer. A trip through your kitchen spice rack is also helpful.

If you read in a review that a smoker (or, even better, several reviewers) found a particular spice in the aroma, go find that spice and take a whiff, to fix it in your brain. Then smoke the blend and see if you find the same notes. It’s all about expanding your experience so that you have both the referent and the vocabulary to describe what you sense.

 

[bersekero]

Amazing! Thank you for your time and help.

 

[bersekero]

I have tried many good and famous tobaccos. For now, I can tell which ones have a very nice flavor and are particularly pleasant. But please don’t ask me what flavors I sense and taste — all I know is that they’re delicious.
G.L. Pease Quiet Nights, Odyssey, Horizons.
Cornell & Diehl From Beyond.
Samuel Gawith Balkan

 

[dublinpiper90]

It look me a long time to enjoy straight VA blends, technique is simple “Slow” when I slowed my pace down it felt as if I was in a boxing ring. Pipe smoking in general is meant to be slow and relaxing

 

[Mushroomleg]

Smoke slow. Lately I’ve made a rule: if u see smoke coming out of the mouth piece you’ve gone too far. I also taste better with the stem inside as far to the side of my mouth as physically possible.

 

[bersekero]

The afternoon smoke was a complete disaster. It was impossible to taste the C&D From Beyond. My nose was clogged, my mouth was dry because I was breathing through it, I was nervous after a difficult day, and I was smoking hot and hurriedly.
I sat down, calmed myself, rinsed my nose with a NeilMed Sinus Rinse, grabbed a bottle of cold water, and tried again calmly. The wonderful flavor of this fantastic tobacco returned.

 

[HeadMisfit]

There are aroma training kits for wine, spirits, and the like, search Amazon for options. But you can also get quite an education by walking through a farmer’s market and smelling the herbs and flowers on offer. A trip through your kitchen spice rack is also helpful.

If you read in a review that a smoker (or, even better, several reviewers) found a particular spice in the aroma, go find that spice and take a whiff, to fix it in your brain. Then smoke the blend and see if you find the same notes. It’s all about expanding your experience so that you have both the referent and the vocabulary to describe what you sense.

Where's the training kits for civet cat and cat pee?

 

[khiddy]

Where's the training kits for civet cat and cat pee?

There actually *are* training kits that are used to teach "defects" in brewing and winemaking. Diacetyl, for example, is that buttery aroma that is a byproduct of a fermentation that was too warm. (It's also used to add buttery flavor to margarine.)

 

[HeadMisfit]

There actually *are* training kits that are used to teach "defects" in brewing and winemaking. Diacetyl, for example, is that buttery aroma that is a byproduct of a fermentation that was too warm. (It's also used to add buttery flavor to margarine.)

lol a buttery aroma is that bad.. and buttery feeling isnt. to many whiskey and other spirits make a point of it being buttery

 

[khiddy]

lol a buttery aroma is that bad.. and buttery feeling isnt. to many whiskey and other spirits make a point of it being buttery

Diacetyl is considered a defect in brewing & vinting... except when it isn't. Certain styles require it as part of the definition. A "buttery chardonnay", for example, has diacetyl as a notable and desirable characteristic, and if it's not there, the drinker will be disappointed. But if you get butter in your bottle of Coors Banquet Beer, it's a sign that something went off on that batch.

 

[HeadMisfit]

Diacetyl is considered a defect in brewing & vinting... except when it isn't. Certain styles require it as part of the definition. A "buttery chardonnay", for example, has diacetyl as a notable and desirable characteristic, and if it's not there, the drinker will be disappointed. But if you get butter in your bottle of Coors Banquet Beer, it's a sign that something went off on that batch.

And if im actually drinking, let alone holding a bottle of coors anything... its a sign to start checking for the other 3 horsemen.

 

[khiddy]

And if im actually drinking, let alone holding a bottle of coors anything... its a sign to start checking for the other 3 horsemen.

Diff’rent strokes, my good man.

 

[lukasstrifeson]

For me, tasting the aromas of tobacco is like wandering through the forest for quite some time and suddenly coming upon a small clearing — and, strangely enough, beginning to actually taste some of the aromas. Some of them. Nothing like what I read in the reviews. Of course, I got here by following the countless wise pieces of advice from this forum. But I’m sure there are still other, even larger clearings out there that remain unexplored for me.

When I started two years ago, I thought one just gets a pipe and some tobacco and smokes. Over time, I began to realize that it’s an entire world, and it takes years to explore it. And maybe, in the end, that’s the magic of this hobby.

There's a lot more technique involved with smoking a pipe than people care to admit or accept it seems. Depending on how often you smoke and your natural affinity for it, it can take months or even years of trying before you really nail down the tempo of keeping a pipe lit just right to maximize the taste.

 

[BingBong]

There's a lot more technique involved with smoking a pipe than people care to admit or accept it seems. Depending on how often you smoke and your natural affinity for it, it can take months or even years of trying before you really nail down the tempo of keeping a pipe lit just right to maximize the taste.

And then you must accept that you can have a heavenly smoke and, despite repeating all of the variables as well as you can, you find that you cannot repeat that experience "on demand".

 

[HeadMisfit]

And then you must accept that you can have a heavenly smoke and, despite repeating all of the variables as well as you can, you find that you cannot repeat that experience "on demand".

Preaching to an unhappy choir. Its an issue with smoking pipe tobacco.

Not even an OCD person like me would go count out individual strands of tobacco per smoke.