Are Tastes Ever-Changin?

[Ryan]

Feel free to skip to the last paragraph if you don’t feel like reading a bunch.

Happy 4th! I was having a bowl of Sutliff 212 Burley Delight his morning, and a question crept into my mind. I have thought of this before, and then I forget about it before I get it posted here. ?

I’ve been smoking a pipe for about 8-9 months now, and I have noticed that the way blends taste to me has evolved. Some blends more than others, I loved the English blends in the beginning, now Latakia seems too much for me and I have only been smoking them rarely (mostly to see if I can like them again).

I thought dark fired Kentucky was very strong and smoky/spicy the first few times I tried it, now it is something I enjoy and it doesn’t seem nearly as powerful in flavor as it did.

I thought Old Joe Krantz tasted dry and spicy the first several times I tried it; yesterday it seemed more nutty and much better than before without that dry pepper taste.

I give these as examples and of course there are many more I could mention, but I think you get the picture. I do understand that time in jars may also be a factor in flavor changes, but that’s not what I’m getting at with this post. Same with using different pipes, I know smoking blends out of different pipes can result in different flavors coming through but I don’t want to discuss that in this post. And finally, I’m sure my technique has improved over time as well. Still, that’s not what I’m posting about. (Of course, this is America and it’s the 4th of July so post whatever you please on this thread!)

I understand this is normal to taste things differently as you keep smoking tobacco and keep trying blends and revisiting blends. I also feel like some blends taste the same to me every time, particularly the ones I smoke the most.

Here is the part where I finally get to my question: For you long-term pipe smokers, do you reach a point where these tastes become more stable over time, or does your palate constantly evolve? Or is just different for everyone?

 

[TheIronMonkey]

Generally, I suspect it's different for everyone.

There are also a lot of factors and variables that come into play: how much sleep you got, your mood, what you ate or drank earlier, organic products aging and changing chemically (or just plain variation in product).

When I try different craft beers or whiskies, age comes into play; has the whisky been transferred to a smaller bottle over time to reduce the amount of air in the bottle? Is it oxidizing and changing over time?

I try to mix up the blends I smoke so I don't get "nose blind" and surprise my palate. With any repeat experience, what you draw from it depends on your level of focus. I might pick up on a new flavour or nuance I hadn't noticed before if I'm focused. Rereading a book or rewatching a movie might result in my picking up on a theme or pattern, or allusion I missed earlier.

It all depends (YMMV).

 

[kcghost]

Yeah, it is probably different for different people. I know a lot of us when we hit a certain age suddenly find that our tastes change from strong latakias blend to VaPers.

 

[cigrmaster]

In the beginning I enjoyed a number of English blends from the likes of Dunhill and GL Pease. It has been well over a decade since I smoked anything with Latakia as I totally lost my taste for it.
I enjoy Va, Vaper and Vabur flakes and plugs. I only have 41 different blends in my cellar and that is enough variety for me.

Some people have well over a hundred different varieties as that works for them. Tastes do change the longer you smoke in my experience.

 

[Papamique]

Thank you for allowing me to skip to the last paragraph!

My tastes have both settled down and continue to change. They change within finer parameters and seem to go back to my base favorite quicker.

 

[warren]

Or is just different for everyone?

Palates change with age, over time. Tobacco harvests vary, being dependent on weather and soil. Blends change depending on availability of tobaccos. One's palate is also affected by one's health. So, what you "taste" is constantly evolving. Jim and others strive to maintain a level, working constantly to keep "in shape." But, tastes morph, crops morph, etc.

 

[anotherbob]

I have noticed the older I get the more my tastes settle. Oh I like new things and taste adventures but the whole predictability of an old favorite becomes more welcome. Or in other words yeah tastes change and maybe even what we're looking to get out of that taste in particular.
With pipes at least I've found some blends that seem to hit a peak level of enjoyment for me, I know that even if I discover another blend that's amazing it's not going to wow me in a way the first blend I smoked that I needed more of did. I feel like that gotta try everything phase in a lot of ways is built on not having a good handle on what pipe tobacco is capable of what personal peaks are out there.

 

[bullet08]

Yeah. I'm trying to see if I can keep mine from changing too much. Some English in cellar that were good.

 

[sardonicus87]

For those who's tastes are changing, I will gladly do you the favor of taking off your hands what you don't want from your cellar so you can clear space for more of what you do currently want, especially for those of you who are abandoning your English, Balkan and Oriental blends.

But more to your point, many people's palates change over time, though some remain stable, and those that change will often do so at different rates and to varying degrees. But considering the nature of tobacco, changing blends, aging, and the myriad of other factors that can make the "same" blend taste different over time, pointing to changing tastes beyond broad and generalized categories is kind of a wash.

For myself, my palate with regards to food has remained consistent since childhood (though I'm still only 35 years old). There's other people my age who's palates have also remained unchanged, some that have changed a little, and some that have changed drastically. It's all very individual.

With regards to tobacco, I'm only just getting back into pipe smoking, but I find today my tastes and preferences today, in general, are much the same as they were 15 years ago when I last was getting into pipe smoking. Only time will tell now that I am into it for the long-haul.

 

[captpat]

Initially I smoked a fair amount of Latakia blends, over the past several years I reach more for Va, Va/Per and Burleys. I still occasionally enjoy Latakia blends, particularly in colder weather. I’ve no idea if my tastes will continue to evolve, maybe Lakelands are next.

 

[mso489]

Like an old parrot on a perch, I am always posting to new pipe smokers not to buy in large quantities because their tastes will change. Even for experienced smokers, this is a truth. And as I just posted a few minutes ago on a different thread, blends change from year to year as well. So, yes, this is part of pipe smoking and part of life. It's part of the journey. I always endeavor to find a new blend to enjoy or to rediscover a blend I have enjoyed in the past.

 

[dunnyboy]

^^^^^
This is excellent advice. But you won't follow it. Why? Because you'll keep hearing about amazing tobaccos and hard to find blends that are suddenly available. There will be discounts and sales and constant threats of higher taxes and changing FDA rules that will take beloved blends out of production. Oh, and of course, tobacco is better aged! Pretty soon you'll have more tobacco than you can smoke in a lifetime, half of which you won't want to—because, yes, your palate has evolved! Don't ask me how I know.

 

[OzPiper]

Of course our tastes change - constantly !

And not just with tobacco - everything !

Growing up I hated coriander/cilantro (one of the more polarising herbs due to its strong flavour). I love it now.
Ditto vegetables like okra and eggplant.

When I first became interested in wine, cabernet sauvignons and shiraz/syrah were staples. I much prefer the subtler nuances of a pinot noir these days.
I couldn't get enough of chardonnays. I'll take a Riesling any day now.
But I haven't given up drinking cab savs, shirazes or chardonnays.

A few years ago getting back to smoking a pipe, I became hooked onto English/Balkan blends. I still like them, but my preference these days are the subtler Virginia/VaPer blends.

No right or wrong. Nor better nor worse.
Whatever suits your mood on the day.

 

[hyperstar]

The food you eat earlier might affect your taste perception.

Also, our favorite flavors change over time.

 

[The Amish Tyrant]

The food you eat earlier might affect your taste perception.

Also, our favorite flavors change over time.

I agree about food and beverages changing the taste perception of pipe tobacco. I would also add that mood, weather, temperature, and activity tends to alter the perception as well.

For example, I'm not a huge fan of Latakia but when I want that flavor (usuallyin winter or chilly evenings), I enjoy it. Other times, I want nothing to do with Latakia, and even blends I normally enjoy that use Latakia sparingly (Habana Daydream) turn me off.

I don't tend to enjoy a pipe when overly stressed or upset (and oddly I seem to enjoy a pipe the most right before my family needs something).

Lately, I've been enjoying codger tobacco more (Half and Half) and not enjoying Virginia blends as much. My morning routine was typically a vanilla flavored blend (Vanilla Roll Cake, 1-Q, or a more kitchen sink blend), but lately it's burley (Cube Cut, Five Brothers) that sings for me.

 

[hyperstar]

I agree about food and beverages changing the taste perception of pipe tobacco. I would also add that mood, weather, temperature, and activity tends to alter the perception as well.

For example, I'm not a huge fan of Latakia but when I want that flavor (usuallyin winter or chilly evenings), I enjoy it. Other times, I want nothing to do with Latakia, and even blends I normally enjoy that use Latakia sparingly (Habana Daydream) turn me off.

I don't tend to enjoy a pipe when overly stressed or upset (and oddly I seem to enjoy a pipe the most right before my family needs something).

Lately, I've been enjoying codger tobacco more (Half and Half) and not enjoying Virginia blends as much. My morning routine was typically a vanilla flavored blend (Vanilla Roll Cake, 1-Q, or a more kitchen sink blend), but lately it's burley (Cube Cut, Five Brothers) that sings for me.

The temperature part reminds me about the first time I smoked SG Brown No.4
It was summer time and I just started to smoke pipes. I let the smoke ran through my nose. It felt like someone punched my nose. All I felt was sting and hot. I threw it deep in my cellar.
Same year when the winter came. I took No.4 out and smoked it again. It gave my a completely different taste! The tobaccos are turely amazing stuffs.

 

[Ryan]

One thing is for sure, I’ve liked Stokkebye Cube Cut pretty much the whole time and it still tastes the same to me. It’s also probably the tobacco I have smoked the most. Love that stuff; easy to load, easy to smoke, easy on the wallet. I started out trying more complex blends, but I find I generally like simple blends.

Lately I find my self mostly smoking Sutliff 212, MB Golden Extra, Cube Cut, Sutliff Edgeworth Ready Rubbed Match, and Stokkebye Luxury Navy Flake. None of those are particularly complex. I definitely have gravitated to blends containing burley.

 

[beardedfancyman]

For me it's more expanding tastes than changing tastes... I don't find that I suddenly DON'T like something I used to like, but instead I think that my palette expands/matures/call-it-what-you-will and something I didn't care for in the past I find that I am enjoying now.