Bottom of the bowl & tongue bite

[atskywalker]

Hello!
Do you typically throw away the bottom 5% of the bowl? I've noticed that I usually hurt my tongue by trying to smoke that portion and have attributed it to the observation that the remaining tobacco is usually soaked in the juices produced during the smoke which makes it steamy hot (in addition to its closeness to one's mouth).
Is this how its done or am I depriving myself of the tastiest few puffs at the end (I'm assuming that this tobacco is soaked in its own flavour, but I can't seem to smoke it without taking a couple of days off afterwards ).

 

[cmdrmcbragg]

I kill it near the bottom as well. By that point that little bit of dottle is full of juice and ash and tastes like shit. Pipe tobacco is cheap, no point in trying to kill my tongue and taste buds for that little extra nasty bit at the bottom.

 

[phil67]

It all really depends on the blend one is smoking. Some smoke great all the way down to ash, others do not. If whatever tobacco I'm smoking starts to have an off taste, bitter, etc. I simply end the smoke and toss it. No sense in ruining a 45 minute or hour smoke just out of being stingy in trying to burn it to the bottom.

 

[rcstan]

If it starts getting soggy toward the bottom, or it goes out on its own, then it's time to dump. Many, many variables in the equation of "why does it happen".

You're not depriving yourself of anything. If you try to smoke that soggy stuff mixed with ashes, you WILL get tongue bite.

 

[jkrug]

Depends for me too. Sometimes I make it right to the bottom with little effort other times I'm struggling to keep it lit so I will abort the mission. ::

 

[atskywalker]

Thanks for all the input gents. I have been suffering significantly less tongue issues since I began to dump it at the end. The only blend I feel sorry for doing this with is Peterson Irish Flake because, to me, it gets tastier at the end.
What I'm noticing is that the more I puff the more I learn about enjoying my pipe without hurting myself .

 

[brass]

Sometimes the bite is actually from the heat resulting from trying to relight the dottle. Personally, I like the dottle taste, so I usually smoke it all the way down. But if it tastes bad, I dump it.
Pax

 

[elbert]

I'm glad you posted this, I almost always dump that last 5 to 10 percent. I thought I must be doing it wrong, because everywhere I look it says that to form a good, consistent cake you have to smoke to the bottom. Lately I just feel like I'll fill it and smoke it however long I want, and let the damn cake figure itself out. :nana:
-Josh

 

[alexnorth]

A refreshing perspective Josh! I too have this very thing happen almost every time I smoke. Just the other day I scorched the tip of my tounge when I stubbornly set out to light the wet dottle. In the future I believe I'll dump It!

 

[newbroom]

You've got to

Know when to hold 'em

Know when to fold 'em

Know when to walk away

Know when it's fun
You never toss your dottle

if it burns and you are able,

You just keep right on a smokin

Till the dottle's done.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Ha ha Newbroom, well played!!
Yeh, I rarely ever even notice when I've reached the bottom. Maybe it's because I smoke so slow, but I don't get a lot of moisture. The flavor just gets better for me all the way down. Then I just get a zipp and ash hits my tongue, letting me know that it's time to reload & relight.

 

[brass]

LOL Cosmic. I thought I was the only one who smoked until I got ash on the tongue. Was ASHamed to admit it.
Pax

 

[buroak]

Nicely, done newbroom.
I usually smoke a bowl to the point at which it will no longer stay lit without re-lighting. I love the flavor towards the bottom of a bowl of McClelland 5100 Red Cake. Sure, I have to be careful about tongue bite, but the sweet, slightly spice-like taste is the dessert of the bowlful.

 

[bigpond]

When I first started smoking I thought a van full of ninjas was circling my block just waiting to rain death and destruction upon my family if I didn't reach the bottom of the bowl. I moved to a nicer house on a lake. One day I smoking something really really boring (may put it up for trade) and thought, "what the heck", dumped it mid bowl and haven't looked back since. Now I'll dump a bowl anytime things get unpleasant, or if I'm just not feeling it at that point. I'm enjoying the pipe more than ever now that I've freed myself from the duty of finishing every bowl.
Typically, I'll dump the last 10%. But some blends burn all the way down and some improve at the bottom.

 

[atskywalker]

I now feel so much better about disposal of the last 5-10% . Thank you all for your contributions.

 

[delro]

The pinch of tobacco at the end I always dump. It acts like a baccy filter as you smoke...gunk and juices building up in and under it..not for me. Like others have said tobacco is cheap.

 

[nsfisher]

I seldom smoke the last 1/4.

 

[nsfisher]

I seldom smoke the last 1/4.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

It's funny how the forum persona changes over time. When I first got here, the tone of this would have changed quite a bit rapidly, ha ha. I remember Harris going on about chasing that stoved flavor all the way down to the ash. And, other bravada and balls would have had their barbaric yawps on a thread like this. It's funny. Now, we are all. It's too hot and soggy... Ha ha. Anyways, there have never been rules to any of this. Dump em' if you must. The key is just enjoying however you want.

 

[kane]

I can usually tell when I am there by the sound, the look of the ash, sometimes ash or ember will draw out, sometimes the taste gets nasty, so what's the point of trying to smoke the last when it's like that? However, of late I have been smoking fresher pipes with little cake, letting my baccy dry more, and using a zippo instead of matches after the first charring lights, and I've been getting lovely smokes with almost no dottle left at the bottom, just a nice small pile of ash. My latest pipe is a meerschaum, and I've been smoking it a lot: that pipe smokes cool and dry all the way down. While I will not endure with nasty dottle, it is rewarding to get a good smoke all the way to ash. I take it bowl-by-bowl.