Cant taste pipe tabacco on my tongue but get the flavour though beeathing out of my nose (covid)

[wernerat]

Hey. First hello all. I m new to the forum.l and kinda new to pipe smoking. Although year long smoker of cigarettes and now try to switch more and more to pipe as it calms me much more. Thankfully my uncle left me a whole collection

I read quite some topics about Corona and smoking here.

Got covid around Christmas 2022. I can taste everything now and smell but I just can't taste tabacco anymore.

Luckily I can taste it if I breath the smoke out of my nose. So all my new limited tabacco are not a complete waste.

I just wanted an update of people who had/has the same problem, how long ot took and so on.
Thanks in advance

 

[Singularis]

Welcome to the club. With any luck -- actually, even without luck -- you'll get your nose for tobacco back.

Was this the first time you got covid? If so, it may take longer, but there are no guarantees with the human body, especially when the 'rona is involved.

My advice is to take it slow. Sit and sip your pipe, close your eyes, and think of what tobacco used to taste like for you. This should psychologically help bring it back.

YMMV, as always.

 

[Coreios]

I also lost my smell and taste in 2022. I got my full taste and smell back about 2 weeks from the start of the loss. I read it helps to imagine the flavor as you remembered it to rewire your brain.

 

[bullet08]

The OP can smell. He can't taste tobacco. Which should be fine. Taste should return also. The fact that you just can't taste tobacco means nothing. Some people swear all the flavor from pipe smoke is from when you exhale through nose. I do taste and smell both, but smell is more specific.

 

[Singularis]

The OP can smell. He can't taste tobacco. Which should be fine. Taste should return also. The fact that you just can't taste tobacco means nothing. Some people swear all the flavor from pipe smoke is from when you exhale through nose. I do taste and smell both, but smell is more specific.

For me, the “retrohale” is overrated, even though I do so from time to time. It’s the secondary smell (already exhaled smoke) that really rings my bells.

 

[Ahi Ka]

If I were in your position I’d use it as an opportunity to really explore aromatic blends or straight orientals…which as Duane will point out, are still technically aromatic tobaccos.

 

[Doctor Chopper]

The return of taste after COVID varies among people. I wish you luck in having it return soon. In the meantime, use the time to experiment with stronger tasting tobaccos.

 

[wernerat]

Thanks a lot to already a lot of answers.
Got also good old aged nightcap. This I can taste on my tongue a little little little bit.
I guess I ll just give it some months time and till then try to think how it could taste in my mouth. Thankfully through the nose I get at least 1 of two senses. So it's still enjoyable and alone the slower breathing is much more relaxing then cigarettes. And retrohale cigarettes is for me at least horrible :D

 

[bullet08]

For me, the “retrohale” is overrated, even though I do so from time to time. It’s the secondary smell (already exhaled smoke) that really rings my bells.

It was like that for me at the beginning. Then one day, it just started working for me. I smoked cigs since 12. Chances are my sense of smell wasn't up to the retrohale. Funny thing is, I can smell food fine. Retrohale just didn't work on me till that day. Just tasting was fine for me, but retrohale definitely adds new dimension.

 

[Michigan_Bill]

Alas I am in the same boat. I had Covid in October and lost my sense of smell for only two things — peanut butter and tobacco. I have gotten some of my sense of smell for tobacco back but not all. Perhaps 50%? It all seems so vague and unquantifiable. Certainly frustrating.
Previously I smoked mostly VaPers, Virginias, and mild English blends. None of them taste like much to me now. For a while I smoked OGS which didn’t taste like much, but it seemed pleasant in some abstract sense (which of course makes no sense but there it is.)
Just in the last couple of weeks I have found two blends which taste somewhat good to me, Alexander Bridge and Orlik Mellow Mixture. Before my encounter with the virus neither of them really appealed to me, but now I'm glad I kept them. Alexander Bridge has a burley taste which I can actually perceive, which is a welcome surprise. The Mellow Mixture has a caramel taste. The perception in both cases is quite different from before.
So where from here? I do hope so much that my former sense of smell will return. The former blends were so enjoyable. It would be so nice to enjoy the wonderful gifts from my oh-so-generous Secret Santa! Maybe in the Spring, it will be six months, hopefully hoping.
So my advice for the OP, such as it is, is to try something completely different. You might find that with your changed perceptions, something unexpected might be pleasing. Stronger is not necessarily the answer. In my case, stronger tasting tobacco tasted like ash. Of course YMMV, this whole experience is unpredictable and unpleasant besides. Hopefully time will heal all.
Wishing you all the best! Patience my friend!

 

[burleybreath]

Got covid for Christmas '21, as a gift from fate. Took almost a year to regain anything resembling an ordinary sense of taste or smell. It still is a bit on and off, but generally works OK. Sort of. The first thing I noticed smelling was public urinals, another gift of fate. The first tobacco I enjoyed was a tin of OGS, a tobacco that is good, but before covid wasn't really one of my favorites. Tasted absolutely great. So did aromatics, not my usual fare. Really weird stuff goin' on in my skull, man. But I'm an old guy--your recovery may vary. Better and quicker than mine, I hope.

 

[kcghost]

Fortunately, the doctors handling a lot of Covid cases are predicting that you will get you sense of taste back in six months to a year. The flavor you are getting is from retrohaling the smoke which is the preferred method of smoking amongst some of our members.

 

[TheWhale13]

My sense of smell and taste is ok but I can't taste tobacco without retrohaling. I would say you're alright. There is a reason why people retrohale.

 

[lukifer]

Sometimes when I smoke too much or too hot and my mouth becomes dry, my ability to taste tobacco deteriorates significantly for several days. I have found that taking care to pack loose and slow down for several days while using Biotene morning and night while actively trying to stay hydrated helps me remedy this. I know you said this happened as a result of covid and the only reason I mention it is because I was surprised at how extremely dehydrated I became when I had covid.

It may not have anything to do with dry mouth, but my 2 cents is: experiment for a few days with 1)drying your tobacco a bit more than usual, 2) pack a little looser, 3) smoke slower, 4) drink more water and 5) teeth and tongue brushing before using Biotene morning and night.

Sorry if this seems off topic-ish, if this doesn't help I hope you find an answer that does.

 

[wernerat]

Thanks for all the answers I ll try different tabacco then. Got plenty as I inheritated some which I just need to moist again.
It's good to hear that I am now alone. That's already a relief I'll give it time

 

[FHlight]

I have a friend who has recovered from COVID-19 for two months, but his taste is still not completely restored

It's the same as yours.

 

[vosBghos]

I lost my taste pretty bad and have been doing the "essential oil" sniffing in the morning and at night I think it's helping.
I also have been smoking straight baccy's as much as possible trying to just taste individual Va, Burley, and Oriental/Latakia.
There are a few different sites on the retraining method this was the first thing that popped up on google. Kaiser Permanente Northern California COVID-19 Information - https://mydoctor.kaiserpermanente.org/covid-19/smell-retraining-therapy-and-long-covid
I hope you and others regain your taste and smell quickly, it's really no fun.
I have a bunch of aged stuff and untried blends that I do not want to waste on this worthless palate.
There are a few really strong blends that pack a wallop but only the first couple smokes then back to bland land...

 

[Michigan_Bill]

So things are getting better! Last week when I smoked some Orlik Mellow Mixture I noticed a definite tobacco-y note which I hadn’t perceived before. Then today I was taking out the trash, and I could smell that (!) which is the first time I could smell it since Covid in October.
So I decided to try some PS Luxury Twist Flake today. It actually tasted like tobacco! I am so pleased and grateful. This was a big step, four months in coming. It really seems as though things are going in the right direction.
So then Wernerat, here’s hoping things get better for you, too. Patience! God is good!