How critical are you of the tobacco while smoking? More at the start and less later? I am finding some blends I end up liking when I think less about them, but if I focus too much I'm unimpressed. Liking this idea of putting less thought into it and letting it ride. Besides, the ones I really don't like will be obvious.
Critical vs Non-critical Smoking
- Thread starter dcicero
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I think you may have made me aware of why I have a hard time smoking latakia very often. I end up thinking about the tobacco more than just enjoying the process. Virginias are so unobtrusive to me that I can more easily enjoy smoking a sucky Virginia than a sucky latakia.
My thoughts return to it at various times throughout the bowl, but for the most part I just sit and enjoy. That's why I only really write up a review every so often, it should be a pleasure not a job. I used to judge a lot of beer competitions and wrote over 750 reviews in that time on beeradvocate.com. It only took about 3 years to become rather disenchanted with that process. Don't want that to happen again with my pipe.
Seriously. I do the same thing it is off and on during a smoke, unless it's one of those exceptional top of the top blends and then I think about it constantly. In fact I often pick which tin to smoke by how much attention I feel like lavishing on a smoke in part.
Once I load and light the pipe, my critique goes only to whether I like it or not. 97.6% of the time it's just fine. Sometimes it tells me the pipe needs cleaning.
I've noticed with some blends I've tried and found "meh," when I go back to them with that expectation, they turn out to be quite good after all. In some cases this is just learning the blend despite myself, like a kid trying his or her first coffee. In other cases, as with very mild blends, it may just be that they fill a frame of mind I didn't have when I first tried them. It is possible to overthink anything and find it wanting, and changing your mind when you go back to it. It's an interesting phenomenon that happens in many fields of endeavor.
I feel the same way about women.
I like it or I don't.
Some blends I have found to need more attention, like Dunhill's Elizebethan that gets harsh and unpleasant unless you nudge it along like a spoiled millennial, or the Samuel Gawith flakes, that are sturdy and unwielding like I like to think I am myself.
But I like them, and I don't like to think about it all that much.
Some blends I have found to need more attention, like Dunhill's Elizebethan that gets harsh and unpleasant unless you nudge it along like a spoiled millennial, or the Samuel Gawith flakes, that are sturdy and unwielding like I like to think I am myself.
But I like them, and I don't like to think about it all that much.
I usually just reflect on the experience as it unfolds. I don’t bring many expectations, there are lots of variables. Even if the variables are less in my favour for a given bowl, I still try not to overthink things. Keeping it simple usually helps me to get the most out of the combination of pipe, tobacco, packing, humidity, wind, etc. Just try to smoke slow and not worry about whether I’m smoking “properly” or getting all the flavour I should.
I would have voted you for cleanest pipes of all forum members. How much more cleaning could a pipe need? Two runs through the dishwasher?
I try to like everything, but will begin getting critical and pissed if I start getting chemical flavours/aftertastes. Tongue burn is also a pet-peeve, but I reckon that is sometimes user error. Sometimes.
I think about the blend early on in the smoke, then enjoy the ride thereafter - reading, listening to music, walking the dog...
I guess I think about it more AFTER. I don‘t smoke a ton (5-10 bowls a week), and have been keeping a short journal of each smoke for a while now. Simple stuff like date & time of day, pipe, tobacco, location, 1-5 rating, and taste notes. Takes a few lines in a 3x5 notebook. Helps reinforce reorder quantities and stockpiles (“cellaring”). Tastes (and tobacco) do change over time! I have a graph... (NO I don't!)?
I guess I think about it more AFTER. I don‘t smoke a ton (5-10 bowls a week), and have been keeping a short journal of each smoke for a while now. Simple stuff like date & time of day, pipe, tobacco, location, 1-5 rating, and taste notes. Takes a few lines in a 3x5 notebook. Helps reinforce reorder quantities and stockpiles (“cellaring”). Tastes (and tobacco) do change over time! I have a graph... (NO I don't!)?
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Agreed. It reminds me of what @crashthegrey said once (although he was referring to pipes, not blends): best to enjoy it for what it is rather than dislike it for what it's not.
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