Developing flavorful moisture

[mpjetset]

There are at least a dozen variables to practicing flavorful pipe smoking. IMHO, it comes down to two principles: 1) your mouth-to-brain connection needs practice, and 2) smokers prioritizing flavor over other benefits learn, consciously or unconsciously, to smoke the moist edge between the gurgle and wet heat. Moisture carries maximum flavor, but too much requires too much heat to keep the bowl lit. The two most flavorful points in a smoke timeline are the char/re-char, and the last dottle that, when managed correctly, ends in cool, white ash. Over time, the mouth learns how to remain in thus zone, effortlessly. No steam. Moisture. Comments?

 

[Sig]

I have been telling EVERYONE this for years.
Ive been battling the "leave all wet blends out to dry" crowd...... and they won't go down without a fight!!
FVF straight from the tin tastes MUCH different than FVF left out for even an hour......and tastes better in my opinion.
There are a LOT of pipers that have never tasted some tobaccos at their moist best.
Instead of leaving everything out......learn how to smoke moist tobacco.
Its not only possible, but easy once you get the hang of it.
But, everyone is different and some moist tobaccos do taste better drier.
But many, many pipers have never even tried moist pipe tobacco.

 

[xrundog]

I do like an aromatic right out of the bag. As long as it lights and burns okay, I’m fine.

 

[BingBong]

Quite so. Fresh FVF in the right pipe, burns long and slow. A bit of moist flake folded into a stick and rammed into the bowl in a gyrating motion oo-er missus and you're good to go. Only needs a relight if you fall off it. Flavours arrive as you go.

 

[Bbailey324]

I try blends across a spectrum of hydration levels from fresh out of the tin to dried for 24 hours or more and make up my mind about where I like the flavor best. I do find flavor loss for many blends when dried for more than 24 hours. I'm not in the camp of wanting my tobacco bordering on 'crispy' before smoking but generally not extremely damp either.

 

[bullet08]

You can smoke tobacco at almost any level of moisture without much of an issue. But there are generally accepted moisture level with most pipe smokers in this forum. Typically, VA and VA/Per can be smoked close to being crispy dry. Some prefer it bone dry. Lat blends usually do better with a touch of moisture. Right before feeling dry. Aromatic, you want touch more mainly because while being dried a lot of topping goes away with it. Most codger blends, smoke 'em right out of the pouch. Now, Granger is special. Doesn't matter how you smoke it, it could hurt you. Trick with the Granger is packing. Give it plenty of air space and slow sipping, and if you are lucky, you'll taste blueberries.

 

[sardonicus87]

I have been telling EVERYONE this for years.
Ive been battling the "leave all wet blends out to dry" crowd...... and they won't go down without a fight!!
FVF straight from the tin tastes MUCH different than FVF left out for even an hour......and tastes better in my opinion.
There are a LOT of pipers that have never tasted some tobaccos at their moist best.
Instead of leaving everything out......learn how to smoke moist tobacco.
Its not only possible, but easy once you get the hang of it.
But, everyone is different and some moist tobaccos do taste better drier.
But many, many pipers have never even tried moist pipe tobacco.

I'm with you on that. I've even said before, if you load a bowl right and smoke at a correct pace (depth AND length of draw), it almost doesn't matter how wet it is. I try not to stir the pot on that though, I just will mention off-hand that however wet or dry it is in the tin is how I smoke it. I try to be a bit subtle about it. Usually when people ask for advice, I'm always saying packing and pacing is key amongst a sea of "you gotta stick it in the microwave, get it as dry as grandma's pussy or it'll never be good".

I've tried drying... it lights easier, but to me doesn't seem to stay lit any easier, and loses flavor.

Put me in the wet camp.

 

[Richmond B. Funkenhouser]

Dry camp for me.

The key is dry tobacco smoked as slowly as possible, in my opinion.

I've been able to get the best flavor from aromatics when they are nearly cripsy dry.

And yeah, I can keep the pipe lit with the wet goopers.. but I taste hot air only.

Drier tobacco also helps you to smoke slowly, it's eaiser to control the fire. Sounds counterintuitive I know, but it's true.

It's personal preference though. You wanna smoke wet, right on.

 

[dunnyboy]

On the recommendation of pipe veterans I respect, I've experimented with dry, but find I get more flavor with some moisture. Best for me are fresh folded flakes with all their retained moisture. They can take a few relights to get going but, once the tips are smoldering like sticks of incense, they stay lit and produce great flavor.

 

[Pipeh]

Consider me a moistboy.

 

[didimauw]

Like @Sig says,

Smoking moist tobacco, is where the flavors at. However it's really hard. So hard, I gave up on it years ago, and dry the ever living shit out of my tobacco. Moist tobacco is for the real leather tongued pros. And well, I'm lazy.

 

[mpjetset]

Like @Sig says,

Smoking moist tobacco, is where the flavors at. However it's really hard. So hard, I gave up on it years ago, and dry the ever living shit out of my tobacco. Moist tobacco is for the real leather tongued pros. And well, I'm lazy.

Well, you smoke the way you like and it's not "wrong" or "lazy" because there are different objectives for any given smoke. Under some circumstances I suck a cob like a boat drink, and sometimes I'm epicurean about it with a familiar briar or meer.

Also, it's not about building a tolerance for pain or calloused tongue; with any regular routine your mouth should learn to avoid pain and find flavor without your consciously "practicing." If you want better smokes, avoid steam by letting your pipe cool but keep it hot enough to avoid a gurgle. I find half bowls helpful when I am rushed or irritated, so I can't swamp the dottle.

Hmmm, Dottle Swamper might be a good handle or sig.

 

[sardonicus87]

And just to be clear, I'm not saying that it's bad advice to tell people to dry their tobacco more. If it gets them over that hurdle, great. And it certainly is a preference.

I just think dryness is over-emphasized over technique. Dry is definitely more forgiving and a good practice for newbies.

I will say though, the wetter tobacco is, the less deep I draw but the more often I draw; drier it is, the deeper I draw but less often.

 

[Sig]

And just to be clear, I'm not saying that it's bad advice to tell people to dry their tobacco more. If it gets them over that hurdle, great. And it certainly is a preference.

I just think dryness is over-emphasized over technique. Dry is definitely more forgiving and a good practice for newbies.

I will say though, the wetter tobacco is, the less deep I draw but the more often I draw; drier it is, the deeper I draw but less often.

I hope my post reflected that also.
Im not saying drying is bad......im saying I know a lot of people who have NEVER tried moist tobacco right from the tin/pouch.
This week alone ive read two new pipers say that they ALWAYS leave their tobacco out for at least an hour. In my opinion, they could be missing out on some fantastic smokes.
My advice was to try it moist, you may be very surprised.

 

[xrundog]

Depends what you smoke too. I used to smoke a large variety of Lakeland flakes. Even rubbed out they didn’t burn the way I liked. A little drying did the trick. One should experiment.