English Fatigue?

[ziv]

I have been smoking Englishes almost exclusively recently, but today I can't sense much else but ash. I can barely taste any Latakia.
Smoking Sutliff Vanilla Custard now in hopes to reset my palate and get a feel for English blends again.

Do you have to ditch your favorite blends for a while and reset your palate? How long does fatigue last for you?

 

[bullet08]

You should hear @Chasing Embers 's story. I try not to smoke Latakia back to back.

 

[Richmond B. Funkenhouser]

Yep.

I get worn out from latakia every so often and have to take a break.

 

[seanv]

I am just returning to lat blends after about a 4 year break. Not sure if that is typical, but that's my scenario

 

[ziv]

Yep.

I get worn out from latakia every so often and have to take a break.

What do you smoke to reset?

 

[rmcnabb]

I think there's a natural progression. Aromatics > English > Virginia > Burley > Codger. Some people save a lot of time and money and go straight to step 5.

 

[rmcnabb]

You should hear @Chasing Embers 's story.

Well don't just leave us hanging...

 

[ziv]

I think there's a natural progression. Aromatics > English > Virginia > Burley > Codger. Some people save a lot of time and money and go straight to step 5.

I actually started with codger blends! Velvet, Half & Half, and SWR (terrible vinegar taste!) were the first ones I had. But Englishes won me over pretty quickly.

 

[Richmond B. Funkenhouser]

What do you smoke to reset?

I move on to the next genre. I'll smoke a different type of blend until I get bored with that. After a while I'll make my way back around to latakia.

The only blend type I've ever written off are the aromatic goopers with zero nicotine.

 

[renfield]

It’s pretty typical to eventually burn out on Lat blends to some degree. Most folks just move on to VaPers or Burley blends. Some smoke Lat blends occasionally and others end up abandoning them pretty much entirely.

I still smoke Lat blends occasionally but now it’s maybe 10% of the rotation.

Smoke what you like. Taking a break for a few days or changing what you’re smoking usually refreshes the palate.

 

[PaulRVA]

Smoke what you want when you want has always been the way I approach it. A lot of blends change with me based on the weather and Lats are ones I prefer in the Spring and Fall or for a change up at night.
Virginia’s and Vapers when is warmer out but there are always constants. I do get burnt out on too much of any one blend and have to put it to the side for awhile and come back to it again later.

 

[Pipke]

I rotate my smokes. I have a wide range in what I like, so I could be puffing on GLP Cumberland during the morning commute, and wind the evening down with Balkan Supreme. Or smoke just Pegasus for days. I don't get tired. I have about six or so open tins and active jars plus a few baggies of smoke to play with.

 

[sablebrush52]

I exclusively smoked English blends for years until I hit a wall with Latakia. Just the thought of it made me want to hurl.
So, I turned to Virginia blends. Every now and then I get a hankering for English, as long as the Latakia is mild. It was years before I got to that point.

 

[Pipke]

What do you smoke to reset?

Burleys, currently Pegasus and Haunted Bookshop. Burleys can reset your pipe too.

Or get something strong like one of those Mac Barens HH Dark Kentucky DFK flake monsters. A bowl or two of those will reset you damn straight.

 

[dunnyboy]

I used to love the rich, umami flavor of Latakia blends, especially the ones with plenty of Orientals. However, once I discovered the mellow complexity of Virginia blends, and learned how to smoke them without getting them overheated, I pretty much abandoned English blends. A common progression indeed.

Some people grow to dislike Latakia because they find the flavor unpleasant even off-putting. I find the smoke harsh and flavorless. I think there might be a reason for this, beyond a change in palate—at least for me.

When I was smoking English and Balkan blends almost exclusively, the tobacco was always fresh from the tin. Now on the odd occasion I want a change of pace, I dip into a 2 oz. jar that has been sitting around, sometimes for years. Jarred Virginia generally gets better with age but, at least in my experience, jarred Latakia gets worse. Even in a well-sealed jar, especially a small one, Latakia tends to dry out. It loses its flavor and complexity and becomes unpleasant.

So maybe, if you want to keep an English/Balkan blend in your rotation, you have to be prepared to discard the old stuff, crack a tin and smoke it fresh.

 

[Auxsender]

Time is the only thing that resets my taster. I need at least 3 days for a reset and then I can taste tobacco smoke again. Switching genres doesn’t do anything to help me.

I haven’t smoked an English blend in a long time. The closest to Latakia I get is maybe Bob’s Chocolate Flake or WCC Old Black Magic which is sorely underrated. Other than that, Latakia is a “no” for me, dog.

 

[Chasing Embers]

Well don't just leave us hanging...

Smoked them nearly exclusively for two decades and suddenly Latakia was all I could taste in the blends. Presbyterian and Pirate Kake tastes exactly the same now.

 

[kcghost]

I smoked English blends for 40 years and then I got tired of them and switched to VaPers, I really liked them which was surprising because I didn't like them at all before. After smoking Vaper exclusively for ten years I fund I could smoke English's again. I smoked 80% Vapers and about 20% Westminster now.

 

[karam]

Very common, I smoked Latakia for 10 years straight before burning out on it. I do smoke a bowl from time to time, and greatly enjoy it, but most of my smoking now is Virginias.

 

[Chris from Cigarworld]

I have been smoking Englishes almost exclusively recently, but today I can't sense much else but ash. I can barely taste any Latakia.
Smoking Sutliff Vanilla Custard now in hopes to reset my palate and get a feel for English blends again.

Do you have to ditch your favorite blends for a while and reset your palate? How long does fatigue last for you?

Well there are two ways for this experience in my opinion.

First, your tongue is not used to the heavy latakia- taste enough to taste the differnces and nuances. It will improve a lot when you just move on and try different types of latakia- blends. This is often the case when people begin to smoke those kind of blends.

It's very similar with smoky- peaty whisky. First you only taste smoke, and the palate needs to develop to taste the difference.

The second case is when you had latakia blends for years, and your tongue is too worn out and can not detect any differences any longer.

The first case happens more often, when people don't have the persistence to stand the latakia taste and be ready for a true learning curve.