Flavour and Temperature

[ClassicKehler]

So I have found, and know its not a new revelation or anything, that if control the burn of the tobacco in the bowl with cadence and so forth, that there is a temperature where i hit peak flavour and complexity. For me it is right when the smoke starts to get that little bit of bite. Not tongue bite, but just strength i guess youd call it. When I sip lightly, the pipe wants to go out and the flavours are more muted. These are just my observations. I know according to some i would be puffing to heavily, but that is the temperature or burn or whatever you call it, that consistently produces the most flavour for me. Any others have similar experience?

 

[Waning Embers]

I produce very little visible smoke and the taste is very close, if not identical to the tin note.

 

[ClassicKehler]

Im finding that there are different flavours at different levels of heat until of course you get so hot that all flavour is ruined by the heat.

 

[BriarBrook]

So I have found, and know its not a new revelation or anything, that if control the burn of the tobacco in the bowl with cadence and so forth, that there is a temperature where i hit peak flavour and complexity. For me it is right when the smoke starts to get that little bit of bite. Not tongue bite, but just strength i guess youd call it. When I sip lightly, the pipe wants to go out and the flavours are more muted. These are just my observations. I know according to some i would be puffing to heavily, but that is the temperature or burn or whatever you call it, that consistently produces the most flavour for me. Any others have similar experience?

you're not alone... generally speaking, I get the most flavor when I have visible smoke. I can keep it lit low smoking, but definitely can't get all of the notes that way.

 

[ClassicKehler]

I must need to revisit drying and packing as i cant keep my pipe lit if im just wisping.

 

[dottlejockey]

I don't even give this much thought unless i'm trying a new blend. Cadence is adjusted depending on moisture level and flavor experience. If it's getting too warm or flavor is drowned out, slow down. If it wants to die or flavor is lacking, throw in an extra draw or longer draw here and there. Make adjustments with each pipe/blend until you find its sweet spot. Much of this gets designated to "auto-pilot" once you get to know the blend/pipe combo.

 

[ClassicKehler]

I don't even give this much thought unless i'm trying a new blend. Cadence is adjusted depending on moisture level and flavor experience. If it's getting too warm or flavor is drowned out, slow down. If it wants to die or flavor is lacking, throw in an extra draw or longer draw here and there. Make adjustments with each pipe/blend until you find its sweet spot. Much of this gets designated to "auto-pilot" once you get to know the blend/pipe combo.

The term sweet spot describes it better than I did. There is a definite sweet spot for every blend and for me its not always when the smoke is just wisping.

 

[Gerald Boone]

So I have found, and know its not a new revelation or anything, that if control the burn of the tobacco in the bowl with cadence and so forth, that there is a temperature where i hit peak flavour and complexity. For me it is right when the smoke starts to get that little bit of bite. Not tongue bite, but just strength i guess youd call it. When I sip lightly, the pipe wants to go out and the flavours are more muted. These are just my observations. I know according to some i would be puffing to heavily, but that is the temperature or burn or whatever you call it, that consistently produces the most flavour for me. Any others have similar experience?

I would say that is the art of smoking a pipe. Finding that balance where the tobacco stays lit but the smoke is at it's most flavorful. To make everything more complex the tobacco is not uniform. I have serval different types of tobacco all of them smoke a little different.

 

[sablebrush52]

Since I mostly smoke Virginias and their variants, I dry it down to just shy of bone dry, and keep it simmering at the edge of going out, for the best flavors.