How to give a proper pipe tobacco review

[zanthal]

No, I'm not writing about how to give a proper pipe tobacco review. I'm actually asking for a thorough explanation from anyone who is well acquainted with the terminology of explaining aspects of pipe tobacco.
There is a thread with a link from Bob explaining how he does a review, but the link isn't working for me.
I'm going to copy in some of the basic review information for a very popular blend, Esoterica Penzance (copied from tobaccoreviews.com):
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Brand: Esoterica Tobacciana

Blender: J.F. Germain & Sons
Tin Description: A wonderful complex secret recipe of the finest Virginia, choice Turkish and Orientals and Cyprian Latakia, all hand blended together, hard pressed and broad cut into thick flakes. Long matured and easily crumbled to facilitate pipe filling.
Country of Origin: British Isles, UK
Curing Group: Air Cured
Contents:

Virginia

Latakia

Oriental

Turkish
Cut: Flake
Packaging: 50g Tin, 8oz Bag
Average Ratings
Strength: Medium

Flavoring: Extremely Mild

Taste: Medium to Full

Room Note: Tolerable

Recommendation: Recommended
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Alright now the above "average ratings" are fairly self explanatory. But I still have questions:
Some people use the word "body" to describe what I'm guessing is strength of flavor. Is that right, or is there more to it?
Does the above description use "strength" to indicate nicotine content?
There is a separate description for "Flavoring" and "Taste". I presume flavoring is in reference to tobacco additives that are specifically to alter flavor. I presume taste is in reference to the potency of the tobacco flavor itself. Am I right, or is there more to it?
Just about everything else you would want to know, like the different main tobacco strains and their general characteristics, is pretty easily found on the web, and I intend to find out a bit more before I go writing a review. But answers to those questions would be helpful.

 

[nsfisher]

great thread Zanthal, iv'e be wondering about some of the terminology myself at times. In my own mind i believe i fully understand it but i dont think i'll submit any answers as i dont want to give incorrect info, however i definitly will be keeping an eye on the posts that come from this thread. I'm sure many people feel the same way.

 

[admin]

We are working on the issue of Bob's articles not rendering. The thread for that is here.
Body - simply put, this is usually flavor strength. Some also describe it as "mouth feel" - how heavy or light it feels in your mouth.
Strength - usually, this describes nicotine strength. It can be used to describe flavor, but in that case you should specify that you are talking about flavor strength.
In the above example, I believe you are correct that "Flavoring" refers to the added flavor that comes from the topping, and "Taste" refers to the overall experience.
However, this is flawed, and I do not recommend following this.
It makes no sense whatsoever to try to separate out flavor and taste in this way, although flavor and taste are not the same thing.
Flavor = Taste + Aroma.
Taste is realized through your sense of taste in your mouth, and is limited to salty, sweet, sour, bitter, and umami.
Flavor is realized through the combination of your sense of taste and smell.
Smell, also know as olfaction, is the human sense contained in the nasal cavity that detects microscopic molecules released by substances like food, smoke, flowers, and wine. Our olfactory nerve cells can detect thousands of different “smells” that our sense of taste cannot. Without our sense of smell, it would be difficult for our palate (sense of taste) to distinguish between an orange and coffee, or chocolate and vanilla. Ultimately, smell is the sense that reveals the extraordinary qualities of great tobacco, food, wine, and even air. If you don’t believe this, try smoking a pipe with a cold, or cotton stuffed up your nose; just for fun.
Another flaw in the above is to list a curing group. Different tobaccos are cured different ways, and a blend almost never contains only one curing group, so it is pointless.
All that said, the blueprint I follow for doing tobacco reviews comes from the master himself, G.L. Pease's article, Reviews Without Tears.
I'm pleased to report that if you Google "How to write a tobacco review", that article comes up #1 in Google. :D

 

[zanthal]

That's crazy, I searched for almost the exact same thing and that article didn't even show up on the first page.
Questions answered, thanks Kevin.
Mr. Pease breaks it down in laymen's terms very well.

 

[matchstickman]

Ill break down my process. *ahem*
I am a big guy, and I have always loved food. Any and all kinds and any and all flavors, I just love it. I also love coffee, tea, juice, sweets, savory things, butter, salt, fat, and pork. There are many parallels, at least in my mind, between the flavor you get from tobacco and the flavor you get from food. When I light up a new blend, I try to find similarities in flavor both in the tobacco and in foods that I have liked/disliked. In this case, we will use Hearth and Homes Victorian Stroll, a tobacco I am still getting familiar with. I pack a bowl, and do that first light. What do I taste? A lot of Virginia, this particular one being hearty and sweet, kind of like a slice of good wheat bread. Just a little bitterness, something that almost tastes like coffee or dark chocolate: Thats the Latakia. There's also something that tastes like toasted nuts in the background. Don't know what it is, but I like it. We do the second light. More wheat bread. More toasted nuts. This is a good smoke. Wait. I take a puff and it tastes a little like coffee. More latakia. Two puffs and its not there anymore. I puff away and still get that wheat bread taste. Wait, now it's toasted nuts again. Hey! There's a dark chocolate flavor, but it doesn't last too long. More latakia. Now keep in mind that the bottom of the bowl is going to be different from the top seeing as how the tobacco at the bottom has filtered all the smoke from the tobacco that came before it. Flavors intensify, and they pop a little more. All of a sudden the smoke is a little more bitter, stronger coffee, and the wheat flavor is stronger too. That toasted nut flavor is now intensifying into something that is almost caramel like. Yep, its like a Werthers Original dunked in coffee. It's a great smoke, to be sure. The point being: Let your taste buds be your guide. Compare the flavor of the tobacco to what you taste in your food in every day life. If a tobacco tastes like coffee, write it. If it tastes like caramel, write it. If it tastes like you licked the lead paint in your crazy uncles apartment, write it. I also like to note the burning characteristics, ease of packing, and burning qualities in my reviews. As far as strength and flavor, the flavor is what I taste when the smoke enters my mouth. Strength is the nicotine content, or more importantly, how lightheaded I am when my pipe is finished.

 

[admin]

Yes, Eric, that is definitely a good thing to do. The more experiences you have with different foods, drinks, spices, etc., the more you have to draw from for describing a tobacco's nuances. Another exercise for developing your palate is to smell everything, and I mean everything. Just don't get too close to women in the supermarket. You could get in trouble there.
Smell your leather couch, or wallet, or whatever. Small different fruits, take a whiff of the fresh cut grass, the air after a rainfall.
Gary Vaynerchuk, in his book "Crush It!" tells how he would read all of the wine reviews in Wine Spectator, and every single food comparison they made, he would go out and buy it and eat it. That was one of his ways of training himself to be a renowned wine reviewer.

 

[matchstickman]

Just don't get too close to women in the supermarket. You could get in trouble there.

Too late. Don't suppose you got some cash to bail me out, do you Kevin? :mrgreen: