So, I’ve persisted in pipe smoking because I do love the hobby/pastime but I’ve had quite a time of it figuring out what tobacco I can tolerate. The answer is that I have a reaction to all but a few kinds. I can smoke Dunhill/Peterson’s Virginia flake and Navy rolls. I also seem to tolerate Orlik Golden. I’m going to try more Virginia Perique-s. The reaction I get to most tobaccos is something like tongue-bite except it affects the top of my mouth first and really kicks in the day after. It’s a reaction that lasts a few days. It actually took me many months to figure this out because I didn’t realize at first what was going on. It seems to me that all Latakia causes this. All aromatics (except, funnily enough, Half & Half - though some other Burley based things are intolerable. I have to go back to Grousemoor to double check. It might be OK). Even mild Virginias like Ilsted’s Golden Flake cause this reaction. Kentucky seems to be a problem too. I don’t think I’ve always had this. I almost suspect this is a result of possibly contracting Coronavirus in 2022 but I can’t be sure. Anyway, this post is just throwing my experience out there in case it means anything to anyone else. It might be that I’m allergic to a common chemical but I also feel I can’t tolerate certain kinds of tobacco processing.
Intolerance to Most Tobaccos
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Could be that you're mouth would toughen up if you smoked regularly.
Maybe pipes ain't for you.
People get the impression that if pipe smoking hurts your mouth there must be some kind of sensitive, personal problem.
I don't believe pipe smoking will lead to an early death, but it aint exactly something that will add to your health. Here come the guys who use smoking for some kind of yoga...
When I picked back up dipping tobacco after years of not doing it, my mouth hurt so bad I couldn't eat ketchup. Just like it did back when I was 12, then it stopped when my mouth adjusted.
It's the steam that hurts your mouth with pipes... Whatever might be causing that.
I read a lot of bullshit on this forum about "tongue bite." There's a guy who's posted pages about it... The shit reads like an AI article.
Maybe pipes ain't for you.
People get the impression that if pipe smoking hurts your mouth there must be some kind of sensitive, personal problem.
I don't believe pipe smoking will lead to an early death, but it aint exactly something that will add to your health. Here come the guys who use smoking for some kind of yoga...
When I picked back up dipping tobacco after years of not doing it, my mouth hurt so bad I couldn't eat ketchup. Just like it did back when I was 12, then it stopped when my mouth adjusted.
It's the steam that hurts your mouth with pipes... Whatever might be causing that.
I read a lot of bullshit on this forum about "tongue bite." There's a guy who's posted pages about it... The shit reads like an AI article.
I’m ok with Peterson Flake and Peterson Rolls. I’ll smoke those for the time being. There may be other Virginia - Virginia/Perique that don’t bother me. As long as I can smoke something, I’ll enjoy it. It would be nice if the situation improved at some point but this has gone on for a year. This isn’t tongue bite. I used to love Latakia but after one puff I can feel a sort of coating that will lead to my mouth being inflamed. I smoked Ilstead’s last night and had the same problem even though it’s very mild.
Ah, ok. So something has changed physically, as you say. What a terrible bore; I hope something agreeable comes your way.
Thanks. I’ve felt upset by this over the last year. I’ll keep smoking Peterson flake for the time being. I wish I could understand this. I don’t get it.
Tobacco was really hard on your mouth, some of us more than others. I also have this issue so I use filters, though part of my problem is that I smoke too fast and I’ll puff way too hard, sipping really is the way to go. I found Virginia Perique to be a little more tolerable, but the more perique there is the harder it is on my mouth. I stopped smoking most heavy aromatics years ago. It’s really why I smoke 3 Sails because it’s so dry and simple, plain even. I hate to say it since we’re on a pipe forum but honestly pipe smoking is not for everyone and it’s really only for the very few. Most people probably can’t tolerate it. Try taking a break if you can and when you come back focus on your cadence. I think all of us should smoke a pipe for five years before we even start building a cellar or collecting pipes or trying 1 million different tobaccos. I think this modern day overindulgence causes negative health repercussions, but I can only speak from my own experience. I wish you the best.
I had a similar experience when I was getting into pipe smoking and discovered that my mouth and throat are rather picky about what they do and don't tolerate and had to do a bit of a process of elimination to figure out what was bothering me. I bought samples of a couple dozen different blends at once when I started pipe smoking and was smoking different blends every day, but the mouth and throat irritation I was experiencing would often start late in the day or the following day and persist or worsen for several days afterwards so I never knew which blends or components were giving me trouble.
To solve that problem I waited until my mouth and throat were completely back to normal, then would smoke just one blend every day for a week and write down my experiences with it. If the blend was obviously giving me trouble after a few days though I'd shelve it and take the rest of the week off for my mouth and throat to recover before trying a different blend the following week.
What I learned from a couple years of trial and error is my throat is very intolerant of Burley and any blend containing Burley will give me a sore throat, unless it has been fire cured to turn it into Dark-Fired Kentucky or steam pressed to soften the rough edges then it's just fine. For instance, Cornell & Diehl's Burley blends absolutely destroy my throat and even OTC Burley blends like Prince Albert will beat it up pretty badly, but Gawith Hoggarth's steam pressed flakes containing Burley don't bother me at all. Additionally, any quantity of Perique is absolutely a no-go for me as well and will make my throat sore and cause the lymph nodes under my jaw to swell up something fierce. The only exception to that has been Peterson Nightcap, which weirdly doesn't bother me at all, but any of the over a dozen other blends containing Perique I've tried will give my throat fits.
Conversely, what does work just fine for me has been bright, orange, and red Virginias, dark-fired Virginias, Dark-Fired Kentucky, Black Cavendish, and Latakia. Basically, as long as I avoid Perique and any Burley that hasn't been dark-fired or steam pressed my mouth and throat feel just fine.
I would add though that any tobacco burning hot enough can cause irritation to the soft palate on the roof of your mouth, and bright Virginias especially due to the high acidity of the smoke they produce, so take your time and sip your pipe slowly to avoid mouth irritation. I find it helpful to keep the button on the end of the stem positioned towards the middle of my mouth, so the smoke exiting the stem isn't flowing out against the roof of my mouth or my tongue. If you can do that and keep the tobacco burning slow and cool that can go a long way towards preventing soreness of the tongue or roof of your mouth after smoking.
To solve that problem I waited until my mouth and throat were completely back to normal, then would smoke just one blend every day for a week and write down my experiences with it. If the blend was obviously giving me trouble after a few days though I'd shelve it and take the rest of the week off for my mouth and throat to recover before trying a different blend the following week.
What I learned from a couple years of trial and error is my throat is very intolerant of Burley and any blend containing Burley will give me a sore throat, unless it has been fire cured to turn it into Dark-Fired Kentucky or steam pressed to soften the rough edges then it's just fine. For instance, Cornell & Diehl's Burley blends absolutely destroy my throat and even OTC Burley blends like Prince Albert will beat it up pretty badly, but Gawith Hoggarth's steam pressed flakes containing Burley don't bother me at all. Additionally, any quantity of Perique is absolutely a no-go for me as well and will make my throat sore and cause the lymph nodes under my jaw to swell up something fierce. The only exception to that has been Peterson Nightcap, which weirdly doesn't bother me at all, but any of the over a dozen other blends containing Perique I've tried will give my throat fits.
Conversely, what does work just fine for me has been bright, orange, and red Virginias, dark-fired Virginias, Dark-Fired Kentucky, Black Cavendish, and Latakia. Basically, as long as I avoid Perique and any Burley that hasn't been dark-fired or steam pressed my mouth and throat feel just fine.
I would add though that any tobacco burning hot enough can cause irritation to the soft palate on the roof of your mouth, and bright Virginias especially due to the high acidity of the smoke they produce, so take your time and sip your pipe slowly to avoid mouth irritation. I find it helpful to keep the button on the end of the stem positioned towards the middle of my mouth, so the smoke exiting the stem isn't flowing out against the roof of my mouth or my tongue. If you can do that and keep the tobacco burning slow and cool that can go a long way towards preventing soreness of the tongue or roof of your mouth after smoking.
I have the same problem. I am very limited in what I can smoke. Someone suggested supplemental vitamin C. I have found it makes a big difference. The chronic palate inflammation is gone.
Continue to be grateful to have found some that bring you pleasure. If the aberration is due to the past covid infection, it seems peoples altered perceptions last for days to years, no "normal" expectation on time to recover old sensory perceptions. Go with the flow.
Have you considered that you may be smoking too fast / hot?
Sounds like you are smoking too hot. I tend to smoke thick cut plugs so they tend to burn slower and at a lower temperature. Shag cuts can really heat up and burn your tongue if you puff on them too hard. You might want to look at how you are packing your pipe as air pockets can cause 'steaming' on the tongue and mouth. YMMV
I'm here for a good time, not a long time.
I also wanted to add some things that I found helpful for me, pack loose. I have a tendency to pack too tight, I call them greedy packs, haha, I just get excited about smoking it so I cram to much into the bowl Also Biotene is wonderful and it’s difficult to smoke a lot without it. And sugar-free candy, I like Werthers and sometimes I even put one in when I’m getting near the end of the smoke… It really seems to soothe the tongue and promote salivation. Also drink plenty of water. Make sure you’re getting enough water. 
to me it sounds like the cut or style is more a factor then type of leaf. I don't know at all but my guess is that coins a.k.a. rolls and flakes burn cooler or slower then ribbons. I have to almost puff with flakes where as ribbons I barely sip on them. If I am right the issue is how fast or hard you are smoking and not the cut. Oh and also a lot of codger blends are sort of designed to not give bite.
Heck if I haven't smoked a pipe in a while for some reason I tend to smoke faster and harder then usual and I find I get the beginning of bite.
I appreciate all the input. I really think I have an intolerance to certain chemicals and processes. It true there are times I might smoke too hot or fast but I feel that I’m clearly having a reaction to certain types. Some flakes give me problems, like Ildted’s. Peterson Flake is fine. I think it’s a chemical or something. I can’t smoke Latakia at all - flake or otherwise, no matter how little I puff. The reaction is not my tongue as much as my mouth.
Right! Good advice. Something changed in my physiology. For a long time I thought it was medication I was on but I changed that and the problem persists. But I have the Peterson/Dunhill. I can enjoy that.
