Read up on it. You need something to cut the alkaline. Acidic drinks do that well.
Is Pipe Smoking Something That Grows on You?
- Thread starter Moshtaraq
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That doesn't mean alcoholic drinks. Lemonade has a lot of acid. You can read up on it to find other beverages without alcohol and with an acidic base. Reading about it, looking things up, trying a few different things and not liking some is all a part of it. Take your time and enjoy the process. This place will help you find different flavors even when there is no topping. They'll tell you what a topping is, too. These folks are the best.
Tobacco is an acquired taste for most people, although as with coffee and tea, I think it starts out interesting, if not tasty, for most people who end up enjoying it. No one says you have to like it. Most people don't smoke pipes, or anything. Give it a month of occasional smokes, then let it go for a year or two, and come back to it, to see if the time has put it together for you. The whole idea is enjoyment, so if you don't enjoy it, leave it be.
Your comparison (beer..hated at first, love it now) is a great one. Like you, I'm a noob, only been at it a couple of months, one or two bowls a day, but I'm just now starting to be able to taste the differences in the different blends. The aros actually are starting to taste at least a little like what the tin says they're supposed to taste like haha. It didn't really start opening up to me until I started smoking english and balken blends then going back to aros. Now I bounce back and forth. I had the exact same opinion that you do when I first started, but I'm all in at this point and the Englishes have become my favorites. Sample as many mixes as you can and don't be afraid to try anything. You'll find something you actually like fairly quickly. I was pleasantly surprised several time doing that. Be patient, it will come.
Stab in the dark here on the diagnosis but sounds like you may be making problems with the moisture and the cavendish. Feels like new pipers are steered towards aromatics in hopes to get more flavor but in reality something like Elizabethan Mixture or Nightcap might be a better place to start.
It's more in the nose than on the tongue. Try retrohaling.
If I could have a redo, I’d NOT start with aromatics. I like many grabbed pouches of Capt Black & bits of Lane1Q to start. I scorched my tongue for more than a month while only getting the flavoring of the casing. I put down the pipe in frustration for a few months, then switched to Carter Hall & light English blends like EMP. The experience vastly improved with patience and technique. Now, I can smoke anything and appreciate the leaf much better. Enjoy the ride...it’s a right of passage to suffer some in the beginning. 
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Try some real tobacco, maybe you will like it better. Not saying that all aromatics are bad but burning a natural good quality leaf feels different than cooking a bowl of chemicals from the cheapest pouches available.
I always put it this way. You don't smoke slowly you sip the smoke. It is way easier to keep a good cadence thinking I should sip over thinking I need to go slowly
Never thought of that, but it was true for me. I tried aromatic and didn't like them. I like Balkans and English blends best.
What is a piper? Do they play a musical instrument?
But some Carter Hall and ditch the aromatics. Drink some coffee or tea with the pipe, I think they compliment it well. I liked smoking a pipe from the very first bowl but I enjoy smoking period. Do you enjoy cigars?
Agree. Try different drinks, even cool water in between puffs. If you happen to just not enjoy the taste of burning tobacco, the pipe might not be for you. Before you throw in the towel, I'd try more blends.
To be honest, if it is not enjoyable maybe stick with whatever already tickles your fancy...this is just one of many unnecessary ways to spend disposable income. In saying that, I am not much of an evangelist about anything (except maybe puns, but thats more pundit than evangelist).
“Used to be” is the sad, harsh truth..... at least in my neck of the woods. It seems about four years ago.... the all suddenly vanished, and I had to order them online too. ?
For the record, I loved beer from first sip ???
I always liked tobacco too, but it took me a few tries before I experienced a decent smoke with a pipe.
Yep. The closest Walgreens to me still has some Dr Grabow pipes and some Captain Black, but that’s about it.