Is there a pipe shape = tobacco type matrix?
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I have this curse... I always have to dive headfirst into the rabbit hole with each new hobby. It's not enough to enjoy coffee - it has to be a honey prep Kenya AA bean, first crack roast, T-7.2 grind setting, hario V60 pourover, 201 degree spring water, 4 minute extraction with a slight agitation.
Like I said... a curse
Like I said... a curse
I wish this kind of detail was available in the pipe world. But we pipe smokers are a stubborn bunch, and we really cannot agree on anything.
For example, where one person prefer's to "cube cut flakes to 1/8", air dry (65% RH) for 30 min, gravity pack in 3/4" IDA billard (5.6" length minimum), char light 15 sec, rest 15 min, secondary light 15 sec, rest 15 min, true light 15 sec, sit back and enjoy 1 hour to 1.5 hour." Someone else will "fully rub out Flake, 3-step load and pack, one light sit back and enjoy."
Is one way right and the other wrong? Does example A get more enjoyment than example B?
I guess it depends who you ask.
I also think it's a bit more difficult to isolate the variables.
I'm a bit of a coffee guy myself and a good setup allows you to affect one variable at a time to tune your cup: the variable temperature goose-neck kettles and $200+ conical burr grinders of the world allow for repeatable results. The pour is probably the least controlled step and some nerds (and I use the term lovingly) armed with an arduino micro controller and some lines of code have even ironed that bit out.
Compare this to my pipe experience: that feels dryish, that pack feels like it is drawing nicely, my internal rhythms feel on point today.
And frankly I think that's ok.
But if you really care to nerd out about tobacco chamber geometry, I'd suggest a couple of Neil Archer Roan's articles on A Passion for Pipes.
http://www.apassionforpipes.com/neills-blog/2010/10/31/how-and-why-chamber-geometry-impacts-tobacco-flavor.html
http://www.apassionforpipes.com/neills-blog/2010/10/28/finding-that-magic-fit-between-pipe-and-tobacco.html
I'm a bit of a coffee guy myself and a good setup allows you to affect one variable at a time to tune your cup: the variable temperature goose-neck kettles and $200+ conical burr grinders of the world allow for repeatable results. The pour is probably the least controlled step and some nerds (and I use the term lovingly) armed with an arduino micro controller and some lines of code have even ironed that bit out.
Compare this to my pipe experience: that feels dryish, that pack feels like it is drawing nicely, my internal rhythms feel on point today.
And frankly I think that's ok.
But if you really care to nerd out about tobacco chamber geometry, I'd suggest a couple of Neil Archer Roan's articles on A Passion for Pipes.
http://www.apassionforpipes.com/neills-blog/2010/10/31/how-and-why-chamber-geometry-impacts-tobacco-flavor.html
http://www.apassionforpipes.com/neills-blog/2010/10/28/finding-that-magic-fit-between-pipe-and-tobacco.html
I've read those articles a few times and I think they miss a really fundamental aspect of flavor development, as do most arguments for a particular shape for a given tobacco. Folks don't smoke a platonic ideal, we smoke tobacco and tweak the experience to suit each of us.
Unless you smoke the blenders pipe you have no way of knowing whether what you're tasting is what was intended. Some blends taste quite different from one pipe to the next. Greg Pease mentioned he didn't particularly care for VA flake until smoking it in pot. If he developed Union Square based around using such a pipe and if pipe shape has a large impact on how a tobacco presents, it may very well be the case that folks using a tall, narrow pipe are not getting the whole of it. My experience with Union Square supports this, though I will say this is one of the very few straight VA's that taste well in a large and small bowl, though quite different.
I used to obsess about this but now I'll smoke a blend through an array of pipes to see how each affects the tobacco and will smoke whichever pipe I like based on what I want from that tobacco at that time. Wider bowls often bring out the lower notes while narrow blows accentuate the top end in my experience.
Unless you smoke the blenders pipe you have no way of knowing whether what you're tasting is what was intended. Some blends taste quite different from one pipe to the next. Greg Pease mentioned he didn't particularly care for VA flake until smoking it in pot. If he developed Union Square based around using such a pipe and if pipe shape has a large impact on how a tobacco presents, it may very well be the case that folks using a tall, narrow pipe are not getting the whole of it. My experience with Union Square supports this, though I will say this is one of the very few straight VA's that taste well in a large and small bowl, though quite different.
I used to obsess about this but now I'll smoke a blend through an array of pipes to see how each affects the tobacco and will smoke whichever pipe I like based on what I want from that tobacco at that time. Wider bowls often bring out the lower notes while narrow blows accentuate the top end in my experience.
Thank you all for your experiences and for sharing your knowledge. I think the bowl shape and bend / length of the stem probably play a large part in the enjoyment of a particular tobacco - though I now realize that I don't have to obsess so much.
To @bigpond point, I believe you really would have to have the blender's pipe to get the full benefit of a certain tobacco. Tonight my son and I sat outside blending tobaccos to find some way to use up the 2oz of perique he bought. We started out on a cob to taste the pure tobaccos; but had to tweak it a little more, once we switcned over to briars, to completely dial it in. In this case the pipe made a difference.
To @bigpond point, I believe you really would have to have the blender's pipe to get the full benefit of a certain tobacco. Tonight my son and I sat outside blending tobaccos to find some way to use up the 2oz of perique he bought. We started out on a cob to taste the pure tobaccos; but had to tweak it a little more, once we switcned over to briars, to completely dial it in. In this case the pipe made a difference.
Randelli:
Every one of my fifty odd burners have been heavily ghosted by Latakia. I would have it no other way.
Latakia was specially cured for manly men, in the company of men, doing manly things. It is made for the fleet of foot, fair of face, smokers of Herculean strength with the calm yet still inspiring wisdom to lead masses of people to greatness.
One does not choose Latakia. Latakia selects you.
To paraphrase the God blessed USMC, we Lat guys are the few, the proud and usually the ones asked to smoke outside when folks gather....
Have fun with this hobby, pal. More importantly, find a couple of Rabbis here to mentor your journey. I promise you that those guides will become your friends and will make this trip so much more enjoyable.
Selah!
Fnord
Every one of my fifty odd burners have been heavily ghosted by Latakia. I would have it no other way.
Latakia was specially cured for manly men, in the company of men, doing manly things. It is made for the fleet of foot, fair of face, smokers of Herculean strength with the calm yet still inspiring wisdom to lead masses of people to greatness.
One does not choose Latakia. Latakia selects you.
To paraphrase the God blessed USMC, we Lat guys are the few, the proud and usually the ones asked to smoke outside when folks gather....
Have fun with this hobby, pal. More importantly, find a couple of Rabbis here to mentor your journey. I promise you that those guides will become your friends and will make this trip so much more enjoyable.
Selah!
Fnord
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