Haven’t had tongue bite for many years, but my first months of pipe smoking were full of it 
Is Tongue Bite Over Hyped?
- Thread starter HopHand
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Thanks for all the helpful replies everybody. It really sounds like myself and a rather small portion of fokes just basically won the tongue bite lottery?
seriously and anyone that's gotten a good case of tongue bite would say it's no little thing.
that's so true. I practically forgot about it until talking to people here.
Like skin allergies, pain related to pipe smoking -- like tongue bite, chemical burn, and resulting aftertastes -- tend to be individual. Some will never experience any of it, and others will quit because of it. My bad experiences mostly relate to over flavored (to me) aromatics and especially holiday blends, designed to give off a delightful room note, never mind how that irritates my mouth. I went from those to non-aromatics, some of them quite strong, and they didn't bother me at all. Is tongue bite a real thing? You bet, and thank your lucky stars if you don't experience it.
It’s real. It hurts. It’s what taught the real meaning of puffing slow.
My first experiences with my Peterson Rathbone left me with some tip of the tongue effects. They were definitely real and kind of like when you just have to taste the gravy you've been working on for an hour and forget to let it cool before sticking your tongue into it, lol. Just finished my re-introduction (and seemed like starting over) after several months off (for other reasons) so we'll see here in a bit how things are going. Our kitchen island looks like a science experiment - pipes, tobaccos, tools all over the place trying to figure out what to go with. Probably seems silly, but fun and the wife is out of town! First bowl, way too fast, second, so much better, but I'll wait a few hours and probably try a different pipe and a different tobacco for fun if I'm not noticing anything with my tongue that concerns me. It's been about 30 minutes since the bottom of the bowl and not noticing anything so far. I noticed the bowl got warm but not "hot" so I'm guessing that's not an issue? Packing was lacking, had to try again and first bowl went fast, second was a nice long time, lots of relights, but still a novice and so much "thinking" going on.
I remember this moment so vividly. Just after opening my first order of everything I thought could ever need to enjoy this hobby. A person would've sworn a tobacco shop exploded in my shop. I maybe 35 but can't remember a time I felt that "Kid on Christmas morning" feeling so intensely.
*Olkofri sneaks in a piping hot potato into the Cap'n's porridge
Welp.
As of writing I'm about 3/4 the way into my first tongue torture test bowl.
I'm still lost. It's a bit harsh on the throat and lugs with my first couple inhales but not so much I don't want to inhale and I get a bit of the dry mouth I find in a few blends but not bad otherwise no issues orally. I'll just have to take everybody's word for it and count myself blessed.
As of writing I'm about 3/4 the way into my first tongue torture test bowl.
I'm still lost. It's a bit harsh on the throat and lugs with my first couple inhales but not so much I don't want to inhale and I get a bit of the dry mouth I find in a few blends but not bad otherwise no issues orally. I'll just have to take everybody's word for it and count myself blessed.
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I'we ben pipe smowkin' fo' wats of yeah's and newwa got wong bite.
Lucky guy. I’ve had it for sure a probably several other things. I notice on aros, definitely some Virginia’s regardless of how slow and sippy I go and also other tobaccos that have a bit too much moisture. It’s not pleasant, makes me have to stop smoking a pipe ( sometimes for days) and have to watch food and beverage intake as it can last a while. Over sampling early on didn’t help and that also caused some burnout. But, hey, it’s a process. Can still get now, but I generally avoid the blends that cause it and only occasionally revisit them to see if still plagued by it.
I don’t think cigarette smoking has anything to do with it…I also smoked those before and still get. Cigars also never caused a problem unless I smoked too much of the wrong leafs in a given day/period, but it was never tongue bite - always burnout which removed enjoyment due to inability to taste the correct flavor profiles.
I wonder if we could roll Virginia tobaccos that cause the tongue bite into cigars if it would still cause the bite. No idea if a valid thought or if been discussed/researched in any way - but, in addition to the multiple reasons of moisture, tobacco type, casings and toppings, etc. - is it possible to think that somehow the smoke traveling through a stem is a contributor? Perhaps a stupid question, but I’ve smoked through a churchwarden and that particular pipe seems to cause the worst tongue bite, and with the longer stem it does make me wonder. And no, I don’t puff on it any harder to draw the smoke.
Anyway - delaying some work and blabbing as a method of procrastination.
I don’t think cigarette smoking has anything to do with it…I also smoked those before and still get. Cigars also never caused a problem unless I smoked too much of the wrong leafs in a given day/period, but it was never tongue bite - always burnout which removed enjoyment due to inability to taste the correct flavor profiles.
I wonder if we could roll Virginia tobaccos that cause the tongue bite into cigars if it would still cause the bite. No idea if a valid thought or if been discussed/researched in any way - but, in addition to the multiple reasons of moisture, tobacco type, casings and toppings, etc. - is it possible to think that somehow the smoke traveling through a stem is a contributor? Perhaps a stupid question, but I’ve smoked through a churchwarden and that particular pipe seems to cause the worst tongue bite, and with the longer stem it does make me wonder. And no, I don’t puff on it any harder to draw the smoke.
Anyway - delaying some work and blabbing as a method of procrastination.
What's tongue bite? I get stronger black pepper tingles in some blend, and not in other. Nothing that would ruin the smoke.
It's more of a newbie thing. Now, my tongue is so abrasive that I can keep Mrs Cosmic Brazilian.
I'm sure it's different for everyone, but I've been one to usually have an adult beverage in hand while pipe smoking and I think that certain drinks make my tongue more susceptible than others. Still working on figuring out the nuances though. Probably the worst was way back when I hadn't yet graduated from aromatics, puffing a pipe, stiff drink in hand, and wrangled with a stuffed jalapeno all at the same. Yowzers!
Some do, some don't. I do occasionally.
Old habits from a long time ago find me doing it occasionally - no judgments here but I really focus on not doing it, if that makes sense, while working on what passes for my technique so far.
Biggest takeaway from the weekend was rocking chair on deck in the morning was a lot more relaxing and helpful than high anxiety college football to enjoying my pipe.