Losing Flavor Halfway Through the Bowl

[98now]

Been pipe smoking about a year now. Here of late, I’ve noticed that, once I get halfway or a little past that, the tobacco turns bland. English, Virginias, Periques, pretty much any non-aromatics taste the same to me for about that last third or so. Is it something I’m doing? I generally ash two or three times per bowl, if that makes any difference.

 

[TheIronMonkey]

It’s possible you may be smoking too fast and hot. What size is the chamber of your pipe and how long does it take to smoke a chamber full?

 

[JimInks]

It reads as though you are puffing too quickly. Try a slower cadence. If you were a cigarette smoker, you need to throw out all the habits from it when you smoke a pipe.

Pipe smoking takes time to get it right, so just be patient. You'll find a rhythm at some point.

 

[Chasing Embers]

+3 on smoking too quickly.

 

[98now]

Smoking too quickly could definitely be it. I’m a dipper. Never a habit cigarette smoker, but I do like that nicotine fix. Probably need to smoke right after a dip so I’m not sucking on the pipe so much.

 

[JimInks]

Smoking too quickly could definitely be it. I’m a dipper. Never a habit cigarette smoker, but I do like that nicotine fix. Probably need to smoke right after a dip so I’m not sucking on the pipe so much.

Pack the tobacco gently, especially if your pipe has a narrow chamber. Then do a char light to make sure that all of it is burning. And then, kind of sip the smoke. See if that will work for you.

The most important point that I can make is that smoking a pipe should be relaxing, so do everything you can with that thought in mind.

 

[Chasing Embers]

Smoking too quickly could definitely be it. I’m a dipper. Never a habit cigarette smoker, but I do like that nicotine fix. Probably need to smoke right after a dip so I’m not sucking on the pipe so much.

I understand completely.

 

[98now]

I understand completely.

View attachment 349872

We’re equal opportunity tobacco users.

 

[anotherbob]

the slower smoking thing. For me I think smoke more gently like sip instead of puff. Works wonders.

 

[PipeIT]

Besides smoking to fast, when it becomes to difficult to light through the ash, and you need to scrap some ash out, becareful.

When you remove, you’ll see as three layers of color, the whiter look on top, then gray/darker gray, then black.

Removing all the top white ash is fine and some gray/darker gray, but you don’t want to end up seeing charred black tobacco. You should be left with some gray/darker gray.

Because, when you begin to relight over on this charred black tobacco, you’ll get bad tastes until it burns for a while, or it could end up ruining the rest.

 

[MisterBadger]

Besides smoking to fast, when it becomes to difficult to light through the ash, and you need to scrap some ash out, becareful.

When you remove, you’ll see as three layers of color, the whiter look on top, then gray/darker gray, then black.

Removing all the top white ash is fine and some gray/darker gray, but you don’t want to end up seeing charred black tobacco. You should be left with some gray/darker gray.

Because, when you begin to relight over on this charred black tobacco, you’ll get bad tastes until it burns for a while, or it could end up ruining the rest.

Personally I find that, any time the pipe goes out, before relighting, simply inverting the bowl and maybe giving it the lightest of taps, removes only the top layer of light grey ash, and that does improve the smoke for me.

 

[PipeIT]

Personally I find that, any time the pipe goes out, before relighting, simply inverting the bowl and maybe giving it the lightest of taps, removes only the top layer of light grey ash, and that does improve the smoke for me.

I Gravity Fill all my pipes, then the lightest of pressure on top to pack, and after some smoking, using the tamper weight to only pack, and with these methods, which are commonly used, meaning packing lightly and only using the tamper weight. By inverting and doing this, it could possibly unloose the tobacco, or some to fall out.

I wouldn’t recommend anyone do this, it’s easy enough to gently scrape out the ash, using a Czech type pipe tool…

 

[AndyNJ]

never removed any ash from a bowl ever before, I relight quite often and I never fail to carefully light through the ash. I do not light by direct contact of the flame to the tobacco but hovering a match over the bowl. I also smoke extreme slow, the flavor build up and changes a lot going down which is the fun part.

 

[PipeIT]

@MisterBadger we must maintain some Pipe Decorum, if we are going to mingle in the Posh Gentleman’s Club.

Gentlemen of propriety can’t be flipping their pipes upside down knocking on them. The establishment wouldn’t stand for such crude behavior.

A slightly raised pinky, scraping gently with your pipe tool, is a man of higher pedigree and refinement.

 

[MisterBadger]

@MisterBadger we must maintain some Pipe Decorum, if we are going to mingle in the Posh Gentleman’s Club.

Gentlemen of propriety can’t be flipping their pipes upside down knocking on them. The establishment wouldn’t stand for such crude behavior.

A slightly raised pinky, scraping gently with your pipe tool, is a man of higher pedigree and refinement.

@PipeIT : Thank you. I shall inform the butler and have him re-instruct the footmen as to what is required when I pass them my pipe to re-light when it goes out. Do you really do all that yourself?

 

[PipeIT]

@PipeIT : Thank you. I shall inform the butler and have him re-instruct the footmen as to what is required when I pass them my pipe to re-light when it goes out. Do you really do all that yourself?

Oh no, one must have a moment of laughter is all, when one can have it.

But I will say, I am extremely careful when I use a Czech tool, especially the straight piece, because they have a sharp end to them, and in the past when I was digging out ash, or some other cleaning, my pipe ended up having scratches all inside the chamber. This was on a fairly new uncoated chamber, which had scratched up the briar pretty good.

After that, I never let that straight piece, get anywhere near the edges of the chamber.

Zoom up the pic and you can see the pointed tip on the straight piece. This piece you really have to watch what you’re doing.

I should file these tips down on mine…

 

[Choatecav]

One thing I might suggest. Your selections of tobacco (Virginia's, English, Perique's) keep you away from Burley based blends. I too, was staying in the same vein as you, almost exclusively and some friends, specifically @Grangerous, helped me to expand my blends to include some nice Burleys. I have been smoking them almost exclusively for a few weeks and have learned to enjoy them.

A couple of days ago, I went back to try Va's and English blends and found that they tasted much more vibrant than I remembered.

I actually believe that just as with a balanced diet of food, having a variety of tobaccos in your rotation keeps your taste buds on their toes. Someone like @JimInks could speak better to this, but it made a difference for me. Plus broadened my horizons.

This is just my observations and with them and $3.00, you can get a cup of Joe.

 

[JimInks]

One thing I might suggest. Your selections of tobacco (Virginia's, English, Perique's) keep you away from Burley based blends. I too, was staying in the same vein as you, almost exclusively and some friends, specifically @Grangerous, helped me to expand my blends to include some nice Burleys. I have been smoking them almost exclusively for a few weeks and have learned to enjoy them.

A couple of days ago, I went back to try Va's and English blends and found that they tasted much more vibrant than I remembered.

I actually believe that just as with a balanced diet of food, having a variety of tobaccos in your rotation keeps your taste buds on their toes. Someone like @JimInks could speak better to this, but it made a difference for me. Plus broadened my horizons.

This is just my observations and with them and $3.00, you can get a cup of Joe.

I agree with that comment. A regular rotation of tobacco genres help keep my palate and interest going. Apples are great palate cleaners, and the other keys to good smoking is hydration and keeping your mouth fresh.

 

[Grangerous]

I often enjoy making direct comparisons, often times loading two pipes and when one goes out I light the other, alternating between blends.

Today, it was Haunted Bookshop and Pegasus.

In the past, I am on record as saying that Haunted Bookshop tastes like hot air to me.

The spiciness of HB was evident because it contrasted with the familiar sweetness of Pegasus.

Side by side, I could perceive each blend more clearly than had I smoked one or the other alone.

Since I don’t smoke for nicotine, I will say that I felt the Haunted Bookshop. I’ll leave that one to the guys that need it to feel satisfied.

But flavor-wise? I really enjoyed and could appreciate HB today.

 

[ziv]

What about relights, in the context of this topic?
I know everyone's saying that one shouldn't be shy about relights, but I find myself relighting pretty often, since I'm trying to smoke slowly, which results in pipe going out. And every time I relight, I naturally puff longer and harder, which I think is detrimental for the smoking experience - as pointed out earlier here. Should I be trying to relight less often? or am I just doing it wrong?