2-3 bowls a day might be too much for you, especially as a new smoker. Ive been smoking pipes for about 2 years and that rate would definitely wear my mouth out. You may want to take a full week off and let your palate recover.
Loss of Taste (Not COVID Related)
- Thread starter Barred-owl
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I'll be the odd man out and say that it is psychic. Try to open yourself to solutions and sit in that space. Whether something comes to you or doesn't, the key is to maintain your openness and not demand any result.
I would try taking a small break, maybe a week, let yourself reset. Then maybe smoke just one or two bowls a day at first, spaced out, and keep a drink like sweet tea while smoking to keep the palate refreshed. My taste sometimes goes dull if I'm smoking a lot of Latakia or dark fired. Sometimes then the only thing that breaks through is a real Latakia bomb. Try breaking back in with some milder tobaccos, a middle of the road flake or Carter Hall or Presbyterian.
Smoking outdoors and some in the car but mostly outdoors and mostly when I have time to focus only on smoking. Occasionally when I puttering in the shop but then I’m lighting taking a half dozen puffs while I’m trying to figure out what to do next on a project then setting it down and relighting when I get to another break in my work. My blends right now are in order of most smoked. HH old dark fired , C&D bayou morning flake , C&D burley flake # 5, C&D Carolina red flake, then occasional , bluegrass, bourbon bleu and a little five brothers. The bulk of my smoking the past two weeks has been old dark fired 65-70%, bayou morning flake 25%, burley flake #5 5%, I occasionally get the bowl hot at some point but always back off. It’s just weird that waiting till noon the day before yesterday the flavor was phenomenal then the for the rest of the day almost no flavor. I’m working nights right now and have been up since 3:00 this afternoon. I’ve ate a good hearty meal of gumbo this evening and flavors were pretty darn good so my tongue is working on food. I’m going to wait till later tonight and pack a bowl of bayou morning flake that’s getting to what I think is about optimal moisture based on my relatively novice experience and see what happens.
You know I’ve even considered that and I sure can’t rule that out. I’ve been kinda having less mental energy lately. Up till now my pipe smoking has been enjoyed as much for the meditative benefits as any other aspect. I have noticed lately though that I tend to be smoking with an appetite for nicotine which hadn’t been the emphasis at all for the previous several months. You just might be into something with that suggestion.
Those blends are potent enough flavour-wise. I am pretty sure there were times that i struggled to get flavour when smoking outdoors, but i didn't bother. It's probably that, in combination with the weather (windy?? cold?), or just pallet fatigue. Relax, smoke for the enjoyment, otherwise don't
PS: moisture content theories etc are equally over complicated and overrated
Our winter here where I am has been very mild until this past week and mostly I’m able to be completely comfortable on the deck with a jacket and blanket on my legs on a few colder nights. I’m pretty sure the smoke has just numbed out my taste buds. Like any full time smoker that quits smoking then finds out they the flavor of food is amplified times 10. I tend to think that’s just where i am at on the other side of that phenomenon. I know my sense of smell in general has been greatly reduced since I started smoking the pipe. I was enjoying the flavors immensely and it’s almost not worth it except for the nicotine hit. I’m just disappointed I’m not getting the super savoriness I had been getting for the past several months where every puff till the end of the bowl was delicious!
In this case, you can just take a break. See how it goes from there
I’m just curious if this is just the reality of pipe smoking for most people?
I had a terrible time coming back to starting back up on the pipes.
Tongue bite was an issue, ash tasting tobacco, tobacco liquid all in the stem. All those things.
This is what I did. When you pack the bowl pack it so you get just a bit more resistance than you usually do. Light it and leave it don't tamp if it goes out re light.
Draw on the pipe like really gently, almost like you are taking the smallest draw in the world.
I found I was drawing far too much which was just turning my tobacco into a bonfire inside the pipe. Giving me a really nice start and rank hot middle and end
Well the struggle continues. At this point I feel like I’m complaining more than asking for advice. I laid off the pipe for a couple days after my original post and the flavor improved quite a bit. Not back to where it had been but much much better. So since it was enjoyable again I was smoking on average 2-3 bowls a day like I had for several months prior to noticing any flavor diminishing and now I’m worse than I was the first time I lost my ability to taste my tobacco. I’m thinking it’s a chemical type “burn out”. It’s pretty disappointing because I was so thoroughly enjoy my smoking time for several months of which I couldn’t detect any progression towards loss of flavor and now I literally get no savory flavors at all. I’m really thinking I’ve just completely burned out my smoke tasting taste buds. I can still taste food although less than before I started smoking as one should expect from a smoking habit but the enjoyment of my pipe is just completely gone right now. I’m going to do everything I can to not smoke for at least 3 days. I hope this isn’t just how it’s going to be from now on but I’m really getting the feeling that this is just the end of enjoying my pipe on a daily basis . I kinda feel like right now the most I’ll likely be able to smoke is a couple times a week if I haven’t permanently burned out my tongue somehow.
Well I guess it was fun while it lasted. I laid off the pipe for a week. Smoked a bowl and could kinda taste it like I had at one time and I was able to actually enjoy the smoke. Later that day I loaded another bowl and the smoke literally tasted like water. It’s like it’s a numbness in my tongue I can taste food no problem so this is really screwing with my head. I nibble on food just to see if I can still taste anything. Wish I knew what if anything I’m doing wrong. I’ve tried all suggestions and I appreciate the advice but it’s like over the course of a week my tongue went numb to tobacco smoke after months of flavor from beginning to end. I just don’t get it and I’m so frustrated and disappointed all at once. I was enjoying it so immensely and the enjoyment has completely been lost. Best of luck to everyone. I sincerely hope this doesn’t happen to anyone else because it sucks more than you can probably imagine! You just don’t expect your ability of taste to go completely away until it happens
I am kinda new to pipe smoking too. Although I first smoked a pipe over thirty years ago, my total number of bowls smoked might be less than a hundred total. I find it wonderful, but it mostly falls into the special treat category of activities for me, like eating a banana split. A banana split is a wonderful dessert, but I wouldn't like one daily. (I have smoked four bowls in the last month, which is much higher than my average of about one a month for the last three years.)
For my enjoyment, smoking a pipe comes when I have a couple hours of me time where I don't feel compelled to do one of the things on my never ending list of projects. Usually on vacation, or at the completion of some project, or very rarely I decide to say, "Screw it all, I'm going to drink a glass of bourbon and smoke my pipe!" So perhaps you won't every be a three bowl a day smoker, there is nothing wrong with being a once a week or once a month pipe enthusiast. Everybody is different. Embrace what works for you.
Grizz
For my enjoyment, smoking a pipe comes when I have a couple hours of me time where I don't feel compelled to do one of the things on my never ending list of projects. Usually on vacation, or at the completion of some project, or very rarely I decide to say, "Screw it all, I'm going to drink a glass of bourbon and smoke my pipe!" So perhaps you won't every be a three bowl a day smoker, there is nothing wrong with being a once a week or once a month pipe enthusiast. Everybody is different. Embrace what works for you.
Grizz
I second asshdigger; think of it like saying "pizza isn't tasty anymore" after eating some Carolina Reapers while not being an experienced pepperhead.
H
Hfinn
Guest
This can happen for various reasons, including organic or functional (psychological) or technical, as mentioned above. Try to smoke a cigarette and feel what is tasteful, if the taste is absent, then you better visit a doctor.
But it’s not really like that. It’s like my tongue suddenly stopped being able to taste all the enjoyable nuances of the smoke very strongly and it’s not coming back. I literally had very consistent experiences without tongue bite or any issues for months with many different blends then bam! I can’t really taste any tobacco smoke but it’s more like a sensation with bitterness that quickly numbs out after the first few puffs then it’s just like all I can taste if anything is the tar/ash like flavor.
Sounds like you just got your buds burnt out a bit. Give em time to rest and maybe sip some lemonade.
I have had the same problem on and off for a few years. It might be something to do with your nose/sinus more so than with your tongue. I suggest visiting a good ENT. Mine has put me on Nasonex and booked me for a sinus x-ray.