Must Be Doing Something Wrong......

[moldyoldy]

Hi all! Newbie here, hoping maybe you can give me some guidance / pointers....I must be doing something wrong, because no matter what I smoke, it all seems pretty much the same....I hear you guys going on about "Chocolate toppings with anise or berry undertones dancing on my palette" ....all I get it smoke....some a little harsher than others, but I'm just not getting the flavors...In the bags or tins, yeah, they all have their own distinct smell, but once in the pipe & lit, it just seems the same.....Maybe I'm smoking too hot & killing the flavor agents or something? Maybe the 3 1/2 packs of Chesterfields I used to do just flat out killed my tastebuds? Maybe I'm just not sophisticated enough to pick up the subtleties of the blends? At this point in my pipe career, my tobacco choices are more or less based on what I can keep lit, and what I can afford....my big splurge last night, was picking up a couple small tins of the Edward G Robinson blend...a wallet shattering 15 bucks for 3 oz..... :D

 

[jacks6]

I think it just takes time and practice, you'll refine that palette eventually. I could have written the same post a few years ago

 

[Chasing Embers]

Stay with the same blend for awhile, and practice retrohaling. The flavors will come.

 

[moldyoldy]

Right now, I'm just doing what my wife calls the "Old Fart" blends....I'm 49, and she calls me the world's youngest senior citizen....Guess I spent too much time hanging out with my grandpa & his buddies when I was a kid....no fancy stuff for me, just give me something like Carter Hall or Velvet, a cold bottle of Pabst or some crummy supermarket wine, and I'm good.......even better if it's old time radio night, and The Great Gildersleeve or Amos & Andy is on.....although, yesterday I did particularly enjoy a leisurely morning smoke of the Walnut match blend....can't explain why, there was nothing super remarkable or flavorful, was just one of the more enjoyable smokes I had recently....maybe because Spring was in the air, and I had a window open for once....

 

[moldyoldy]

What exactly is "retrohaling"?

 

[pruss]

Stay with the same blend for awhile, and practice retrohaling. The flavors will come.

+1
I'd also suggest that you change up how you're packing a bowl, and then pay attention to your cadence. Slowing down your smoke and learning to sip, and to retrohale, will really help open up the flavours in your tobacco. Remember, if the bowl is too hot to touch, then you're smoking too hot/fast.
Welcome to the forum, I look forward to reading more of your posts.
-- Pat

 

[Chasing Embers]

Retrohaling is cycling the smoke from your mouth through your nasal cavity and out your nose.
+100 on the Carter Hall and the PBR! :mrgreen:

 

[deathmetal]

In the bags or tins, yeah, they all have their own distinct smell, but once in the pipe & lit, it just seems the same.

Most toppings do not taste the same, nor as strongly, as their tin note. I suggest attempting breath-smoking or another slow smoking variety of technique. This allows the tobacco to burn coolest, heating the flavored parts, and giving you the best flavor.

 

[prairiedruid]

Go slow and sip your pipe. At first when I started pipe smoking I had the same experience....harsh smoke that didn't taste of anything but smoke. After a week of improving my technique of packing my pipe and slowing down I started picking up some of the sweet notes, campfire smoke, and leather notes. Months down the road I pick up the differences between Cyprian and Syrian latakia, I started to pick up the fruit and spice elements others had talked about. It takes time to learn how to smoke, what techniques that work best for you, and time for your palate to become "trained" at picking up the nuances of a blend. I'm 1 year in and am still learning and improving my pipe experience. Relax, grab a beverage and your pipe and just sip at your pipe; the enjoyment is coming and it is definitely worth it.

 

[yaddy306]

You are probably "smoking too hot & killing the flavor agents".

 

[Chasing Embers]

Breath Smoking
https://youtu.be/0o8Sfg6EH9k

 

[moldyoldy]

"Retrohaling is cycling the smoke from your mouth through your nasal cavity and out your nose."....basically, the way I used to smoke cigarettes.....Was doing it without even knowing what it was called....Guess all those cartons of Chesterfields and Pall Malls were never smoked correctly, I never drew the smoke deep into my lungs....when people said not to smoke a pipe like a cigarette, I avoided doing what I used to do, because I never realized I was smoking my cigarettes like a pipe.....interesting.......guess I'll have to re-pack a bowl now & give it another go.....So, what'll it be?...Sugar Barrel, Walnut, Holiday, Velvet, Carter Hall, or just the cheapo Value Blend?

 

[iamn8]

Most scotch drinkers hated their first taste. It just takes time to appreciate, as others have said.

 

[deathmetal]

Old school Chesterfields were worth smoking for the taste alone, no lungs required.

 

[moldyoldy]

"Old school Chesterfields were worth smoking for the taste alone, no lungs required."....They were great, but when the brand was taken over from Liggett, the new guys couldn't leave well enough alone, and they never tasted the same again.....guess they used cheaper tobaccos or something....then, I switched to Pall Mall for a while....the other ones that were nice, but hard to get, were Raleigh plain tips and Old Golds.....

 

[perdurabo]

Latakia Blends my friend, better to start with.
Welcome Aboard!

 

[newbroom]

yesterday I did particularly enjoy a leisurely morning smoke of the Walnut match blend....can't explain why, there was nothing super remarkable or flavorful, was just one of the more enjoyable smokes I had recently.

The static quest. Relax. You know you're ON to something. Discerning flavor is almost a passive experience.

 

[frozenchurchwarden]

At this point in my pipe career, my tobacco choices are more or less based on what I can keep lit, and what I can afford...

That sounds pretty much perfect, don't change a thing. Flavours will come after a few days/weeks depending on the person and frequency of smoking, which I suggest less rather than more when you're starting, you're probably going to burn yourself so a few days between bowls isn't a bad idea when you're starting out.

When you eventually move on to slower burning blends, use a smaller bowl for blends that are harder to keep lit (heat dissipated over a smaller volume of space keeps the tobacco burning better).
And do jump into Latakia ASAP if you like smell of campfires.

 

[pipeanddrum]

Slow and steady wins the race. I've only been smoking a pipe for about 9 months and find that I'm most successful in tasting the flavors in a tobacco if I let them come to me instead of chasing them by smoking too fast or rapidly. There's a thread on breath smoking in the forums that was mentioned above. Worth looking at.

 

[tgwilt]

Hi there,
I have to agree with the idea that you just need to slow down and enjoy. The first blend that really tasted good to me was Old Dog, followed by Frog Morton. Now I mostly smoke Virginia and VaPer blends, occasionally reverting to a bowl of Old Dog. The beauty of smoking a pipe is the time you take.