Needing help with smoking English blend....

[kennyjo]

I mostly smoke aromatic tobacco but now I kind of get bored with it....

And I want to try something different.
Recently I purchased a tin of Hearth & Home Marquee Magnum Opus (a lot of positive review on tobaccoreviews.com).

I am not sure is that because I don't like Latakia or what.

I find the taste very.... discomfort...

My throat and tongue hurt when I was smoking it...
Can someone tell me is there anything I can do about that?

Or is that too soon for me change to blend like that and I should smoke something weaker?

If yes, can someone give me some recommendation?
Thanks

 

[tokerpipes]

Yeah sip it slow. Let the flavors release in your mouth. Dont Smoke the Pipe with this blend, you have to savor it. And drink something with it. I like Cream Soda. it realy brings out the flavors well and compliments them well, both the Magnum Opus and the Cream Soda.
It is a strong blend but has so many great flavor notes in it if you slow it down.

 

[schmitzbitz]

Kennyjo; it may be an issue with your personal chemistry. I find that many blends, especially those that utilize Perique, tend to bite like mad unless I dry them out until verging on crispy. I believe this is due to my actually having an aversion to Perique - if I perservere through the pain, I notice that my soft palate actually begins to swell noticably, while my gums and hard-palate grow slightly inflamed.

 

[galeon]

Like Toker said, sip it slow and drink something with it. I find myself getting slightly nauseous at heavy Lat blends or blends with more than a pinch or perique. Drinking something slows down my smoking cadence and keeps me from getting sick.
Good luck. ::

 

[spartan]

All english blends are not created equally.
Sounds like this one just bites the heck out of you. Chalk it up to body chemistry like Schmitzbitz said.
Try various moisture levels when smoking, but you may just want to move on to another blend.
I'm my experience, once a blend bites me there's little I can do to prevent it. Even sipping it impossibly slowly I still feel the sting.
Keep at it. Throw it up for a trade when you reach 50 posts if you still don't like it. Trade it for another english blend and good luck to ya!

 

[puffy]

I haven't smoked this blend.Just reading what's in it though and your reaction to it.Sounds like you're just not into this complex blend.You might want to try a mild Latakia blend and see how that works.

 

[kennyjo]

Thanks everyone.

Actually I tried a blend called "Mississippi River" by Seattle Pipe Club and I like it.

Since the rating (strength, taste, etc) about that blend on tobaccoreviews.com is pretty much the same as the Mississippi River,

I thought I may/should like it....

 

[thesmokindragon]

Moisture, packing, pipe and smoking style all can mess with

your experience; ah pipe smoking, a journey I hope to never

finish ;-)
So all that stuff above translates to ;

1.) Make sure this blend has some air-time out of the tin, I like a few hours on her

2.) Check your packing on this blend, I find the cut does need some attention

3.) It is a complex blend, I would smoke her in a larger chamber diameter pipe (if you have one)

4.) Smoke her nice and slow, don't overheat her
And after all that and you still don't care for her; well I can tell you

that we have some mad mad Mag Opus cats around here that

will take it off your hands ;-)

 

[lestrout]

Kenny - that is interesting, since MissR and Magnum Opus have a lot of the same major ingredients. Maybe MO has a specific Oriental leaf that is not agreeing with your palate?
hp

les

 

[thesmokindragon]

Q. Was the pipe you smoked the blend in still being broke in?
I ask because I find new pipes tend to do this to me; hurt the throat,

bite, etc, but once broken in properly all those issues go away for

me...
Former states a pipe isnt really broken in until about 50 smokes

or so

 

[bentmike]

My local B&M introduced me to Latakia nearly 20 years ago when I was a new pipe smoker. I thought they were nuts and threw away that nasty black stuff! Over time I rediscovered the smokey weed and learned to appreciate it. My favorite mixtures is actually a Peterson's blend called Old Dublin. I recommend it highly.
edit: give it time, you may not like it now but in time you may come to enjoy Latakia blends.
I smoke aromatics most of the time but like to taste an English mixture once in a while.

 

[baronsamedi]

It might be a good idea to go onto P&C or 4noggins and order a few ounces of their individual blending tobaccos to see if a particular type has the bad effect. It will also tell you which type of leaf you like and why. Magnum Opus is strong, aroma-wise, because I think it's like 40% Latakia, but it is a very smooth and forgiving blend and I've not heard of it burning anyone. I'm thinking it's tongue bite, which is a body chemistry reaction to a specific leaf. Latakia is an easy culprit, but like another said, it could be an oriental or some other component.

 

[kennyjo]

Thanks everyone.
I have never thought about smoking with the blending tobacco...

Because I don't have the extra money now, I will have to do that later...
In the meantime, I think I will just put that aside (aging?) and try it again later.

 

[uberam3rica]

I like Cream Soda. it realy brings out the flavors well and compliments them well, both the Magnum Opus and the Cream Soda

UI've never had cream soda with an English before. I'll have to try it. I like to drink coffee with English blends. I find it really enhances the flavor of the tobacco and the coffee

 

[taerin]

Frog Morton (McClelland) is a nice mild to medium flavored English with zero tongue bite. I was in love with this blend for 2 years because it tasted great, wasn't too strong in nicotine, and it was the only blend I could find with no bite. Now very few blends bite a whole lot as I am much better in my technique and I have branched out into other things, however I still love this stuff time to time. I would recomend this as a starter into English tobaccos.