Overcoming Latakia Burnout

[solideogloria86]

Sometimes I think. Sometimes those thoughts drift towards the subject of personal pipe smoking experiences. Sometimes those thoughts make their way here for you all to endure and possibly engage with.
This could be a long story, but I'll try to make it a short one. I was a Lat Bomb lover for about the first 3 years of my pipe smoking career. I thought nuanced blends were bland and boring. I finally gained a taste for Virginias and lost all love for Latakia. Everything Lat blend was overpowered by the dark leaf, no matter how small it's percentage in the blends. Fast forward another few years, and I discovered that I could taste nuance in Lat blends again, and every time I've smoked one, I've thoroughly enjoyed it. Here lies the point of this post. I still find that I have a mental block in blend selection when it comes to Latakia. I know that I enjoy them, but it takes some real convincing to load a bowl with one.

I think this may actually be a good thing, as it helps maintain a good balance. About a 15:1 Va/Lat ratio in blends smoked, and that this balance helps prevent another burnout.

Has anyone else experienced Lat burnout, and then overcome it? If so, how much space do Latakia blends occupy in your blend selection?

 

[elvishrunes]

Yes this is common, aros to Lat for years to Virginia and back. I did it too, not by following it just happened. I smoke about 1/5 bowls lat, but I do like strong Lat when I smoke it like Nightcap, but since I’m boycotting them STG, Commonwealth mixture looks similar. I would take Virginia flake though if I only had one tobacco.

 

[Cotton1]

Variety is the spice of life

 

[VDL_Piper]

It sure happens but I mix it up and not smoke blends with it exclusively which seems to help. I definitely gravitate towards it through the cooler months.

 

[crashthegrey]

I went through exactly the same. Everything started to taste like salt. I fell in love with Virginia tobacco. Now I can smoke latakia blends, but I do not look for bombs and only very occasionally.

 

[geoffs]

Less is more. I smoke lat heavy blends infrequently but when I do I really enjoy them.
The more I smoke em, the less I enjoy them.

 

[Mike N]

I still like my Latakia but only with a pinch of Perique for some reason.

But don't throw those lats away. A few years in a jar, and a change in the old taste buds (again), and you may just become a Latakia recidivist.

 

[OzPiper]

Coming back to pipes from 15 years of cigars, I smoked Latakia/Oriental blends 80-90% of the time. I found virginias and VaPers lacking flavour then.
After re-setting my palate, I now smoke Virginias, VaPers and Burley blends mostly. And prefer their more subtle and less in-your-face taste profiles.
I still love my Latakia/Oriental blends when I smoke them.
Just less frequently.

 

[renfield]

Lat burnout is common. Your story is typical.

Lat blends used to be 75% of what I smoked for years. Now I smoke them maybe 5% of the time. It’s been about 10 years since I drifted away from Latakia blends. I enjoy them when I smoke them but don’t find myself often in the mood for Latakia. Now it’s mostly Virginias and VaPers in the rotation.

I’ve found that darker Virginia blends and Burleys satisfy the itch more than Latakia these days. Maybe I’ll swing back to Lat blends some day but I’m not worrying about it today.

 

[solideogloria86]

Coming back to pipes from 15 years of cigars, I smoked Latakia/Oriental blends 80-90% of the time. I found virginias and VaPers lacking flavour then.
After re-setting my palate, I now smoke Virginias, VaPers and Burley blends mostly. And prefer their more subtle and less in-your-face taste profiles.
I still love my Latakia/Oriental blends when I smoke them.
Just less frequently.

This is exactly where I'm at now. A 3 year Lat binge, about 2.5 year abstinence, and now I dabble.
An occasional change of pace smoke. It's not such a coincidence that my consumption of Lat and Cigars have pretty much mirrored each other.

 

[Richmond B. Funkenhouser]

Lat blends make up 10% or less of my stock.

I just can't smoke latakia all the time without getting burned out. If I do get burned out on it, it'll only take a week or two and I'm ready again.

 

[Oddball]

Yeah, I love a good Lat blend.

I also love when its not time for that.

I think another avenue that should be mentioned is picking a blend that is super light with Latakia. Someone may have said this already.


I find that blends that sprinkle it in are really enjoyable sometimes when an 'english' blend isn't on the menu.

 

[Chasing Embers]

I got to where all I could taste in a Latakia blend was the Latakia. I ventured into Virginias, aromatics, and orientals and when I found out what the tobacco used to make Latakia tasted like by itself, Latakia then tasted cheap and artificial.

 

[solideogloria86]

I got to where all I could taste in a Latakia blend was the Latakia. I ventured into Virginias, aromatics, and orientals and when I found out what the tobacco used to make Latakia tasted like by itself, Latakia then tasted cheap and artificial.

I love orientals.

 

[tirefire]

Count me as another who has scaled back English/Balkan blends in favor of Virginias. Finished a tin of Quiet Nights on New Years and haven't bothered to open a new one. I didn't mind the latakia so much but the orientals . . . Uh, no thanks. Now my choices are Virginia/Kentucky, Virginia/perique, or an aro.

 

[Ebarber]

I'm getting pretty close to being a 10 year pipe smoker now.
In the beginning, coming from cigars, I loved a good lat bomb.
The thick, deep smoky clouds of pungent smoke.
It seemed as though it was the only thing that would satisfy like a cigar with the pipe.
I went through all of the varieties of blends and have mostly settled into virginias and virginia periques. I like others too, burleys, orientals (lightly) and dark fired Kentucky.
I grew tired of the latakia and it now dominates every blend its in. It smells and tastes terrible to me now.
I have a friend who smokes heavy lat blends and it reminds me a little bit of burning tires.
I hope I come back around to it one of these days but it doesn't look very promising for me.
I still enjoy cigars too on occasion.
Its been around 6 years or so since I've truly enjoyed a latakia blend.

 

[Sigmund]

Back in 2009 when I was first smoking a pipe I hated latakia. Now I love it. That said, I dont somke a lat blend every day. Probably 1 every other day. Most of the time when I want lat I want a lot of it.

On the other hand, I have a couple of home blends that have just a smidge of lat and they are also good.

 

[BingBong]

As I read this, I was smoking Va/Per and enjoying it. But consequently I've fired up a bowl of Germain Special Latakia Flake in my Chacom Cuba and it is awesome, I have to admit. Now and again works for me.

 

[JOHN72]

For the moment I still enjoy latakia. Maybe because I always liked the Havana cigar, before I got fully into the world of pipe tobacco. For me, latakia has its "special" moment; if it's not my moment, I don't smoke it. It's also true that I prefer it when it's very cold, and at night.

 

[Christos D. Tsatsaronis]

...Has anyone else experienced Lat burnout...?

Never did, never will.
Long live the Queen L.