Petersons Irish flake - sore throat?

[oakbear]

Hi folks,
I've recently obtain some Petersons Irish flake, as although i've only been smoking a pipe for a couple of months i quite like more robust blends rather than lighter aromatics much of the time.

I enjoyed this tobacco very much, nice full tobacco flavour with plenty of nuts and espresso.
The problems seems to be that immediately after my first bowl i noticed a tightness/ache in my soft palette and back of my throat. I smoked another about 8 hours later, and got quite a sore throat, which has lasted over night.
So am i doing something wrong?!

Is my mouth simply not hardened enough to nicotine, hence the 'recommended for experienced smokers only' label?

I can't imagine this is normal, as it's rather put me off!

 

[matchstickman]

Are you inhaling? I don't ever inhale my pipe or usually even let it go to my throat. If the smoke is getting to your throat it could be irritating it, especially if the tobacco is burning too hot. Hotter burning tobacco smoke could, I imagine, probably irritate your throat. A hot smoke could be a result of too loose packing, too tight packing, or an overly wet smoke. Try drying the tobacco a little more, and packing a little looser. See if that helps. If not, it could also be something in the tobacco itself that could be causing you problems. Different tobaccos work differently with different people's body chemistry. Some blends just don't agree with some people, and if the above tricks dont work, Irish Flake could just be one of those tobaccos.

 

[tobakenist]

I would say you are doing something wrong, do you inhale, hold the smoke in your mouth for to long, smoking to hot, it could be a number of things, I would say that Irish Flake is a particularly strong tobacco but it might just be one that doesn't suit you.

 

[oakbear]

Thanks for the replies chaps!
I don't inhale, but i do like to take the smoke to the back of my mouth so i can exhale through my nose, as i find i can get other flavours that way. Not had this with any other tobacco, or changed how i smoked it.
It is pretty dense and moist for a flake, and i folded rather than rubbed it out. I didn't get any tongue burn and it felt pretty cool, but drying might work. I'll maybe try it in my churchwarden in case it was too hot...

 

[olderthandirt]

Hullo oakbear!

The first thought that came to mind was perhaps over puffing in attempts to keep it lit?
Irish Flake is a huge favorite for me, gone through a good bit of it (-:

It is also a flake that I have a devil of a time smoking in flake form. Additional drying as mentioned above is certainly a must with this one.
Quite often I'll cut the flakes into approx 1/8" squares, gravity fill and lightly tamp as needed.

Usually though with IF I rub a flake out partially, leave it in coarse pieces, and then leave it to dry a little.

 

[unclearthur]

Irish flake needs a fair amount of drying. You may have steam burned the back of your mouth smoking it too moist.

 

[oakbear]

Sounds right, a combination of the moisture and over puffing to keep it lit. I'll try in couple of days and reoprt back!

 

[oakbear]

Still haven't tried it, reason being, i now have a horrible cold and sore throat which has lasted all week.

I think the smoke just aggrivated it. Anyway, mystery solved, and i look forward to sampling this flake again.
It's been a week since i've had a smoke now though! :x

 

[olderthandirt]

I can't even imagine a week w/o a smoke oakbear! Get well soonest!!

 

[oakbear]

Cheers!

I'm already planning what to smoke when i think my throat has recovered enough!

 

[baronsamedi]

1-Q is always satisfying after a time away from the pipe - HEY! Get out of my head, Lawrence! JK :nana:

 

[nsfisher]

i can be so sick i can be throwing up etc, just dont matter, i still smoke lol