Pipe diet

[monty55]

So I've read and heard a few times that people have a pipe or pipes that will smoke a certain tobacco better than other pipes. I hear "This tobacco taste really great out of this particular pipe of mine." Setting any ghosting attributes aside, is this true? Or is it simply a psychological pairing of a "cool" pipe with a "favorite" tobacco?

 

[conlejm]

Monty, I'll let G. L. Pease - the Master himself - answer that question:
http://pipesmagazine.com/blog/out-of-the-ashes/three-by-three/

 

[sailorjeremy]

Passion of pipes also has a great article on this.

http://passionforpipes.squarespace.com/neills-blog/2010/10/31/how-and-why-chamber-geometry-impacts-tobacco-flavor.html

 

[wilson]

It is probably a bit of both. There is probably some psychology going on: "my favorite tobacco in my favorite pipe" and so forth.
But, the geometry of a bowl does matter as pointed out in the excellent article referenced by Jeremey. The size (and shape) of the bowl will vary the ratio of the combustion, distillation and condensation zones. A great deal of what you taste, and like, from a pipe is not the combustion products, but the volatile organic compounds that are cooked out of the tobacco in the distillation zone. And, as you smoke through the bowl, what was originally part of the condensation zone becomes the distillation zone and this is one of the reasons why the flavors change a bit through the course of a bowl.
Other factors can lead to a good pairing, as well. Finding a drier-smoking blend to tame a pipe that smokes a bit wet, or a slow burning blend to tame a pipe that seems to smoke on the hot side can give new life and enjoyment to a pipe that was kind of a dud with other blends.
Not having dozens of pipes, I don't segregate - I'm an equal-opportunity smoker. But, there is no doubt that some seem to find certain pipes that work better with certain blends and the effect is not purely psychological.

 

[monty55]

Great articles guys! I learned quite a lot. Now I'm trying to figure out what tobaccos to smoke in several "unsmoked" estate pipes I need to break in. But, don't I need to decide whether to go English/Oriental or Vir/Per for any given pipe before proceeding? Then, the question becomes did I choose wisely? What if an English blend would have actually tasted better in a pipe I chose to break in with Vir/Per, or vice versa? decisions ugh. What do you break your pipes in with? Do you decide to go Latakia or Virginia for any given pipe before approaching the breaking in process?

 

[sailorjeremy]

That's all a matter of personal preference. If you don't own many pipes, then most people would say smoke everything in everything and figure out what works best for you. I wouldn't worry too much about ghosting if your just getting started. Here's the best advice that I was given when I was just getting started.... "The best way to break in a pipe is to SMOKE IT"

 

[monty55]

Thanks Jeremy. Good advice. I'm sure your probably right and that one day I will look back on these questions as quite silly.

 

[mso489]

It sure varies from blend to blend and pipe to pipe. I think complex tobaccos do tend to exhibit their different tobaccos

best in a wider bowl like a prince, pot, or author. I think the surface allows more or all of the constituent tobaccos to

burn and contribute to the flavor at once. Whereas, a one or two tobacco Virginia blend might show all its nuances

in a modest sized bulldog or Rhodesian. It takes a good while to figure this out for your particular pipes, your choices

of tobaccos, and certainly your particular taste buds.

 

[foggymountain]

'Tis true Monty, 'tis true. Different finishes give different tastes. Some of these may be smoked with any tobacco, some are better with a type of blend. Generally speaking the darker finishes smoke better with the darker tobaccos, though after many years of smoking a particular pipe the taste of the pipe lessens and eventually disappears, making it OK for almost any tobacco.

 

[12pups]

Oh, how I hope I'm never good enough to know that difference.
Seems to me, the more you know, the more expensive pipe smoking gets to be.
Ignorance is.... well, if not bliss, then cheaper!

(Too late. I've already started buying tobacco online and ... god help me ... dedicating them to pipes. I am doomed to pipers' poverty. But I am not entirely depressed about it because I think of the friends I have who've gone there before me. I'm coming, Bubba! I'm right behind you.)

 

[cobguy]

I thought this thread was going to be about reaching for your pipe

in lieu of a bag of chips or cookies ... which I should start doing. 8O