I smoke for flavor. What works best for me is to keep the tobacco just barely simmering, just on the edge of going out without it actually going out. It's a combination of getting the moisture content at the point where the blend releases its most intense flavors, With the blends that I usually smoke, Virginias and Va/Pers, that moisture level is pretty close to, but not quite, bone crumbly dry. The tobacco may be a bit crispy at the edges, but it's still pliant. Then I pack it so that it's firm, not tight but lightly compressed and still a bit springy. Once I've got the tobacco going with a few puffs, it's all gentle sips, sometimes a long sip, sometimes a short light sip, but always slow and gentle, just enough to keep the tobacco barely simmering. I might give a puff or two to keep it lit, but other than that it's sipping the blend and then easing it ever so slow and lazy, out my nose so that I pick up the other flavors in that blend.