Soap Taste When Smoking Virginia

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Sgetz

Lifer
May 21, 2020
1,574
2,275
74
UK
Try same tobacco in a different pipe thus if it is still the same it ain't the pipe. But if it's you then rest that mouth !!If it's not the same deep clean pipe with salt treatment etc. Good luck cause you seem to really get Virginias
 

krizzose

Lifer
Feb 13, 2013
3,364
20,907
Michigan
That is a weird one, especially with a new rock maple insert. I've never gotten a soapy taste from a Virginia before, but very occasionally I'll go through a period where Virginias taste just a little off. When that happens I smoke burley blends or aromatics for the next few bowls. Most of the time the next bowl of Virginia is particularly good.
 
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May 2, 2020
4,664
23,784
Louisiana
Soap? Must be that new blend, Irish Springs. ?

In all seriousness, I’ve never experienced soap from a Virginia, but if I smoke too much red Virginia it’ll make every tobacco afterwards taste overly tart/tangy for a while, and give me an aftertaste of grapefruit peel. Sounds like a joke, but I’m actually being serious. I have to spread out my red Virginia consumption to avoid it.
 

Sloopjohnbee

Lifer
May 12, 2019
1,289
2,286
Atlantic Coast USA
I’ve actually gotten this before! I thought I was crazy. Didn’t think to connect the alkaline ashes to soap, even though that’s how they used to make soap.
Well if this is the case then yes the pipe needs a cleaning
the best thing for this - is indeed soap - it will saponify the tars/oils and ash and rinse out with hot water rinse - a good dry and then its gone
 

mikebjrtx

Starting to Get Obsessed
Oct 14, 2012
147
276
56
Hurst TX
Your mouth might be ghosted. Instead of cleaning the pipe with alcohol………
But seriously even if you don’t get pain you may have inflammation or a buildup on your tongue. Do you brush your tongue when you brush your teeth.
 

burleybreath

Lifer
Aug 29, 2019
1,088
3,854
Finger Lakes area, New York, USA
I've never tasted soap in a regular Virginia. Seems impossible. I've lost my taste completely sometimes, in the sense that everything tastes flat, almost like plastic or burning electrical wire. Time to rest, I figure. The only blend that ever tasted soapy to me was the old Bond Street, before its name change to Bourbon Street and eventual demise. Never had a Lakeland, but do have a tin of Peretti's No Name which is reputed to be soapy. Haven't worked up the courage to open it yet, and I've had it for several years. Strange thing is, I eventually came to like the Bond Street, and became slightly addicted to the weird taste.

But that's neither here nor there. I'd say just don't smoke it for a while. Or smoke at all until whatever it is clears up. Or switch to cigars. If some time passes, and it still tastes soapy, I'd suspect dead bugs or something in the tobacco. Hey, you ain't storing it next to aftershave, are ya'? That'll do a number on both tobacco AND pipes. Ask me how I know.
 
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Valliantpiper

Starting to Get Obsessed
Oct 18, 2022
123
530
Maryland
It could be you are smoking a Lakeland blend of Virginia's and that is what they taste like. I have tasted a few Lakeland blends and they all have that soapy back bone flavor. I find their tastes to be very soapy and not very nice tasting. Lots of people don't care for their flavors and are kind of shocked when they first taste them.
Do you know if they were used in McClellands Legends tobacco? I get that same soapy taste
 

Valliantpiper

Starting to Get Obsessed
Oct 18, 2022
123
530
Maryland
It could be you are smoking a Lakeland blend of Virginia's and that is what they taste like. I have tasted a few Lakeland blends and they all have that soapy back bone flavor. I find their tastes to be very soapy and not very nice tasting. Lots of people don't care for their flavors and are kind of shocked when they first taste them.
I wouldn’t used flavored alcohol to clean pipes.
I never do. Maybe it was my lip gloss 😆
 

Tongue-Fried

Starting to Get Obsessed
Mar 17, 2024
111
899
NC Foothills
I wouldn’t used flavored alcohol to clean pipes.
I finish off my quarterly pipe cleanings with a quick rub of Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Honey in the bowl… I keep a few airplane bottles of that in my tobacco cabinet just for bowl cleanings. I only smoke straight Virginias, and find it pairs well!
 

Tongue-Fried

Starting to Get Obsessed
Mar 17, 2024
111
899
NC Foothills
Curious to see what came of this.

The only time I’ve ever had a soapy taste from a tobacco was Ennerdale Flake.
I got the same tastes from LJ Peretti’s Ampersand Flake. I was sure I was going to like it, but I don’t think I made it through my 1-2/oz sample before I put it back in my tobacco cabinet of failed samples, and never touched it again. I tried it on about 6 different pipes, most of which were freshly cleaned/re-seasoned bowls. 🤷🏻‍♂️
 

JOHN72

Lifer
Sep 12, 2020
5,825
57,264
51
Spain - Europe
As the colleagues here say very well, maybe it is the palate, the taste. Although you can also use the AI to thoroughly clean the pipe. I do it to pick up women in the supermarket. I am already an expert in dishwasher detergents and protein gummies, for crossfit and secret missions in Siberia.61jPirhyd7L._SL1003_.jpg
 
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