Some thoughts on recent smoking experiences

[hmmmmmm.......]

I’ve come back to pipe smoking after many years, between that time smoking the occasional cigars which I eventually came to realize I didn’t like the taste of them any longer, or at least most I was smoking save for the occasional few. What brings me to write is lately it seems like my expectations exceed my smoking experience and wonder if it’s just me or I’m doing something wrong. I read the reviews with Pavlovian responses to things like plum, raisin, nut, chocolate, cocoa, leather, yeast, and fig (love a good fruit bread) and order up, but after stuffing my nose into the tins which smell incredible, the actual smoking turns to taste of burnt ash/tobacco after the first quarter of the bowl at best. After that… I march thru hoping for different results which rarely occur. To head off the standard replies, I’ve tried all the different ways of packing from loose to packed, as well as rolling and stuffing flake, and always use a wooden match. I clean my pipes, and I sip rather than puff, but I do so frequently and at times go thru many relights. My pipes don’t get overly hot so I’m not burning thru the tobacco like a parlor stove. I miss the big draw/smoke of a cigar and feel like applying fire and drawing heavily upon the pipe, producing the smoke I like, though maybe that “scorches” the tobacco and leads to worsening tastes. Going slowly, sipping and relights extends some of the delicacies of the smoke but not as much as I would like, and eventually wonder… where did it go.

After hitting this frustration I turn back to simpler blends like Sir Walter Raleigh, Lane 1-Q, Super Value Bourbon Whiskey; low brow perhaps but they smoke straight with a pretty consistent taste which renews my interest but also deepened my frustration and my query as to WHY the difference with these other tobaccos.

I can’t say it’s with every type I’ve tried; Newminster Superior Navy Flake, Escudo, and 965 all smoke pretty consistently, though do change as I go thru levels of the bowl but not offensively. After reading reviews and ordering up, I was a bit disappointed with Baren’s Plum, Windjammer, Sun Bear,Trafalgar, and some other highly hyped tobaccos, all of which had great reviews but I either failed to taste all the descriptive qualities or they turned bitter, burnt, and harsh after a partial bowl, leaving the lower 2/3 not worth my time smoking.

Anyway, I know tastes are different for everyone, and some days a bowl be will close to nirvana while the next day’s bowls you wonder what all the commotion was the day before.

Thoughts? Similar experiences? Bad batches? Are expectations too high? Undeveloped palette or just duped by all the hype and pr?

 

[bullet08]

Give it some time. If you got back to pipe smoking after a long break, your palate might need time to recalibrate. Usually, when new smoker mention burnt ashes/ tobacco at first 1/4 of bowl, I would imagine keeping fire too long near the tobacco to light. Also, it seems you are fine with some blends, so I think you just need to wait till things come back.

 

[anotherbob]

I've been smoking a pipe since 94 and most blends take some time with before I get all the notes. Time is a big part of it. And just a hint about sipping the pipe. To give a good idea of what I mean personally when I say it. Try breath smoking (you can find all you need about it) don't have to finish a bowl just a few minutes to see how little effort it takes to keep a pipe going and to get smoke in your mouth. A sip is basically assisting that process ever so slightly, think sipping the last shot ever of a good whiskey.

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

Slow down. When tobacco starts testing like ash, almost always from smoking too fast and getting it too hot. Perhaps dry it more, pack a bit looser.

 

[anotherbob]

oh and if there are blends you're getting enjoyment out of. Stick to those for the moment and branch out some other time. One thing I've found is that almost any blend can be enjoyed more. And after you smoke those for a while you'll start noticing things about them you didn't pick up on before as well as just get more used to the pipe. It's like any skill doing is as important as knowing what to do. You learn those things so you don't think about them and then that's when the magic starts really happening. Oh and trying to get flavor and trying to focus on it instead of just letting it happens is the worst way to smoke. So you know all those things they'll come.
I am sure you've ridden a bike at some point. You didn't start mountain biking you start just getting from point a to point b without falling too often. Then you start doing more things. A pipe is the same in some ways.
Or at least that sounds more enjoyable then slogging through blends that aren't really doing it for you yet.

 

[jndyer]

You are on the right path. You are examining your smoking techniques and looking for possible problems. This is a good start. Just give it time, and trust me I know how frustrating that answer can be as it was what I heard when I first joined; however, this part of the journey is necessary for you to fully develop what works best for you and will lead you to the path of consistently pleasant smoking.

I would lean into the blends that you are enjoying the most and slowly expand your tobacco choices over the coming years. Also, there is no such thing as low brow pipe tobacco if you are enjoying it.

 

[Coreios]

Usually if tobacco taste funky you're smoking to fast. I also was a cigar smoker. Cigars and pipes are different; the pipe is slower. You said you sip, but even frequently sipping results in burnt tobacco taste. Slower than you think is better with pipes.

 

[Chasing Embers]

the actual smoking turns to taste of burnt ash

You got it too hot. If you're producing thick clouds of smoke, you're smoking too fast.

 

[yanoJL]

I clearly recall similar issues. I even posted about it and received some very helpful advice from the folks here.

I seem to get the best results (flavorwise) when I hold the pipe in my mouth, my tongue below/under the bit, while shallow breathing; just relaxed and playing with wisps of flavor. Gentle, yet deliberate.

You are under no obligation to finish a bowl in one sitting. I often, especially with Virginias, smoke a portion of a full bowl and then take a break, returning to it later (see also "DGT" elsewhere on this forum). I find genuine enjoyment that way. And soon you will discover what works for you, and your palate will adapt.

One final thought. Retrohale. It's a thing. And it's worth mastering if you wish to tease suble notes and nuances from a blend. And there's often a physical sensation to this too; a tingling in the nose that adds the experience. You mentioned Windjammer. I love that blend, and the nose tingle I get from the retrohale of that tobacco is just one of the reasons why.

 

[Grangerous]

So you’ve found a few blends that you can taste, relax with and enjoy, SWR among them, but…. those aren’t real?

Okaaaaay

 

[Sinzalot]

Great advice from everyone and I'd reiterate was has already be said and just take your time, don't overthink it.
One thing not to forget is that your tastes are your own. It maybe that your palette enjoys aros at this time. Depending on how long your pipe hiatus has been it may be that your palette has 'reset' and responds to the more flavoured variants found in aromatic blends. If that's the case, enjoy them. Aromatic blends are often looked down upon as poor quality or inferior to 'proper' virginia blends. but there are many that are wonderful.

The bottom line is enjoy what you love and love what you enjoy. It doesn't matter at this time if you don't pick up a specific flavour or smell of a popular blend, take on the advice above and give it time. One day, when you're not thinking about it you'll probably pick up on a taste within a blend that you initially missed...then you're on your way.

If not, just explore as many blends as you can. You'll get back into it.

 

[Grangerous]

You might find, as I have, that those simpler blends that you’ve gone back to in frustration are some of the most enjoyable tobaccos you’ll ever find. Many here have one of those you’ve listed as their all day, all the time. 1Q or SWR or a particular brand of cavendish just hit that spot. I wouldn’t trouble myself. Find enjoyment in what clicks for you, while still trying new and different blends. I smoke an OTC that I never want to be without. Burley Scraps must be my thing.

 

[HawkeyeLinus]

Anyway, I know tastes are different for everyone, and some days a bowl be will close to nirvana while the next day’s bowls you wonder what all the commotion was the day before.

But you don't know!

I can relate (okay not to the acrid, burning ash in the first part of a bowl), but in general, even with reading a lot on here before "launching", it was hard not to puff away. And even as I've gotten a lot better at things that go into having a nice bowl, it really is different every day, even morning to night, and I'm still working out flavors after a couple of years (in fairness out of about 2 1/2 years, a full year was lost to COVID with a combination of couldn't/shouldn't touch a pipe and taste buds/smell taking an absence for a year before fully coming back, so in many ways I reset and feel like I'm only 10 months into it). If you are dulling your senses puffing away or smoking too hot, you'll need to give them a break for a few days if they need to recover, unless tasting nothing is okay. I can tell general differences between blends and types and know when I like something and nuances pop up as they pop up, but don't get caught up in thinking you have to find every note that someone like @JimInks finds or many on here (you just won't, they've been at it a long time and even they won't necessarily taste the same things). Sort of like chasing flavor notes in coffees, which I can distinguish pretty easily - but pulling them out of smoke is a totally different experience, IMO. I expect it's a matter of time and always happy when I get something a little different from something I've had before.

My totally novice $.01 ---- trial and error, work on technique and then let the rest come as it comes.

 

[perlasca]

Pipe smoking is delicate in my opinion. I had to quit cigarettes and cigars to really taste the pipe and tobacco like I never have before.

 

[vosBghos]

Anyway, I know tastes are different for everyone, and some days a bowl be will close to nirvana while the next day’s bowls you wonder what all the commotion was the day before.

Thoughts? Similar experiences? Bad batches? Are expectations too high? Undeveloped palette or just duped by all the hype and pr?

As others have said if it tastes ashy the tobacco is most likely scorched and the bowl doesn't have to be too hot for this to happen maybe try letting there be a space between the flame and the tobacco and gentle fast puffs to get an ember without actually touching the flame? Hover Just above and ease in. ( for certain temperamental baccy's)
Upon relighting gently tap out the topmost ash from the bowl and gingerly stir the hard ash then light.

Big billows of smoke especially with a non-English (Latakia) blend are not Ideal.
As others have mentioned "Breathe Method"

As far as Nirvana One day and Meh the next, could have to do with the PH levels in your mouth IE what you were eating/drinking before the smoke, were your taste buds burned a tad the day before? Brush your tongue?
Drink some OJ before a smoke, Pair your baccy accordingly. For me, nothing goes with English like a nice glass of Malbec. A straight VA with a scotch and so on and so forth, so many factors.

Welcome back to the pipe and enjoy , just takes time

 

[Grangerous]

“Drink some OJ before a smoke, Pair your baccy accordingly. For me, nothing goes with English like a nice glass of Malbec. A straight VA with a scotch and so on and so forth, so many factors”. —- @vosBghos
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Pairings are another area definitely worth exploring. I have so few blends and even with these I’ve learned what compliments them best.

Sweet, Lightened Hot Tea - Makes Granger sing.

Black coffee or just cream - great accompaniment for Pegasus.

Point is that I don’t think most spend enough time on one particular blend. — Always a hasty tasting and move on to something else. In other words, if you find that you connect with a blend, like SWR, for example. Explore it. Try different beverages with it. Blends really grow on you that way.

I know some love huge variety. I don’t envy them and they don’t envy me. I’m content knowing that what I’m reaching for I’m going to enjoy. We’re all very different.

 

[kcghost]

You need to pack your pipe less tightly to avoid smoking too fast and to smoke it slower pace than you are.

 

[rmbittner]

If you're producing thick clouds of smoke, you're smoking too fast.

I’m not noticing issues with my own bowls, but I have to admit that I really enjoy producing clouds of smoke.

 

[unclefloyd]

Sometimes I wonder if many of the “fancy” tobaccos are just the old drug store type blends with a different name and packaging.

 

[Chasing Embers]

I’m not noticing issues with my own bowls, but I have to admit that I really enjoy producing clouds of smoke.

I'm the opposite. Unless I get distracted, you generally rarely see any smoke at all.