Sour Taste

[stevec]

Hello. I'm relatively new to smoking a pipe. I find it great in so many ways but one thing I've noticed is that later on in a smoke I get a sour taste. I assume this is the flavour of the tar or nicotine? I am quite rigourous about cleaning my pipes but I still get that flavour. Am I doing something basically wrong or is it something I must put up with? Sorry if this is a dumb question. Thanks

 

[Chasing Embers]

The bottom later is like a sponge and absorbs tar, nicotine, and moisture. Try drying your tobacco out more and pack it more loosely.

 

[stevec]

Thanks for the advise

 

[workman]

The bottom later is like a sponge and absorbs tar, nicotine, and moisture. Try drying your tobacco out more and pack it more loosely.

Exactly. As you get better at packing and smoking slower, your small problem will go away.

 

[blackpowderpiper]

The bottom layer of the tobacco basically acts as a filter, absorbing the tars, moisture, etc. Sometimes I can smoke almost all of the tobacco in a bowl, sometimes I can't. Bowl geometry, moisture content, cadence, time of day, mood, etc all have an effect on this as well. When the tobacco starts to taste bad I just dump it out. I'm typically satisfied by this point anyway. Bottom line, smoking a pipe is supposed to be enjoyable. When the smoke begins to taste acrid, wet or sour, just dump it.

 

[BROBS]

I agree you’re reaching the point in the tobacco with all the moisture in it. It’s probably packed down too tight at that point. As you smoke try tamping a lot less. You should only need to tamp a couple times.