Struggling to taste tabacco

[HeadMisfit]

You mentioned loading the bowl by gravity feed and packing loosely. You might be packing too loosely. A potential problem with packing too loosely—especially if you're not delicate when applying the flame for the charring light—is that it's easy to scorch the tobacco (and your taste buds). Once that happens, you won't be able to taste any flavors for the rest of the day and the smoke will be unpleasant even if you were to smoke slowly after that.

I did that myself today, damn that gawith navy flake..

But I think the ideal is to have just enough suction on a pipe. After all tamping does compress it. And I have had enough pipe moments ruined because I worried about the whole pinch by pinch crap, and ended up turning the tobacco into a solid brick after a single tamping.

 

[sablebrush52]

I was gonna say kinda the same thing, but didn't want to be impolite. Im only 30 years in, but retrohaling was a thing back then. Also, you're not inhaling, and in improves the flavors from a tiny bit, to WOWZERS for most people. I have known plenty of pipers where retrohaling bothered their sinuses, but that's another story.
Another thing many pipers dont even realize is that many pipers retrohale without even knowing. Ive "argued" with several guys who are blowing smoke out their nose while explaining that they would NEVER do such a thing.

The lovely thing about being an old fart is that I don't worry about being impolite. It's earned.

 

[frozenchurchwarden]

When I started pipesmoking it took about three months before I could distinguish between the different genres of tobacco.
Yes, even Latakia, I can't be certain but I highly suspect my first bowl of tobacco ever was an English Aromatic type blend (local shop bulk blend) and to my senses it was absolutely no different from a Virginia Flake.

Before anything else you need to acclimatize to the basic flavor of the smoke.
(If you have experience with Cigars or Cigarettes then this process should go much faster.)
The single best piece of advice I can give to a new pipesmoker is smoke whatever burns the most easily and with the least fuss, avoid relights at all cost just for the sake of learning to enjoy the ritual without burning your mouth.
Smoke nothing but Five Brothers and goopy aromatics if you need to, but the Dunhill blends (currently Peterson branded) like Nightcap and Elizabethan should be high quality leaf with a fine cut and burn reasonably easily (if they haven't changed from 10 years ago).

 

[bersekero]

I started with 956 and it didn't taste it as it should. It was like smoking cigarettes.
Few things that greatly helped me to sense the blends, any blend:
Mouth hydration. When I smoke I drink water, tea, black coffee or whiskey.
Clean nose so I can breath with my nose freely. Without open nose you cannot taste anything.
Slow smoking with minimal ships. If you produce clouds you are smoking too hot.
If the bowl is very hot outside you are smoking too hot. It should only be warm.
Not inhaling. Inhaling transforms the pipe tobacco into cigarette tobacco and no taste whatsoever.
Clean and rested-dry pipe and stem.
The flame just kisses the tobacco when lighting.
And everything else the previous posters have said.

 

[Filippo]

those blends are not exactly the bestest flavor wise. Despite the fact I smoked alot of original murrays made early morning pipe.

Your pipes are made for filters. have you been using the filters, have you been changing the filters?

I wonder why my pipes are made for filter because I don't think they are. I know 3mm pipes might be more common but I have never heard anyone telling me to use filters in a 9mm, one pipe has also the reductor so it's a 6mm one. I don't think I am willing to give away the taste just to put filters in them

 

[Filippo]

I started with 956 and it didn't taste it as it should. It was like smoking cigarettes.
Few things that greatly helped me to sense the blends, any blend:
Mouth hydration. When I smoke I drink water, tea, black coffee or whiskey.
Clean nose so I can breath with my nose freely. Without open nose you cannot taste anything.
Slow smoking with minimal ships. If you produce clouds you are smoking too hot.
If the bowl is very hot outside you are smoking too hot. It should only be warm.
Not inhaling. Inhaling transforms the pipe tobacco into cigarette tobacco and no taste whatsoever.
Clean and rested-dry pipe and stem.
The flame just kisses the tobacco when lighting.
And everything else the previous posters have said.

I did exactly what you mentioned in your reply.
The pipe had rested several days, it was clean and ready to go.
The bowl wasn't hot at all.
I was sipping whiksey which I find to be way better than water when smoking (might be just me)
I don't have kind of cold, Covid and whatnot.
I didn't inhale, at least I didn't mean to and I think I only inhaled a few puffs at max.
The flame wasn't on the tobacco, it was on top of the bowl and it touched the tobacco only when I wanted to light it

 

[bersekero]

Ok So it looks like you need to be patient. Sometimes it takes a year for the palate and tongue to adjust. It will come one day. It did for me. Keep on smoking mate. Remember, too many bowls a day, say more that 8, make the mouth feel like an ashtray. Did you come from cigarettes?

 

[Pypkė]

Maybe clean the pipe. Even just a quick cleaning improves the flavor of the smoke.

 

[Filippo]

Maybe clean the pipe. Even just a quick cleaning improves the flavor of the smoke.

Do you mean while it's lit?

 

[Pypkė]

Do you mean while it's lit?

No. I mean the routine sort of cleaning that any pipe smoker would do to maintain their pipes. Smoking good tobacco from a dirty pipe can mask the flavors.

 

[Epip Oc'Cabot]

To me, the word here is “SUBTLE”.

To taste all the myriad of “flavors and textures” that are potentially available in a pipe tobacco, I believe you need to be mentally “available” to perceive them. To be mentally available (at least for me) one needs to be calm, contemplative, and not harried or preoccupied with other thoughts. In this kind of mindset, I believe I have enough “available neurons” to perceive these nuances and enjoy them.

Being in a different state of mind, one that is more hectic perhaps, or one that has focus on something else (work, a hobby, or whatever the hell else it may be) tends to make it challenging or sometimes impossible to “taste the flavors” for me….. but the pipe can still (IMO) be pretty damn enjoyable in this sort of mindset as well. In those times, the flavor tends to register as simply “tobacco” which can (IMO) be beautiful and pleasing as well.

 

[HawkeyeLinus]

The lovely thing about being an old fart is that I don't worry about being impolite. It's earned.

Damn right!

 

[bersekero]

To me, the word here is “SUBTLE”.

To taste all the myriad of “flavors and textures” that are potentially available in a pipe tobacco, I believe you need to be mentally “available” to perceive them. To be mentally available (at least for me) one needs to be calm, contemplative, and not harried or preoccupied with other thoughts. In this kind of mindset, I believe I have enough “available neurons” to perceive these nuances and enjoy them.

Being in a different state of mind, one that is more hectic perhaps, or one that has focus on something else (work, a hobby, or whatever the hell else it may be) tends to make it challenging or sometimes impossible to “taste the flavors” for me….. but the pipe can still (IMO) be pretty damn enjoyable in this sort of mindset as well. In those times, the flavor tends to register as simply “tobacco” which can (IMO) be beautiful and pleasing as well.

What an amazing analysis! It all makes sense now. Thank you kindly my friend.

 

[HeadMisfit]

To me, the word here is “SUBTLE”.

To taste all the myriad of “flavors and textures” that are potentially available in a pipe tobacco, I believe you need to be mentally “available” to perceive them. To be mentally available (at least for me) one needs to be calm, contemplative, and not harried or preoccupied with other thoughts. In this kind of mindset, I believe I have enough “available neurons” to perceive these nuances and enjoy them.

Being in a different state of mind, one that is more hectic perhaps, or one that has focus on something else (work, a hobby, or whatever the hell else it may be) tends to make it challenging or sometimes impossible to “taste the flavors” for me….. but the pipe can still (IMO) be pretty damn enjoyable in this sort of mindset as well. In those times, the flavor tends to register as simply “tobacco” which can (IMO) be beautiful and pleasing as well.

Lol and being in that state of .ind, you have no issue with declaring that you taste things no one else can. Because they aren't in it.

 

[Epip Oc'Cabot]

Lol and being in that state of .ind, you have no issue with declaring that you taste things no one else can. Because they aren't in it.

Haha! Seriously though, in a more relaxed state, some pipe tobaccos do exhibit to me aspects of other flavors…. I have found some that have a hint of cinnamon or of vanilla or of juniper or of whisky to name a few of the more common flavors (of many) I have found in different blends.

 

[Goblin_Walrus]

Haha! Seriously though, in a more relaxed state, some pipe tobaccos do exhibit to me aspects of other flavors…. I have found some that have a hint of cinnamon or of vanilla or of juniper or of whisky to name a few of the more common flavors (of many) I have found in different blends.

I do think there is something to this. I like smoking in the dark outside for this reason. It may come naturally for some folks, but my palate is untrained enough to require a modicum of focus if I’m trying to parse individual flavors from the melange. This goes for tobacco, coffee, whiskey, wine, and any food that someone’s taken the time to work some complex flavors into.

 

[HeadMisfit]

Haha! Seriously though, in a more relaxed state, some pipe tobaccos do exhibit to me aspects of other flavors…. I have found some that have a hint of cinnamon or of vanilla or of juniper or of whisky to name a few of the more common flavors (of many) I have found in different blends.

Well there are reviews whence the reviewer will talk of say strawberries in vanilla cherry blend,but never taste the vanilla or the cherry.

 

[bersekero]

I think that sometimes we new pipe smokers have too high and unrealistic expectations. To me tobacco taste dominates the smoke and there are only some hints of other tastes. It's not like eating nuts and cherries.

 

[HeadMisfit]

I think that sometimes we new pipe smokers have too high and unrealistic expectations. To me tobacco taste dominates the smoke and there are only some hints of other tastes. It's not like eating nuts and cherries.

Then tobaccoreviews.com must make you laugh too

 

[bersekero]

Then tobaccoreviews.com must make you laugh too

Not at all. I only said what I perceive. I do admire those with such sensitive palates though even if I can't understand what they feel and taste. They describe earthy notes, I taste grass.