Taste Changes in Bowls...

[flake]

Quick question for the more experienced pipe smokers...one of the more interesting things I have noticed about each bowl I smoke, regardless of the particular blend I am smoking, is that generally speaking roughly the first, second, and third portions of each bowl change in terms of taste and mouth feel. The first third is usually a stronger/sharper, the middle the smoothest, sweetest, and more nuanced, and the last somewhere in the middle until it gets acrid.
Is this typical? Due to the physics of pipe smoking? Does packing, smoking and lighting technique also play a role? It is very rare to get the middle "sweet spot" throughout most bowls.
Thanks in advance. This place, because of all the people here, provides a fantastic resource.

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

It is reasonably typical for me. It varies based on the blend and will also vary based on the bowl shape. Smoking VA in a tapered bowl will have the blend get sweeter in the second half, at least for me.

 

[Chasing Embers]

As the smoke and oils travel down, they begin to saturate lower layers. The middle of the bowl is the sweet spot, and the bottom is more of a filter. It becomes super saturated with moisture, oils, and tars and can be sublime to some while unsmokable to others. The cannon ball pack method bypasses the lower level by replacing it with an air pocket.

 

[mawnansmiff]

"The cannon ball pack method bypasses the lower level by replacing it with an air pocket."
With all due respect Duane, that doesn't make sense. There is still the lowest layer of tobacco to act as the 'filter' whether there is a pocket of air below or not.
Are you saying the 'moisture, oils and tar' collect in the air pocket?
Regards,
Jay.

 

[Chasing Embers]

With all due respect Duane, that doesn't make sense.

What part of bottom of the chamber doesn't make sense? The bottom of the packed tobacco is not sitting in the condensate and doesn't get wet and nasty from any built up moisture in the smoke.

 

[cortezattic]

Remembering back 53 yrs. or so -- the early pipe smoking days when I primarily smoked heavily cased OTC aromatics -- I recall that on occasion the very bottom of the bowl exploded with lush smoke and sweet flavor. Not always, but often enough to take notice, and covet those experiences.

 

[timt]

The changes in flavor as the bowl progresses, is one of the most enjoyable aspects about the pipe for me. There is only one type of tobacco that this doesn't hold true - yes latakia. I can smoke and even enjoy some lat blends but as the bowl progresses and flavors intensify, it becomes too much. If I could ever get that issue solved, there's a small, neglected portion of my cellar that may get used after all.
Now, on to study up on the cannon ball pack.

 

[dottiewarden]

This evolution of the smoke is often refered to in the reviews of a blend. As stated above, the tars and moisture saturate the remaining tobacco until a gooey blob of dottle is all that remains. Ways to prevent this are by blend selection, pipe selection, moisture content, packing technique, cadence and other possible variables. In my case, I keep smoking as long as it's tasty and put the pipe down at the first sign of bitterness. I often toss the bottom quarter or third, but when everything goes perfectly, I smoke it all down to a fine white ash.

 

[crashthegrey]

Some blends are more consistent, some always do this. As mentioned above, this is commonly mentioned in thorough reviews for blends. I personally enjoy the changing experience through a bowl.

 

[mawnansmiff]

"The bottom of the packed tobacco is not sitting in the condensate and doesn't get wet and nasty..."
Duane, I would proffer that the bottom of the packed tobacco (sitting above the air pocket) actually contains the condensate from the tobacco burned above it rather than it collecting in a puddle at the bottom of the bowl.
This is because there is more surface area for the condensate to do just that....condensate.
Well that's my theory anyway.
Regards,
Jay.

 

[mso489]

I get more variation than that. Sometimes the first third is the only good one, or the best. Other times it is pretty tepid until it gets going in the middle and the taste unfolds. In some instances, the bottom of the bowl is by far the best, often when it burns down to the mythical white ash, which sometimes happens. For me, it varies a lot between blends, and somewhat between pipes. For me, cobs can do incredible finishes on bowls that I haven't experienced with other pipes with a particular blend. So I recognize the pattern described in the original post, but it's not standard by a long shot.