Been smoking off and on for about a month, try a new type each time trying to see what I like. I can smell the differences but they all taste like burnt tobacco, kinda like an ashtray smells to me. Is this from lack of experience or is it the main taste and the other "flavors" are actually really subtle?
Taste
- Thread starter Prowelder
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You should introduce a yourself in the new member forum! Tell us about where your from.
You probably need to gain a lot of experience. Sounds like your new to pipes. Give it a chance and read these forums well.
You probably need to gain a lot of experience. Sounds like your new to pipes. Give it a chance and read these forums well.
As you learn to smoke your pipes and get accustomed to the smoke you will develop better ability to taste the world of flavor that awaits. When i first started smoking cigars 20 years ago i would wake up the next day with a horrible flavor left on my tongue and often would get a big nic buzz. Both these abated on their own with experience and so will your impressions of flavor.
When you're that new I wouldn't recommend multiple different blends - yet.
Get yourself a codger blend (Carter Hall?) or ribbon cut light English blend (Early Morning Pipe?) and learn to smoke it, learn to keep it going, learn to understand how to keep your tongue from getting hot, etc.
Go through a tin or a few ounces of whatever you choose and learn some basics on that one tobacco.
You will be wasting a lot of effort, and potentially good leaf, by bouncing around on the blends at this point IMHO.
There will be plenty of time to try variety soon enough.
Smoking tobacco will absolutely taste like burnt tobacco. Even your captain black aromatic is going to put a taste of burning tobacco on your palette in addition to all of the other flavors or toppings.
In my opinion, one either enjoys that or not. If you do, and you keep at it, you should certainly begin to pick up on all of the variances of leaf, flavorings and blends that are out there. If you don’t like that base of burning tobacco though, it’s not just going to go away.
It’s kind of like coffee. If you hate coffee, no type of roast or flavorings are going to hide the fact that you are drinking a coffee product.
If it tastes like burnt tobacco when you smoke your pipe you're clearly doing something right.
Smoking a pipe DOES taste like burnt tobacco.
And yes, many of the flavors we like are very subtle.
This is why smoking sloooooowly is important.
We get the flavor of a blend from the oils in the tobacco smoldering. The best flavors come just as that oil begins to vaporize.
If you smoke too fast, you go right past the smoldering, right to burning.
Actual burning tobacco is already used up as far as most flavors.....then turns to ash.
If you like blends that contain Latakia, give those a try.
Blends with Latakia tend to be less finicky about the vaporizing thing and are generally less nasty tasting when smoked too fast....they are supposed to taste like a campfire.
This way you can learn a good smoking cadence without wasting too much tobacco with the nasty ashtray flavor. But the Latakia blends also taste MUCH better when smoked slow...they just aren't AS nasty when pushed harder.
Burleys, Oriental and especially Virginia tobaccos NEED to be smoked very slowly.
In my opinion.
And yes, many of the flavors we like are very subtle.
This is why smoking sloooooowly is important.
We get the flavor of a blend from the oils in the tobacco smoldering. The best flavors come just as that oil begins to vaporize.
If you smoke too fast, you go right past the smoldering, right to burning.
Actual burning tobacco is already used up as far as most flavors.....then turns to ash.
If you like blends that contain Latakia, give those a try.
Blends with Latakia tend to be less finicky about the vaporizing thing and are generally less nasty tasting when smoked too fast....they are supposed to taste like a campfire.
This way you can learn a good smoking cadence without wasting too much tobacco with the nasty ashtray flavor. But the Latakia blends also taste MUCH better when smoked slow...they just aren't AS nasty when pushed harder.Burleys, Oriental and especially Virginia tobaccos NEED to be smoked very slowly.
In my opinion.
The cooler I burn, the more taste I get. Keep at it. The more you practice, the sooner something just “clicks”.
I plan to pick one and stick with that a while. my grandfather always smoked sir walter raleigh and it's what I started with years ago. then I dipped for a decade or more and trying the pipe again. Maybe I should take the advice and try to stick with the codger blend for a while. I did see Ingles carries Prince Albert, I guess I could try that although I have lots of others to try of which I liked captain black white pretty good but hated the captain black royal.
I know I have a strong aversion to anything that reminds me of cigarettes so trying to stay away from that as much as possible.
I know smoking a pipe is supposed to taste like burning tobacco to some degree, that's obvious, I may not have described it exactly as I should have but judging from responses I think most got the idea I was trying to get across.
Next comes to keeping it lit, i'm having to smoke fast or relight every minute. I've tried packing tight and loose and in between and it's all the same result.
I know these topics have probably been beat to death already, I've read a good bit and watched muttonchop piper, just haven't found my groove yet, but I know it's still pretty quick to get it down pat.
I know I have a strong aversion to anything that reminds me of cigarettes so trying to stay away from that as much as possible.
I know smoking a pipe is supposed to taste like burning tobacco to some degree, that's obvious, I may not have described it exactly as I should have but judging from responses I think most got the idea I was trying to get across.
Next comes to keeping it lit, i'm having to smoke fast or relight every minute. I've tried packing tight and loose and in between and it's all the same result.
I know these topics have probably been beat to death already, I've read a good bit and watched muttonchop piper, just haven't found my groove yet, but I know it's still pretty quick to get it down pat.
I understand where you’re coming from with regards to cigarettes
I love cigars and pipes but will cross the street to avoid walking behind someone smoking a cigarette
Smoking fast and relighting results in the ember burning too hot.
The best taste is when the ember is just smouldering.
Slow your cadence, sip and use your tamper lightly.
You WILL find your groove
A few things from my estimation kill flavor in pipes. Smoking too fast and hard. My answer to that is to sip the smoke. An over packed pipe kills flavor too. I hear it's got something to do with oxygen or air. Either way an over packed pipe can come across dull.
Then to top it all off the flavors are often more on the subtle side. Like it takes a few smokes to pick up on it. Most blends for me seem much duller the first few bowls then latter ones.
Then to top it all off the flavors are often more on the subtle side. Like it takes a few smokes to pick up on it. Most blends for me seem much duller the first few bowls then latter ones.
Some more complex flavors need to be somewhat "unlocked" in your mind. On more than a few occasions it has taken a couple bowls of a blend over a couple days to actually figure out what the different flavors are.
Sometimes pairing them with a beverage can help or hinder the process depending on the tobacco, toppings or beverage. Just remember to take it slow and cool. Try repositioning your bit and tongue on the draw and exhale and vary the exhale. Retrohaling also helps.
Experimentation is a fundamental cornerstone of pipe smoking imho.
Sometimes pairing them with a beverage can help or hinder the process depending on the tobacco, toppings or beverage. Just remember to take it slow and cool. Try repositioning your bit and tongue on the draw and exhale and vary the exhale. Retrohaling also helps.
Experimentation is a fundamental cornerstone of pipe smoking imho.
Depends on how sensitive your palate is. If you have a really good one your can pick out kinds of flavors. If you have palate like mine, you just have to deal with this good or this is bad.
Thanks for the responses. I think my mind was right in that I just need to give it more time to pick out the flavors and perfect my pack and draw. Thanks for taking the time to answer newbie questions without being a bunch of smartasses like most forums turn into.
I always love seeing someone make fun a newb for asking the same things that they asked a whole three months earlier.
How is someone supposed to know everything with something they just started exploring.
You’re actually 100% correct here, the burning is an equalizer that masks flavours unlike say with tasting whisky or any booze you don’t get. But yes flavours do come up if you search for them eventually, there are differences.
well, this morning's smoke of Captain Black regular was the best I've had yet, less burnt ashy taste and more enjoyable. Not a huge leap but better. Was also able to keep it lit longer as well.
Smoking tobacco is like listening to Bob Dylan. Nobody gets it from the get-go, but the best of us develop a taste for it. 