Tasting Tobacco Observation

[lyle]

Lately I've been breaking in a few new pipes, and I've been experimenting with using an easy-to-smoke, neutral, dry tobacco to try to do so (in my case, Five Brothers). What I've noticed is that if I immediately follow a bowl of burley with a bowl of anything else (in a different, broken-in pipe), the characteristics of the second tobacco are so much more apparent to me.
For example, I just smoked a bowl of Five Brothers, and now I'm smoking a VA flake. This flake is very sweet and the VA-ness is intense. Last night, I smoked a bowl of University Flake (which has a berry topping), and the fruit flavor was huge (too much)!
My theory is that I'm saturating my palate with base tobacco flavors, and when I switch it up, the differences stick out. I guess sequencing a "flight" of anything has always worked this way (cheese, beer, wine, etc.), but it is really striking me right now.
Part of this is due to the fact that I rarely have time for two back-to-back bowls. I might start smoking two half-bowls when time is short, just so I can get the stronger flavor impressions.
I'm sure this is old news to you all-day smokers, but for the guys who might be smoking an occasional straight VA and saying, "Isn't this is supposed to be sweet?", you might try this sometime.

 

[lyle]

That is interesting... makes you wonder what is accumulating. Is the flavor saturating his palate? Is the nicotine accumulation part of it? Is it simply the longer timeframe allowing flavors to "come to him" versus seeking them out?
I know I've drank a blend of coffee all day long, and then stepped outside with it and *boom* there's a whole new set of aromas/flavors. Same thing with beer. After a few Belgian witbeirs, the adjuncts can creep up on me. "Who put flowers in my beer?!?"
Sensory perception is a tricky thing!

 

[bobpnm]

I've noticed that the further I get from cigar smoking, the more I taste the nuances of pipe tobacco. I was never able to taste all of the things some people say they taste in smoking a cigar. Even then, I did like some cigars more than others. I also like some pipe tobacco blends more than others. The difference is I can often pick up on the presence of individual tastes in the pipe blends. For that reason, I am spending some time getting to know what Latakia, Perique, Virginias and burleys taste like. I think this little educational period will benefit me greatly down the road.

 

[cigrmaster]

roth, I am currently testing three new flakes and I am not sure if I like them or not. I need to smoke a lot more bowls of them in different pipes to find all the nuances. I wish they were just out and out great from the first bowl like many I have found in the last 9 months, but alas these need work. I don't fully understand why this happens. For example when I first tried Mac Baren Old Dark Fired, I did not care for it and then put it way to dry out for a few months. When I tried it again it was like a light went off and the flavor was great. Va's can be so weird at times, but it is fun experimenting.