Tasting Tobacco, Tongue Bite Question for Newbie

[donatello]

Hello I'm a new pipe smoker and fairly obsessed with learning how to do it, so far I really love it but find it to be quite a challenge! I have been trying several types of tobacco's some aromatics, frog morton and dunhill early morning pipe, and nightcap. I seem to like the non aromatics best so far as they seem to have less bite however my question is: why do I sometimes taste the tobacco and it is great and most of the time I can't taste it? I just went on a small 3 day vacation and did not smoke a pipe at all, when I got home I decided to try something different so I went and got some schafer's gold (mcclellands tg3) and it tasted awesome and I thought I had found the tobacco I had been searching for, but had a little tounge bite. The next day I was so excited to try it again but when I did it had no taste at all but tongue bite? Does any one else have this problem? It seems like maybe I am smoking to often? I smoke 1 bowl per night generally and have been smoking a pipe for 3-4 months...help! Thank you
Edit: Corrected capitalization in title per Rule #9. L.

Number Nine, Number Nine, Number Nine

 

[warren]

You're not a cigarette smoker are you? Some who move over to pipes or like me do both have to consciously regulate our drawing on the pipe. Also, some use the term "sip" your pipe. Small, widely spaced, easy draws will be helpful in keeping the dreaded "tongue bite" at bay.
I recommend, slow drawing on the pipe, perhaps a pipe with a longer stem so that the smoke is cooler when it reaches the tongue, don't pack too tightly as that forces you to draw harder to keep the tobacco burning. Barring that, let the pipe rest in your hand or the ash tray between puffs so that you are not inadvertently drawing when breathing.
I've not found that a particular blend bites more than another. I'll let those that have experienced it address tobacco and tongue bite. Also, they can address the taste problem. All I know is that some are more flavorful to my palate and others less so. And that some of the members here are more tuned to the subtleties of different tobaccos. I'm not that good in tasting little differences in different blends except for a few over the top tobaccos.
There is a learning curve to the pipe. There are also a lot of correct answers to the attendant problems. You'll just have to read some of the responses, try a few and after a long, sometimes arduous, trip you will eventually arrive at the proper place, at the proper time, with the proper blend(s), proper pipe(s) and the proper technique to thoroughly enjoy a bowl of tobacco. Oh! And then, and only then, will you ready to impart your technique, which of course will now be the only correct technique, to others less worthy.

 

[donatello]

Ok. thank you I will keep at it and figure it out, do you guys think the more experience you have smoking a pipe the more your tastebuds get used to it and you are able to taste the smoke better?

 

[bryanf]

No. The more you slow down your smoke, the more you taste it, and get less bite. Also, the stronger the tobacco, the less bite. Counter intuitive, but true.

 

[warren]

I think the more you experience different tastes, the more discriminating you can become. At least until age begins to catch up with you. Taste is also related very closely to your sense of smell. They are separate sensory systems which must work together to taste "full" flavor, be it tobacco or tacos. If you have a cold, food tastes different as does tobacco. This is one of the reasons wine tasters speak to the "nose" of a wine. I've been told that to be a great chef, one must have a great sense of smell.
If you are experiencing sinus problems or have a head cold it is probably a waste of time to experiment with a new tobacco. If you are going to be seriously into tobaccos, the make-up of new blends, flavors as some members are, you need a clear head and a clean palate. I bet the real aficionados (tobacco snobs? A term which I believe to be a badge of honor here, not a slur)) have a very set routine they follow when testing a new blend. More power to them, I value their observations.
I believe this thread has led me to a question which I need to pose to the snobs!

 

[donatello]

Thank you everyone for the help, do you have any suggestions on a strong tobacco for a newbie to try? One with a big flavor?

 

[jkenp]

Trying a strong tobacco might offer marginal cooling but you really need to establish you own guidance. When you said the one bowl was great and next day it was horrid, the tobacco can't change that quickly; so, you did something different. You need to work out what was different.
If you've found what you like, you can make it work just by gaining a modest amount of info and understanding what works for you. When you have a consistent approach, thing will start to fall into place.
I will share with you what I originally smoked. I'm pretty sure it was Peter Stokkebye's Vanilla. It a black as night Cavendish with a modest vanilla flavoring. It comes fairly dry and ready to smoke. At least pick up an ounce of it with your next order. It will show you what kind of moisture content you are looking for and the cut and tobacco will minimize bite as well as any. The cut makes it easier to pack properly than many others. You may not find it flavorful enough but, once you get it going right, you'll have learned something in the process. I'm sure there are others just as good for starting out but my old tobacconist started me on that and it worked out -- even though I'm smoking something much different 40 years later.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Really, really, really, slow down. I try my best to make a concerted effort to make a bowl last as long as possible.
And, The tastes are not like foods. Tobacco uses more of your senses and more of your tongue. It's sometimes a tingle on the taste buds, or a specific type of salty sourness that most of us aren't used to getting from foods, so we sometimes overlook the flavor. Also, once you've coated your tongue in the flavors, your taste buds will start reacting differently. With each puff you're piling more flavor on top of your already saturated tongue and building new experiences with them. And, then you stop tasting it at all. This is why some like to drink a beverage while smoking. It clears the palate for more flavor experiences. Or, rely on your nose, or the visuals of the smoke, or the gentle sound of the crackling tobacco igniting as you gently draw your next slow puff.
Whatever part of the experience you enjoy, I hope this helps.

 

[spartan]

When I first started smoking pipes I did burn my mouth a few times before my mouth got used to it, or I learned to not smoke like a train. It's most likely a lot of both.
Often when I would puff too hard enjoying the smoke I would burn my mouth and not feel it until the next day. Whether it was a mild burn or something a little more severe, the taste of tobacco was altered a bit. Rest the mouth and drink plenty of water. The flavor will come back, sip slowly.
When speaking of tongue bite (not burn as mentioned above) the sharp pain while smoking the tobacco is almost immediate and will usually go away after a few moments of not puffing, but will still be there if you continue to puff away. Most stay away from the tobacco leaves that they have identified that do not agree with them (some varieties of Virginias seems to be the most common biting tobacco leaf) and cause constant mouth pain. Others tolerate a small amount of bite in a blend that they love the flavor they get it from. Sort of like being married to a bitchy supermodel, it's a trade-off and its up to you what you will put up with.
There are literally hundreds of blends that aren't ever going to bite you no matter what you do because your body's chemistry will agree with them, unlike the blends that bite. It's a chemical disagreement. And it could change week to week. You'll have fun figuring this out as it's something that everyone will have to deal with at some point.
TL;DR It could be many things, drink plenty of fluids during and after a smoke and make sure to puff a little out of your nose every once in a while to get the full flavor of it all. You can puff smoke from your mouth and out your nose without inhaling. Once you figure out how to do it it is an amazing experience.
Welcome to the fold.

 

[donatello]

Thank you all very much, I am sure I just burned my tongue enough to mess the flavor up badly the next day. I didn't smoke any last night and I am not sure about tonight I will probably take tonight off too just to let things get back to normal and hopefully I can taste tobacco by tomorrow night