The Palate Issue

[LiamClanNastey]

Sorry if I’m flogging a dead horse here but I’ve read that a (new to pipes) palate needs to develop in order to taste your tobacco? I’m one of those that can’t taste any of the many tobaccos I’ve tried. How long for that palate to develop. It’s probably a “piece of string” answer to mix metaphors. But worth a shot.

 

[Chasing Embers]

Do you retrohale?

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Sorry if I’m flogging a dead horse here but I’ve read that a (new to pipes) palate needs to develop in order to taste your tobacco? I’m one of those that can’t taste any of the many tobaccos I’ve tried. How long for that palate to develop. It’s probably a “piece of string” answer to mix metaphors. But worth a shot.

It took me several years, and i was going to coffee and wine tasting quite often. The best advice I ever got was to start packing two pipes at the same time with two different tobaccos. It really helped me to have something to contrast my tastes with. Maybe a burley and a Virginia, VaPer and a Virginia, english and Virginia, etc etc... And, just light them both and smoke a puff from one, and a puff from the other.

If you ever do a really good bourbon tasting, they'll show you how the old timers would access the spirit, corn, and barrel aromas by putting some on their hands, rubbing them, and smacking them together three times, and each time will reveal a step of aroma in the process.

Tobacco can be like this, if you include the tin note, the aroma of the smoke, and the taste on your teeth afterwards, put together you can get a whole picture of that tobacco. Sometimes the casing can only be tasted on your teeth afterwards.
And, keep in mind, that your nose is contributing about 80% of what you think your tasting.

I hope some of that helps.

 

[rmbittner]

I’m one of those that can’t taste any of the many tobaccos I’ve tried.

To say you can’t taste any of the tobaccos you’ve tried makes me wonder: Can you taste differences in the food you eat? If so, you have the necessary equipment needed to taste tobaccos.

Are you smoking from clean pipes? Are you smoking slowly—i.e., can you continue to hold your pipe without it becoming overheated in your hand?

What are you smoking? (Because I’ve certainly encountered tobacco blends that had very little flavor.) If you’re focusing on aromatics, many (most? nearly all?) don’t carry their aromas through to the bowl or the smoker; while those added flavors and scents may come through somewhat in the bowl, they’ll be a different experience for you than for those around you.

Time and experience will help you to discern Virginias, burleys, cavendish, orientals, perique, and latakia in non-aromatic blends.

 

[LiamClanNastey]

To say you can’t taste any of the tobaccos you’ve tried makes me wonder: Can you taste differences in the food you eat? If so, you have the necessary equipment needed to taste tobaccos.

Are you smoking from clean pipes? Are you smoking slowly—i.e., can you continue to hold your pipe without it becoming overheated in your hand?

What are you smoking? (Because I’ve certainly encountered tobacco blends that had very little flavor.) If you’re focusing on aromatics, many (most? nearly all?) don’t carry their aromas through to the bowl or the smoker; while those added flavors and scents may come through somewhat in the bowl, they’ll be a different experience for you than for those around you.

Time and experience will help you to discern Virginias, burleys, cavendish, orientals, perique, and latakia in non-aromatic blends.

I’m trying aromatics at the moment but started out with Dunhill Night Cap and Dunhill Flake (Charatan). Yes not too hot. Yes all other tastes intact. Clean pipe new 999 and old 416 Petersons.

 

[Honkytonk Man]

Try drinking water during your smoke.

 

[makhorkasmoker]

If you can’t taste nightcap, something is wrong. Flavor wise, that one is really strong. I would say what so often gets said here—smoke slowly, take sips, etc— but even when smoked too fast night cap has a strong flavor—and one very distinct from aros…. Could it be environment/setting? Are you smoking at times and places where you can relax and enjoy or are there distractions?

 

[workman]

Are you drying your tobacco? Try smoking it when it's crunchy and report back.

 

[Yadkin1765]

I’m no expert, but I’ll give it a whirl. Pipes have learning curve dependent on the users idiosyncratic palatal habits or techniques. I think, if I were to speculate, part of the problem many pipe smokers that can’t taste the dynamic flavors of a blend have is a habitual muscular difficulty to fully open their palate and get the nuances and flavors of the smoke without inhaling or feeling they’re coming dangerously close to it. In all tastings, the vast majority of flavor tasting occurs in the rear, lower nasal passage. Many solve this problem through retrohale, others through oral muscular manipulation (“rolling” the smoke around in their mouth), others still (the luck few) achieve this naturally from the get go without having to think about it. If you can taste food with a broad spectrum of flavors, you can taste tobaccos. You just have to explore the practice. And, yes, it’s important to learn to go slow, otherwise you’ll char and scald out the flavors of the leaf and your palate.

I might include, the above is why you can often passively smell but not “taste” the flavors of a blend.

 

[LeafErikson]

Smoke slow, pack loose, and blow the smoke outta your nose.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Also, to add to a lot of the great advice above…
Smoke slow… think about smoking on the verge of it going out. The flavors from tobacco comes from heating the surrounding tobacco for it to release its oils and flavonoids. Many times when a guy gets a hint of flavor they puff harder to get more, but that kills the flavor. Slowing down more is counterintuitive, and hard to conceptualize for new smokers. It takes practice.

The smoke from the burning tobacco has very little flavor. You want smoldering warmed tobacco. Big billowing clouds has less flavor than slow trickles. Give it a chance, and keep in mind that it’s meditative, not Smokey gratification.

 

[AJL67]

It took me several years, and i was going to coffee and wine tasting quite often. The best advice I ever got was to start packing two pipes at the same time with two different tobaccos. It really helped me to have something to contrast my tastes with. Maybe a burley and a Virginia, VaPer and a Virginia, english and Virginia, etc etc... And, just light them both and smoke a puff from one, and a puff from the other.

I have a couple good cigar friends that smoke crazy vintage rare habanos and a lot of times they will light 2 or 3 at a time, we used to a lot of puff puff pass for the same reason, but you smoke one cigar for a minute, take a few slow puff, enjoy them, then pick up something different and smoke that and they make each other taste so much better, really brings the differences out in them.

 

[Brewfan]

Do you really mean you don't taste ANYTHING? Or you mean you don't identify the nuances like a Jiminks review?

I'm not a great taster myself, so I rely on others tasting notes to help me out. My wife tells me what she experiences with wines - stonefruit on the nose and such, and then I try to pick it up. A lot of the time I can find it, sometimes not, but almost never on my own. At the moment I'm smoking my 30th (ish) bowl of Bosun Cut Plug and I'm yet to taste any clove in it, so it's clear that flavor is going to pass me by. I still enjoy it though, and that subjective overall assessment is my guide.

 

[GatorElGato]

For me the ah ha! Moment came when I started to not puff like a chimney and started sipping the tobacco. Before I was just feeling the nicotine, after sipping I could actually identify flavors. Not as detailed as some of the TR posts. I can't speak for anyone else, but it wasn't so much a how many tobaccos I've tried. More of an issue with how I was smoking.

 

[AJL67]

It also helps to go through the spice cabinet and smell or taste different spices that you might read about so you can pick them out easier.

 

[PipeIT]

cosmicfolklore brings up a very valid point.

I personally don’t care if the pipe goes out, because as cosmicfolklore points out, what I do is barely light the tobacco, enough to just take a few sips and let it go out, this has always yielded the richest flavors and nuances for me.

In many blends, there are a lot of subtleties, so the less fire and slower puffing, you’ll notice more flavors.

Of course if it’s a singular blend with out any complexity or very little, it’s not going to matter, but complex blends, sometimes you have to be gentle with the fire and puffing to bring out their best.

 

[Coreios]

I think first understand each tobaccos normal note. Like Latakia is smokey. Smoke something like Star of the East and try to find that smoky flavor. So then try to pick out the other notes. But if you can't taste Latakia you may need a doctor.

In my opinion pipe tobacco is easier to distinguish than cigars. The flavors are so different to me they stand out like a sore thumb. At least on their own. There are some blends that can be difficult though. Are you smoking aromatics and maybe the topping is covering the taste? Or smoking so quickly you're losing flavor in the tobacco getting it to hot?

 

[Ben.R.C]

A good exercise I’m trying is to read reviews on the various blends I’m smoking and see if I notice some of the same adjectives. “Bready” “nutty” “figgy” “citrusy” etc.

 

[bullet08]

Your palate is not used to tobacco. It will take awhile, but soon you will notice the difference. NightCap has good amount of latakia, and I'm sure you noticed the "smokey" note. VA might be just too subtle to notice now or like others say "cigarette" like. The "ah ha!" moment will come soon enough. Aromatics are notorious for smelling good, but doesn't taste like the tin note. Once you palate wakes up, it will taste more closer to tin note. Until then it's ok to smoke soaking aromatics and burn your tongue on occasions. After awhile, you will understand why drying is important. And that is a rather an important step.

 

[sparker69]

I think, as some have mentioned already - tasting is transferable - in my case from Habanos to wine to the pipe. It's also trusting your taste and recognizing that there is some subjectivity to it - ie. does it really taste like "sweet and sour soup" from Chinatown, (one of the tastes I come across)? The answer is - it doesn't matter! What does matter is that you recognize that taste and can spot it again when you try other tobaccos. Reminds me of a Cuban cigar review on Friends of Habanos - where the reviewer comments that it tastes like "crushed ants". The other reviewer laughs, but asks him to define it more. What's important is that he knows what he means by the taste - that's developing your tasting ability - taking the time to smoke slowly and reflect on the tastes that are going on in your mouth, and yes - your retrohaling.
Another suggestion: to refine your tastes - try smoking some "purer" blends - ie - just oriental, or straight virginia or just burley, so something really latakia forward - to get a taste for each of those individual tobaccos - to be able to pick them out later.