Trying to Love Straight Virginias and Vapers

[richireland]

Title needs more caps! Rule 9.

I have been piping for about 3 years - A long time cigar smoker. I think I am doing pretty well in my technique, though I have a faster cadence than an ideal one. I like almost all types of blends, save for the heavy aromatics. My go-to's are stoved virginias, dark-fired and complex burley blends - and of course, Balkan and English. I love Vaper and straight Virginias at the start, but my success rate on a cool enjoyable full-bowl is low. I have been working on different packing and also choosing narrower bowls for these blends. Could it all come down to cadence? Should I pack looser or tighter? Just looking for general tips here because there are so many generic recommendations out there that it's confusing.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Once you palate has acclimated to tasting these other blends that you mention, Virginias will be very hard to taste. The flavor is light, more like a tea, whereas these others are more like cokes, coffees, and fruit juices. The flavor if tea is very subtle and nuanced and takes some time to develop a palate for them.

First off, if you are enjoying these more easy to taste blends, no one is forcing you to like Virginias. Many people don't. There is nothing at all wrong with just walking away.

However, if you really want a few pointers, first off it sounds like you have done your homework on pipes and cadence. Just make sure that you haven't smoked a bolder blend before packing a Virginia. Virginias, I tend to smoke first and throughout the day. Then, as the day progresses, I will turn to a more bold flavor. But, I won't ever try to smoke a Virginia after a Balkan or robust burley.

It will just take time, maybe just smoke Virginias for a while, abstaining from the other genres till you get the flavors down.

 

[proteus]

The bowl size and width is irrelevant to me. It's all in the pack. Loose pack wet and tighter pack but not tight pack dry. Virginias I smoke newminster 400 and 507c flake. And vapers so many different ones I have. Virginia's are drier tobacco for me and my brands. So I pack a little tighter to reduce the air and the heat. Tight packs are best for me. Give it a try.

 

[solideogloria86]

I have a similar background, and ran into similar issues as you. The cadence, and smoke volume from pipes to Cigars is vastly different. The draw on a pipe is best created by just breathing in through your nose, rather than actually drawing on the stem itself. There are some good videos on "the breath method" of pipe smoking.

 

[Sigmund]

Im a bit of a puffer too and I have had better luck reducing the amount of smoke on each draw than cutting the frequency. That helps. Also, try not to clench and intentionally put the pipe down now and again in favor of a flash relight. Maybe you dont but when I clench I tend to smoke hotter unless I really stop myself. For me its akin to having food in your lips and not eating...I start to gobble when I clench. I think your tobacco is getting too hot.

 

[Auxsender]

You’re packing too tight and too lose.
You’re smoking too fast and too slow.
Oh, you rub out your flakes? That’s just gonna cause problems unless you fold and stuff your flakes which also causes problems.
How about ignition? Bic? You’re fucked. Matches? Good luck with that shit. Zippo? No way that’ll work, unless it does.

Kidding aside, it’s kinda like eating. Some of us really scarf it down while others are more mindful. Some of us don’t want the different foods in our plate to touch while others are blenders.
After a while, you’ll get it.
Just keep doing it and trying new combinations of pipes, baccys, and techniques.
There is no magic solution other than time and experience.

 

[solideogloria86]

Here's a good video. About 4 minutes. You should get the idea.
You can take or leave the part about blowing smoke back through the bowl.

 

[PipeIT]

Don’t worry about keeping VAs/VaPers lit, in fact, when it comes to taste and any complex blend, start out barely lighting, then a few small sips, let the pipe go out and cool, and relight/repeat later.

To much fire heat, and a fast cadence destroy complexity and taste.

Good complex tobacco, whether bold or subtle, should be sipped on slowly and savored.

On preparation, some you dry more than others, some maybe need lighter, or tighter packing. When removing ash, as it’s getting harder to light, only remove the white ash on top, leading down into darker grayer color. Don’t go beyond the darker gray ash, to where you would end up looking at only black charred tobacco in the chamber. If you remove to much ash and end up lighting black charred tobacco, it’s going to taste bad, and sometimes it ruins it, or you have to smoke for a while to get it back.

 

[MisterBadger]

Here's a good video. About 4 minutes. You should get the idea.
You can take or leave the part about blowing smoke back through the bowl.

Yeah - not sure about exhaling through the bowl, especially with a moist flake and in cold weather. Seems to be the water vapour in your breath is likelier to dampen the tobacco in the base of the chamber and cause it to go out more often - and if you are an habitual puffer, you won't want that..

 

[Choatecav]

Yeah - not sure about exhaling through the bowl, especially with a moist flake and in cold weather. Seems to be the water vapour in your breath is likelier to dampen the tobacco in the base of the chamber and cause it to go out more often - and if you are an habitual puffer, you won't want that..

I really love the hay smell and the slight sweetness found in Virginias and yes, they have to be worked a bit more to keep lit. Especially if they are a flake or a S. Gawith virginia.

As to the breathing method, it really does work. The exhalation of your breath through the bowl is to be slow and slight, but think of it as a bellows works. Both the push and the pull of a bellows blows oxygen into the forge and keeps it really hot. Same thing with the slight exhalation.

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

I primarily smoke Virginia Flake. It needs to be quite dry. While the term is subjective, I'd say I pack reasonably tight. Virginias and Oriental need to be smoked slow. If they heat up, you get an ashy taste. A tighter pack of too moist tobacco will result in a tight draw once it hates up and expand in the bowl. This will result in a bitter, sour taste.

For Virginias, dry out the tobacco. Error on too dry if anything. Pack tight but not so tight that it impedes the draw. Sip rather than puff. If the bowl gets close to being too hot, stop and let it cool.

 

[minerLuke]

What really opened up VA blends (and most others) was getting comfortable with clenching my pipe in my mouth, and here's the key... smoking while absorbed in another task.

I would notice while smoking my pipe clenched that after 20 or 30 min or whatever I'd notice that the pipe was smoking cool and incredibly tasty and this was consistently happening. If I sat and clenched and was 'over thinking' it, it could be fine, a normal typical bowl for me. The magic for me occurs when I almost completely forget that I'm even smoking a pipe, it's almost smoking itself on auto pilot.

 

[woodsroad]

"Trying to love" is such an odd concept.