Lots of action to catch up on in the morning I see - had company and just going to post now, 10:30 PM PST. As I said last post, I'd try one more smoke with Amphora Absolute, this time in my large meer. Has about the same bowl capacity as the Ropp J07 I used this afternoon. So I loaded it with the same loose 2 pack and expected the same 30 - 35 minute smoke with this pipe, and got exactly that.
But what can I say about the meer? It's broken in now fully, and just starting to take on a tinge of color, not much but there, not much showing in the photo unless you use your imagination. But I can see now why people rave about meerschaum. It revealed even more variety in the Orientals than the Ropp, if that is possible. If the Ropp was A++, the meer was A+++. I'm a believer now. If I had to start over again buying pipes . . . . .