Will My Taste Buds adjust?

[mawnansmiff]

"With all due respect, if my first pipe was an OTC, it would have been my last pipe, too."
Woodsroad, you surely must be talking only of American OTC blends as most British OTC blends are highly sought after by American smokers and are highly regarded here too!
As Andy states, such blends as Condor, St. Bruno and Erinmore are extremely popular OTC tobaccos on both sides of the Atlantic.
Regards,
Jay.

 

[PaulTheScandinavian]

and when it comes to all American OTC Brands,personally I do find CH and PA being at least satisfactory,yet everyone must bear in mind the retailing price of above mentioned tobaccos which is less than a fiver per pouch,

 

[jpmcwjr]

Just opened and am smoking my first bowl of St. Bruno. Nice!!

 

[iamn8]

I refuse to try St. Bruno... not until Pope Urban II gets his own blend. It's a tiny personal protest.

 

[hmhaines]

You described my exact introduction into the world of piping.
First, stop smoking for a couple of days. It'll give your mouth a chance to reset. When you go again, slow down your puffs, take time with every draw and explore the smoke. Test out the retrohale, breathing the smoke out through your nose. Keep a cold glass of water on hand when you light up. If you have bite, you might be smoking to fast, too hot, or too wet. Dry your tobacco out a little and slow down more on the next bowl.
If you're looking for strong flavor, aim for Perique blends to start. Picayune from Daughters and Ryan is quite flavorful, as is St. James Flake from Samuel Gawith. You could reach out for some Peter Stockbye Luxury Bullseye Flake as well. All are vastly different blends with good, strong taste. Once I started learning more about my pipes and tobacco, I found a lot more flavor in the smoke, you can look forward to that too!

 

[mso489]

I'd say most pipe smokers, wine drinkers, whiskey drinkers, (tea...coffee) take some time to cultivate a sense of taste for particular blends or beverages. Some people may experience immediate euphoria, but not many. Go slow. Be relaxed about it. If you don't acquire a taste for it, you will eventually not bother ... or you will, and will be off and running. But it usually takes a while.

 

[mawnansmiff]

"It's a tiny personal protest."
Nate, I'm sure he's listening ::
"Some people may experience immediate euphoria, but not many."
MSO, I did when I first smoked Condor!
Regards,
Jay.

 

[sk806]

@hmhaines - thanks. This is good info. I plan to resume my journey tomorrow. I'll take a look at those blends. Gonna go slow slow slow. Glad to know I'm not an unusual new pipe smoker!

 

[sablebrush52]

Start with dry tobacco, somewhere shy of crispy. Still pliable but dry. Pack so that you still have a good draw through it, but tight enough that it stays lit. Then light with a low temp flame (wooden matches: good). Sip slowly, keeping the burn temp to a low smoulder. High combustion temps kill flavor components and scorch the mouth.

THIS^
Too much moisture in the smoke really flattens the flavors. Too much heat produces only burnt flavors.

 

[sk806]

Just wanted to say thanks for all the tips. As many mentioned above, it seems that, for me, drying the tobacco way down (too far down in at least one case) is the key. The smoke is cooler, I can sip slowly, and my tongue feels normal, even at 2-3 bowls a day. I am even beginning to taste some sweetness and other flavors I can't identify. The problem now is that I still suck at packing the bowl correctly, and it goes out a lot, but I gather that's par for the course. Anyway, more to improve on. If anyone else is new and reads this thread, I hope it helps you, too.

 

[jpmcwjr]

Don't worry about packing- with time and dry-ish bowls, you'll find your cadence. I pretty much just stuff it in with a digit to press into place, and the rest has become automatic.

 

[woodsroad]

Don't worry about relighting. Provided that the tobacco is not wet, it means that you aren't burning too hot. A "one match bowl" is rewarding, but not par for the course. Try packing a bit tighter, but having a good draw is more important than a densely packed bowl.
Most important: Relax and enjoy.

 

[aldecaker]

I usually pack really light, at the expense of more re-lights. I find that gives me the driest smoke and best flavor, while still allowing for a good cadence. YMMV.

 

[woodsroad]

This.

 

[sk806]

Kind of off topic, but I am gathering that some new briars produce moisture when first smoked? Just curious, as I started up a new one, and the second bowl had a lot of moisture in the bottom, even though I dried the baccy way down. I've read this elsewhere, but you guys really seem to know your stuff, so thought I'd ask. Thanks!
Steve

 

[mawnansmiff]

Steve, you will soon learn that folk's attention spans on this forum are very short indeed.
A properly manufactured briar pipe should have no moisture in it at all. If your second bowl left moisture at the bottom it is likely residual moisture from your first bowl if not allowed to dry out first.
Some folks 'rest' their pipes from anything from a day to a week. I am happy however leaving mine just a day once I have cleaned and dried it immediately after a smoke.
Hope this helps chum ::
Regards,
Jay.

 

[sk806]

Steve, you will soon learn that folk's attention spans on this forum are very short indeed.
A properly manufactured briar pipe should have no moisture in it at all. If your second bowl left moisture at the bottom it is likely residual moisture from your first bowl if not allowed to dry out first.
Some folks 'rest' their pipes from anything from a day to a week. I am happy however leaving mine just a day once I have cleaned and dried it immediately after a smoke.

Thanks. It was a Radice, so the problem was mine. Turns out that the sixpence I smoked in it needed another overnight wiring and was too wet. Went back to it a couple of days later, and all was well. Appreciate the input!
Steve