My off and on again journey with the pipe.

[Docpsycho]

For years I have had an on and off again try at smoking a pipe. I love the idea of it. I really love the smell and taste of aro's but am plagued with tongue bite. I really want to learn to smoke aro's but ether I get a tingling in the mouth or on the tongue or it out and out burns. This happens with every Aro I try. I have found it to be lessened in a cob. It is more pronounced in a briar especially if the briar has little or no cake. Why would a cob be so much easier on my mouth?

As you guys know I primarily smoke cigarettes but they are so one dimensional at times. One thing I have found is that burleys have some of the flavors I'm looking for w/o the bite. Ones like Carter hall and Butternut burley. I would rather not limit myself to just burleys though. That is why I have been seeking out some of the Latakia's and orientals. When I have tried a few of them in the past I didn't get the bite and they smoked drier. I didn't like their taste at the time but am willing to try them again. Virginias burn my mouth too. I really wanted to like orliks golden slices. Loved the flavor but couldn't take the burn. I think the straight virginias burned too hot for me. I couldn't smoke them slow enough not to get the hot tongue and mouth. Sorry to blather on but any thoughts you fellas have would be greatly appriciated. I feel at home here in the brown leaf.

Rick

 

[captaincaveman]

You're on the right track with Latakia. Blends with lots of Latakia won't bite.

Once you have practice with well-behaved blends like those with lots of Latakia, then you might find that you're more able to get Virginias to work. Besides the skill and general ability to read the situation that builds in your smoking session, I suspect that you also grow something akin to callouses. I'm pretty sure I can smoke a lot more aggressively now than I could when I first started, and I can't attribute it entirely to skill. Virginias still don't work for me, though.

 

[Price]

As a cigarette smoker, you may be drawing too hard on your pipe - may be the issue leading to your tongue bite. I was a cigar smoker for years before this place started me on the pipe train, and that was my problem at first. Slow down, light sips - eventually you develop a cadence that will work for you.

Cobs, by the way, are more porous than briar, so they kind of act a little like a filter.

 

[alpster]

FWIW, I have given up on aros completely. I bought and was given samples of 30 or more of THE most popular aromatics and everyone of them irritated my mouth. I accidentally discovered the Frog Morton blends (a sampler set) thinking they were aros. What a difference and now my cellar is well stocked with English and Balkan blends (Esoterica, FM, Dunhill, Rattray's, Sobrainie etc.) Virginias and VaPers (FVF, Escudo, PS LNF, etc.) and I love them all. I can still burn my tongue, but I have to work at it. If the baccy is too wet, put a couple bowls on the table and let it dry before a smoke. Pack the bowl loose in the bottom tight at the top. Slow down, smoke slowly when the pipe gets hot, put it down & let it cool & relight if you need to. I discovered also that some quality pure tobaccos have as pleasing a smell and taste as any aro. IMHO

 

[Price]

I think most "American" aros are crappy tobacco hidden by a thick topping, generally characterized by a very nice tin note that doesn't bear out into the smoke. Like Ronnie, I don't care for them. I do think there are some aro blends that use better tobacco and a less overpowering topping, and those I do enjoy from time to time as a change of pace. Pembroke, FM Cellar, and some of the Lakelands come to mind.

 

[Docpsycho]

I suspect Mr. Price is right when he sayid as a cigarette smoker I am drawing too hard on the pipe. I think it may be difficult for a cigarette smoker to relearn to sip when he is used to that quick fix that taking a drag on a cigarette gives. I have gone on a bit of a buying spree to try some of the following.

Frog Morton (regular blend)
Balkan Sobranie
Meat Pie
crooner
and a kind member here, who shall remain anonymous, PIF'd me a sample of Penzance and Stonehaven to try.
Another kind member here has offered to PIF me a sample of Northwoods to try.
I also ordered a tin of GH Top Black Cherry.

I am hoping as Mr. Price has suggested that the top black cherry has a better quality of tobacco and won't bite like American aro's.

Rick

 

[ravl10]

I'm very new to this, about 18 months, and at first I didn't have much enjoyment. I smoked while walking outside and I think that just got in the way of the right cadence, and with the wind and all, it was a hot mess. My housing situation changed and now that I can sit out of the wind, I think that has helped. Another thing that really helped me was the Frank Method of filling my pipe. I also found that I enjoy aromatics with burley and/or oriental in them the most, followed by the cavendish-only aros. The cavendish + virginia aros tend to be the ones I enjoy the least.

 

[captaincaveman]

I don't know how Ohio is, but in New England there is no amount of time just sitting passively out in the open that will dry tobacco at all. I have to use a gooseneck lamp with a lampshade and incandescent bulb to heat the air around the tobacco moderately before it will absorb any humidity from the tobacco.

Are you using a filter? If not, consider using one. It will capture some moisture that contributes to the problem, and reduce draw. If you have a pipe that takes 6mm filters (such as a cob) I recommend Medico, they're far superior to the more common Dr. Grabow filters.

For aros that might work for you, what ones have you tried? I've been exploring OTCs lately. I recently 3017'd a whole pouch each of Middleton Apple and Black & Mild. I found them to be pretty much bite-proof, like a good Latakia blend would be, and overall (taste, room note, behavior) I liked them better than more prestigious aros. Even if I burn through a bowl way too fast from wind while driving with the windows open, no bite. That's even if I don't dry them. Another OTC aro that might work is Sir Walter Raleigh Aromatic, which is a very mildly topped burley. I don't have a lot of experience with it but you said that boring straight burleys work for you, so that's a step up in sweetness. (Edit: Also, Prince Albert Soft Vanilla kinda matches that description too.)

 

[Docpsycho]

Yes Captain. The air in Ohio is humid also. I have a few old light bulbs and a shade I can try. I also have a legend MM cob and medico filters to try. I have tried SWR and your right. Little to no bite. Same with Carter Hall. I may have to try some of those burleys from Uhle's or Peretti's I've heard about too.

Thanks

Rick

 

[captaincaveman]

Be gentle with the lamp setup, you want to avoid cooking the tobacco.

Have you tried SWR Aro or just regular SWR?

 

[Price]

I do have the benefit of a fairly dry climate here, but I have a small wooden cutting board that I use for drying out tobacco. Works like a champ - FVF from freshly opened tin: rubbed out, laid out, ready to go in about 15 minutes.

 

[alpster]

Humidity ranges from wet to dry depending on the weather. If the humidity is high I toss a bowl or two under the lamp for a few minutes. Amazing how fast that little light bulb works.

 

[simon1]

Another thought...duh, that hurt.

What size/quality of pipe are you using?

I have my Dad's old no-name pipe and a Grabow pipe that are "regular" sized but smoke a bit hot with whatever I put in it, compared to others.

Of my "quality" pipes I have a Savinelli Minuto, a Savinelli Tevere 315, and an early Lane era Charatan Diplomat. They all smoke different with the same 'baccy. The Minuto is the smallest, the 315 is the middle of what I have, and the Charatan is the biggest bowl but it's not real big.

I can smoke something like a mild Carter Hall in the cheap pipes and the bowl gets hot to my hand and can give me tongue bite no matter if I sip or whatever. With the better quality of the small Minuto the bowl still gets hot in my hand so I have to watch how I smoke it, but the smoke is a bit cooler. Then it progresses as being cooler with a bigger bowl..315 better than the Minuto...Charatan best. The Charatan is so mild with the Carter Hall that I can exhale about half of a draw and inhale the rest. I can do O.K. on the inhale after half exhale with the 315 but the Charatan is the best. That helps me cut down on cigs.

Just another variable to think about.

 

[Blue_2]

I don't know how Ohio is, but in New England there is no amount of time just sitting passively out in the open that will dry tobacco at all. I have to use a gooseneck lamp with a lampshade and incandescent bulb to heat the air around the tobacco moderately before it will absorb any humidity from the tobacco.

Yup, it's either humid or very humid. It's like living in a humidor until winter.

I converted my desk lamp to LED without remembering this little job it had. I've been putting a paper plate of tobacco on the top of my Denon receiver instead. It works slower, but not much slower.

 

[Docpsycho]

Captain I have the regular SWR not the aro. Mike I have about 7 briars all about what I would say are the average size bowl but am no expert at estimating the depth or width. I have 4 made by a shop in Columbus Ohio by their owners S and R. I have a few cobs a Rad Davis and a Becker I believe. When I get a camera comparable with my comp-u-tater I will try and post pics. I know how you fellas like pics. I'm not really computer literate so I'll try to figure it out sooner rather than later.

Rick

 

[Docpsycho]

Just finished my first bowl of crooner from pipes and cigars. Supposedly a blend of burley and deer tongue. Pretty bland and straight forward plain tobacco flavor until half way through the bowl then some better flavor emerged. I don't think it was a casing but could be mistaken. No bite but quite a nicotine kick. I could feel the nic hit at the back of my mouth. I sipped as best I could. I do like the flavor of Carter hall, Burley w/o a bite and butternut burley better. It was in a basket pipe that I was told was a savanelli second. The bowl is tapered, so wider at the top and smaller at the bottom. Unfinished when I got it. I used to rub it in the tobacco, it gained a nice brown patina and brought out the grain. This tobacco you need only fill the bowl half full because it really expands, blooming in the bowl as you light it over and over. Nice burning stuff. No need to dry it. A very smallish cube cut. Almost granular in consistency with a bit of small bits of some ribbon cut in there. Not much in the flavor department but a much more pleasant smoking experience than I'm used to with an aro.

Rick

 

[captaincaveman]

Nice! It sounds like a mild aro, not heavily cased. That's definitely a good way to go at the moment.

Generally when it blooms on lighting you should tamp it. That's why a lot of people like to use a "charring light" strategy of not planning to smoke from the first light, so they can make it bloom and then tamp it down before the "true light" from which they will smoke. That will help keep it lit and help strengthen flavor delivery, which may or may not help avoid bite depending on whether or not you're pulling harder in an attempt to get more flavor and keep it lit.

Paging Dr. Shave_Rat! Can you comment on my guess that SWR Aro would almost assuredly deliver a bite-free aro for Docpsycho based on his good luck with straight burleys (including SWR) and desire for aros? I know you've got a lot of experience with it, and I've only had a few bowls.

 

[Docpsycho]

Captain. This tobacco kept blooming and blooming. Expanded quite a bit even after tamping several times. I'm glad the info at pipes and cigar said to only fill the bowl halfway. All around more enjoyable smoking experience though this time around. I am going to try some of the Frog Morton I just got in the mail yesterday. Any thoughts on pre smoking prep. What to expect ect for that first english style non aro?

Rick

 

[captaincaveman]

The Frog is pretty wet, unless the person who sent it to you dried it. Plan on drying it. Then load it your preferred way, making sure that (most importantly) the resulting draw is good (like water through a straw, not like air or a milkshake). Tamp lightly if it blooms or if there's a thick fluffy ash layer, don't tamp otherwise. It's quite flavorful, just smoke it gently and slowly - that is, keep a steady cadence, use small sips to medium puffs, and don't pull those sips/puffs through too fast - you can get a set amount of smoke in your mouth fast or slow, do it slowly.

 

[Docpsycho]

Thanks. If I receive my PIF'd Penzace and Stonehaven in the mail today I may go for that instead. Any advice on how to prep those flakes?

Rick