Pipe Tobacco Purchase, Did I mess Up?

[Gabe215]

So I have a pipe I bought on here a few years back (danish hand made) never got into smoking pipe tobacco. I just made an impulse buy yesterday and wanna get someone/ anyone’s thoughts on if I would like this given my taste in cigars. I bought- Plum Pudding, Bengal Slices, Ashton Artisan Blend, Star of the East, and Scottys Bass Pond. As for cigars I like NC Fuente Anejo, Tatuaje and Liga Privada for CC’s I like Ramón Allones and Bolivar. All the reviews on pipe tobacco they use the leaves that are in them to describe the taste. I don’t know what Latakia or Perique tastes like. What can I expect? Any and all help is appreciated!

[RevSmoke]

Originally Posted by Gabe215

So I have a pipe I bought on here a few years back (danish hand made) never got into smoking pipe tobacco. I just made an impulse buy yesterday and wanna get someone/ anyone’s thoughts on if I would like this given my taste in cigars. I bought- Plum Pudding, Bengal Slices, Ashton Artisan Blend, Star of the East, and Scottys Bass Pond. As for cigars I like NC Fuente Anejo, Tatuaje and Liga Privada for CC’s I like Ramón Allones and Bolivar. All the reviews on pipe tobacco they use the leaves that are in them to describe the taste. I don’t know what Latakia or Perique tastes like. What can I expect? Any and all help is appreciated!

Cigars produce smoke pipes produce smoke and that is where the similarities end, fully and completely.

It is like trying to compare pineapples and apples, they are not at all alike. You cannot smoke them the same and surely they will not taste the same. Enjoy each of them for what you get out of them, not what you expect as a cigar smoker.

One of the things that will make your pipesmoking experience better is properly filling your pipe - do not fill t too tight or too loose. Trying to explain it here would be difficult, but know there are a couple different methods that work well. Videos online will lead you to see the different things done, and then experimentation will follow as you find "your way to do it." A tobacconist who smokes a pipe is probably a great teacher if you have one local, or an old hand at pipes.

When you light your pipe, like a cigar, you want to get an even burn going. This means you will have to have a tamper. And the lighting process itself is a ritual to be enjoyed. You'll get your initial charing light, at which the tobacco will puff up out of the bowl a bit, you need to tamp it down evenly, and then, while puffing, get an even light of the entire bowl. Again, this is not something that happens naturally, or comes easily. Sitting with an older pipester & going through this process the first couple of times can be immensely helpful

Do you not expect to get the same volume of smoke from a pipe as you do from a cigar.

Go back and read that last line again.
Read it one more time.

Trying to get the same volume of smoke from a pipe as you do from a cigar will lead to pain and sorrow. Yes, you heard me correctly. Trust me on this, your tongue will thank me. Best way I can describe smoking a pipe is to sip it. You can also leave it in your mouth, puffing occasionally. Interestingly, ormal conversation with it in your mouth will keep it burning lazily, probably the proper pace for smoking. Slow and easy, small "sips" to roll around in your mouth, to taste to settle nuances of flavor.

As for the different blends that you purchased, none of them are in my normal rotation. That does not mean they are not good, it means they are not in my wheelhouse. Do not expect them to be the same.

Both perique and Latakia are tobacco's that are cured in a specific manner to produce specific flavors. Latakia is done with Oriental tobaccos, and we'll have a very smoky taste - I used to truly love Latakia, but it has fallen out of favor with my taste buds. Perique on the other hand will have hints of plum or raisin and spice, it is probably my favorite cured tobacco.

Virginia tobacco doesn't always come from Virginia. Virginias are naturally sweet, and if I can stay it that way, some are brighter in flavor while others are darker and richer in flavor. I personally like the smoke Virginias or VaPers ( Virginia/Perique blends).

You have stepped into a brave new world. Experimentation is your friend. You will develop your own techniques and habits, they may be slightly different than what a possible mentor would tell you. That is okay, you need to do it your way.

Piece of the Lord be with you.

[RevSmoke]

For what it is worth, here is how I would classify (in a brief way) the different types of tobaccos.

Virginias (no other condimental tobaccos)
VaPers (Virginias w/Perique)
Orientals (Blends predominantly Orientals)
English (Latakia blends)
Light English (blends w/out casing, light or no Latakia)
Burleys (blends that are based on Burley)
Aromatics (blends which are cased in some way with flavorings).

[RevSmoke]

Here's another bit of dandy information from the www.pipes2smoke.com site.

Pipe Tobacco:
All pipe tobaccos are either a blend of different types of tobacco (90%) or, and there a few of these, one type of tobacco that has been treated or processed in some way. The only straight, single type, tobaccos that I am aware off are Virginias. E.G. Gawith's Full Virginia Flake.

The flavor , aroma and burning characteristics of a pipe tobacco are a combination of the types of tobacco used, the way the tobacco was processed and the cut of the tobacco(s) used.

CUTS.
FLAKE: Tobacco that has been pressed into a brick then cut into flat flakes that may vary in size. It must be rubbed out into smaller pieces before smoking. Generally flake tobaccos are cool burning and with a few exceptions ( Gawith Balkan Flake, Krumble Kake), are pure Virginia's.

RIBBON CUT: Tobacco that has been pressed then cut into long, thin ribbons. It is not as long or as fine as SHAG cut. Shag cut is very similar to cigarette tobacco in cut. This can be Virginia or Oriental.

CUBE CUT: Tobacco that has forced through a sieve, grate or chopped into small pieces that are often square. Typically, cube cuts are Burley tobacco.

Curly - this is tobacco leaf spun into rope and sliced. It typically is very slow burning hence it is cool smoking.

SHAG: Tobacco which has been very finely long cut. In Edwardian times it was considered an poor quality tobacco. Today, it is not. An example is McClellands Shag Cuts, Baker Street, 221 , etc. Most shags have a high proportion of Virginia in them as Virginia tobaccos have long leaves that allow this cut.

NAVY CUT: Originally the tobacco was favored by sailors. They would put it in a long thin canvas tube and twist it tight. When taken out it was a thick rope of tobacco that they could carry in their pocket. They could cut off a plug to chew or slice it to smoke in a pipe. Escudo, Three Nuns Slices and Bengal Slices are types of sliced plug. Normally it is a slow burning tobacco fitting with its sailing origins. Navy blends are often steeped in Rum as this what sailors used to to do.

Blending tobaccos:

The tobacco plant is unique in that the plant develops different characteristics and flavors contingent on the type of soil and climate it is grown in. Many tobaccos blends have added natural and artificial flavorings added, but if the climate and soil is of poor quality the tobacco will never be a quality smoke. That is why tobacco isn't grown in the UK. Good soil but too wet a climate.

VIRGINIA - comes in an almost infinite variety red, brown, black, lemon, orange, wheat orange-red etc.

It is the mildest of all blending tobaccos but because it has the highest natural sugar content by itself it can often burn hot.

It is used in almost all blends as it burns well.

Its characteristic is a natural sweetness but certain types have to steamed or stoved to eliminate their tannic acids which can impart an acidic taste.

BRIGHT Virginia - is from the Carolinas and is normally very pale in color almost white.

BURLEY - "white burley" - is a mutation of Virginia that developed in Maryland after the Civil War. It has natural tobacco taste, almost nutty, and will never "bite." It takes flavorings and casing especially well as it has very little taste of its own. It is the most common base tobacco in drugstore blends.

CAVENDISH - Cavendish is a process of curing and/or a method of cutting tobacco leaf. A steamed Virginia is a Cavendish. Cavendish takes aromatics very well. "Black Cavendish, is Kentucky Green River Burley steamed with either sucrose or fructose and not washed," Craig Tarler of Cornell & Diehl. The best Cavendish is washed out after steaming to remove the sweetness. The treating and/or the cut bring out a natural sweet taste that is typical of Virginia tobacco. Cavendish is a tobacco that has a light taste, is mild and packs easy.

All Virginia tobaccos have a high nicotine content because they typically are grown in nitrogen rich soils.

Condiment tobaccos: These have a very strong taste and often aroma. They are rarely smoked straight. They normally used as flavoring in blends and to modify the burning characteristics of a blend.

Perique - Louisiana - is grown in only in St, James Parish in Louisiana. It originated with Native Americans who steeped the tobacco in its own juice in hollow logs. Today, its produced by fermenting twist in their own juices under pressure for 9-10 months. It is still steeped in its own juice to make it Perique. It is very strong and few blends have more than 10-15% added.

Havana - Is grown in the Vuelta Region of Cuba - in Santiago Province. The best cigars in the world come from there.

Deer tongue -is the leaf of the wild vanilla plant. It is very hot if over used. It is added in small quantities to blends and has a unique aroma.

Oriental tobaccos: They are typically very fragrant, variable sugar content and have virtually no nicotine because they are grown in nitrogen poor soils in arid regions of the Middle East and Greece, Bulgaria and the former Yugoslavia. They are bought up in massive quantities by the large cigarette companies.

There are two broad types of oriental Turkish and Greek.

The Greek includes Basma, (Frog Morton on the Town), Mahalla, Xanthi, (Ashton Old Dog), Dubek, Yenidji (original Balkan Sobraine).

The most common Turkish type is Smyrna, the best of which is called little ears in Turkish.

Latakia - From Syria/Cyprus (smoked Oriental tobacco). It was accidentally "discovered" after a bumper crop in the 1880's. The surplus tobacco was stored in the rafters of Arab farmhouses. Arab peasant farmers, "fellahin" used wood and when short of wood camel dung for cooking and heating in the winter. The smoke cured tobacco imparted a unique flavoring and taste that was discovered when it was smoked.

Cyprian latakia is smoked over a banked fire of mountain shrubs, pins trees myrtle and other native woods in sheds.

Syrian latakia is smoked over different woods and herbs. The main one is Syrian oak. Syrian latakia is normally lighter in color and smokier to taste than Cyprian.

Drama - Macedonia - Greece - is a strong condiment tobacco. It is used very sparingly in blends.

One of the characteristics of Latakia and other Oriental tobaccos is that they are grown in nitrogen poor soils. This means a low sugar and nicotine content but makes the tobaccos naturally spicy.

Hope this all helps.

[RevSmoke]

Oh, and by the way, only YOU will be able to tell if you "messed up"!

[Gabe215]

I’m Macedonian Greek LOL, it’s a sore subject that a part of Europe (Turkey) decided to steal or regions name and consider them a country, Macedonia is Greece brownie points for referring to it as Greece. My family actually owned a cigarette company from the late 1800’s to mid 1900’s. Poulides Bros (my last name is Poulides)

[AdamJoshua]

Originally Posted by Gabe215

I’m Macedonian Greek LOL, it’s a sore subject that a part of Europe (Turkey) decided to steal or regions name and consider them a country, Macedonia is Greece brownie points for referring to it as Greece. My family actually owned a cigarette company from the late 1800’s to mid 1900’s. Poulides Bros (my last name is Poulides)

Very cool!


How’s the pipe going, did it stick? My first time around it just didn’t take and i bomb d a childhood friend with all my pipes and tobacco, this time around it has taken and i am really enjoying it, to me it’s as much a state of mind and relaxation as much as anything else.


Oh that says 21 not 22


I guess the question still stands though lol