If you’ve been smoking for a while you may be familiar with pipe ghosts. For those unfamiliar, a pipe ghost is a pesky aftertaste that lingers in and haunts your pipes with its supernatural flavor—in other words they have a chance at possessing and at times permanently ruining your favorite pipe. So how can we bust these ghosts? Unfortunately the best way to avoid these ghosts is to ensure your pipe isn’t haunted in the first place. To ensure your pipe doesn’t wind up with a lingering flavor, the first step is to limit your smoking contents to pipe tobacco—smoking anything other than pipe tobacco in your briar wood pipe will leave, at least for a time, a flavor rather contrary to the flavor of tobacco, and it may be a while before you can smoke without an odd undercurrent of flavor present. Depending on the substance, smoking anything other than tobacco in your pipe may ruin its flavor forever.
But lets say you recently smoked a very flavorful tobacco and find its taste lingering on your next bowl. The best methods we’ve discovered for avoiding tobacco ghosts is to ensure you smoke the bowl all the way to the bottom, and keep a tidy cake in your bowl. To smoke the bowl to the bottom is just what it implies—when smoking, try not to stop halfway through the bowl if you can, and ensure you finish each bowl you pack for a session. This will ensure you build an even cake in your pipe, and prevent stray tobacco leaves from sticking to the bowls bottom, and perhaps contributing to ghost flavors in your pipe. Similarly, controlling your cake is simply to manage cake build up. Every so often, you’ll want to carve down your cake a bit by using your tamper or pipe tool to evenly scrape off some of your layered cake build up, to ensure it doesn’t get too thick.
These tips should help you avoid a pipe ghost, every now and then however one slips through. If your ghost is a tobacco ghost, your pipe will likely bounce back at some point. If you’ve made the mistake of smoking something other than pipe tobacco in your pipe however, we‘re afraid it’s most likely time to say farewell to your old pipe.
This post expands on an earlier post which can be found here.
Now that you know the basics of pipe smoking, it’s time to discuss a few more detailed aspects of the hobby you’ll need to consider as a beginner.
Getting Your First Briar Wood Pipe
If you’ve started out with a corn cob pipe and decided Pipe Smoking is something you’ll be doing semi-frequently, and something you really enjoy, feel free to keep your corn cob around, but you’ll want to purchase a briar wood pipe for future smoking. Briar wood is the traditional material pipes are crafted out of—this is due to the wood’s natural resistance to flame. A proper briar wood pipe will result in a very cool and smooth smoke so long as the tobacco you use isn’t ultra harsh, and will remain cool in the hand. Not to mention, your briarwood pipe will be a lot sturdier than the corn cob, and will on the whole, likely be more pleasant. It’s not out of the question to prefer corncob either, but we suggest to at least invest in one briar wood pipe.
Picking a Pipe Shape
Unfortunately it’s unlikely you’ll find a vast variety of pipe shapes to choose from when picking a corn cob pipe. However, if you choose to get yourself a briarwood pipe, you’ll find there are a lot of different traditional pipe shapes, as well as more unique shapes freehand carved by pipe makers. Ultimately shape preferences are an aesthetic choice, but also keep in mind comfort when choosing the shape of your pipe. If you love the look of a pipe, but find you can never hold it in your mouth or hand comfortably, it may not be a good purchase, despite its aesthetic appeal. This handy chart should help you familiarize with some common pipe shapes.
Now that you know the basics of pipe smoking, it’s time to discuss a few more detailed aspects of the hobby you’ll need to consider as a beginner.
Getting Your First Briar Wood Pipe
If you’ve started out with a corn cob pipe and decided Pipe Smoking is something you’ll be doing semi-frequently, and something you really enjoy, feel free to keep your corn cob around, but you’ll want to purchase a briar wood pipe for future smoking. Briar wood is the traditional material pipes are crafted out of—this is due to the wood’s natural resistance to flame. A proper briar wood pipe will result in a very cool and smooth smoke so long as the tobacco you use isn’t ultra harsh, and will remain cool in the hand. Not to mention, your briarwood pipe will be a lot sturdier than the corn cob, and will on the whole, likely be more pleasant. It’s not out of the question to prefer corncob either, but we suggest to at least invest in one briar wood pipe.
Picking a Pipe Shape
Unfortunately it’s unlikely you’ll find a vast variety of pipe shapes to choose from when picking a corn cob pipe. However, if you choose to get yourself a briarwood pipe, you’ll find there are a lot of different traditional pipe shapes, as well as more unique shapes freehand carved by pipe makers. Ultimately shape preferences are an aesthetic choice, but also keep in mind comfort when choosing the shape of your pipe. If you love the look of a pipe, but find you can never hold it in your mouth or hand comfortably, it may not be a good purchase, despite its aesthetic appeal. This handy chart should help you familiarize with some common pipe shapes.
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| Dr. Grabow Pipe Chart 1988. Courtesy of otcpipes.com |
Avoiding Tongue Bite
As you continue delving into pipe smoking there are some things you’ll need to watch out for as well. You may have felt a slight tinge or "bite" on your tongue the first time you tried out smoking your pipe. This is common and known as tongue bite. Tongue bite mainly occurs when, for whatever reason, your smoke is coming out too hot. Most of the time your smoke will be cool and pleasant if you use a briar wood pipe—corn cobs are a bit more susceptible to producing hot smoke—however you might cause tongue pipe you puff too fast on the pipe, sipping on the smoke rapidly instead of taking longer, slower sips, and breaking between each. Occasionally smoke tends to get hot toward the bottom of the pipe bowl—so as you finish your smoking session the smoke may get hotter. Tobacco that is too moist can also tend to smoke hotter than desired. The best way to combat tongue bite is to first of all, choose a good briar wood pipe and good tobacco, and secondly to take your time and smoke at a leisurely pace.
Conclusion
These tips should help you continue to journey down the path of master pipe smoking. If you ever have questions about starting out, feel free to ask away via comments. Happy smoking.
Today we’ve got a lovely blend of morning flavors for you to try out, in the first official Smoking Cup Coffee X Tobacco. Coffee X Tobacco is, in short, our way of making sure you have a pleasant morning—our team of ambitious smoke technicians conduct several flavor experiments to try and pinpoint which coffees go best with your Tobaccos of choice. To start things off, we’ll go with a blend specifically designed for morning usage—Dunhill’s Early Morning pipe.
Early Morning Pipe is a nice light English blend of Virginia and Oriental leaf. It is perfect for just what the name implies—a nice early morning smoke with which to start off the day—simple, mild, smooth; everything one could ask for in the day’s first pipe, nothing too bold or rich, a gentle kiss to the palette, nothing too complex, and suits it’s purpose perfectly.
Of course, what would the morning be without coffee?! We’ve found that personally, a great mix with Dunhill’s Early Morning is a nice cup of a dark roast of coffee, preferably a French or Vienna. The dark coffee compliments the smoke very well—allowing the simple smoke to mesh with a rich, dark flavor, a perfect middle ground, and a joy to the palette, the coffee amplified by the contrast to Early Morning’s Mild English flavor. Depending on personal tastes, a mixed roast may suit you well too. For instance, Old City Coffee’s Balzac roast goes wonderfully with the smoke. Lighter roasts may leave you a bit dissatisfied, especially if you seek a richer experience, however if all you want is a mild smoke to begin the day with, you can’t go wrong with making Early Morning your base morning tobacco—it won’t tend to fight with any flavors due to it’s simplicity, nor give you any sort of unpleasantness.
One note of caution: Early Morning contains a fair amount of nicotine, if you smoke it first thing in the morning on an empty stomach, a combination of nicotine and coffee may make you quite queasy. We’d recommend giving Early Morning a go after a hearty breakfast of Bacon and Eggs, or your preferred morning meal, enjoying your coffee with your smoke after the breakfast feast. Be especially wary if your favorite morning pipe sports a large bowl—a big amount of Early Morning will definitely cause an upset stomach—otherwise, it’s a perfect way to start the day.
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| Dunhill’s Early Morning Pipe |
Early Morning Pipe is a nice light English blend of Virginia and Oriental leaf. It is perfect for just what the name implies—a nice early morning smoke with which to start off the day—simple, mild, smooth; everything one could ask for in the day’s first pipe, nothing too bold or rich, a gentle kiss to the palette, nothing too complex, and suits it’s purpose perfectly.
Of course, what would the morning be without coffee?! We’ve found that personally, a great mix with Dunhill’s Early Morning is a nice cup of a dark roast of coffee, preferably a French or Vienna. The dark coffee compliments the smoke very well—allowing the simple smoke to mesh with a rich, dark flavor, a perfect middle ground, and a joy to the palette, the coffee amplified by the contrast to Early Morning’s Mild English flavor. Depending on personal tastes, a mixed roast may suit you well too. For instance, Old City Coffee’s Balzac roast goes wonderfully with the smoke. Lighter roasts may leave you a bit dissatisfied, especially if you seek a richer experience, however if all you want is a mild smoke to begin the day with, you can’t go wrong with making Early Morning your base morning tobacco—it won’t tend to fight with any flavors due to it’s simplicity, nor give you any sort of unpleasantness.
One note of caution: Early Morning contains a fair amount of nicotine, if you smoke it first thing in the morning on an empty stomach, a combination of nicotine and coffee may make you quite queasy. We’d recommend giving Early Morning a go after a hearty breakfast of Bacon and Eggs, or your preferred morning meal, enjoying your coffee with your smoke after the breakfast feast. Be especially wary if your favorite morning pipe sports a large bowl—a big amount of Early Morning will definitely cause an upset stomach—otherwise, it’s a perfect way to start the day.
So you want to give pipe smoking a try eh? Perhaps you’re switching over from cigarettes, or maybe you’ve simply been told of the hobby’s allure. Pipe smoking has a bit of a methodology behind it, it’s not a cigarette, there is a process behind setting yourself up for an enjoyable smoking session. This post will let you know some of the basics of pipe smoking, and give you, as a novice, an enjoyable pipe smoking experience.
Picking a Pipe
If it’s your first time trying pipe smoking, it’s a great decision to start out with a corn cob pipe for a few reasons. 1. Corn Cobs are cheap and easily replaced if you somehow break them Plus, if you aren’t entirely sure this is a hobby you enjoy yet, you won’t have to sink a ton of money just to try it out. 2. It will still acclimate you to the pipe smoking experience, and give you a good idea of whether or not it’s a hobby you’d like to pursue. 3. Depending on what your tobacconist carries, you can try straight stemmed or curved stemmed corn cobs, and see which stem type fits more comfortably in your mouth.
Packing the Pipe
Once you have your pipe and tobacco, it’s time to pack the bowl and begin smoking. Now, packing your pipe perfectly dictates a great deal of how enjoyable your smoking session will be. If you don’t pack the pipe well you may find yourself re-lighting, re-packing, or susceptible to a great deal of tongue bite (tongue bite is an uncomfortable feeling of heat from the smoke on your tongue). A lot of people develop their own packing methods, developing the perfect pack however, takes time. I find that the Frank method is rather reliable for a good smoke, and isn’t too difficult to get down.
Picking a Pipe
If it’s your first time trying pipe smoking, it’s a great decision to start out with a corn cob pipe for a few reasons. 1. Corn Cobs are cheap and easily replaced if you somehow break them Plus, if you aren’t entirely sure this is a hobby you enjoy yet, you won’t have to sink a ton of money just to try it out. 2. It will still acclimate you to the pipe smoking experience, and give you a good idea of whether or not it’s a hobby you’d like to pursue. 3. Depending on what your tobacconist carries, you can try straight stemmed or curved stemmed corn cobs, and see which stem type fits more comfortably in your mouth.
Packing the Pipe
Once you have your pipe and tobacco, it’s time to pack the bowl and begin smoking. Now, packing your pipe perfectly dictates a great deal of how enjoyable your smoking session will be. If you don’t pack the pipe well you may find yourself re-lighting, re-packing, or susceptible to a great deal of tongue bite (tongue bite is an uncomfortable feeling of heat from the smoke on your tongue). A lot of people develop their own packing methods, developing the perfect pack however, takes time. I find that the Frank method is rather reliable for a good smoke, and isn’t too difficult to get down.
Lighting your Pipe
You are almost ready to start smoking! All we need to do now is light the pipe. Now, if you’ve smoked a cigarette before, chances are you nonchalantly lit it up with a trusty Bic lighter—do not light your pipe this way! Bic lighters are butane lighters, and butane, I’m afraid, kills flavor! I’ve found that the best way to light a pipe is with a good old match. Light your match, wait for a second or two, then slowly make circular motions above your pipe bowl whilst starting to puff to light your tobacco. This might be a little tricky at first, but once you get used to it, it is by far in my experience the best way to ensure you don’t neutralize the flavor of your tobacco while lighting.
Conclusion
With these tips in mind you are ready to get into the basic art of pipe smoking. In a follow up post, we’ll cover some of the more advanced nuances of smoking.
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| The wonderfully designed tin for 11˚N. A pleasant tin, a pleasant tobacco |
Last night, after having dinner and sitting down for a film with some friends, I tried out Borkum Riff’s 2013 Limited Edition 11˚N Mixture.
Borkum Riff’s 11˚N is an aromatic, air cured blend, sporting 55% Ruby Red and Mahogany Virginia from South America and Malawi, 35% Black Cavendish from Tanzania and Italy, and 10% burley and Fire Cured Tobacco from East and Central Africa. The whole mix is topped off with a nice blend of Trinidad rum and Fruit flavors.
Let me begin by saying this tobacco smells phenomenal right out of the tin. The fruity flavors it is topped with make for a lovely smell—even my non-smoker friends wanted to get a whiff. The fruit/citrus flavor is easily the most obvious note emitted from the tin, followed by some hints of rum on the backend. I purchased the 100g tin it comes packaged in from smokingpipes for about 11 dollars (fitting for the 11 mixture)—certainly a nice deal.
The tobacco smokes as wonderfully as it smells. The smoke is light, smooth, and cool, with heavy citrusy tastes on its front-end. It is abundantly clear why citrus is mentioned on the recipe card—it was easily the strongest flavor during my smoke. The tobacco isn’t necessarily complex in flavor, but the blend culminates in a rich, full sweet taste which is difficult not to enjoy.
Toward the end of the bowl some of the citrus lost prevalence and the tobacco began to taste a bit more like a more standard Virginia/Cavendish based blend with rum flavor. The blend doesn’t seem to be too high in nicotine content either—there was minimal stomach disturbance during the smoke. I’d wager this is an optimal blend for the morning or midday, and can likely be smoked rather comfortably on an empty stomach or after a light meal. Depending on how much nicotine you enjoy, and how helpful you want your tobacco to be in the digestive process, it may not be the best after a large dinner or meal. All in all, this is a fantastic blend, and definitely among my favorite aromatics. It left a subtle room note as well, and the note it did leave was pleasant enough, smelling much like the tin. The non-smokers present did not complain one bit about the smell, which is always a plus. I’d say the only real shame about this blend is that it’s limited edition. I’d love to add it to my standard repitoire. If you aren’t a fan of aromatic or sweet tobaccos in general, you may not like the blend. I tend to stick to darker/heavier English blends myself, but if you don’t mind a sweet smoke every now and then, this is one of the better options out there for a pleasant, relaxing, and fruity experience.
Look out for a "second bowl" update to this post in the near future—a second opinion of sorts.
The tobacco smokes as wonderfully as it smells. The smoke is light, smooth, and cool, with heavy citrusy tastes on its front-end. It is abundantly clear why citrus is mentioned on the recipe card—it was easily the strongest flavor during my smoke. The tobacco isn’t necessarily complex in flavor, but the blend culminates in a rich, full sweet taste which is difficult not to enjoy.
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| The Recipie Card |
Toward the end of the bowl some of the citrus lost prevalence and the tobacco began to taste a bit more like a more standard Virginia/Cavendish based blend with rum flavor. The blend doesn’t seem to be too high in nicotine content either—there was minimal stomach disturbance during the smoke. I’d wager this is an optimal blend for the morning or midday, and can likely be smoked rather comfortably on an empty stomach or after a light meal. Depending on how much nicotine you enjoy, and how helpful you want your tobacco to be in the digestive process, it may not be the best after a large dinner or meal. All in all, this is a fantastic blend, and definitely among my favorite aromatics. It left a subtle room note as well, and the note it did leave was pleasant enough, smelling much like the tin. The non-smokers present did not complain one bit about the smell, which is always a plus. I’d say the only real shame about this blend is that it’s limited edition. I’d love to add it to my standard repitoire. If you aren’t a fan of aromatic or sweet tobaccos in general, you may not like the blend. I tend to stick to darker/heavier English blends myself, but if you don’t mind a sweet smoke every now and then, this is one of the better options out there for a pleasant, relaxing, and fruity experience.
Look out for a "second bowl" update to this post in the near future—a second opinion of sorts.