Help in defining a big project

[Al in Canada]

I am thinking of an experiment , based on the theory that each of us
have different taste receptors and different responses to those
tastes. For this reason I like all types of pickles, but prefer sweet
pickles, and my wife prefers dill pickles. She will make tuna salad
with dill pickle relish, and I with sweet pickle relish.
Now if one could devise a questionnaire which determined which
distinctive flavors one liked in food and drink, would that correlate
with whether one preferred latakia over perique, etc. I don't know how
big a problem this would be, I don't even know what "taste" questions
to ask yet, or how to set up the co-relations with the various tobacco
blend tastes, but I can certainly see the eventual value.
If we could develop a data base that said that if you liked red
sauces over white in Italian cooking, bourbon over scotch, and sweet
pickles over dill, etc. then you will prefer this blend over that.
And if you went to Tobacco Reviews and each reviewer had a coded taste
bias, then you could know which reviews were most likely to agree with
your own.
An ambitious project to say the least, but one I have been thinking
about for a couple of months, trying to think through the problems,
and what will be needed in the way of skills that I don't possess. And
a boon to all of us, as I fear the day of true "tobacconist" in any
but the largest cities, is limited, as the laws make it harder and
harder to run a smoker friendly shop.
I am looking for input from someone aware of the parameters of
"taste", and someone with the ability to set up the co-relationship
parameters.
the object of this is not to define the "one" tobacco for each smoker,
but to define where we would be most comfortable within the spectrum
of each type. Do we want latakia as a: slightly discernible
condiment, a featured player, or the star of the show?
So I need ideas about defining taste parameters, and correlating
results, etc.
I don't know how practical this is, but I would appreciate any input
you could make.
I will be posting this elsewhere, for I think it goes beyond the
limits of any given board, and applies in some way to all of us,
whether we smoke S Bangs or humble cobs.


Al (in Canada)

 

[Warwick]

This sounds like an intriguing idea.

As I think about though, I wonder if such statistically significant correlations exist at all. Of course, the only way to know would be to do the actual statistical study.

But, as a thought-experiment, I wonder to myself whether one can make such correlations even when remaining in the "edibles" group. For example, is there a correlation between, say, pickle varieties and liquor preferences? And so on.

If not, then this might be very suggestive that there is little chance of discovering a significant correlation between edibles and pipe tobacco varieties.

I think it would be a very large project indeed; especially since I can't recall reading even any anecdotal claims of correlations of this kind which might lead one in at least some direction as to which edibles to add to the surveys.

As for tobacco "tastes", it might suffice (at least for a first attempt) to group by blend type (e.g., English, VA, VA/Per, etc.). It would be a very coarse rating system, but at least it might be more manageable than assigning "taste" labels.

 

[Dock]

Brilliant idea Al! I can see where you're going with this. I think it's possible but I really wouldn't know how exactly to start this. I suppose obviously that we'd first have to know things about folks like, do you primarily like aromatic or english tobaccos, ribbons or flake, spicy food or mild dishes, coffee with sugar and cream or just black, wiskey, beer or soda, red wine, white wine or port, pepper or salt, meat or fish, ect.

Here's one more odd thing, I personally know a couple of pipe smokers best defined as effeminite. They ONLY like light blends and aromatics.

I guess you'd have to present a series of questions. How many questions and what they would be would take a lotta thinking about...

 

[Al in Canada]

Here are some of the (edited) responses, with where the response was posted so you can check out the whole post if desired. Some comments were repeated by a number of posters, like the transitory nature of our tastes are, going from latakia laced blends to Virginias or Va-Per.s

This first comment from Hagen was repeated in various forms by several posters:
Hagen: " an impractible amount of parameters" [SF (UK) ]
and from the same source an offer to help, Thrust: "If I had access to the data, I could run the analysis. "

Also on SF(UK) and indication that there might be something to what I was thinking, if it was a distinction that I (as a drinker of bourbon, or sometimes rum)would have never have thought of
making.
Ahumador: "This is my first post. I am a 41 years old pipe smoker who has been smoking pipes for 12 years. I have found that fellow pipe smokers who tend to like peated single malts (those from Islay or Skye, although there are more) tend to appreciate Latakia spiced tobaccos while those who prefer the more sweet Speyside style malts tend to prefer virginias."

Over on Pipesmokers2:

Al in Albuquerque stated: "...two identical pipes from the same maker could/would smoke differently with the same tobacco..."
Certainly a factor, but I would guess we are looking first at what you can't like under any circumstance, and what you would love in any pipe, and what tobaccos blends have the "right" mix of flavors to appeal to you.

And John O offered a reference for defining the problems of describing taste, unfortunately one not currently in my limited library.
jkofferdahl: "absolutely best explanation of this I have ever seen is found in Carl Ehwe's "The Book of Pipes and Tobacco"."

From Brothers of Briar:
Where Warwick questioned whether there would be a relationship between food and tobacco when he stated: "...that there is little chance of discovering a significant correlation between edibles and pipe tobacco varieties."

Mark on the other hand made the whole question the lot more complex with his expansion of the concept, when he said: "It might be interesting if you post your initial parameters as food for thought,,, sensitivity to the PH of the different tobaccos based on diet preference,,,,tar and nicotene content acceptability related to the daily change in mouth chemistry derived from the previous meal/ beverage,,,,"

Over on Corncobs & Briar "Falconer" drew my attention to another unconsidered aspect, the wide variety of different food choices represented within the smoking community, and how correlating the foods with tobacco might be more than a little problematic when he gave his typical diet,

"I eat 1950's Bitish Diet mainly - porridge, toast and marmalade with tea for breakfast. fry up at the weekend; soups,stews, mince and tatties, chops with gravy mash and veg, fish and chips with peas, roasts with the trimmings for dinner ( eaten at noon as was tradtional in Scotland), with fruit (tinned or cooked in a pie crumble etc) and rice or custard to follow, and dependent on season salad, pie and beans, boiled eggs and toast, scambled eggs with cheese on toast, bridies or sausage rolls etc for tea with a sandwich ( preferably cheese) for supper around 8.30pm. But as well as that, I like curries, mediterranean food and TexMex as a treat; ditto home baking. All I don't eat is tripe or melon under any circumstances."

And also on C&B tiltjlp made some suggestions add to the defining terms on the taste profiles, and I can see how they might help.
tiltjlp said (in part): "As for sweet, sour, salty, and bitter, I like all but bitter in foods, but like them all in tobacco, but to differing degrees. I could never smoke a blend that was as sweet as candy, and no tobacco could ever be as salty as I like my food. But I think we need to add at least three more profiles to the sweet, sour, salty, and bitter list, and they would be Spicy, Woodys, and Meaty. Many tobaccos have taste profiles that fit those descriptions."

Stokers Haven:

Mel : " This would be a difficult question for me to answer. I enjoy different
blends at different times, and they all taste good to me...."

From ASP we have:

Tom S: "My own taste guide (YMMV) is something akin to: Taste Intensity (1-10),
defined by how intensely the taste in the tobacco comes through. Some
I've had were very subtle, others knocked my socks off. ,,,Also, I try to distinguish "strong" from "rich". These two are not necessarily (IMO) synonymous - I've had strong tobacco that was one-dimensional (to borrow a common cigar descriptor). "

Ian Rastall: "Like you said, I am a Perique phreak, but I can't stand
Latakia. I think I like things that taste like food, and Latakia
tastes like ... I don't know, but it doesn't taste like food."

Tom S (again): "I know that Mickey and I have rather different tastes in food, but
virtually identical tastes in tobacco and cigars.
If you want to stay away from preferences and stick to similarities, 
don't make the association to food preferences. Just my $2 worth! "
All interesting comments, and I am glad I mentioned that I was "thinking about" this, not committing to doing it this moment. In the process of doing my research I have run across the phenomena of the "super taster", the person whose taste distinctions are super acute and tastes things in an entirely different manner than us mere mortals (LOL).
I welcome additional comments and suggestions, though I suspect it will be a while before anything comes of this. A variation I have been thinking of involves our choice in drinks and correlating that to our choice in tobaccos, which might be a more manageable concept.
And thank you to the folks that suggested I would become a legend in the lore of pipe smokers if I succeeded in this. I won't start wearing laurel just yet, but I will keep thinking about the project.
"Keep those cards and letters coming in friends"
Al (in Canada)

 

[alfredo_buscatti]

Were I to try to get the data and conclusions, I would first have a sit-down with some hardcore researchers, asking what outcomes do those gathered data and conclusions have to be tested against before valid and reliable results can be obtained.

validity - do the conclusions measure what they purport to measure?
reliability - can the test(s) be replicated?

 

[Slow Puffs]

Perhaps modify the research to focus on "refreshments" that pipers enjoy to drink while smoking a pipe blend.

For example: coffee, tea, wines, beers, water, etc.

Is there are a link, for instance, that coffee drinkers perfer latakia, tea drinkers perfer virginias, soda drinkers prefer aromatics etc. Food groupings are so massive...

Then it begins to get complex again:

black coffee
coffee with cream
coffee with cream and sugar
etc..