Lost the Love for Latakia

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I'm pretty much painting my tongue with heavy lat blends. Pirate Kake, most of the Captain Earle's blends, Plum Pudding SR etc.
I keep hearing about people's palates turning as they mature but as far as pipe smoking goes, I guess I'm still in high school with a cellar that's 100% English blends. Still can't stand too much Virginia.
 
For myself, I wonder how much of it has to do with the changing quality of the product itself. Did I coincidentally find myself in the Golden Period of latakia production and didn't realize it? Only certain types and didn't realize it? I'd be the first to admit I wasn't paying much attention to the details on the tins, and even now, I can't really tell you what was in them. I've never bothered to make note of it. I'm much more aware of that now in the newer blends I smoke, but that is as financially driven as anything. Back then, I could afford to experiment with little information. I wasn't careless, but I wasn't exactly careful either. I'm not like that anymore. I haven't had great luck with what little experimentation I have done, and that certainly does not help latakia matters.
 
I have had a phase where, for a duration of about three or four years, all Latakia blends were simply bland to my palate. That was about 6 years ago.
Now, seems like everything is back to normal, i.e. I am enjoying them once more.
 
Same for me, years ago I moved on from Lat blends to mostly Virginia’s, but really any blend that doesn’t contain Latakia.

Occasionally I get a hankering for some but only as a light touch such as in Scottish blends. Very rarely I get a craving for Nightcap though so I have a few tins on hand for those occasions.
 
Still enjoy Bengal Slices, Plum Pudding, etal. But Burley has gotten my attention as of recent. Particularly MacBarren's new HH Burley Flake and Butternut Burley for an aro fix. Va. and VaPer still burn the hell out of my mouth...probably a Ph thing. (and me with all this McClelland product).
 
Guess I'm fortunate in the respect that work keeps me away from tobacco for about a week at a time, and my palate is reset.  I savour Latakia blends, but after a week away, my first bowl can't be a heavy lat blend, or anything that has a lot of perique in it. It certainly makes the blends pop for me initially, though my tastes grows muted a bit with exposure.  If I recall, I believe some you have had some forced sabbaticals from tobacco, maybe BH?  Yet, you continue to no longer have a craving for Latakia.  One of those mysteries?  Guess we may eventually satisfy our personal Latakia itch, and move on.
 
Missed this thread before,  but thought I'd chime in. I've been smoking lat blends for 50 years,  and haven't lost the taste for them a bit. I recently discovered HH old Dark Fired and I smoke that once a day, and love it, but not to the exclusion of lat blends.
 
Couldn't tolerate it for many years., gave headache..past few yrs I can use it, but light blends and moderation..Morley's Best I can handle, but I tend to mix MB and Haunted Bookshop equally and it seems to agree with my tastes much better..adds a bit of sweetness without being anywhere near an Aro
 
Hmmm, I'm starting to wonder if I am losing the love too. Been awhile since I had English and tried a bowl yesterday. While the tobacco was excellent, it didn't trip my trigger.

When I think about it, English was my first love. I also liked to smoke strong cigars as well. During my several year pipe hiatus I found strong cigars all started to taste the same and backed off to medium boutique cigars that had a pepper notes. Get back into pipes this year and I'm all into Virginia's for the first time in a big way and discovered aromatics are not evil.

I suppose it could be seasonal too and that is a common thing for me. Guess I will see what next year brings . . .
 
whitebriar":r1hc0xxn said:
Couldn't tolerate it for many years., gave headache..past few yrs I can use it, but light blends and moderation..Morley's Best I can handle, but I tend to mix MB and Haunted Bookshop equally and it seems to agree with my tastes much better..adds a bit of sweetness without being anywhere near an Aro
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You should try GL Pease Samarra.  It is perhaps the only Latakia blend I can go near that still works for me.

https://www.pipesandcigars.com/mobile/p/gl-pease-samarra-pipe-tobacco/1472799/

 
Zanaspus":gx51y03m said:
I oscillate over the years. A true love/hate relationship.
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And that is why I won't part with my stash. I know it will rotate around again down the road. Like I said, it was my first love. Could anyone not have fond memories of the first?
 
Very interesting thread, thanks for starting it Adam. It's comforting to see that like so many of my BoB's, my tastes migrate over the years. After an extended Virginia and Vaper blends stint, suddenly Latakia blends, straight burly, and (gasp!) even some lighter aromatics have become mighty tasty. What few taste buds I have left become numb to my favorite blends if I smoke it for weeks on end. Variety and rotation seems to be the way for me.

Good thing we live in a Golden Age of tobacco options.

Natch
 
I've never ben a big fan, but I have to admit that adding a bit of a Latakia to a bowl in cold weather is nice on occasion. Of course, at maybe two tins a year, I have enough to last me 20+ years!
 
My tastes change a lot also. I still enjoy latakia blends, but lately I have been indulging in burleys and some aromatics. Oriental tobaccos have started to bother me for some reason, so I've been staying away from them.
 
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