New Pipes with Which Tobacco?

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Milan

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How do you determine which tobacco to smoke with new pipes? I break all my pipes in with a Burley, but after a few smokes I pack it with another tobacco. Is there any reasoning behind it or is it just whatever you feel like? I have smoked one type and switched. This does create problems with flavor profiles, which is why I like to make a decision that each pipe will only smoke (in general) one type of tobacco. Are there any opinions on this?
 
i'm more curious to hear the folks out there than my own ideas. i've just had the notion today to start using my tablescraps, since nothing i smoke is usually too aromatic. tho it seems at some point i need to burn some sg balkan or balkan sasieni (something with latakia), to give a nice coat to the chamber.
 
People usually recommend burley blends for breaking in since they are said to build cake faster than other types. But the same goes for virginias. I tend to break in pipes with whatever I think I will smoke in them eventually. Nothing like a dedicated pipe that has ever seen but that one blend. However, as you will probably want to experiment with different blends anyway, it doesn't make that big a difference in the end. Finding a right coupling between a briar and a weed is, in my opinion, far more important than any puritan musings.

As for the cakes, they will develop one way or another and I am quite convinced that past the first dozen bowls the actual thickness plays very little role. It is, rather, the chemical composition of the briar (i.e. the amount of sap and residue it contains) and the treatment it has received from the maker, that determine how long a particular bowl will take to reach its optimum smoking quality.
 
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