Small chambers for Lat's????

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DustyRoundup

DustyRoundup

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I started off , a few months ago, reading that small diameter bowls , are good for Virginia's. I have found just that, as my "favorite " pipe to smoke Va's is my little Pete 317.

I never used that thought on other tobaccos until last night.
Ive been smoking Latakia's in my "Natch" pipe, which has a decent sized bowl. And recently Ive been sampling "G,H,and Sons, Bobs Chocolate Flake, in it.
But lats night, I dug out a little "Pony Cob" that I had used for Lat's, and sampled the Bobs Choc Flake again. Anbd I'll be darned, I actually "Really" enjoyed it for the first time.

So, Im thinkin, maybe, I need to smoke Lat's in small bowls,, and I'm going to pursue the idea.

Any thoughts from you Lat lovers, on the subject of bowl size ?
 
I have not found any difference with bowl size,but I tend to keep the same pipes for lats.Pipeman1947 :pirate: :pirate:
 
I smoke a lot of Lats, and I generally prefer wide, but not too deep bowls for most shag and ribbon cut blends. Lats seem to light and burn nice and easy, and I like a generously proportioned bowl to really enjoy them.
 
I usually use wider pot shaped bowls for lats , but I have one billiard that smokes great with lats too.
 
no rule of thumb for any tobacco type.

I once owned a prince I assigned my Escudo pipe. It was a great size and smoker for Escudo. But it was just a silly rule that felt intuitive. Something about the color of the pipe and how it looked next to the tin. More of those little things, too. They looked like they were meant to be together. That pipe was a borderline great smoker, and I could've smoked hay and enjoyed it. I consider it a series of missed opportunities that I didn't smoke many other tobaccos with that pipe. Silly ideas. I get them. As I get older, I get better at ignoring them.
 
Being from "the old school" which usually smoked many fewer types of tobacco than today's younger smokers, we smoked EVERYTHING in whatever shaped and sized pipe we had. You learned that one shape seemd to "like" a particular style of 'bac more than another, but for me, It mostly was what "size and shape" do i feel like ? Being a Balkan/English dominant smoker for over 40 years, my experience has been that taller, narrow dia bowls generally concentrate and "intensify" the pungency of Lat/Oriental blends and when smoked in shorter, wider more "open bowls the flavor seems to "spread out" and get a fuller less pungent flavor and aroma. I'm begining to really appreciate the subtle nuances of the blends/mixtures of all straight Virginia Flakes and it seems the "open up" and really sing in my shorter/wider bowled Pots. I really like how my Balkan/Oriental/Lat blends/mixture taste in my Bulldogs and the few Apples I have. But I am not a "slave" to "one shape/size" for one type of 'bac. I'll still smoke most anything I have 'baccy wise in any shape /size pipe I have :p Guess I'm not as "discerning" or as much a "connesuer" as some here , I just smoke a pipe! JMHO :p
 
I prefer a pot shape for Latakia blends personally. To me, the wider chamber brings out the full bodied flavor of a good English Blend. For those that tend to dismiss the argument that different sized and shaped pipes smoke different types of tobaccos better than others, Neill Archer Rowan has a blog that gives a compelling argument that the shape and size of a bowl can indeed determine how a certain tobacco will smoke. Read it here: http://www.apassionforpipes.com/neills-blog/2010/10/28/finding-that-magic-fit-between-pipe-and-tobacco.html

-Scott
 
Greg outlines in his article one of the many conclusions I've come with the pipe: variables.

There's so many of them (variables) from smoker to smoker, pipe to pipe, and even tobacco to tobacco, hard and fast rules of tobacco chamber are a worthy area of thought for attempting to organize this hobby, but fails to be consistent. What if you like Latakia but want to tone down or change the flavor, or when that flavor comes to you? Well, as in Greg's article, you'd go to a narrow bowl, or one with a tapered bottom--which is something I do with Latakia. I enjoy really exploring the tastes and dynamics of Virginas and Virginia blends, and some mixtures of Burley and Virginia--therefore, a wider bowl is preferred by me. Well, what about draw? Material? The personality of each pipe (as Greg mentions)?

Funny enough, going through which pipe I tend to reach for with which tobacco, I have a variety of bowls for all tobaccos, none of which are exclusive. I like to recall the good times with each pipe, and remember what general leaf went well while smoking--I keep notes on each smoke for this reason. No one else is going to tell me what I like, after all.

The next guy could repeat my exact thoughts and theory on this and think I was devoid of any taste at all, and not know exactly which choice I made was out of whack for him.

Trial and error ensue once again, as they should: variables set in motion the personal (and somewhat isolated) road of pipes and tobacco for the traveler to find his own way.

8)
 
For me it's more in line with 'What tobacco just works with a particular pipe'. I often smoke different (not drastically though) blends in several of my pipes. Not that any one of them doesn't smoke well, it's just that some seem do better with certain blends/cuts.

Nothing against a Shag, Ribbon, Flake, etc. I have several different cuts in my cellar, and this doesn't always determine which Pipe I will use to smoke that particular blend.

I'm not sure if it's bowl size/shape, airflow, or what. But some of you Brothers know what I mean...
 
I'm smoking a Lat blend right now in a very, very narrow bowl and it's quite good. I also like smoking Lats in big, wide bowls. That's quite good too. Go figure.... :tongue:
 
I have never noticed any correlation between bowl size/shape and how a particular type of tobacco tastes. I have, on the other hand, noticed that certain individual briars (regardless of size/shape) tend to like specific types of blend or even specific blends.

Personally, I've got big, medium and small pipes that really like latakia. The same goes for VA/Pers, burlies, what-have-you. When I get a new pipe, I just smoke different things in it until I found which matches it the best.


It sounds like to me like you have a pipe that, for whatever alchemical reason, makes this type of tobacco "sing" for you. So -- just dedicate your briar and enjoy it!
 
Good reads,WHEW! Thanks guys.
I guess I will just go with what works best for me.
and for now, that Bobs Choc Flake tastes pretty good in that Pony Cob.
and maybe its the material? it being a Cob. idk, but it might be worth trying a bigger Cob for Lats someday.
 
I find cobs to really mellow out, and at times conflict, with Lat mixtures. Might be the natural sweetness of the cob, it might have to do with the absorbency. I'm not sure. I found wonderful results in simpler blends, Burley, VAs, and cigar leaf mixtures, though. I'm sure a VaPer or two would do nicely, as might your Chocolate Flake.

8)
 
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