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Which tobacco builds cake thicker/faster?
HarryMamassian
Apprentice
in Tobacco Talk
I notice some pipes develop cake thicker and faster. It raised the question, is it the pipe or the tobacco. I believe cake is the result of the tobacco smoked. Any opinion as to which type of tobacco cakes a pipe more than other tobaccos?
Comments
Virginia tobacco is known for creating a cake in a pipe more than other tobaccos. This is because Virginia tobacco is naturally sweet and sticky, which helps it to adhere to the walls of the pipe. Additionally, Virginia tobacco is often cut into a ribbon or flake, which also helps it to cake more easily.
Other tobaccos that can cake a pipe well include:
Like @Montecristo said, Virginia tobacco will build cake.
That being said, the theory of you have to have about a dime's thickness of cake in the bowl is considered by many as being unnecessary.
I actually believe that having too much cake in a pipe contributes to ghosting. (There's a lot of pipe tobacco which will ghost a pipe including latakia, perique and blends with Lakeland essence).
Many old pipe smokers now believe the best thing for a new pipe is to smoke it and then wipe the bowl out with a twisted paper towels. This will leave just enough carbon to coat the bowl and as long as you wipe it out after each use, you'll be good.
These are my opinions, take them with a grain of salt, I don’t know my ass from a hole in the ground compared to real, dedicated, old school, pipe smokers.🙂
I use a twist of tissue paper (ok, I’ll say it, “shit tickets”) to wipe out the bowls of my meerschaum, clay, and kiseru’s (metal), pipes after every smoke.
P.S. Wait for a meerschaum to cool down all the way before “tissue-ing” the bowl.
Wally Frank's Old King Cole (Black Cavendish, Latakia, and a coating if Madeira Wine,) built a good, hard cake for me. Most likely due to the sugar in the wine