Same Tobacco ... Same Pipe ... Different Results

ghostsofpompeii

When you find yourself experiencing "a good smoke"
it goes well beyond the simple act of stimulating your
taste buds, it also seems to stimulate mental clarity. During the solitude of a "good smoke" the
solution to a problem you've been ruminating over becomes
crystal clear as your level of concentrate becomes more laser focused. Sweeping away the cobwebs of distraction. But when you're lucky
enough to experience "the perfect
smoke" you not only transcend focus and mental clarity but also escalate the activity in your brain to a meditative state-of-mind where imagination takes root
and whisk you off to some far-off past, present, or future
destination. Students of the paranormal call it Astral
Projection while the well grounded realist would simply
suggest an exceptionally vivid daydream. But however
you parse it, experiencing "the perfect smoke"'
goes beyond the simple act of smoking - it's an activation of
the brain's reward system and a double-shot of dopamine. An event to be cherished, celebrated and repeated as often as possible. So on
the day you achieve that moment of smoking nirvana you have every
intention of duplicating the experience. At least that's your intention. But something goes terribly wrong - you repeat the pattern step-by-step ...
same tobacco ... same pipe ... but different results.

Disillusion sets in. What did I do wrong?

So you try
again ... and then eureka "the perfect smoke"
once more.

Now you're truly perplexed. "I didn't do anything different this time than the time before ... yet the results are different". 

Now mind you I follow the
same routine after each smoke ... I always clean my pipe immediately
after smoking, running both a dry pipe cleaner through the stem airway followed by one soaked
in Decatur 'Briar-Fresh Airway Cleaner' to insure the airway is
absolutely clean and fresh smelling, then finishing the process with another dry pipe cleaner to remove any excess 'Airway Cleaner'. I follow the same routine with the pipe after each smoke - first taking a paper
towel to absorb any moisture on the bottom, then swab out the bowl with
a Q-Tip dipped in 'Briar-Fresh Airway Cleaner' to keep it smelling fresh as well. I then
let the pipe rest several days between smokes. Same mundane routine for the
tobacco as well ... same tobacco stored in the same Mason Jar. Packing the pipe in the exact same manner. A repetitive routine a trained monkey could master and mimic in no time. Nothing is different yet there seems to be no consistency. I might
get four outstanding smokes in a row - two average ones - three
perfect smokes - an average one - five outstanding ones -
three mediocre in a row - then nirvana once more ...and so on. 

How do you go from attaining 'smoking nirvana' to a mediocre smoke
with the same tobacco and same pipe? 

Well I have a theory. A strange one ... but a theory none the
less.

The simple act of pipe smoking
promotes relaxation and a peaceful state of mind as I suggested at the beginning of this piece. But is it possible that the frame of mind you are in even before you put the match to the tobacco
plays a major factor in recreating the perfect smoking
experience? Could your mind be more receptive to attaining 'smoking
nirvana' more so on one day than another? Maybe the missing piece to complete "the puzzle of the perfect smoke" has as much to do with your mental state before lighting the pipe as the satisfaction you feel afterwards.   

Then again ... maybe the answer is so obvious only a fool like myself would overlook it. Something simple like what I had to eat or drink the day before might have dulled my taste buds. Who knows? As Freud once stated (and I'm paraphrasing here) "When trying to decipher dreams we may read too much into the symbolism - Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar."  

Anyone else have a similar experience? And if so what do you attribute it to - and how did you rectify it?               

ghostsofpompeii

Boy I wish there was an edit button - I don't know why this printed out the way it did. Makes it hard to follow the already convoluted theory I'm suggesting.

Philip

The secret is - don't think about it.

PappyJoe

Perfection cannot be defined or seen; it can only be found in your heart. - Kelly Miller

xDutchx

Some days are better than others, for a lot of activities. I know when it comes to hand eye coordination, some days I am "in the zone," and some days I am not even close. I think being in the zone during pipe smoking, has a lot to do with cadence. If I have had a stressful day, it is harder to smoke slowly, without deliberate focus.

Back when I was a Tig Welder building things for the military, I needed to produce consistent quality that could pass x-ray. Some days, high quality came much easier than others. I think most of what we are talking about here, comes down to mental clarity on a given day.

Wolf41035

Well I have to say back in October I purchased some Halloween blend called Sleepy Hollow from Strauss Tobacconist in Florence and didn't think much of it but yesterday it was cold and felt like October again so I pulled it out and tried it again, it changed and it was for the better!  I like the stuff and glad I got over 4 ounces.

PappyJoe

@wolf41035 - But Wolf, according to one of the other topics, aromatics don't get better with age!

xDutchx

Wolf41035, my guess is that your tobacco improved over time due to the decanting effect. When I pop a new tin, I never immediately smoke the tobacco. Over the course of 2 to 12 weeks, I will remove the lid for a few minutes, then place it back on the tin. Doing this over and over, exposes the tobacco to fresh air, and improves the flavor tremendously.

I had noticed years ago, that a particular blend seemed to just get better and better, the closer I got to the bottom of the tin. Now, I patiently simulate the same process, which allows me to get the most flavor out of the tin, by opening it over and over and exposing the tobacco to fresh air, same as I would when I am actually smoking it. Something about the tobacco sitting in an unopened tin for an extended time without fresh oxygen, seems to hide some of the complexity. You will often hear a pipe smoker say they opened a tin, smoked a bowl, and were not really impressed. Then months later they decide to smoke another bowl, and the tobacco is much more flavorful than they remembered.

Since I have several tins open I am already smoking, I like to think of it as simply opening a tin a few months early.

ghostsofpompeii

@xDutchx The science behind pipe smoking is a bit more layered and complicated than I first imagined. There is nothing better than waking up in the morning when you're 66 years old and learning something new.     

xDutchx

@ghostsofpompeii, I certainly agree with that statement. When I started viewing pipe smoking as a hobby, is when I really started to enjoy myself. There is so much history, so much to read about, and so much to learn, it can take years to be exposed to it all. The depth of the hobby, is the primary aspect what has kept my attention, and even though I smoke cigars, smoking pipes is so much more rewarding.

PappyJoe

@ghostsofpompeii - I was told once that as long as you keep learning your mind will never grow old.

@xdutchx - I love history. Every time I find an "estate" pipe I spend time researching the history of the pipe (not who smoked it, but when it was made, etc.) That's how I found out the Kirsten I have was made before 1950.

ghostsofpompeii

I find that a metal Falcon pipe seems to change the taste of any tobacco from the way it taste in either a cob or a briar.

pwkarch

Ghost: I find little things like humidity, temperature, very slight change in packing, and big things like wind and my mental state at the time of adding fire to my pipe make a huge difference. I can smoke a blend one day and be super happy regarding the experience only to attempt to replicate it the next day and be less than happy. I have also experience the reverse situation.

I believe greatly that our state of mind while we are doing almost anything greatly influences the outcome. I know if I am doing something that I dislike or consider a less than favorite chore that is how I perceive it and then later remember it. Conversely if I go into any activity or chore barring some unforeseen issue popping up, I enjoy the experience and have a favorable memory of the time spent.

This carries over to my work. I can be involved in a large design project that I am enjoying because everything is coming together. As soon as revisions and changes are required by a client I immediately start to get frustrated because the average client has no clue how many sheets of drawings and how many details need to be revised. I get a frustrated feeling and that project forever in my mind was a negative experience. I can look back on such a project that may have ultimately turned out great yet still have a negative attitude toward the finished product.

In my years I have come to the conclusion that our minds and our mindsets greatly influence the outcome and memories of most of our experiences. I have no doubt this includes pipe and cigar smoking. So the next time you pick out a pipe to smoke, and a tobacco with which to fill it, smile and anticipate a wonderful experience to be had with a little fire. It is much easier to lower your expectations than it is to raise them.

Just my $0.02 from around the block.