TOBACCO

TOPIC-TOBACCO

Tobacco is an agricultural product processed from the fresh leaves of plants in the genus Nicotiana which may be used, commonly after aging and processing in various ways for the purpose of smoking, chewing, snuffing and extraction of nicotine. Nicotine and related alkaloids of tobacco furnish the habit forming and narcotic effects which account for general worldwide use.

History: Tobacco was first cultivated by the Indians of North and South America when Christopher Columbus and other early explorers arrived in America; they found natives using tobacco much in the same manner as it is used today. As per Indians it was supposed to possess medicinal properties. Jean Nicot the French ambassador at Lisbon, in whose honour the genus Nicotiana was named, is said to have sent seed of Nicotiana tobaccum to the queen of France, Catherine de Medicis. From Europe tobacco was taken largely by Portuguese and Spanish sailors, to the furthest comers of the known world.

Cultivation: TABOCCO is a plant that grows in warm, even climate on light, well drained, carefully fertilized soils that receive weekly moisture from rain or irrigation, whose leaves and seeds are used for the production of cigarettes, cigars. Tobacco plant are about 6-8 inch high, they are transplanted carefully into fully fertilized and well-drained soil. Tobacco is an annual plant which flourishes in counties with tropical and semi-tropical and climate conditions. It is grown in India, china Zaire, Brazil, Russia, America, Cuba, Sumatra Jamaica and Philippine. It contains nicotine. The United States in their original home in the USA, tobacco leaves acquire characteristics that are accepted inter-nationally and are popular. The time span from planning to shipment is about two year.

There are four phases in manufacturing process:

1.      Planting                     

2.      Harvesting

3.      Curing

4.      Manufacture

Harvesting

 Tobacco is harvested from 70-130 days after transplanting by one of the two methods.

·         The entire plant is cut with the stalk split or speared and hung on a tobacco stick

·         The leaves are removed at intervals as they mature “Primed”. Primed leaves are supported on strings, wires or sticks.

                        

Curing

       Curing is a process of drying leaves. This process improves flavor and aroma of tobacco leaves. Curing and subsequent aging allow for the slow oxidation and degradation of carotenoids in tobacco leaf. This produces certain compounds in the tobacco leaves, and gives a sweet hay, tea, rose oil, or fruity aromatic flavor that contributes to the "smoothness" of the smoke. Starch is converted to sugar, which glycates protein (millard reaction), and is oxidized  into advanced glycation end products (AGEs), a caramelization process that also adds flavor. Inhalation of these AGEs in tobacco smoke contributes to atherosclerosis and cancer. Levels of AGE’s are dependent on the curing method used.

Tobacco can be cured through four common methods:

•            Air cured tobacco is hung in well-ventilated barns and allowed to dry over a period of four to eight weeks. Air-cured tobacco is low in sugar, which gives the tobacco smoke a light, mild flavor, and high in nicotine. Cigar and burley tobaccos are air cured.

•            Fire cured tobacco is hung in large barns where fires of hardwoods are kept on continuous or intermittent low smoulder and takes between 3 days to 10 weeks depending on the process and tobacco. The smoke gives the tobacco its distinctive flavor and aroma. Fire curing produces a tobacco low in sugar and high in nicotine. Pipe tobacco, chewing tobacco, and snuff are fire cured. Before inserting the leaves in cigars and cigarettes etc. lined leaves are fermented by storing them for 6 weeks to 2 years at about 15 percent moisture and 80 - 110 degree F (27 – 43 degree C)

•            Flue cured tobacco was originally strung onto tobacco sticks, which were hung from tier-poles in curing barns (Aus: kilns, also traditionally called Oasts). These barns have flues run from externally-fed fire boxes, heat-curing the tobacco without exposing it to smoke, slowly raising the temperature over the course of the curing. The process generally takes about a week. This method produces cigarette tobacco that is high in sugar and has medium to high levels of nicotine.

•            Sun-cured tobacco dries uncovered in the sun. This method is used in Turkey, Greece and other Mediterranean countries to produce oriental tobacco. Sun-cured tobacco is low in sugar and nicotine and is used in cigarettes.

Method used depends on type of tobacco, intended use and local customs.

Grading

 After curing, the leaf may be piled in a bulk for a time to mature before it is prepared for sale. Type of leaf and local custom determine the fineness of grading. Leaf may be graded on the basis of leaf position on the plant, colour, size, maturity; soundness and other quality elements.

Processing

After purchase and any necessary re-grading, many large leaf tobaccos are re-dried - dried then given back the exact amount of moisture needed for aging before being packed in cases or hogsheads. The first stage in turning leaf into tobacco is to remove midrib and crush into leaves.

Varieties of Tobacco:

•            Latakia: It is a strong and spicy variety of tobacco made from plants grown in Northern Cyria, Cyprus and other Eastern countries. This is smoke cured by the fire of the Asiatic oak, which turns it into a dark shade. Sometimes cow dung or camel dung is used as fuel forthe fire. Therefore it has a rich and heavy taste with aroma having smoky characteristic. Latakia is an important ingredient for many English mixtures like e.g.
Dunhill 965
Early Morning
Red Rapperee
Black Mallory
However the percentage should not exceed from 40-50% as excess use would tend to make it dry and harsh. 

•            Perique: It is a red burley type of tobacco grown and processed in Louisiana, New Orleans. This variety is used to increase the strength of pipe mixture. It is blended with Virginia generally e.g. Dunhill Elizabethan Mixture.

•            Pipe Tobacco: Virginia is the most popular type used in pipe tobacco. As it is mild in nature and has highest level of sugar which gives a light taste after blending e.g. Dunhill, Rattray, Marlin Flake
The tobacco factory is magnificent and well ventilated building. The cured leaves are spread out on the floor in a lightly compressed mass; they are too dry for immediate use. Bundles of tobacco are separated and put in steam heated chambers in which the temperature is raised to anything between 120°F and 160°F. Then the stalks and midribs are removed by hand or machine. The stripped leaves are left in ordinary heaps for about 24 hours during which they become thoroughly impregnated with additional moisture which renders them supple and usable.
"The blending of various mixtures is in the hands of experts who know the exact proportion in which stronger tobaccos like Latakia and Perique should be blended with lighter tobacco.
When different brands have been made up, the leaves are placed in machine which compresses them in the form of a hard cake. They are then shredded finally or coarsely with knives or shredding machines. Any excess moisture is removed by panning or stoving, a different process which brings out aroma. After panning tobacco is spread out evenly on trays to enable it to cool down to the temperature of air following which tests are carried out to ensure that the moisture content does not exceed the legal limit 32%.
Most of today's popular pipe mixtures are composed almost entirely of Empire tobacco, the Rhodesian leaves being mainly flavoured.

•             Cigarette Tobacco: In the manufacture of cigarettes Virginian separately or in carefully blended mixtures. As in pipe tobacco, bundles from warehouses are received and stripped of midribs by machine or hands. The leaves then go to a machine which cuts them into fine shreds. Excessive moisture is removed from the tobacco and also the impurities. The tobacco is left for a day or two to mature following which it goes to a cigarette manufacturing machine. The papers for the cigarettes are unloaded from a disc and enter the machine and receive the tobacco flowing in a constant stream. Paper and tobacco move together. The paper is rolled round the tobacco and gummed at the end. The continuous tube of cigarette then runs beneath knives which cuts it into cigarettes of required lengths and stocks them neatly.
The cigarettes are not packed immediately but are left to dry for 24 hours. The machines used for packing are equally ingenious as those which make cigarettes. So human is this equipment that a carton or packet incompletely filled is automatically rejected. The tins if required for export are vacuum sealed.
Cigarettes making requires high degree of skill.

•            Burley: It is one of popular variety of tobacco, contains no sugar. Therefore it is dry and has full aroma. It easily absorbs flavorings and is used in many aromatic flavors. It bums slowly e.g. are

Blue Edge Worth

 Old English

 Half and Half

Danish Mcbaren

CIGAR

 Cigar is a tightly rolled bundle of dried and fermented tobacco. The word “cigar” comes from the Spanish word cigarro. Tobacco used  to make cigar is grown in Cuba, Brazil, Russia, USA, Mexico, Cameroon, and Philippines.

 Once the leaves are cured and aged properly, they are graded for use as filler, binder and wrapper based on their quality. At the time of grading the leaves are continually moistened and handled carefully to ensure each leaf is best used to its individual qualities.

Good quality cigars are handmade. Once rolled, the cigars are stored in wooden forms as they dry, in which their uncapped ends are cut to a uniform size. Now the cigar is a complete product that can be aged for years at a temp. of 70degree F.( 21 degree C) and 70 percent relative humidity.

Cigars are composed of three types of tobacco leaves, whose variations determine smoking and flavour characteristics: These are filler, binder, and wrappers.

•            Fillers: The filler is the inner core that forms the body and shape of the cigar.

 

Short Filler

The majority of a cigar is made up of fillers; wrapped-up bunches of leaves inside the wrapper. Fillers of various strengths are usually blended to produce desired cigar flavours. In the cigar industry this is referred to as a "blend". Many cigar manufacturers pride themselves in constructing the perfect blend(s) that will give the smoker the most enjoyment. The more oils present in the tobacco leaf, the stronger (less dry) the filler. Types range from the minimally flavoured “Volado” taken from the bottom of the plant, through the light-flavored “Seco” (dry) taken from the middle of the plant, to the strong “Ligero” from the upper leaves exposed to the most sunlight. Fatter cigars of larger gauge hold more filler, with greater potential to provide a full body and complex flavour. However, this effect can be diminished because of the generally poorer burn characteristics of thicker cigars (greater than 50 ring gauge), and the fact that these cigars burn cooler. This can prevent the full spectrum of flavours from being easily detectable. When used, “Ligero” is always folded into the middle of the filler because it burns slowly.

Fillers can be either long or short; long filler uses whole leaves and is of a better quality, while short filler, also called "mixed", uses chopped leaves, stems, and other bits. Recently some manufacturers have created what they term "medium filler" cigars. They use larger pieces of leaf than short filler without stems, and are of better quality than short filler cigars. Short filler cigars are easy to identify when smoked since they often burn hotter and tend to release bits of leaf into the smoker's mouth. Long filled cigars of high quality should burn evenly and consistently. Also available is filler called "sandwich" (sometimes "Cuban sandwich") which is a cigar made by rolling short leaf inside long outer leaf. If a cigar is completely constructed (filler, binder and wrapper) of tobacco from only one country, it is referred to in the cigar industry as a "puro" which in Spanish means "pure."

•            Binders: Binders are elastic leaves used to hold together the filler and constitute 10 percent of the cigar. Essentially, binders are wrappers that are rejected because of holes, blemishes, discoloration, or excess veins. The binder is the leaf in which the filler is wrapped to form what is known as cigar bunch.

Note: Filler and binder together are called Bunch.

•            Wrappers: A cigar's outer most leaves, or wrapper, come from the widest part of the plant. The whole leaf of finest quality is chosen as wrappers. The wrapper should have good aroma.  The wrapper determines much of the cigar's character and flavor, and as such its color is often used to describe the cigar as a whole. Over 100 wrapper shades are identified by manufacturers, but the seven most common classifications are as follows, from lightest to darkest: The wrapper or outer covering of cigar consists of a ribbon leaf rolled spirally around the cigar bunch.  Wrapper leaf must be strong, elastic and silky in texture and of even colour and it must possess good flavour and burning properties. It is the most expensive leaf used in cigars. Wrapper leaves, which receive the greatest care are fermented separately from other leaves to ensure that it is smooth, not too oily and has a subtle bouquet. These are tied on bundle of 40-50 leaves. Heat is generated in bulk which aids in fermentation.

Cigar Wrapper Colour Chart

Color	Description
Double Claro	(also called Candela) Very light, this wrapper is light green, achieved by picking leaves before maturity and drying quickly, the colour coming from retained green chlorophyll; formerly popular, now rare. Years ago, this wrapper was tremendously popular in the United States, and it was a point of amusement for Europeans.
Claro (CCC)	A light tan colour, most commonly achieved by growing in shade under cheesecloth tents, picking the plants early and air-drying the leaves. Flavor wise, these wrappers have little to offer, and allow the flavours of the filler tobaccos to dominate the taste of the cigar. very light tan or yellowish. Indicative of shade-grown tobacco.
Colorado Claro  (CC)	medium brown, includes Natural and English Market Selection
Colorado  (C)	The centre of the colour scale. These cigars are medium-brown to brownish-red and full flavoured, though soft and subtle in their aroma. These wrappers are often shade grown. Distinctive reddish-brown (also called Rosado or Corojo)
Colorado Maduro (CM)	darker brown; Darker than Colorado, lighter than Maduro in shade, this colour is often associated with African tobacco, such as wrappers from Cameroon, or with Havana seed tobacco grown in Honduras or Nicaragua.
Maduro  (M)	Very dark brown to almost black. Tobacco for Maduro wrappers is primarily grown in Connecticut, Mexico, Nicaragua and Brazil. These dark wrappers – which usually offer a sweeter taste – are usually created by leaving leaves on the plant longer and then curing them for longer periods, but there are some who take shortcuts and boil or “cook” leaves to create the dark shade.
Oscuro	This black-as-night wrapper shade is achieved by leaving the leaves on the plant as long as possible, by using only the leaves from the top of the plant, and by fermenting them for an especially long time. Most often Brazilian or Mexican in origin. Oscuro wrappers are often very rough, oily in appearance a result of the extra fermentation. This category is sometimes referred to as "black," "negro" or "double Maduro."

In general, dark wrappers add a touch of sweetness, while light ones add a hint of dryness to the taste.

After the selection of leaves that are to be used as filler, binder, and wrapper, a number of pieces of filler tobacco are arranged to produce the desired length, thickness and shape. The filler tobacco is skillfully rolled in the binder leaves. A wrapper of required characteristic is cut into proper shape and the whole leaf is rolled in such a way to ensure that the whole leaf runs either straight up or straight down.

Size and shape description:

There are countless cigar sizes in the market. The size of a cigar is measured in by two dimensions: its ring gauge and its length. The length is measured in inches. The girth is expressed in terms of its ring gauge in 1/64 of an inch. 

Banding and Packing: Modern packaging of cigar demands that band be placed on the cigar or printed on the protective covering which is usually cellophane. This preserves the natural humidostatic condition of the cigar.

 

Service of cigars

Cigars should be offered in their own boxes to allow the customer to choose his own; the type of cigar will be printed on the box. The customer having chosen the cigar he wishes the waiter should offer to remove the band. A cigar cutter or piercer should be used to cut the cigar. The waiter should then offer to light the cigar of customers.

Note: Cigar should be offered at the end of the meal with coffee. The cigars may be served either from trolley or humidors.  The server must ensure that the trolley is equipped with side plates, cigar cutter, match boxes and ashtrays.

·         Present the humidor from left side of the guest to select their choice.

·         Remove guest’s selection carefully, making sure your fingernails do not touch the wrapper of the cigar.

·         Check with the guest if the band of the cigar may be removed and what type of cut the guest prefers- V-cut or Straight.

·         Take the cigar to the sideboard to prepare as per the guest’s choice.

·         If the cigar is covered with the cellophane, tear the tube and remove the cigar by applying gentle pressure at the end of the cellophane tube. Place the cellophane wrapper in the pocket.

·         Apply the pressure just below the band and remove it.

·         Open the closed end of the cigar by making a desired cut with the help of an appropriate cigar cutter.

·         Present the cigar on a quarter plate from guests right hand side.

·         Assist the guest while cigar is lit. Light it gently, rotate the cigar in the flame to make sure that the end surface lights evenly. Cigar is lit with wooden matches or gas lighter, as petrol lighters spoils the flavour of the cigar by absorbing patrol flavour.

cigar cutter

Storage of Cigars

Cigar should be kept in a moist place and at even temperature. That's why it is best to keep cigars and cigarettes in a glass case with humidifier. The cigars remain best if stored in humidor. Humidor is a polished cedar wood box, cedar wood blends well with cigar and allows them to breathe also, it has unique quality of releasing moisture when needed and absorbing when not required in surrounding areas. The advantage of keeping cigar in cedar wood boxes is that mild fragrance of cedar wood mingles well with cigar. A pad containing silica gel is kept inside the humidor to maintain humidity by moisturizing air if it is too dry. A small hygrometer fixed to the box shows the humidity level in the box.  Remember not to place cigars near items which emanate its flavors or fragrance or absorb the flavor and fragrance of surrounding e.g. milk will pick up tobacco flavor and cheese will impregnate its mouldy flavor to cigar.

Note: The ideal temperature of storage of cigar is 15-18°C and a relative humidity required is 65-70%

humidifier

Brand Name:

     American  - Robert burns panatela, Corona, Invincible, Perfecto.

   Cuban - Bolivar, Cohiba, Punch, Romeo Y Julieta, Partagas.

   Dominican Republic – Ashton, Dunhill, La Corona, Devidoff, Oscar.

   Danish- Apostolate Grand Corona, Rothschild, Havana Henryclay, RoyalCoronation.

   Honduras - Aliados, Don Ramos, Don Tomas Excalibr.

   Cuban  - Bolivar(full flavor), Cohiba(medium to full flavor), Punch,  Romeo Y  Julieta.

CIGARETTE

The term cigarette, denoting a paper wrapped roll of finely cut tobacco is an adoption of the Spanish Cigaro. Its original meaning was little cigar, but usually cigarette is manufactured out of cured and finely shredded tobacco leaves, often combined with additives and then rolled into a cylindrical paper wrapper. Cigarettes are produced by a special kind of inferior kind of tobacco produced in and around Virginia branded as Virginia tobacco which is less fermented, less aromatic, flue cured, light coloured.  It is sometimes smoked with cigarette holder.

Manufacturing of cigarette:

Cigarettes are composed of three components---paper, tobacco blend and a butt that constitute tissue tube.

• Rolling paper to cover the tobacco, Tipping paper to cover the filter.

• Tobacco blend.

•   Filter made of 95% cellulose acetate.

•            Paper: The paper for holding the tobacco blend  may vary in porocity to control the burning rate of the cigarette and to stabilize the product ash.

The paper used in tipping the cigarette (forming the mouthpiece) and the surrounded filter stabilize mouthpiece from saliva and moderate the delivery of smoke with the presence of one or two rows of small laser-drilled air holes. The burn rate of the cigarette is regulated through the application of microcrystalline cellulose to the paper.

•            Tobacco Blend: The tobacco is carefully blended (tobacco grown in different regions of the country) to produce a well balanced tobacco blend, which is then filled into cigarette wrappers. The tobacco blend is mainly made from the leaves of flue cured bright leaf, burley tobacco. These leaves are selected, processed, and aged before they are blended. The processing of bright and burley tobaccos produces many by products such as tobacco dust and leaf stems. These by products are processed separately and added back into the cigarette blend without an apparent change in blends quality.

A predetermined combination of bright leaf, burley leaf, and oriental leaf is mixed with humectants such as propylene glycol or glycerol, as well as flavouring agents and enhancers. The leaf tobacco will then be shredded along with tobacco by products. A perfume like flavor called “topping”, is then blended into the tobacco mixture to improve the flavor and taste. Finally, the tobacco mixture is filled into the cigarette paper and then rolled into a cylindrical shape to form cigarette.

•            Butt: The residual part of the cigarette is commonly known as “cigarette butt” or “butt”. This consists of a tissue tube which holds a filter. The filter helps to collect impurities and to make it less harsh to inhale. It comproses about 30 percent of cigarette’s length.

Most cigarettes are produced in assembly lines massive machines from cutting tobacco into different cuts till packing them in boxes and cellophane all at one go. Cigarettes come in different length and tax excise depends on the size of the cigarette rather than the brand.

       Types of cigarette

Brand Name:

     GERMAN       -         Lord Filter Tip, Astor Filter Tip.

     AMERICAN -           Philip Morris King, Camel Regular, Kent Filter, L.M.Filter Marlboro.

     ENGLISH       -         Abdulla No.1, Benson & Hedges, Capstan, Black & White, Dunhill, 555.

     RUSSIAN      -          Black Russian, Turkish No.1.

     INDIAN         -          Gold Flake, Navy Cut, Four Square.

Service of Cigarettes

·         Take down the brand that the guest asked for, remove the cellophane wrapper.

·         Cigarettes should never be carried by hand to the guest but placed on B&B plate with match box.

·         The packet should be opened (pulling out a few cigarettes partially).

·         The waiter should stand by with a match or lighter to light the cigarette. Strike a match stick towards yourself and bring it close to the cigarette gently, keeping your distance from the guest.

·         It should be made sure that the ashtray is on the table. Ashtrays should never be allowed to collect too much ash; it is the waiter's duty to exchange them frequently for fresh ones.

These days, there is an important programme for the Hospitality Industry called "courtesy of choice" introduced all over the world in various hotels to accommodate in harmony those who smoke and those who don't smoke. The aim of the programme is to arrange areas such that there is minimal possibility of smoke drifting into non smoking areas. This has been achieved by ideally putting smoking areas near exhaust and non smoking areas near air supply. Thus programme is preserving traditions of hospitality and offers another value added service.

PIPE

Use: Smoking a pipe requires more apparatus and technique than cigarette or even cigar smoking. In addition to the pipe itself and matches or a lighter, smokers usually require a pipe tool for packing, adjusting, and emptying the tobacco in the bowl, and a regular supply of pipe cleaners.

Pipe-tobacco: Pipe tobacco can be purchased in several forms, which vary both in flavour (leading to many blends and opportunities for smokers to blend their own tobaccos) and in the physical shape and size to which the tobacco has been reduced. Most tobaccos resemble cigarette tobacco, but are substantially moister and are cut much more coarsely. Too finely cut tobacco does not allow enough air to flow through the pipe, and overly dry tobacco burns too quickly with little flavour. Pipe tobacco must be kept in a humidor or an airtight container to keep from drying out.
Some pipe tobaccos are cut into long narrow ribbons. Some are pressed into flat cakes which are cut up. Others are tightly wound into long ropes, and then sliced into discs. Flake tobacco (sliced cakes or ropes) may be prepared in several ways. Generally it is rubbed out with the fingers and palms until it is loose enough to pack. It can also be crumbled or simply folded and stuffed into a pipe. Some people also prefer to dice up very coarse tobaccos before using them, making them easier to pack.

Packing: In the most common method of packing, tobacco is added to the bowl of the pipe in several batches, each one pressed down until the mixture has a uniform density that optimizes airflow (something that is difficult to gauge without practice). This can be done with a finger or thumb, but if the tobacco needs to be repacked later, while it is burning, the tamper on a pipe tool is sometimes used. If it needs to be loosened, the reamer, or any similar long pin can be used. A traditional way of packing the pipe is to fill the bowl and then pack gently to about 1/3 full, fill again and pack slightly more firmly to about 2/3 full, and then pack more firmly still to the top.
An alternate packing technique called the “Frank method” involved lightly dropping tobacco in the pipe, after which a large plug is gingerly pushed into the bowl all at once.

Lighting: Matches, or even separately lit slivers of wood, are usually considered  preferable to lighters. Butane lighters especially made for pipes are made, which permit a flame to be directed downward into the bowl. Naphtha fuelled conventional lighters are felt to impart a chemical taste to the smoke.
When matches are employed they are allowed to burn for several seconds to allow the sulphur from the tip to carry away and the match to produce a full flame. The flame is then moved in circles above the pipe while the smoker draws the flame into the tobacco.

Burning-prevention: With care, a briar pipe can last a very long time without burning out. However, due to aggressive (hot) smoking, imperfections in the wood, or just bad luck, a hole can be burned in the tobacco chamber of the pipe. There are several methods used to help prevent a wood pipe from burning out. These generally involve pre-coating the chamber with carbon, or by gently smoking a new pipe to build up carbon deposits on the walls.
One method to prevent a wood pipe from burning is to make a 50/50 mix of honey or powdered sugar and water, then using one's finger to spread it around the inside of the bowl, and allowing this mixture to dry. After a few bowls, the mix will create a barrier that will be burn resistant.

Some pipe makers use a combination of natural sour cream, buttermilk, and activated charcoal. The sour cream and buttermilk are mixed to the consistency of milk, and the activated charcoal is added until dark grey. A pipe cleaner is pre-positioned with the tip just entering the chamber, to keep the draught hole cleared, and the tobacco chamber is coated evenly with the mixture and allowed to dry.
Another is to coat the inside of the pipe bowl with a paste made from fine cigar ash. This is allowed to dry overnight. This speeds the build-up of the desired bowl cake.
Many modern briar pipes are already pre-treated to resist burn, and if smoked correctly, the cake (a mixture of ash, unburned tobacco, oils, sugars, and other residue) will build up properly on its own. Or a more accepted technique is to alternate a half-bowl and a full-bowl the first several times the pipe is used to build an even cake. Burley is often recommended to help a new pipe build cake.

Smoking: Pipe smoke, like cigar smoke, is usually not inhaled. It is merely brought into the mouth and then released. It is normal to have to relight a pipe periodically. If it is smoked too slowly, this will happen more often. If it is smoked too quickly, it can produce excess moisture causing a gurgling sound in the pipe and an uncomfortable sensation on the tongue (referred to as "pipe tongue", or more commonly, "tongue-bite").
A pipe cleaner can be used to dry out the bowl and, wetted with alcohol, the inner channel. The bowl of the pipe can also become uncomfortably hot, depending on the material and the rate of smoking. For this reason clay pipes in particular are often held by the stem. Meerschaum pipes are held in a square of chamois leather, with gloves, or else by the stem in order to prevent uneven colouring of the material.
Cleaning: Ash and the last bits of unburned tobacco, known as dottle, must be cleaned out with a pipe tool. A pipe cleaner is then run through the airways of the stem and shank to remove any moisture, ash, and other residue before the pipe is allowed to dry. A pipe should be allowed to cool before removing the stem to avoid the possibility of warping it.
A cake of ash eventually develops inside the bowl. This is generally considered desirable for controlling overall heat. However, if it becomes too thick, it may expand faster than the bowl of the pipe itself when heated, cracking the bowl. Before reaching this point, it needs to be scraped down with a reamer. It is generally recommended to keep the cake at approximately the thickness of an U.S. dime (about 1/20th of an inch or 1.5 mm), though sometimes the cake is removed entirely as part of efforts to eliminate off flavours or aromas. Cake is considered undesirable in meerschaum pipes because it can easily crack the bowl and/or interfere with the mineral's natural porosity.

Sweetening: when tobacco is burned, oils are vaporized and condense on the walls of the bowl in the existing cake and the shank. Over time, these oils can oxidize and turn rancid, causing the pipe to give a sour or bitter smoke. An effective measure called the Professor's Pipe-Sweetening Treatment involves filling the bowl with kosher salt and carefully wetting it with strong spirits. It is important to not use iodized salt, as many experts feel the iodine and other additives impart an off flavour. Some people find that regularly wiping out the bowl with spirits is helpful in preventing souring.

Brand Name:

·         All Pipe Tobacco

·         Aces Alsbo Ashton Pipe

·          Tobacco Borkum

·          Riffcao Pipe

·          Tobacco Captain

·          Black Carter

·          Hallcherokee

·         Cheyenne Cornell 

·          Diehl Cross Dark

·          Davidoff Pipe 

·         Tobacco Dunhill Pipe

·          Tobacco Elkhorn Erinmore