Recently I read an article in Pipes and Tobacco Magazine regarding a packing method called the "Air Pocket" method which was invented by pipe industry icon Fred Hanna. This method involves pushing a large bunch of tobacco into the pipe and twisting it in without having any tobacco lying at the bottom of the bowl. It sounds easy enough, so I thought I would try an experiment in just how much better this method actually is.
I started with a brand new pipe and a ribbon-cut blend of tobacco. I smoked a bowl using the standard three-level method then the next day I would smoke it using the new Air-Pocket method. What I noticed was that my smokes using the AP method lasted longer, seemed to have more flavor and required less tamping. The biggest difference I noticed was that the burn was much cooler. There was never a bite in a bowl packed with the AP but the bowls with the three-level could bite quite easily.
So far I have not tried using the AP on different cut blends like flakes, cubes, etc. but when I do I will be sure to report those findings here.
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
A Little Experiment: Air Pocket Packing
Recently I read an article in Pipes and Tobacco Magazine regarding a packing method called the "Air Pocket" method which was invented by pipe industry icon Fred Hanna. This method involves pushing a large bunch of tobacco into the pipe and twisting it in without having any tobacco lying at the bottom of the bowl. It sounds easy enough, so I thought I would try an experiment in just how much better this method actually is.
I started with a brand new pipe and a ribbon-cut blend of tobacco. I smoked a bowl using the standard three-level method then the next day I would smoke it using the new Air-Pocket method. What I noticed was that my smokes using the AP method lasted longer, seemed to have more flavor and required less tamping. The biggest difference I noticed was that the burn was much cooler. There was never a bite in a bowl packed with the AP but the bowls with the three-level could bite quite easily.
So far I have not tried using the AP on different cut blends like flakes, cubes, etc. but when I do I will be sure to report those findings here.
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Very nice blog,with very interesting and useful links, thank you. You have good taste in tobaccos :-)
ReplyDeleteTrying the APP seems to work, not sure about the qualitative difference yet though