Palate Cleansing II

[Puff Daddy]

I've got to wonder if these things aren't what's leading to your low rate of true satisfaction with smoking (you mentioned a 15% bullseye rate in another thread). I mean, wouldn't the least reactive, least repetitive and least irritating thing you could do to your mouth while still maintaining a 'Normal' level of hygiene be the best for maintaining a naturally neutral taster for your tobacco? If you simply brushed 3 times a day with a mild baking soda toothpaste and flossed when needed, drinking plenty of clean fresh water during the day, you'd have your palates normal chemistry which would allow you to best taste the tobacco in a consistent manner. Seems all these measures would just confuse your palate and throw off it's natural chemistry, thus leading to an inconsistency in taste reception.

 

[alfredo_buscatti]

Nothing to add to my last post. Palate cleansing (brushing teeth ASAP after eating) and the cinnamon stick as a filler have vastly improved the reliability of my palate.

But now a phenomena, really the extension of a phenomena, has reared its head, and nothing works when I am in its grasp. That is, that while at times in the past all of my tobaccos tasted at about 20% of flavor for a few days, this time the drought lasted for 10 days. I kept smoking anyhow but that may be just prolonging the misery. regor says that when this happens to him, a 24 hour hiatus works.

Not smoking for 24 hours would be a small price to pay for ending the drought. I'm going to have to resort to this if future droughts last more than 3 days.

 

[alfredo_buscatti]

I just got a neti pot but don't know as yet what if any benefit its use provides. I'll keep all of you posted as I know how burning a desire so many of you have to use one

 

[alfredo_buscatti]

In search of that perfect bowl I have written most of the posts above.

But I come to think that there is no such thing as a perfect bowl, except by chance, and that I think the bowl perfect when the tobacco sings in accordance with my tongue’s perception of pitch. I come to think that I identify a certain taste as perfection, and that anything less is imperfect, and then most pipes do not satisfy.

But I think the perfect tastes that one derives from a bowl and a particular blend are varied, and that that is normal, and that is the perfection I’m going to get.

And thus even if I taste nothing, which I do from time to time, every bowl is perfect, every variation of the blend is good; and I and my pipe are happier for it

 

[Natch]

All references to swish/gargle (SG) a mixture of hydrogen peroxide and water are once each.

Arising SG. After eating SG. Before bed SG.

I've stopped using cloves as a way to keep my mouth sweet during the day and am now using cut stick cinnamon. It never irritates my mouth and works significantly better than a clove.

I'd say this method above works 70-90% better than just SG. It has especially helped my evening pipe.

I haven't tried the neti pot yet; I guess it will come in its time.

Before you try the neti pot, check out this YouTube, and watch the whole thing. :lol:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQm7YpxgOnA


Natch

 

[alfredo_buscatti]

I got the neti pot, used a half-dozen times without result.

 

[alfredo_buscatti]

I've got to wonder if these things aren't what's leading to your low rate of true satisfaction with smoking (you mentioned a 15% bullseye rate in another thread). I mean, wouldn't the least reactive, least repetitive and least irritating thing you could do to your mouth while still maintaining a 'Normal' level of hygiene be the best for maintaining a naturally neutral taster for your tobacco? If you simply brushed 3 times a day with a mild baking soda toothpaste and flossed when needed, drinking plenty of clean fresh water during the day, you'd have your palates normal chemistry which would allow you to best taste the tobacco in a consistent manner. Seems all these measures would just confuse your palate and throw off it's natural chemistry, thus leading to an inconsistency in taste reception.

Although no one that I know has tried my method of palate cleansing, I hereby confess that I have been in error for about five years in using it. PD's response, above, especially points up my error: "Seems all these measures would just confuse your palate and throw off it's natural chemistry, thus leading to an inconsistency in taste reception." I progressed from brushing my teeth to hydrogen peroxide rinses to sucking on cinnamon stick, and although I've kept the brushing and a brief period of using the cinnamon stick, I've entirely stopped the rinses. Sometimes I don't even brush before smoking, and although this suffices at times, and at other times I can tell that food residue has spoiled tobacco taste; I'm a firm believer in brushing. The cinnamon stick to a large degree gently nullifies toothpaste taste.

The result is that my pipes and cigars have never tasted so clearly flavorful. It's like I'm tasting tobacco with a 50% flavor improvement.

But this is not just due to a lessening of a palate cleansing regimen, that paradoxically actually occluded my taste receptors, but also a sharpening of my palate in general. Cigars that I thought had one flavor profile turn out to have different properties when I smoke them again after a six month hiatus. But of course some of this is due to aging. I start to be able to know when a particular cigar needs another 3-6 months before being sampled again.

I have been duped. I repent. I shall go on.

 

[Kyle Weiss]

As with coffee tasting, we use distilled water, sparkling water or even quality vodka. Before, during and after.

Some of this stuff just seems like way too much effort... even if you alter the chemistry a little bit in your mouth, just washing out any strong flavors with some water will make enough a difference, I think.

I know someone that makes parsley tea as a gargle. Bleh. :lol:

I wonder how much our mouth's natural state relieves us of tasting imperfection in certain blends because we've done such a thorough job cleaning the ol' taste buds. :lol: