Smoking Wood Without Getting Burned and Stone Without Getting High

by

The Barn

Is meerschaum better than briar for pipe smoking? This is a great question that has been the object of much debate over the years. Why would you select a Meerschaum pipe over that made of briar, corncob or other material? Let me give you a few things to ponder.

As far as your palate is concerned; meerschaum is the most neutral material that you can find to smoke your favorite pipe tobaccos. It adds no additional flavors or aromas to the mix. You couldn’t find a better pipe for someone who likes to smoke a lot of different types of tobaccos. Unlike briar, meerschaum is the only material to “adds nothing” to the smoking experience in terms of unwanted tastes and smells. Since meerschaum is much more porous than briar; it tends to provide a much cleaner tasting smoke. Tars and other smoking by-products created when smoking tobacco are absorbed into the porous walls of the meerschaum. This absorption causes a much smoother smoking experience.Solid meerschaum is a light-weight stone found only in Turkey. Its weight is noticeably lighter compared to a similarly sized briar pipe. The lighter material makes it ideal for those smokers who like to hang their pipe from their mouth. Pipe smoking is said to be very relaxing and having a lighter pipe eases back on the needed pressure from your jaw when smoking hands-free.The color of a meerschaum pipe arguable gets more beautiful over time as you smoke it. Basically, the natural white color of the meerschaum starts to darken over time and can become as brown as briar. As you smoke it the tobacco which is absorbed by the stone is drawn to the surface by the beeswax coating which colors the stone over time.Meerschaum may conduct heat better, making it little hotter to the touch, but at least there’s not concern about burning a hole in it like it’s briar counterparts. When smoking a briar pipe you need to build up a carbon “cake” lining along the bottom of your bowl to help protect the briar from burning over time. This lack of “cake” with meerschaum pipe smoking provides for a much purer smoking experience. You never have to worry about the flavor of your last tobacco mixing with the next one.Enjoying a fuller Virginia or an English blend and then switching to a lighter aromatic tobacco can become a little unpleasant when the taste of the stronger tobacco over powers the lighter due to the flavors trapped in the “cake”. This is one reason why many regular pipe smokers own more than one pipe allowing them to set aside different pipes for similar blends.I’m sure that we could passionately debate this some more, but this should at least give you a few things to ponder when comparing briar to meerschaum. At the end of the day, they both make a wonderful material for smoking your fine tobaccos. I’m confident that you can’t go wrong with either briar or meerschaum. I hope that you end up enjoying them both for different reasons.

Chad Meisinger has been enjoying his pipes and cigars around the globe for many years and owns several tobacco related businesses. For great briar

tobacco pipes

and

meerschaum pipes

feel free to visit http://www.tobacco-barn.com.

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Smoking Wood Without Getting Burned and Stone Without Getting High}