21 decembrie 2006

Recomandari pentru un trabuc de Revelion



Iata ce mi-a recomandat prietenul nostru; Corin Chiriac, mare fumator (degustator) de havane si trabucuri, atunci cand i-am solicitat o sugestie pentru un trabuc de sfarsit de an.



"Din ce gasesti pe aici, mi-as lua un Trinidad Robusto Extra, pentru ca o sa fie intai si macar in ziua aia trebuie sa fim un pic excesivi. Sunt facute in manufactuura "El Laguito", acolo unde sunt facute si Cohiba, doar ca sunt varianta ceva mai putin tare.
Daca stii ca te impaci bine cu havanele, incearca un Cohiba Esplendido, sau un Robusto, daca Esplendido ti se pare prea mult. Eu cam pe la Robusto ma opresc in materie de havane. Vezi ca asta nu intra la categoria "usor", dar pe de alta parte, e unul dintre cele mai bune trabucuri din lume, cel putin asa e laudat.
Daca cautzi ceva din Republica Dominicana, trebuie sa incerci un Domaine Avo 10 sau un Zino Platinum.
Daca vrei un honduran cigar, ti-as sugera un Maria Mancini de Gaulle sau un Corona Classico, sau un Rocky Patel "Sun Grown"."

19 decembrie 2006

Atentie!!!


Nu uitati sa va aduceti pipele cu voi.....

Intalnirea de joi 21.12.2006



Va avea loc la :"La Victor", pe strada Siretului, la intersectie cu str. C-tin Bratescu (in spatele Tomis Mall). Va astept cu interes.

Ce vin alegem de sarbatori_

Valentin Ceafalau

In fiecare an, aroma sarbatorilor de iarna isi face simtita prezenta odata cu intrarea in luna decembrie. Imaginea meselor incarcate de bucate, a fetelor bonome si a paharelor pline, "cinstind" belsugul anului ce va veni, sunt elemente comune ale acestui anotimp.

Pe langa "porcarii", salate, torturi si prajituri, vinul are un loc de cinste in tot acest ritual, aproape sacru, al praznicelor hibernale. Majoritatea vinurilor sunt produse pentru a fi asociate cu preparatele culinare. Incercati sa tineti seama ca, de regula, stilul vinurilor dintr-o anumita regiune evolueaza astfel incat sa vina in completarea bucatariei din zona respectiva.

Pentru o asociere cat mai buna a vinului cu preparatele de sarbatori, este necesara o analiza a elementelor de baza ale gustului, pentru a se ajunge la un echilibru vin-mancare, asa incat nici unul dintre aceste elemente sa nu-l domine pe cealalt.

Un prim criteriu al asocierii il reprezinta "greutatea" vinului si a preparatului. Astfel, o mancare grasa din carne de porc, traditionalele sarmale sau preparatele de vanat necesita un Cabernet Sauvignon, corpolent, taninos, care sa poate face fata grasimilor in abundenta ale preparatului. Taninii din vin reactioneaza cu proteinele din mancare. Astfel, carnea rosie inmoaie efectul taninilor pe palatin.

Unele vinuri albe, complexe (Feteasca Regala) pot fi parteneri mai buni pentru preparatele mai usoare din carne decat vinurile rosii. Pentru mancarurile mai condimentate (carnati, toba), un vin din Gewurtztraminer este partenerul ideal. Preparatele afumate merg foarte bine cu vinuri maturate in baricuri de stejar.

Mancarurile delicate, usoare din carne alba sau peste trebuie sa fie insotite cu vinuri catifelate, recomandate fiind atat cele albe, cat si cele rosii.

Pentru o asociere reusita, trebuie analizata combinatia dintre gust, aciditate si tanini, impreuna cu fructuozitatea si caracteristicile aromelor din vin. De multe ori, un vin sec poate fi perceput ca acru daca este servit alaturi de un preparat dulce. Vinurile ceva mai dulci, cu o aciditate ridicata, se potrivesc cu succes alaturi de mancarurile uleioase. Greutatea vinului si a preparatului sunt similare, iar aciditatea din vin poate tine piept grasimilor din mancare.

Vinurile seci cu o aciditate ridicata (Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Grigio) se potrivesc cu preparate mai acre (salate).

Pentru deserturi sunt ideale vinurile demidulci sau dulci, cu caracter floral si arome primare din struguri. Un Muscat Ottonel sau o Tamaioasa pot fi consumate foarte bine alaturi de desertul de la sfarsitul mesei de Revelion. Vinurile licoroase merg foarte bine cu prajiturile cu crema din unt, oua, cacao.



articol de pe www.vinul.ro

16 decembrie 2006

Adrian Cinta, cel mai proaspat membru al clubului.

De curand, s-a alaturat noua, Domnul Adrian Cinta din Bucuresti. Alaturat atasez emailurile schimbate cu dumnealui:

Stefan Dinescu-Craciun:
Sunteti fumator de pipa sau trabuc? Daca da, de cati ani si daca fumati pipa, cate pipe detineti, ce tutunuri preferati...detaliati. Eu fumez pipa zilnic si trabuc ocazional, fumez pipa de 7 ani, deocamdata am 15 pipe si lucrez la un dulapior din stejar pentru pipe si tutunuri (cand va fi gata voi posta fotografiile pe www.pipaclub.co.nr), prefer tutunuri medii ca tarie, nu foarte aromate si ocazional tutunuri englezesti gen Penzance. Lunar fac comanda de tutunuri prin internet.


Adrian Cinta:
Am fumat pipa si inainte de 89, am incercat chiar Matelot, dar m-am apucat datorita tutunului Amphora care se mai gasea prin 84, 85. Din 90 fumez numai pipa, si prefer tutunurile full aroma. M-am fixat pe Captain Black, dar imi place sa mai incerc .
Deci cu peste 16 ani de pipa sunt un veteran. Nu fumez deloc tigari si daca o sa imi spuneti care este deosebirea dintre o pipa si o tigara promit ca o sa incep sa imi fac o colectie de pipe.
Toate cele bune


Stefan Dinescu-Craciun:
Accept provocarea :)
Teoria mea in ceea ce priveste comparatia dintre pipa si tigara este urmatoarea:

Fumatul tutunului este o arta, exact ca arta de a iubi. Cand fumezi, toate simturile ti se ascut si devin receptive la arome, gust, miros, parfum si nuante, exact ca atunci cand faci dragoste. Aici apare diferenta.
Cand fumezi o tigara, o tratezi ca pe o femeie usoara; o scuturi de scrumiera, o lasi infipta sa arda sigura iar la sfarsit ori o arunci pe jos si o calci cu piciorul ori o apesi in scrumiera pana se stinge.
Cu pipa lucrurile stau altfel; Ai grija cum asezi tutunul in ea, o apronzi grijului ca sa nu ii arzi rama, ai grija sa pufai din ea ponderat ca sa nu se incinga si sa arda, o lasi deoparte sa se raceasca, o reaprinzi, iar la sfarsit o cureti cu delicatete cu companionul si cu periutele si o lasi deoparte cel putin o zi; Putem compara pipa cu rfemeia iubita, pe care nu te grabesti sa o iubesti, o iei domol, fara graba....se poate spune chiar ca incarcarea pipei este un fel de preludiu, iar curatarea ei un fel de postludiu ceea ce nu exista atunci cand ai de a face cu o tigara (femeia usoara).

Diferita este si durata acestei placeri; daca o tigara se termina in maximum 5 minute, o pipa poate fi fumata fara intrerupere cel putin o ora.

Spre deosebire de femei, la pipe, este recomandabil sa faci o colectie, (bigamismul fiind si ilegal si imoral),sa le fumezi pe rand. Apar pipe preferate, pipe pe care le dedici exclusiv unui fel de tutun pentru a nu-i schimba gustul, pipe pe care le ai doar pentru ca arata bine dar niciodata pipe care sunt urate si nu te atrag.
Ca si in cazul unei femei, atunci cand cumperi o pipa, dupa alegerea modelului (dreapta pentru timpul zilei cand esti activ, si din ce in ce mai curbata pentru seara cand vrei sa savurezi tutunul preferat in fotoliu, alaturi de un pahar cu coniac), urmeaza alegerea pipei din suocul disponibil, moment in care soliciti pipele din modelul ales si ramai cu cea a carei fibra te-a atras mai mult. (Din pacate, la femei, trebuie ca si tu sa ii fi pe plac ei.)
O alta diferenta intre pipe si femei este diferenta de pret. Daca o femeie usoara costa putin si ofera putin, o pipa scumpa, costa mult si dureaza mult, impresioneaza prin calitati si te face mandreu ca te insoteste la restaurant sau la o intalnire importanta, exact ca sotia cre te costa toata viata. In cazul amandorura, investitia merita.

13 decembrie 2006

invechirea tutunurilor

articol preluat de pe www.pt-magazine.com

Aging Tobaccos

What types of tobaccos most improve, what methods work best, and what really happens when you age your tobaccos

by Tad Gage

Buying pipe tobacco with the specific intent to set aside a certain number of tins to be consumed at a future date is a relatively new phenomenon. Even purchasing old, unopened tins of tobacco with the idea not only of smoking a blend no longer created, but experiencing the changes that have occurred to it, is fairly recent.

It might have started with Robert Rex of the venerated Druquer & Sons Tobacco Shop in Berkeley, Calif. In the late 1970s, Rex was setting aside new tins of tobacco, letting them age five years, and then selling them as five-year matured blends (at a premium price), recalled tobacco blender Greg Pease, who worked in the shop.

However and whenever the practice of aging tobacco actually began, many tobaccophiles have discovered the benefits of setting aside newly purchased pipe tobacco for several years. Additionally, the fact that numerous old tins of unopened tobacco have survived for several decades has enabled pipe smokers to sample the effect that extreme aging has on tobacco.

I consider this article the third in a series begun in 1999, when Pipes and tobaccos Editor Chuck Stanion authored two excellent articles: the first detailing the extensive chemical and biological changes that occur when processing tobacco leaf and readying it for blending, and the second on the whys and wherefores of building a stockpile of tobaccos for the purpose of aging.

I highly recommend that you track down these two articles to get additional detail. The article on tobacco processing was in the Winter 1999 issue, which is unfortunately sold out. The cellaring article in the Spring 1999 issue is still available. I’ll summarize a few salient points from these articles so you don’t have to go digging for them right this minute.

After an appropriate aging period of eight years between Stanion’s articles and this one, we’re as ready as we’ll ever be to delve into the final aspect of the evolutionary tobacco aging process—what happens to pipe tobacco blends in the months and years after they’re blended, and bagged or tinned. The experiment with how tobaccos age, and Joe Harb’s and my sampling of these blends, provides the perfect setup. I might add that this aging experiment, which showed amazing foresight on the part of Pipes and tobaccos magazine, has changed the way I’ll age my pipe tobaccos. I outline this at the end of my article. You can teach an old dog new tricks if that old dog is willing to learn.

This article doesn’t examine the effects of aging on cased (flavored) aromatic tobacco or black Cavendish tobaccos. If you have high-quality base tobaccos, such as Danish Virginia-based blends, they may undergo changes similar to unflavored Virginias. But it’s difficult to judge the effect of flavorings on the aging process, so I won’t go there. If you like particular aromatic blends, you should be able to store them successfully. I’ve noted that changes have occurred to old flavored blends such as Erinmore and Three Nuns, but it’s the base tobaccos that change, not the flavorings themselves.

The initial stages of processing tobaccos and preparing them for final use involve extensive chemical changes brought about by various combinations of heat, pressure, microbial action and environmental factors. In simple terms, the goal is to cure the tobacco to remove undesirable, bad-tasting compounds such as ammonia, convert bland starches into tasty sugars, and allow the leaf to mellow and ripen in flavor. I recommend the Winter 1999 Pipes and tobaccos article for a detailed explanation of this process.

Even after growers and processors are finished with the leaf, blenders may take the tobacco through additional steps before ever presenting their products to the public: aging, roasting, toasting, stoving, heating, pressing, slicing, dicing, spinning, rolling, twisting and even flavoring. Some of these processes, like pressing cured leaf into cakes under pressure, create dramatic changes. Other processes, as with Perique tobacco, which involve squishing the tobacco under incredible pressure, forcing out moisture and oils, then allowing it to be absorbed again and again, lead to a new and transformed product. And then there’s simply allowing tobaccos in bulk to rest for months or years in a warehouse before being turned into pipe tobacco blends, a process that fosters subtle but important changes.

However, once the tobacco is turned into a final blend (whether cut into ribbons and mixed, or sliced and left as a whole flake, or something in between), ready for sale, it takes an evolutionary right turn. It continues to mature and develop, albeit far more slowly than in the initial stages of processing. The new element in this branch of the evolutionary tree is that individual tobaccos have been brought together, much like a pair of individuals who marry. They continue to grow as individuals, yet they also grow and mature together. Each tobacco used in a blend may have begun life as an individual entity, but once blended into a final product, it becomes a team player.

“Aging pipe tobacco blends represents the final stage in a fascinating organic process that started the moment a leaf was harvested,” says Pease, who has earned acclaim for his GL Pease pipe tobacco blends and also his erudite discussions on tobaccos. “There are scientific explanations for what happens once a blend is created and starts to age, but in many ways it’s as much magic and mystery as it is science, because each blend ages in its own unique way.” He notes that there are so many variables involved that it would require extensive scientific research to explain. Personally, I like “magic.”

It’s entirely likely that even various vintages of the same blend will age differently, based on differences between the tobacco crops used from year to year. Although blenders strive for consistency from batch to batch and year to year, the base tobaccos used may vary in quality or character. Other variables also impact how quickly and well pipe tobacco ages, and I cover these later in the article. Pease notes that a basic rule of organic chemistry applies to the aging of pipe tobacco blends—each time a new variable is introduced, a chain reaction will take off in a different direction.

“If you were to age three tobacco components separately for several years, then combine them, you would have a very different tasting outcome than if you were to combine these components in the beginning and age them together for the same number of years under the same conditions,” he explains. “Organic reactions are continuous and build on each other. Based on a wide number of variables, these chain reactions can take an almost infinite variety of paths. Any time a new variable is introduced, whether it’s storage conditions, or the conditions under which the tobacco was first blended, or the specific leaf used, the potential exists for an entirely different direction that the organic reaction can take.”

None of the tobacco enthusiasts I’ve discussed this subject with are aware of any thorough scientific studies on the exact changes that can and do occur in pipe tobacco blends. That’s not likely to happen, either, since you’d need extensive numbers of controlled samples and about 10 years to complete the test. And it would probably be tough to find a research grant, anyway. “Informed conjecture” is the operative phrase when dealing with what happens as pipe tobacco ages.

The Winter 1999 Pipes and tobaccos article contains an excellent scientific explanation of what happens to tobacco as it ages: “‘Tobacco leaves have little hairlike structures on them, and these hairs produce certain gums containing terpenes—a class of chemical compound responsible for aroma, similar to beta carotene, pine pitch and menthol,’ explained Dr. David Danehower of the University of North Carolina. ‘These terpenes contain compounds called duvatrienediols, which contribute to the characteristic flavor and aroma of tobacco.’ The way duvatriendediols contribute is by breaking down as they age.”

There’s further discussion in the article of how various elements in pipe tobacco evolve, break down and combine, including the Maillard reaction. I could easily quote the entire article to give you more science, but let’s accept the premise that interesting and complex chemical and biological changes take place as tobacco ages, and that there is a scientific explanation for all of it. My focus is what you should expect as your tobacco ages, and what you can do to control or predict what’s going to happen.

My personal cellar contains tobaccos ranging from new purchases to tins that are at least 40 years old. I was turned onto the delights of aged tobaccos by the late pipe and tobacco dealer Barry Levin. His access to old tins owned by pipe collectors and stores gave him an unusual opportunity to purchase and sample long-aged pipe tobaccos. I worked with Levin to formulate some of his blends, especially Latakia blends, since he smoked and liked only Virginia tobaccos. Levin worked with McClelland Tobacco Company to turn his Personal Reserve Series into reality, and his excitement over the impact of aging was felt there as well.

“I was turned onto the idea of the effect of aging tobaccos in the tin by Barry, who used to send me old tins and tell me to check out what had happened to the tobacco over the years,” says Mike McNiel of McClelland Tobacco Company. “He was so excited about this, and when I tried these blends, it was an eye-opener. They had developed, matured, changed.”

McNiel, who intimately knows the business of buying and creating tobacco from the ground up (literally), was already familiar with the impact that curing, processing and aging has on tobaccos before they’re tinned or otherwise packaged. He noted the concept of further aging tobaccos in the tin added a new dimension to the company’s approach to producing pipe tobacco blends.

“Very few, if any, [pipe tobacco] manufacturers or blenders throughout history have been concerned with what happened to their tobaccos after tinning,” McNiel explains. “The product was created to be consumed and enjoyed immediately.”

And the best blends were, I’m sure, simply fabulous right out of the tin. Over the years, I’ve talked with enough “old pros” who were able to purchase and smoke classic blends like Balkan Sobranie 759, Baby’s Bottom, John Cotton’s Smyrna, Scottish-made Three Nuns, old Capstan, Lane’s Crown Achievement from the 1960s and many more when they were still being manufactured.

It takes a considerable amount of money and space for a manufacturer to hold tinned tobaccos for future sale. Most can’t or won’t make that investment. McClelland, never shy about raising the bar, has made that commitment.

The Magic of Three

McClelland is one of the few manufacturers to date-stamp its tobacco tins, giving us the opportunity to know exactly when a blend was tinned. “We [Mike and Mary McNiel, owners of McClelland] have for many years let our tinned blends age for at least a year, and two years if we had enough supply,” says Mike. “We’ve been convinced of the positive effect of aging blended tobaccos. I wish we were able to age our bulk tobaccos in the same way, but we need to move it to shops.” I have some ideas for successfully aging bulk tobaccos, which I’ll share later.

McNiel notes that McClelland has been building inventory of its tinned blends and is now in the fortunate position to wait three years after tinning before releasing blends for sale. “Previously we haven’t had the inventory to hold blends back for more than two years,” he says. “Now we do, and I believe three years is a magic number for maturing tobacco in the tin.”

McNiel and I discussed the outcome of the experiment involving his blends, which underscored his belief that significant changes occur to many blends between the second and third year of cellaring. “I’m excited because this is something that has never been done before,” says McNiel. “I know of no manufacturer who has set aside tinned tobaccos for three years before selling them.”

If you take nothing else away from this article, it should be that if you buy tobaccos you like, with the intent to let them age, three years is a magic number. Good tobaccos should evolve (positively) with age, depending on how they’re stored. At worst, they won’t change significantly or deteriorate in flavor within three years. It appears that three years is long enough for any tobacco blend that is going to evolve to do so, although certain blends will evolve for decades. Yet three years isn’t so long that any blend will begin to decline in flavor or quality.

Tobacco can continue to change for at least 20 years, but as time passes, the changes become more subtle. Certain tobaccos may decline in flavor after 10 years. We’ll address that later. But consider that three years will be an optimum time for any fine blend you purchase to undergo any notable aging it is likely to undergo.

Greg Pease notes the positive difference that a minimum aging of three years can produce. He frankly admits that his own blend, Kensington, was not one of his personal favorites. His refined palate told him that this blend was missing something. However, after opening a three-year-old tin of Kensington (a mixture of Virginia, Oriental and Latakia tobaccos), he found the change he hoped for. “In the bowl, this stuff is remarkable. The time has transformed it into a truly wonderful, ripe, complex blend.

“The aroma … beneath the smoky campfire notes of the Latakia, provides delicate tones of lavender and basil, pronounced fruity aromas of apricot jam and fresh, ripe plums, and woody mid-tones that remind me just a bit of some exotic hardwoods like Padouk. I could spend hours just sniffing this stuff. I nearly did.” After three years, this was a much different blend that it was when it went into the tin.

Scientifically, Pease notes the Maillard reaction explained in the 1999 Pipes and tobaccos article: an interaction of aldehydes and amino acids to produce pyrazine, which is present in appealing aromas like roasting nuts and popping corn. Of course, there are many other odors that occur as a result of aging. Pease’s assessment of the positive changes his own blend underwent underscore how a few years of aging can affect pipe tobacco.

The Best Tobaccos and Blends for Aging

The best way to explain the effect of aging on various tobaccos is to describe a personal experience—one that’s similar to Pease’s in that the blend I discuss is also a mixture of Oriental, Virginia and Latakia tobaccos.

As I’ve developed this article, I’ve been smoking some Rattray’s 3 Noggins “Full” (a blend with more Latakia than plain 3 Noggins) that is at least 20 years old. It was given to me by my friend David Sahagian, who in true pipe-lover style gets more pleasure from giving a tin of rare and expensive tobacco to a friend than selling it. Like Pease’s tin of Kensington, the lid on the sealed tin of 3 Noggins was puffed out rather than flat or even slightly concave, as it was when the can was originally sold. Even a novice can easily see that something biological and/or chemical has taken place.

The ancient Rattray’s blend I’m smoking has, I’m sure, a very different character than when it was first sold. The Syrian Latakia has remained firm in flavor, but it has softened a bit. The Oriental tobaccos have developed a touch of sweetness and complexity. The Virginia tobaccos have matured, sweetened and shared their flavors with the Latakia and Oriental leaf. It is outstanding—different than the original creation, which I’m sure was delicious. I’m guessing the evolved tobacco is better than it was when tinned.

Although the tin was vacuum sealed to some degree, it had puffed up a bit, indicating there is, or had been, enough oxygen inside the tin to allow the activity of yeast, enzymes or bacteria. The living organisms inside had air, allowing them to consume residual amounts of cellulose (starch) in the tobacco and convert it to sugar, releasing carbon dioxide in the process and increasing the pressure inside the tin. That’s the most likely explanation for why certain tins of tobacco puff out over time.

Using the old Rattray’s tobacco as a springboard for further discussion, let’s review how aging tends to affect the major categories of tobacco used in pipe tobacco blends. The Spring 1999 issue of Pipes and tobaccos thoroughly discusses how dramatically the basic types of pipe tobacco leaf age, so I’ll make this a very brief summary.

P&T

O noua metoda de umplere a pipei

articol preluat de pe www.pt-magazine.com

Air Pocket Packing

A packing method emphasizing an open space at the bottom of the bowl

by Fred Hanna

The traditional methods of packing a bowl are tried and true, and quite acceptable of course. However, it may well be that we could benefit from an alternative. I have never been fully satisfied with the entire packing process and have often pondered the possibility of other methods. During the past few months, I have been experimenting with a different method of packing a bowl of tobacco. It flies in the face of our assumptions about what proper packing is supposed to be. This article is not intended to replace the traditional methods, only to offer an alternative. I recommend that you try this method on one of your pipes that doesn’t smoke so well. It could produce an improvement.

I am not referring to the interesting Frank method that many pipe smokers in Europe and America have been trying over the past year and a half. And I admit that when our German friend Achim Frank (www.pfeifenstudio-frank.de) described his method to me in Chicago back in 2004, he inspired me to rethink the entire enterprise of how we pack our tobacco chambers with our favorite flakes and blends. But I do not share Achim’s enthusiasm about the use of torch lighters on pipes.

Frankly, the Frank method was not satisfactory to me. Nonetheless, Achim Frank is a smart, outspoken and interesting guy, passionate about and highly dedicated to our hobby. I admire him for questioning the assumptions of a century-old tradition of bowl packing. He inspired me to analyze, examine and rethink all of my own assumptions about how a bowl should be packed. Eventually, an alternative dawned on me, one that is not only more efficient than other packing methods, but easier and faster, and may even add to the tobacco flavor and overall smoking experience. Of course, it is possible that a few folks have been doing this or something like it for years. If you are one of them, please let me know. But I do not know of anyone who packs their bowls in this fashion, and I wish someone had told me about it years ago.

I call this new technique the Air Pocket packing method. This method is unique, and different from all other packing methods that I know of, due to the simple fact that it is specifically designed and intended to leave an air pocket in the bottom of the bowl during the initial packing and lighting. In other words, after packing the bowl, there should not be any tobacco at the bottom of the bowl at all. Of course, the bottom does eventually become filled, but in a way that makes it burn a bit easier. At first glance, the Air Pocket seems counterintuitive and downright unnatural, but the more one uses it the more it seems like plain old common sense. The bowl can be packed quickly in this way, in just a few seconds. It consists of six easy steps. But do not use a tamper for this method of packing. The tamper comes back into play after the pipe is lit.

THE METHOD

STEP ONE: Grab a large portion of tobacco from your tin, bag or humidor. Get a good grip on it, squeezing it into a clump between your thumb and first three fingers. The clump should be large enough to fit tightly into the upper half of the bowl of your pipe. This step is the same whether with a Virginia flake or a ribbon-cut mixture. If it is a flake, you may need to fold the slices and roll them into a ball between your palms in order to keep the clump short in length, so that it does not extend into the bottom of the bowl. The clump can also be a rubbed-out flake if one prefers. No matter the cut, it all compresses into a clump when you squeeze it and shove it into the bowl.

STEP TWO: Shove the clump into the upper half of the bowl. Leave the lower half empty. Force the tobacco into the bowl, quite tightly, so that the upper half of the tobacco chamber is packed. Yes, I did say force it in there, but not so much that you are using excessive muscle. Place no tobacco in the bottom of the bowl! There should be no tobacco in the bottom half except for the few insignificant strands that fall to the bottom by happenstance during this step.

STEP THREE: A natural and spontaneous extension of step two—immediately after shoving, twist the remainder of the clump of tobacco into the bowl, screwing it in, so to speak, so that it goes in just a bit farther than it had been by shoving. You could combine the two steps by shoving and twisting at the same time, if you so choose. At no time should you press the center of the tobacco into the bowl. It should be placed as an entire clump. Make sure that the clump twists into the bowl deeply enough so that lighting the tobacco will not burn the rim of your pipe! If there is a bunch of tobacco sticking out the top, either you did not shove and twist it in far enough or your clump was too large. You can remove the excess or go ahead and push the entire clump down into the bowl using the flat of your thumbs, but like I said, avoid pressing the center of the tobacco.

STEP FOUR: Tidy up the top of the bowl as you would do so normally, joining wayward strands into the bulk of the tobacco, or removing them as necessary. Once again, if need be, push the clump down a bit with the flat

of your thumbs. Hopefully, a bit of space exists between the top of the fill and the top of the rim. The tobacco should now be tightly packed, very hard, and not springy or spongy at all, as in traditional methods. The packing part of the method is now complete.

STEP FIVE: Try out the draw. If it is difficult to draw air through the pipe, you have packed the bowl too tightly. If so, I recommend emptying the bowl and trying the process over again. The Air Pocket method obviously requires some practice, but it is well worth the effort. The draw should have just a bit of resistance. Do not attempt to smoke the bowl if the draw is so tight that you will have to use effort to puff. It just doesn’t work.

STEP SIX: Light only the center of the packed tobacco. But give it a good number of puffs to get it burning well. Once burning, the tobacco tends to stay lit quite well. Don’t worry about lighting only the center, as the tobacco will naturally burn outward toward the walls of the bowl. If you do a charring light, lightly and just barely tamp the burnt ashes of the first light. When you first tamp, you may be surprised at how hard the tobacco surface has become compared to other packing methods. From here on, do not attempt to press the tobacco down into the bowl at all.

THE PROCESS

You may be surprised at how easy the draw is when the Air Pocket method is properly done, in spite of the fact that the tobacco is so tightly packed. Not filling the bottom of the bowl is the secret to the easy draw in this method, as there is no tobacco in the bottom of the bowl to interfere with the draw. You may also be surprised at how well the tobacco stays lit, requiring few or no relights. You may notice an increase in the intensity of the flavor as well.

As the tobacco burns for a while you will find that at some point well into your smoke, your tamper will eventually move effortlessly right through the clump of tobacco, and the clump will collapse into the bottom half of the bowl. Once again, do not press the tobacco down with the tamper with any excess force, only lightly touch the tobacco here and there to keep it arranged and organized. It will now likely be in the form of a few clumps pressed together, and it will still be burning. The clump(s) will be mostly charred so that the continued burn will be easy and natural. There will also be a fair amount of ash mixed into the tobacco at this point, but as you might expect, this is not a problem. The tobacco now at the bottom will continue to burn well with few or no relights, to the bottom of the bowl. This makes it easy to cake the bottom of the bowl. The tobacco will remain quite tasty, and it will be quite an easy process as well. I have found that this method is far more conducive to leaving nothing but ash at the bottom of the bowl after your smoke is finished.

I may be wrong here, but to me and others, using this method makes the tobacco burn slightly cooler. It also seems to provide a more intense flavor right from the beginning, perhaps because the smoke itself is not filtered by the unburned, packed strands of tobacco that are usually placed at the bottom of the bowl in all the other packing methods that I know of, including the Frank method. I believe that the tobacco packed in the bottom of the bowl by traditional methods absorbs and dilutes the flavor of the tobacco that is burning at the top

of the bowl. As I see it, the Air Pocket method intensifies the flavor through the combination of the empty bottom air pocket, the easy draw, and tight packing at the top. It also seems to make the tobacco burn more evenly (eventually) and more completely, and requires fewer relights. But all of this is up for debate, of course, and your mileage, as the saying goes, may vary.

The key to this method is keeping the bottom half of the bowl free of tobacco until the clump collapses into the bottom during smoking. As far as I can see, the process of forming a cake is not changed by this method. But I should add that the clump of tobacco seems to be more likely to slide down to the bottom in an unsmoked pipe or in a pipe that otherwise has little or no cake. Because of this, it is better not to use this method on a brand-new pipe. On the other hand, if you find the clump to be sinking or sliding into the bottom of a caked bowl (without collapsing) as you smoke and tamp, it is probably because the clump was not thick enough. I should also mention that this method has been tried mostly in larger pipes and thus I am not sure how this method would work in a group 3 or smaller bowl.

It takes some practice to get the tightness of the pack correct. When packed too tightly, the entire smoking experience will be a miserable failure. A bit of trial and error reveals the proper degree of tightness of the pack.

For those who have never strayed from the traditional techniques, even being willing to try the air pocket takes some reorienting of one’s conceptualizing and envisioning the packing, lighting, burning and tasting of tobaccos. As for me, at this point, the Air Pocket method is now another way of enjoying great tobacco in a great pipe. P&T

12 decembrie 2006

intalnirea din 14.12.2006 (cum sa ajungeti la "La Victor")

Ordinea de zi:

1)Vom decide locul de intalnire (intre Millenium, Etiquette
si Victor),

2)facem targul de pipe (va rog sa va aduceti toate pipele, cele pe care doriti sa le schimbati sau vindeti si cele pe care nu doriti sa le dati)

3)votam eventualele modificari la regulamentul de ordine
interioara (data trecuta ati primit o copie, va rog s ava uitati pe ea si sa spuneti joi ce modificari ati aduce regulamentului. Deasemenea va rog sa va ganditi la o organigrama si la o fisa a postului pentru functiile respective)

4)votam sigla clubului din propunerile disponibile la
acea ora (Paul a spus ca vorbeste cu un arhitect iar pe Costin il rog sa ia legatura cu web designerul pt sigla)

Cam atat pentru data viitoare, va astept cu drag "La Victor" pe str. Siretului nr. 19 (intersectie cu str. C-tin Bratescu) in spatele Tomis Mall.

Cum puteti ajunge aici:
De pe B-dul Mamaia, coborati pe Str 1907 pana la barul Orangina si faceti dreapta inaintea barului (str. C-tin Bratescu), treceti de prima intersectie (cu str. General Manu) si la urmatoarea (cu str Siretului) pe colt gasiti "La Victor"

11 decembrie 2006

rezultatele concursului din 07.12.2006

Rezultatele concursului din 07.12.2006

locul prenumele timpul (minute)
1 Costin 49,44
2 Oleg 45,50
3 Cristi 45,38
4 Nicu 44,50
5 Catalin 42,56
6 Mihai 38,31
7 Ilie 34,48
8 Adi 30,38
9 Dan 30,12
10 Stefan 25,35

articol in Cuget Liber 9-10.12.2006

Pentrua vedea articolul despre Pipa Club Romania aparut in Cuget Liber Click aici.
Dati click pe Dialog cu cititorii (pagina 14) iconitza Adobe(fisier .pdf)
Deasemenea am pus articolul in format pdf si pe grup. (abunatii vor primi un email cu linkul)

09 decembrie 2006

Cuget Liber

In numarul de astazi al Cuget Liber, la pagina 14, apare articol despre Pipa Club Romania.

02 decembrie 2006

PIPOO inovatie germana

Atentie! Interzis traditionalistilor.
click aici pt informatii despre PIPOO























Se desurubeaza dopul tubului de aluminiu, se scoate odoza
cilindrica de tutun (1gr), se plaseaza in PIPOO, se aprinde si......esti "trendy". Asa ai ocazia sa fii privit de toata lumea din jur. Vei putea citi pe chipurile lor o privire stramba pe care se va putea citi cu usurinta:
"Ce are asta in gura? Ce a bagat in chestia aia? O fi tutun sau...!?"
cu siguranta e tutun! Sunt disponibile doze cu urmatoarele arome:
*cirese
*vanilie
*ciocolata
*neutru (natur)

O Pipoo costa intre 16 si 18,5 EUR (in functie de finisaj: standard, metalic sau perl-metalic).

Tutunul costa 2 EUR/tub de aluminiu cu 5 doze a 1gr.

Informatiile sunt preluate de pe un site german. Click aici pt a-l accesa.

01 decembrie 2006

intalnirrile de pe 7 si 14.12.2006

Astazi am facut rost de datele de contact ale fostilor membrii. Am luat deasemenea de la Cristi o copie a statutului, una a regulamentului de ordine interioara si propun ca data viitoare sa va dau copii ca la intalnirea de pe 14.12.2006 sa discutam eventuale modificari si sa facem targul de pipe despre care am vorbit.
La intalnirea de pe 7.12.2006 va avea loc concursul de fumat pipa. Cantitatea de tutun este 5 gr, tutunul va fi cumparat din cotizatiile date atunci (primele cotizatii) de la Ilie. Asa ca nu va uitati pipele.
Intalnirea va avea loc la Etiquette (Str. Mihai Viteazu nr. 52, de la b-dul Ferdinand, dupa Tomis Mall la aprox 100m pe partea stanga. Cei care nu se descurca sa dea bip la 0723/171691 si vin personal sa ii iau din statia de troleibuz de la Tomis Mall).
Tot azi am vorbit cu web designerul despre site. Costin a fost cel care a facilitat aceatsa intalnire si el a oferit si locul de intalnire (La taclale).
Va rog ca la intalnirea din data de 14 sa aduceti propunerile pt sigla pt ca avem nevoie de ea ca sa putem face promovarea.


Pe scurt:

7.12.2006 *ne intalnim la Etiquette (str.Mihai Viteazu nr 52)
*facem concurs de fumat (tutun cumparat de la Ilie, 3gr/pers)
*platim cotizatia
*primim copie a statutului si a regulamentului de ordine interioara pt eventuale modificari

14.12.2006 *ne intalnim la Victor (in spatele Tomis Mall)
*decidem locul de intalnire (intre Millenium, Etiquette si Victor)
*facem targul de pipe
*votam eventualele modificari la regulamentul de ordine interioara si la Statut
*votam sigla clubului din propunerile disponibile la acea ora

Cu mult respect si drag;
Stefan Dinescu-Craciun