Too Much

I wanted my wife's reaction to my post from yesterday before I got started on my post for this morning.  She wanted more humor, but she liked it, so I thought I would just have some fun with this for today.  Today's topic is simply about nicotine in tobacco, because it seems that when I find a tobacco I like after a few bowls, I need more time with it.  I've found two tobaccos I liked, but no longer.  I spent a lot more time with Autumn Evening and thought I really liked it.  But I quit ordering Autumn Evening for the same reason I'll never order more Hainted Bookshop.  Both have a high nicotine content.  Nicotine makes me sick to my stomach.  Literally.  I like Haunted Bookshop just enough to smoke only small bowls of it.  

I then decided to blend Haunted Bookshop with something else.  Once in a great while I'll find something I like, but find it doesn't like me.  Maybe if I had smoked cigarettes more it might not bother me too much, but I've found that anything that smells like cigarette tobacco is not my cup of tea, so to speak. 

I've had pipe tobacco that is used for rolling your own, like Good Stuff, Gambler, and Super Value, and liked all of them, but there are English and at least one Aromatic that I liked at first, but found the nicotine didn't like me.  I like Burley tobacco, but I'm not sure why some affects me and some don't.  I liked all the tobaccos I mentioned, but I've found two I have really liked, but don't like me.  

I'm super sensitive to too much nicotine.  All tobacco has some, but some blends have more than others.  I always read reviews, because almost always there will be someone like me that is more sensitive to too much nicotine.  And if a review mentions nicotine content I will not order it, even in a one or two ounce quantity.  And if I'm not sure I'll order an ounce just to try it.

I had some Super Value tobacco, and I put just a bit of Captain Black Original with it, which are both Aromatics.  I questioned the wisdom of blending Haunted Bookshop with it, but know there are English Aromatics, but they're not easily found.  I wondered if it would work, but it's all I had for blending.  It was about half and half.  I blended them and smoked a bowl and was pleasantly surprised.  I've liked most everything I have smoked, but once in a great while something doesn't like me.    

It's like that with most anything that is  a drug-like substance.  I like Cabernet for example, but I can't drink too much of it.  I've had whiskey, but limit myself to one shot.  But it seems I can't smoke a whole bowl of heavy nicotine tobacco and not feel sick, if a tobacco has too much of it.  I think this is how my Spirit Guides protect me from too much of something that others can handle quite well.  Once this blend is gone, I'll never have it again.  The Haunted Bookshop flavor is there, but without the Nicotine hit.

I've learned to be careful when sampling most any tobacco.  If it likes me, generally speaking, I will like it.  Old Professor is one tobacco of which I ordered eight ounces with the first order without first trying it.  This is where belonging to a pipe club can be of value.  Everyone brings something for others to try.  This is how I learned about tobaccos, but in my case, I frequented a pipe shop where I knew the tobacconist and simply spent a lot of time sampling different blends.  This is how I've had the best.  

So, no more Haunted Bookshop for me, unless I blend it with something else.  I've found plenty of tobaccos I want to sample and I'll order five or six samples with a major order of something I know I like.  But it took quite a few bowls of Haunted Bookshop to know.  Now I have a blend that includes it.  And I like this blend very much.  I've learned over the years.  Very few blends affect me, but if I know that one does, it's often quite unfortunate because I liked it.  I'll just call this blend Dave's Special, because it is half Aromatic and about half English. Today it is my Stanwell pipe with Dave's Special Blend.  My coffee this morning is Blue Bottle.  Thank you for your time and Peace to each one of you.

Dave