Cigar Myths: Body = Strength

Body = Strength
 
Myth: The body and strength of a cigar are the same and/or related.
 
Truth: Body, in terms of flavor (taste+aroma) profile, does not necessarily correlate with the Strength of a cigar.  Strength refers to nicotine potency or the intensity of spice – two separate factors.  Body is a flavor descriptor which can refer to the depth, breadth, and richness of a tobacco (flavor).

So, a strong cigar can be medium bodied, while a full-bodied cigar can be mild or medium strength.  As an example, imagine that chicken has a mild body, while beef has a richer body, yet both can be spicy/strong, depending on how they are seasoned.

pH Balance & You

The balance between Acidity and Alkalinity effects our lives in innumerable ways; from the environment, soil, and our bodies, to the food we eat and liquids we drink.

  

“pH” is a measure of Acidity and Alkalinity [of a solution] on a scale where 7 is neutral; lower numbers are more Acid (down to 0), and higher numbers are more Alkaline (up to 14).

   

We learn in Tobacco & Taste Colleges that cigars are more Alkaline and cigarettes are more Acidic: this effects the consumption, nicotine absorption, and addictive differences between the two.

  

When it comes to luxury tobacco, pH monitoring is critical for the Soil and even the water used for Irrigation and Fermentations. But the greatest effects of pH do not come from the product itself, but rather, from your mouth. Your palate’s (tongue, mouth, saliva) neutral setting is around 7. Lemon Juice is around 2, Tomatoes are around 4, and milk is around 6.5. Anything we consume will effect the pH level in our mouth, and subsequently, the way we perceive the Taste of a cigar or pipe tobacco.

  

Have you ever smoked a cigar you know is good, and it just tastes “off”? Usually we just blame the cigar maker, Tobacconist, or our humidor, but, maybe it wasn’t the cigar. It is very likely that our mouth can be “off”.

  

Fortunately, our mouths/palates have the ability to restore their neutrality within a short period of time. You can expedite this process by drinking water, milk, or eating plain bread, to bring your mouth closer to neutral.

 
If you just finished smoking a cigar and want another, you can eat a little lemon sorbet to restore some Acidity to your palate. Ultimately, maybe you like the contrasting Acidity of coffee with the Alkalinity of a cigar; if so great. But it is good to know the facts and be aware of how our senses can be biased.

Stockholm Cigar Syndrome

  

This is a new one…. brought to you by the ever-experimenting minds at Tobacconist University.

  

We know how easily the mind and emotions can bias our senses, so it should come as no surprise that Everyone Is Biased and Taste Is Subjective.

  

I have always wondered what percentage of sales reps. actually believe all of the wonderful compliments and hyperbole they feed retail Tobacconists. Every cigar or pipe tobacco is ’smooth’, ‘complex’, ‘rich’, ’sweet’, and/or ‘the best’. Sales reps. have mastered the art of verbal foreplay…. and sometimes it works. I have bought a quite a few dogs in my day, and I’m sure there are still a few to come. But now I’m not so sure that they are making it up…. maybe they actually believe the things they are telling us. Perhaps, it should not surprise us when sales representatives fall in love with their own products. After all, those products provide a roof over their heads and food in their bellies. It would seem natural that the ‘positive aspects’ of even bad products can effect our taste perceptions.

   

Stockholm Syndrome is a psychological response in abducted people in which they show signs of loyalty and fond emotions to their hostage-taker. Stockholm Cigar Syndrome is when sales reps. fall in love with their own bad products. The same can happen to consumers and Tobacconists who enjoy a cigar or pipe when they smoke it with the maker, and realize later that it sucks. Similarly, Havana obsessed consumers are being held hostage by romance and mythology. I won’t name names…. but this has happened to us all….

  

Ultimately, in a perfect world, I would contend that we should all keep our opinions to ourselves until we have smoked numerous (a box?) cigars. That way we will have sampled the product dozens of times under different circumstances: this should be enough experience to truly judge a product. Now, if only I could convince my customers that they should buy a box of every cigar they want to try….. that would be good for business…

 

Jorge Armenteros, CMT

Emotional Taste Perception

Our tastes (preferences) and sensory perceptions are dramatically effected by our mental and emotional state. And the opposite is also true; our mental and emotional state can be effected by stimulating our senses. As we learned in Taste College, our sense of smell is most closely linked to memory and emotion. But it doesn’t end there…
  
Tobacconist Anecdotes:

1. A customer comes back from an event and tells his Tobacconist about ‘best cigar in the world’ he/she smoked right off a cigar roller’s bench. – The facts tell us this cigar was too humid to smoke and had not gone through the proper “marrying” period.

2. A customer comes back from a vacation in the Caribbean and tells his Tobacconist about the ‘best cigar in the world’ or ‘Cohiba‘ (in cellophane and plastic box of 15) he/she smoked… – The facts tell us this was a horrible fake.

People on vacation or experiencing extraordinarily fun events while they smoke a cigar will often enjoy the cigar exponentially more than they would have under ‘normal’ circumstances. Good Times make cigars better! And that is a fact. But the bias that our emotions put on our sensory perceptions must be acknowledged and compensated for.

Many Tobacconists can tell you how great a cigar tasted when the cigar maker gave it to them and they smoked one together… and then ‘magically’ it just wasn’t the same when it arrived in their humidor. Well, the fact is that we are all human and can be biased, if only momentarily.
  
The Blind Taste Test Experiment: December 18, 2007

Today I sat two accomplished and extraordinary CRT down and blindfolded them (it was a sight to see-see surveillance picture). I took two cigars from the walk-in and cut the first inch off (to confuse the starting flavor). I then lit the cigars in the Tobacconists mouths and let them smoke for approximately 20 minutes. I verbally hinted to them that they could be any of 3 premium Connecticut Wrapped Dominican brands (which they knew we had in the humidor). After 15 minutes one was sure it was a PG Corona and another said it must be made by H. Kelner (maker of P.G., Avo, and Davidoff). The reality is that it was a short filler, flavorless cigar which shall go nameless.



The point is that people can be influenced. Our senses will manipulate information and stimulus until they generate a biased result. I promise you these are two passionate and experienced individuals who have served thousands of customers well; but we are only human. Occasionally our senses will lie to us and a Good Tobacconist must know their limits.
  
The Food Color, Wine & Yogurt Test

This year I read about two separate experiments where white wines and strawberry yogurts were tasted by professional and/or experienced testers. In both tests, one of the wines and yogurts had food coloring added to change the color to red (wine) and brown (chocolate-yogurt). In both cases, with overwhelming consistency, tasters waxed on poetically about how deep and rich the “red” wine and “chocolate” yogurts were; yet they were actually white wines and strawberry yogurt. In two separate experiments, tasters perceptions were influenced by expectations!!! Simple food coloring made strawberry yogurt taste like deep dark chocolate? Yes. Because the mind is far more malleable than we would like to think.

So, what is the point? Well, it is easy to think we know it all, but that is rarely the case.
  
1. Try to factor out emotional bias when evaluating Taste-oriented products.
  
2. Be patient with ourselves, customers, and Tobacconists; we are all fallible.
  
3. And remember, Taste is Subjective…. that is its nature.

TobaccAromatherapy

The effect of smells/olfaction on the human experience is profound and often very difficult or impossible to measure. As we learned in Taste College – The Human Senses, our sense of smell is more closely linked to Memory & Emotion than any other human sense. Therefore, pleasant smells can have extremely positive and beneficial effects on us. (Thousands of MRI and CAT Scan facilities around the world use Vanilla scent to calm patients.) Pleasant odors can relax and transform our experiences and immediately enhance the quality of our lives. This is the fundamental thesis behind TobaccAromatherapy: lovers of luxury tobacco know that their time and lives are enhanced through the enjoyment great cigars and pipes.

Ironically, those who do not like the aroma of tobacco seem incapable of understanding our reality. Fortunately for us, we are (theoretically) endowed with an inalienable right to the pursuit of happiness; so we can continue to seek pleasure and enlightenment with our precious therapeutic pastime. Of course, Taste is subjective and lovers of the leaf are among the minority in today’s world so we are often persecuted for our passions. But the fact remains that we have every right to enjoy and enhance our lives through scientifically and historically proven methods.