Detergent taste

[PMR]

Hi all,

I saw in another thread here in the pipe section that a couple of people had experienced a detergent like taste and it rang a bell for me. I purchased some Kendal Rum Flake made by Gawith and Hoggarth and I thought it was mostly unsmokeable because of this awful chemical detergent taste. WHat on Earth is this from and can I do anything about it?

[Emperor Zurg]

LMAO! That awful flavor is called the 'Lakeland Essence'. Some people actually like it - albeit probably folks who were not disciplined as kids by having their mouth washed out with soap for saying a bad word. I've resolved to research any SG or GH&Co tobacco I'm thinking of buying to make sure it's not considered a Lakeland blend because if it is, I ain't going to like it.

The good news is I've found it diminishes greatly with neglect... er... 'aging'. I had a tin of Bob's Chocolate Flake that had that nasty flavor and I couldn't stand the stuff. I chucked it in the back of a drawer for about a year, never bothering to seal it up or anything. It dried out to resemble brittle slices of tree bark. For some reason I decided to re-hydrate it with a little rum a couple months back and gave it another try. Lo and behold, the Lakeland soap taste was virtually gone.

I just picked up some GH&Co Rum Flake too (@Branzig is to blame for this) and I can't stand it either. I plan to give it the same treatment and see how it is in a year or so since the BCF isn't bad at all now.

[mooster]

The good news is I've found it diminishes greatly with neglect... er... 'aging'. I had a tin of Bob's Chocolate Flake that had that nasty flavor and I couldn't stand the stuff. I chucked it in the back of a drawer for about a year, never bothering to seal it up or anything. It dried out to resemble brittle slices of tree bark. For some reason I decided to re-hydrate it with a little rum a couple months back and gave it another try. Lo and behold, the Lakeland soap taste was virtually gone.

Key point: not sealed! I opened a jar of Bright CR Flake that had been sealed for three years, and the essence was much stronger than when it was fresh. Completely unsmokable for me.

[NeverBend]

Key point: not sealed! I opened a jar of Bright CR Flake that had been sealed for three years, and the essence was much stronger than when it was fresh. Completely unsmokable for me.

@mooster makes a good point.

Sensitivity to the lakeland essence appears to be individual and changes with blend and even which Gawith made it. Some smokers say that they detect the 'essence' in anything that the Gawiths (Samuel and Hoggarth) make at all.

I don't detect the 'essence' in Bright CR Flake (but I heed Mark's warning that it may intensify) or Louisiana Flake, just little in Glengarry and Scotch Flake Aro but as soon as it passes a threshold of intensity I find it almost overwhelming as in Ennerdale, SG 1792 Flake or #7 Broken Flake.

I smell the essence more in Gawith Hoggarth but taste it more in Samuel Gawith. What they all have in common is that they're well made tobaccos and I find the essence to be less intense with a more loose pack.

[Branzig]

I just picked up some GH&Co Rum Flake too (@Branzig is to blame for this) and I can't stand it either. I plan to give it the same treatment and see how it is in a year or so since the BCF isn't bad at all now.

You guys are all haterz!!!

You love some Rum Flake Zerg!

To be fair, my sample had a lot of rest on it, so the essence probably had leaked away leaving only great rum and Va flavor behind.

But if it had a little soap to it, I would be OK with that...nothing wrong with a little lavender with your rum kids....

[Nature]

Although my experience is limited, I have detected this taste reminding me of soap a few times. I actually kind of like it, although I think it is more of a floral taste. Many soaps are perfumed with floral notes, but we often associate it as being soapy or detergent like because that is what we are familiar with. Taste and smell are described or associated with our past experiences and comparing to what we know.

[Pugsley]

Anything with latakia tastes like soap to me, never could get used to it.

[izkeh]

Anything with latakia tastes like soap to me, never could get used to it.

It took me about 4 or 5 months to acquire the taste for latakia. Like you, I thought it had a soapy taste initially. Now I love the stuff.

[Cool Breeze]

Anything with latakia tastes like soap to me, never could get used to it.

I wondered if I was the only one that thought this.
There are a few latakia blends that I enjoy but I'm not a fan of most of them. It is also something I have to be in the mood for.

[Tobias Lutz]

I smoke a Lakeland and it gives me flashbacks to having my mouth washed out with a bar of Ivory by my granny. That said, I never noticed it in Bob's Chocolate Flake...it's one of my favorite flakes.