Tongue bite is typically caused by a reaction to the PH in a particular blend. Smoking too fast, and therefore too hot, or smoking several bowls too close together can result in what some people call leather tongue. I'm just guessing here, but I would suspect you may be drawing too hard and fast on the charring light, which may be due to the cut or moisture/PG content of that blend. House blends are bulk, which means they will usually be over-flavored and have a considerable of PG, a chemical humectant necessary to keep the bulk blends from drying. Tinned tobaccos, although a little more expensive, will always be better than the bulk house blends. They're sealed in smaller tins, and therefore don't require the use of PG, or at least not nearly as much. Some tins will be too moist at first, but this can be addressed by airing the entire tin for a while, or you can get enough out for a bowl full and let it air dry fir a short while. Once you open the tin, it will dry out over time and actually require re-hydrating, which has to be done correctly or mold can develop in the tobacco. If your local shop only has the bulk blends, you should really consider ordering online. I highly recommend Pipes and Cigars.com Also, if you continue to not smoke most of the way down, the carbon cake that builds naturally and contributes to a cooler smoke, will not form properly, building up in the top part of your pipe bowl, rather than toward the bottom which is where you really want it. One thing that hampers smoking to the bottom is when the air hole doesn't open into the bowl at the bottom. When the air hole is too high, you literally can't smoke it all the way down. This is common in the less expensive pipes, although not all the time. It is possible to get an inexpensive pipe that is a good smoker, and I've got a couple of them, but your odds go way up as you get into the $65 to $150 pipes.
A nice easy way to fix an air hole drilled to high is to make "pipers paste" it's really just cigar ash mixed with a small amount of water to create a paste. You add a little bit let it dry and repeat the process until you get to the correct height.
For a great aromatic I recommend McClelland's Best of Show. It's my favorite and my girlfriend's favorite to smell smoked. As far as not finishing your bowl, I often save the plugs at the bottom and make a day starter pipe with those leftover plugs. I learned this habit from Sherlock Holmes. In The Engineer's Thumb, "Holmes's before breakfast pipe consisted of plugs and dottles from yesterday's smokes." I don't smoke before breakfast though as Holmes was accustomed to.
Hobbit. Interesting to see them actually "smoking" on screen. Alway thought it was an "adult level" content issue?
I enjoy a pipe or cigar every now and then. However I really like the smell of pipe tobacco, so for a car air freshener I like to go to the tobacco store and get a nice aromatic, maybe two or three ounces, have them put it in the plastic Baggie and I poke some holes in it and lay it up under the seat in the car. Smells great and I get lots of compliments. OK now that you know how weird I am - back to our regular program.
Ha ha.... I do the same thing! Ironically, my office is everyone's favorite room in the house due to the many different tobaccos I have in there.
