This, with the first lighting, is by far the most important and enjoyable part of the ritual.

With careful, correct preparation you will be sure to obtain a good result.

After selecting the tobacco, it is a good idea to check the moisture: if it is too dry it will burn like straw, without flavor, so it will have to be moistened (tobacconists sell special wafers or ceramic bottles, but the classic slice of apple will do just as well). If it is too moist or the package has just been opened, it will need to dry out a little.

Tobacco with too much moisture in it is hard to smoke, doesn't burn well and requires you to puff too frequently to keep it from going out, which will heat the pipe and burn your tongue.

Tobacco is sold in sealed packages and like a full-bodied wine, needs to be exposed to the air for several hours prior to use. With time, you will learn how to assess the moisture by touch: the tobacco should be soft and full, without leaving a damp sensation (if the tobacco is sticky, discard it because it will ruin the pipe).

Spread a little tobacco on a clean sheet of paper and crumble the larger bits, removing any stems and twigs, then puff a few times on the empty pipe. If the pipe has a housing for a filter insert it or close it with the ADAPTOR ® that transforms a pipe with a 9mm filter into a pipe without a filter. To insert it, push it into the space in the mouthpiece until it touches bottom. To remove it, pull it out by gripping the bottom with a pair of scissors or better yet with a dual blade cigar cutter.  NEVER smoke a pipe with the 9mm filter housing empty because this will ruin the mouthpiece pin . Also, the empty filter chamber becomes an expansion chamber for the smoke and creates condensation.