A close look at the meerschaum pipe

Often highly attractive, the meerschaum pipe catches the eye. Would you like to know more about this unusual and long-established tobacco accessory? Follow the guide.

Meerschaum: what is it?

At the risk of disappointing some and reassuring others, the meerschaum used to make these pipes is not the foam created by waves as they break on the beach or on rocks. It is an extremely light mineral called magnesium hydrogen silicate, which owes its French name of "sea foam" to the fishermen who found it floating among the foam of the sea.

The first meerschaum pipes

The first meerschaum pipes are thought to have been shaped well before the briar pipe, in the early 1700s. The very first one made from the material is said to have been Hungarian. Yet it is Vienna, the capital of the meerschaum pipe, that takes all the credit, notably thanks to the Strambach Vienna.

Pipes of this kind were smoked mainly by notables, since their price was very high. They enjoyed real success, which was heavily affected by the arrival of the briar pipe in the 1850s.

In the 1970s Turkey, the main meerschaum-producing country, banned its export. Since then, the meerschaum pipes found on the market have been exclusively Turkish.

Why choose a meerschaum pipe?

Beyond a look that is always more elaborate than that of a briar pipe, the meerschaum pipe is also very porous and is said to retain a large part of the impurities in the tobacco, tars and nicotine included. It is also very resistant to heat, far more so than briar. Finally, meerschaum pipes make it possible to vary tobaccos without their aromas being altered.

A pipe enthusiast will always be pleased to add one to a collection, for variety to the eye as much as to the palate.