Having Trouble with House Blend

[rdj735]

Anyone have trouble with house bulk vs. tinned? After a couple years of no pipe, I decided to grab a cob and a few ounces of house "Scottish Mix." Burned the hell out of me. Thought I was smoking too fast, so slowed down to the point of relighting every 5-6 minutes. Barely got any smoke, air was cool, but still burned. After a week, I went back and grabbed a tin of My Mixture, and it's smoking like a champ. The house blend looks to be a rubbed out flake. Am I doing something wrong, or is there something off with the house blend? I've only smoked 25-30 bowls ever, so I'm no pro. Wouldn't be able to tell if it was too wet/dry, etc.

 

[MadMonk]

Pinch and squeeze a nice amount in your hand and let it fall from hand to table. Any clumping? None at all; too dry, completely clumped; too moist, a nice slow cascade and breaking apart, is closer to "good". I'm not familiar with the blend, so no input there.

eta: this is very general, but a good starting point. You may like some dryer, and some a bit more moist.