Meerschaum

A Meerschaum pipe is a smoking pipe made from the mineral sepiolite. Meerschaum (ⁱ/ˈmɪərʃɔːm/ MEER-shawm or /ˈmɪərʃəm/ MEER-shəm, German for foam of the sea) is sometimes found floating on the Black Sea and is rather suggestive of sea foam (hence the German origin of the name, as well as the French name for the same substance, écume de mer).

The first recorded use of meerschaum for making pipes was around 1723 and quickly became prized as the perfect material for providing a cool, dry, flavorful smoke. The porous nature of meerschaum draws moisture and tobacco tar into the stone. Meerschaum became a premium substitute for the clay pipes of the day and remains prized to this day though, since the mid-1800s, briar pipes have become the most common pipes for smoking.

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