humi for storage?

dr_frankenstein56

My tin of OGS got really dry one day in my pocket out in the field. I had tossed it in the main cigar humi to try and juice it back up about a week or so ago. I had a bowl on the way home from work today and it was flat out delicious... flavors seemed more Intense but smooth.

So that got me wondering, I have an extra 10 count humi that actually seals amazingly well. Can pipe tobacco be aged or stored in a humi as a cigar would? Provided you were buying bulk and its a small humi dedicated to that one kind. Would there be any benefit to the tobacco?

Aj

jsnake

I don't know a good answer to that. I know all the B&Ms around me that carry pipe tobacco do not put it in the humidor. Most pipe guys I know and talk to all use mason jars. Many of them also set pipe tobacco out to dry because it is supposed to burn and smoke better compared to "wet" tobacco.

You bring up a good subject and interested in what everyone else has to say.

slamb@cigar.com

I would advise against this. Pipe tobacco, unlike cigars, only needs approximately 20-30% humidity. Keeping it in a humidor that creates roughly 60-70% humidity can cause some issues over time. Mason jars are still your absolute best bet. If tobacco does become dry, put it in a mixing bowl and cover it with a wet paper towel (dampen with distilled water) or just lightly mist the tobacco with distilled water and mix it up well. These two methods will help rejuvenate dry tobacco.

J.S.

slamb@cigar.com:

I would advise against this. Pipe tobacco, unlike cigars, only needs approximately 20-30% humidity. Keeping it in a humidor that creates roughly 60-70% humidity can cause some issues over time. Mason jars are still your absolute best bet. If tobacco does become dry, put it in a mixing bowl and cover it with a wet paper towel (dampen with distilled water) or just lightly mist the tobacco with distilled water and mix it up well. These two methods will help rejuvenate dry tobacco.

1+ no need to put it in a humi. Besides, the blend smell could very well stay in the humi too. When I have very dry tobacco a little mist, and just a little works. With flakes I like to place them on a try with a sponge in the center not touching the flakes and place a towel over them. a few hours and they are like new. Then into a jar.

Smoky the Bear

Glad I found this thread - have been wondering some of these same things. Now, to convince the wife to fork over a couple of her Mason jars.....

dr_frankenstein56

Smoky the Bear:

Glad I found this thread - have been wondering some of these same things. Now, to convince the wife to fork over a couple of her Mason jars.....

the canning jars from walmart work awesome too. get the pint size jars and a case of 12 is around 7 bucks.

Aj

Marker

Smokey, where are you from? I work in Fargo.

dr_frankenstein56

I totally get this moisture thing now.

wow.

this is a real important part of the whole game and i think some guided experiance is very helpful at this point. I never really was taught how to smoke, pack or anything else with the pipe. I kinda just swung blindly into the dark and was trying and trying to seriously enjoy it, but it just wasnt happening for me. I was smoking far far to wet and understand now why the HUMI is such a bad idea. I literally didnt think i had much of a tongue last month at all... and it wasnt Bite, it was flat out steam burn that was ruining my whole experiance. I had tried the 45 minutes to a few hours attempts to dry my tobacco but it never seemed to improve anything. not knowing what the correct moisture feels like really made this a guessing game and it wasnt until I had left a freshly packed bowl out for over a weekend did i finally figure this out. It was a fresh tin of McClelland Blackwoods that had been kicking my tongues ass everytime I tried it. I could barely drink anything hot... it hurt so bad. Anyways, my faithful Briarcraft had been left packed over the weekend, and when I smoked it... it was FANTASTIC! Tasty, cool and wonderful! Is this what pipe smoking is? Wholly chit... This is really awesome! So this week ive left what I plan to consume out for a few days, burns perfect now. Not crispy dusty dry... but dry like it barely crumbles down. What a difference.

Lesson be.. if somebody can physically show you what the qualitys are of decent tobacco ready to smoke - you will be miles ahead in the game. and off to a better experiance.

Aj

onestrangeone

dr_frankenstein56:

I totally get this moisture thing now.

wow.

this is a real important part of the whole game and i think some guided experiance is very helpful at this point. I never really was taught how to smoke, pack or anything else with the pipe. I kinda just swung blindly into the dark and was trying and trying to seriously enjoy it, but it just wasnt happening for me. I was smoking far far to wet and understand now why the HUMI is such a bad idea. I literally didnt think i had much of a tongue last month at all... and it wasnt Bite, it was flat out steam burn that was ruining my whole experiance. I had tried the 45 minutes to a few hours attempts to dry my tobacco but it never seemed to improve anything. not knowing what the correct moisture feels like really made this a guessing game and it wasnt until I had left a freshly packed bowl out for over a weekend did i finally figure this out. It was a fresh tin of McClelland Blackwoods that had been kicking my tongues ass everytime I tried it. I could barely drink anything hot... it hurt so bad. Anyways, my faithful Briarcraft had been left packed over the weekend, and when I smoked it... it was FANTASTIC! Tasty, cool and wonderful! Is this what pipe smoking is? Wholly chit... This is really awesome! So this week ive left what I plan to consume out for a few days, burns perfect now. Not crispy dusty dry... but dry like it barely crumbles down. What a difference.

Lesson be.. if somebody can physically show you what the qualitys are of decent tobacco ready to smoke - you will be miles ahead in the game. and off to a better experiance.

Aj

I've been flying blind as well and having the same issue, I think the longest that I've let any set out so far is maybe an hr. I think I will set out tomorrow nights bowl tonight and see what happens. How much do you think this changes the taste?

J.S.

That will depend on a lot of things, blend, rh in the room, etc. For me most (there will always be an exception) blends do well by leaving them out until the feel dry. I mean a little crisp but when you pinch it together it will still stick very briefly before falling apart. The difficulty is when talking pipe tobacco the experts talk in terms of moisture by weight not rh. So for us cigar smokers it is difficult to get a feel for the right level. Most say moisture by weight should be 12-14% more than this and the tobacco will feel moist, less and the ribbon or shag cuts will start to break apart when handling them. Hence the feel of being dry but not breaking the stands when handling it normally. I hope this helps get you headed in the right direction.