Brown Sugar Goldmine!!!

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Starting to Get Obsessed
Jul 15, 2018
120
0
I almost threw this out!!! I took a member’s advice to examine my 22 year old Butera Dark Stoved “bloom” under a microscope before chucking it. Holy smokes I’m so glad I did!!! Now, I am honestly struggling to not just eat this gorgeous, candy-coated, sweet and crunchy goodness!!! I cannot imagine what it’s going to taste like. It smells delicious! I just wanted to share my joy :Dhttp://I almost threw this out!!! I took a member’s advice to examine my 22 year old Butera Dark Stoved “bloom” under a microscope before chucking it. Holy smokes I’m so glad I did!!! Now, I am honestly struggling to not just eat this gorgeous, candy-coated, sweet and crunchy goodness!!! I cannot imagine what it’s going to taste like. It smells delicious! I just wanted to share my joy :D

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npod

Lifer
Jun 11, 2017
2,942
1,024
You! Sir. Are my hero. :clap:
Thank you for posting .jpegs from your microscope. I have looked at my aged tobacco under the microscope before, but I didn't have a camera to capture the images. They look just like yours. This is great documentation.
Enjoy smoking that aged crystal flake!

 

bassbug

Lifer
Dec 29, 2016
1,112
905
This might sound naive and silly but....
Doesn't the sugar crystal growth simply turn the tobacco from an unflavoured virginia into a sweet aromatic?
Why not just get a sweet tobacco to begin with?

 

briarbuck

Lifer
Nov 24, 2015
2,287
5,492
Still not convinced that's not salts as opposed to sugars, but either way that looks yummy.

 

mawnansmiff

Lifer
Oct 14, 2015
7,385
7,295
Sunny Cornwall, UK.
"Doesn't the sugar crystal growth simply turn the tobacco from an unflavoured virginia into a sweet aromatic?"
What you're seeing are not sugar crystals, it's crystallized oils and other minerals.
Regards,
Jay.

 

bassbug

Lifer
Dec 29, 2016
1,112
905
I am honestly struggling to not just eat this gorgeous, candy-coated, sweet and crunchy goodness!!!
I guess it was this that got me wondering.
What you're seeing are not sugar crystals, it's crystallized oils and other minerals.
So what exactly do these crystals add to the tobacco? Do they change the flavour? What do they change it to? I'm a little confused, the reviews for this tobacco say there is no flavouring detected

 

transpose

Starting to Get Obsessed
Jul 15, 2018
120
0
Would you smoke it?
I’m getting confused. At first I was wondering how to tell if this was mold. I was convinced it was bloom but was told to look at it through a microscope. If it is fuzzy or hairy, then it is bloom and trash it! If it is crystals, then it’s sugar so enjoy it! I was able to identify that it is in fact crystals, but now I’m hearing that the sugar should have been eaten by now. Or even that it is not sugar, but salt.
I only say that I want to eat it because of its appearance. It looks like (under the microscope) a caramelized sugar on the edge of and apple pie crust
I’m not an aromatic guy so I really focus on the sweetness that comes from Virginia's. I have many VA Flakes in my cellar that have what appears to be sugar on them. I have just never had one that has this much.
I can definitely taste the difference between fresh Blackwoods Flake and 5+ year old BWF that has sugar veins that have surfaced. I’ll take the aged stuff every time.

 

bigpond

Lifer
Oct 14, 2014
2,019
13
Yes, it’s smoke worthy. Don’t fret. What you are seeing, as you may know, is often referred to as “bloom”, in both pipe and cigar circles. Once thought to be sugar crystals, laboratory analysis has shown recently it is not. I’ll see if I can find a link for you, but in the meantime rest easy and fill up your pipe.

 

woodsroad

Lifer
Oct 10, 2013
11,568
15,208
SE PA USA
I'm glad this turned out to not be mold. But it almost certainly isn't sugar, either.

One of my (unproven) theories is that it could be caused by whatever anti-fungal treatment that they use. Potassium propionate is a common anti-fungal preservative used on tobacco. It is the salt of propanoic acid, and could certainly be what you are seeing here.

 

bigpond

Lifer
Oct 14, 2014
2,019
13
I ran out of time to edit my post.
In a nutshell, it appears that bloom/plume is one of a number of moulds.
Here’s a link to an updated thread on the topic. Somewhere there was a thread that included photos of pipe tobacco. The reference I had is now dead. Perhaps someone else has an updated link?
Interestingly, the op is offering a bounty for a sample that proves to be anything other than mould.
http://www.friendsofhabanos.com/forum/topic/131757-foh-mould-study/

 
I've seen many spirited debates here on whether it is a form of sugar, or minerals leaching from the tobaccos. Some have presented lab results that it is in fact, scientifically proven to be a form of sugar. I have also seen posts where it was in fact scientifically proven to be merely minerals leaching out. Usually, credentials, lab results, and big words are whipped out and smacked about each others' head and shoulders. "How dare you question the authenticity of my lab."
In the few times I have opened an aged tin to find crystal bloom covering the flakes like Liberace's cape, I have found that they don't taste sweet on the tongue. And, in smoking them, I find them to be rather good, but not necessary sweeter smoke. Some just might have a rather earthy taste. Psychologically, I find that I get excited and enjoy the smoke better, regardless.
What is it? How does it form? I am not a chemist, but I really don't care. I just think of it as a sign that the tobacco has transformed with age. Better or worse? It just depends on whether you enjoy it or not.

 
Sure, Bigpond, I didn't say anything that opposes what you have posted, or anyone else. I merely pointed out that there have been many mixed results set forward in this forum, as well as many other forums on what exactly this is. All seem to set forth some sort of scientific accolades, or they rely on their trust in a family member, friend, or some other websites credentials.
I saw your post about cigars, but I have just now scanned through it. It doesn't seem to be any more or less proof than any of the other threads I have seen on it being sugars, using big scientific terms or even diagrams of sugar molecules.
My post was merely, stating, that none of that matters to me. It's like people arguing religions, and swapping excerpts from their religious book of choice. In the science of tobacco bloom camps, I am agnostic.
But, if you think that I am going to throw away a plug of crystalized Jackknife because of a thread saying that it is mold, then your crazy. :puffy:

 
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