Just How Dry Should It Be?

[Sigmund]

Nooby question here but I get tired of multiple relights sometimes. I have worked on not packing tight and using gravity fill with a light application of pressure and that helps.

The question is how dry should I let my tobacco get. I know some let it get cruchy, some dont.

I also know people say old tobacco that is too dry doesnt taste as good. Im assuming that old tobacco has lost oils and such whereas dried out tobacco done on purpose has only lost moisture. Have I got this right?

Also I rarely tamp in the middle after the initial light, I push in from the sides?

Happy for hits to avoid multiple relights

I am having better luck today. I let the tobacco get to where its almost crunchy. I put it under a lightbulb since its rather cool these days.

 

[didimauw]

Between my fingers, my tobacco turns to dust.

That's how dry I like it.

 

[Sigmund]

@didimauw

When you do it that way do you dry it a day in advance or a tin at a time?

I probably had 3-5 relights in a pot with it dry but I did put it down a couple of times.

I tried the microwave method but as another member stated, it does alter the taste a little.

 

[RustiePyles CPG]

I don't dry my tobacco at all, I smoke it fresh out of the tin. Try packing a little less tight, and only tamping when you can't get it re-lit.

3 relights is not an abnormal amount. It's actually on the low side for some. Nothing wrong with relighting a pipe, its just part of the process.

 

[Sigmund]

Thanks. I dont mind the process since I sit and relax when I smoke. It just gets annoying when you have to relight a bunch of times. I will try packing even lighter and see what happens.

I will do it in the name of science....a good excuse to fire up another bowl!

 

[didimauw]

@didimauw

When you do it that way do you dry it a day in advance or a tin at a time?

I probably had 3-5 relights in a pot with it dry but I did put it down a couple of times.

I tried the microwave method but as another member stated, it does alter the taste a little.

It depends on the blend. Out of the 7 blends I smoke, I have 4 blends in a rotation that I keep a large amount already Fully dried and jarred. The 3 other blends I don't smoke as often, so then I just dry out a bowl at a time.

 

[rsshreck32]

Drying tobacco has been the one thing that really helped me to get a better smoke. I'd say the guys who don't dry their tobacco are way more patient than I am, I'm not a very good slow smoker. But I'm sure there are other variables at play. I usually dry mine for 2-4 hours, I'll rub it out a bit to see if it's dry enough before I smoke. And I actually got the idea from @didimauw when I saw him mention drying tobacco in a thread somewhere.

There were several tobaccos that I thought I was going to have to give up on that upon drying became excellent smokes. And I'm a newbie too...I've only been smoking a little over a year

 

[rsshreck32]

Out of the 7 blends I smoke

My goal for 2024 is to have my rotation down to 10 tobaccos. Being fairly new, I have a cellar full of all kinds of crazy stuff and it drives me crazy! I lament the money I've spent on blends I don't think I'll ever enjoy.

 

[Sigmund]

You might be suprised. I smoked back in 2009 for a while and then put pipes aside until recently. I used to hate latakia. Suddenly I love it. Tastes change and I find that I really used to not know how to really taste tobacco. Still there are some Im not in love with but dont worry. Worst case cellar it right and trade it away.

 

[captpat]

Not a patient guy so I try to open a tin, and leave it open, about a week before I anticipate starting to smoke it. Some blends need more, some less, I've found that a week is a good starting spot.

 

[rsshreck32]

Not a patient guy so I try to open a tin, and leave it open, about a week before I anticipate starting to smoke it. Some blends need more, some less, I've found that a week is a good starting spot.

I've thought about doing that but I always worried the top would get super dry while the bottom wasn't dry enough!

 

[jbfrady]

My thoughts here revolve around the pipe more than the tobacco. When the stem isn't fitted all the way and there's a gap between, all the moisture pools in that gap and develops a bitter swamp of sorts and smoking the pipe all of a sudden sounds like slurping a slushie. Drying the tobacco to the consistency of tea leaves can help avoid that issue.

When the stem does meet, I don't find drying to be as necessary. If the blend is too moist, you'll know because a droplet or two will greet your tongue in the first 5 minutes or so of the smoke. At that point, running a pipe cleaner down all the way to the bowl usually does the trick for the remainder of the smoke. (This doesn't work on the non-fitted stems, as you can't run a pipe cleaner from the mouthpiece all the way to the bowl, as it'll get caught between the stem and the stummel.) If the pipe cleaner doesn't work, it's worth drying the tobacco out a bit. Still, I don't find these to happen often in the latter category.

 

[didimauw]

My goal for 2024 is to have my rotation down to 10 tobaccos. Being fairly new, I have a cellar full of all kinds of crazy stuff and it drives me crazy! I lament the money I've spent on blends I don't think I'll ever enjoy.

Yup I stopped going out of my comfort range about 8 years ago haha. Like what you smoke and smoke what you like!

 

[didimauw]

Drying tobacco has been the one thing that really helped me to get a better smoke. I'd say the guys who don't dry their tobacco are way more patient than I am, I'm not a very good slow smoker. But I'm sure there are other variables at play. I usually dry mine for 2-4 hours, I'll rub it out a bit to see if it's dry enough before I smoke. And I actually got the idea from @didimauw when I saw him mention drying tobacco in a thread somewhere.

There were several tobaccos that I thought I was going to have to give up on that upon drying became excellent smokes. And I'm a newbie too...I've only been smoking a little over a year

So many people fear that tobacco loses taste when it's dried out. I actually get a better flavor when it's crispy.

 

[bullet08]

How dry your tobacco depends on your preference. I don't mind tamping occasionally. This keeps ember near the tobacco and keeps going. This means, I don't dry my tobacco as much as some others. And depends on type of blend, I might dry little more or less.

Usually with VA, I let it dry a lot more than others. VA is very forgiving as far as being dried up like a dog poop. Doesn't really lose any flavor that way. Latakia, I keep it just moist enough I can feel it when pinched between fingers. Dry Lat doesn't have much flavor, and sometimes taste like a dog poop. And OTC codger blends go straight from the pouch to my corn cobs using codger scoop without drying.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

I dry whole tins or jars at a time; however, "how dry" depends on the blends. I prefer some bone dry, and some I prefer with a tad bit of flexibility in the leaf. You just have to experiment to see what works best between you and the specific blend.
I know this isn't a clear cut answer, but it is the best one.

 

[kcghost]

I do the same a @RustyPyles CPG. Number of relights depends greatly on the type of tobacco you are smoking. Something that burns easy will take a lot fewer relights than something that doesn't burn well. Never worry about relights. When your pipe needs it relight it.

 

[EchoPlex]

My prep routine includes letting my baccy sit on a warm plate for about 10-15 minutes. This rapidly removes quite a bit of moisture and leaves the edges crispy, but not bone dry. I just sort of go by how it feels, but find myself going drier and drier the older, more experienced I get. Experimentation is your friend here.

 

[sablebrush52]

First off, if you want to get the most out of this "wee vice" as it is known in some circles, it's fine to seek out the knowledge of others, but you need to experiment to find out what works for you.

In my experience, "how dry" depends on the type of blend. Since I mostly smoke Virginias and their variants, well dried, but not dried out, tobacco works best for me, as too much moisture masks flavors. I prefer most of my Virginias at just shy of bone dry, dry to the touch when squeezed, no sensation of moisture rising against my skin when squeezing a pinch to test for moisture. The tobacco might be a little crispy at the ends, but still pliant and not dried to dust.

English, Balkan, Oriental blends can be smoked straight from the tin, as their highly aromatic leaves produce plenty of flavors regardless of moisture content. These blends are the easiest to smoke and the most forgiving of a lack of technique. Dried down they will also give more detailed flavors, but they are flavor bombs to begin with. These blends are the easiest for the beginner,

OTC's are generally fine straight out of the tin. They were formulated for to be enjoyed by people who don't go in for all "that thar fussy stilly stuff" and deliver the gods with no fuss or muss. Also a perfect genre for the beginner and just about everybody.

Aromatics and semi-aromatics, which these days refer to blends with very noticeable toppings, often of fruit, vanilla, rose geranium, etc, are probably the most difficult to get right, despite their long standing status as a "beginner" genre. The trick is to find the level of moisture which preserves the flavorings while reducing the goopiness, and possibility of tongue bite. Since the base of these is mostly Virginias, I dry them down until the toppings are more like a reduction than a broth. Dried too much and the toppings are dulled down.

Different blends respond differently to changes in moisture, prep, packing. With every new blend that I try, I experiment with it to find what offers the best experience for me, generally starting with something that has worked well for me before and then doing a "ring around" around that "preset".

Another thing to keep in mind is that different labels tin at different moisture levels. Most of the Hearth and Home line are tinned at what is thought to be the ideal moisture level of about 10 to 12 %. Other labels add much more moisture in the tin with the intent of preserving the contents from drying out before being consumed, some because they believe that the water has a beneficial effect on the properties of aging, and still other labels tin at a variety of moisture levels.

It's good to ask questions, but you'll need to experiment to find useful answers.

 

[Tate]

My goal for 2024 is to have my rotation down to 10 tobaccos. Being fairly new, I have a cellar full of all kinds of crazy stuff and it drives me crazy! I lament the money I've spent on blends I don't think I'll ever enjoy.

Same buddy! Trying a little of this and that now I got a bunch of open tins and most won't be heavy if rotations at all