Best Ways To Rehydrate Tobacco?

pipestud · Sep 23, 2015

Howdy Gang,
I sure would appreciate help with this topic. I am thinking about putting a section on my website offering suggestions as to how best to rehydrate dry tobacco. I would like to include a variety of options. If anyone has the time to reply to this email with a method or methods of rehydrating tobacco for smoking, it would be well received!
Thanks in advance,
Pipestud

derfatdutchman · Sep 23, 2015

I put the tobacco in a glass bowl. I wet a small towel with distilled water and ring it out so its just damp. I lay the towel over the bowl. I stir the tobacco around occasionally till it feels its reached the right moisture content.

bigpond · Sep 23, 2015

I moisten a paper towel, place it directly on a bell jar and screw down the lid. Sealing the jar keeps the moisture where you want it. Alternatively, I will soak a small chunk of wood, usually oak, in a water overnight and then seal that in a bell jar.

shawnofthedead · Sep 23, 2015

Say if the weather here is very moist, like above 70 to 80%, but my tobacco is a little dry, would leave an open tin out rehydrate it sufficiently?

rhoadsie · Sep 23, 2015

I use Boveda packs (62-69% RH) in a sealed jar or container with the tobacco. They can be in direct contact with the tobacco and maintain a constant humidity keeping the tobacco from getting too wet and potentially moldy. The downside is they are more expensive than a paper towel and distilled water.
http://www.bovedainc.com

clickklick · Sep 23, 2015

I use Dutchman's method above. Never let the tobacco come directly in contact with the towel or distilled water.

jpmcwjr · Sep 23, 2015

Terra cotta shards. Soak in water, wipe off, place directly on baccy in tin, pouch or jar. Generally, tobacco doesn't adhere to it. Simple, easy, cheap!

hierophant · Sep 23, 2015

I use these tobacco humidifiers essentially they're the same thing jpm recommends. Simple, cheap, no worries, works great.

newbroom · Sep 23, 2015

Why wouldn't a steamer basket work? I wonder. Too much? Too hot?

kcghost · Sep 23, 2015

Steve, I have an article on this by Quinton Wells in one of the club's old newsletters. Give me a day or two to find it and I will send it to real. This method is for tobacco that is really dry but not dust.

jitterbugdude · Sep 23, 2015

Just spritz it with water. I've done it to dozens and dozens of pounds of tobacco. Check on it in an hour. If it is too soggy, let it air out a bit. Learn from your experience.

foolwiththefez · Sep 23, 2015

I've had success soaking a clean sponge in whisky then wringing it almost completely dry.

condorlover1 · Sep 23, 2015

Distilled water and glycerine works wonders!

pipestud · Sep 24, 2015

Wonderful info, gents!
Keep 'em coming... some great ideas here!
Pipestud

condorlover1 · Sep 24, 2015

Well I suppose I better repeat the story about water and glycerine as it explains how it works. When I lived in Romford 20+ years ago which is part of East London a dear drinking companion of mine, sadly now deceased was the local printer. As a side business he was quite a prolific counterfeiter who catered to the East London holiday trade. Hence he printed Spanish Pesetas in the summer, Austrian Shillings in the winter for ski trips and occasional batches of USD for those visiting the 'House of The Mouse' in Florida. Over a few large scotches I asked him about the process and he explained the various stages of color separation and how he put the water marks into the paper etc. So I asked him how he got his notes to have that oily feeling. He explained that after printing and air drying he would dump the notes into a bucket of water and glycerine and then mix them up before tumble drying them in his laundry room. He explained that the paper maintained that oily feel long after the water had evaporated. I tried it out on lengths of dried out twist and then jarred them and found that the same thing held true. The same preparation applied with a spy canister to a 1920s flake that resembled a wood off cut had results that were nothing short of the resurrection of lazarus!

gambit88 · Sep 24, 2015

I dampen a piece of paper towel and just set in in the pouch or jar overnight. The next morning my tobacco is happy again. I do shake the tobacco around a bit after so the dry and moist mix to get a somewhat even hydration. The paper towel over a bowl method works great too. When I use that method I put the whole thing in a gallon ziplock bag and seal it overnight.

jpmcwjr · Sep 24, 2015

Gambit- Doesn't tobacco stick to the paper - a lot? (of course, if it's over the bowl, not) That's the beauty of pottery shards- little stick and if it does, easy to put back in container.

gambit88 · Sep 24, 2015

It hasn't for me yet. I ring it out pretty well though. This last batch I did it on was crispy. It got mixed in with a order a friend and I split and was forgot about for a bit over a month in the baggy.

glpease · Sep 24, 2015

Keep in mind that tobacco takes several hours to a day or two to fully reach equilibrium with any added moisture, and there's very little difference in water content between dry and too wet, so the best methods are those that allow a slow, relatively controlled hydration to occur. My method of choice is to use a large bowl, maximizing the tobacco's surface area, covered with a clean, damp towel and a plate. Check the tobacco and the towel frequently over a day or so, giving the tobacco a bit of a stir, until the tobacco is at the preferred moisture content. Works like a charm.
Yes, you can spray it, but the risk of getting it too damp is increased. Yes, you can put devices of some sort into a jar, but the tobacco in contact with them can become too moist before the rest is affected, and the risk of localized mold increases. Once it starts growing, it's too late.

jitterbugdude · Sep 24, 2015

Yes, you can spray it, but the risk of getting it too damp is increased

That's why I said to learn from your experience. I routinely have to bring into case a pound or more of tobacco and the easiest way to do it is to spritz the tobacco then place in an airtight container for a few hours.

Best Ways To Rehydrate Tobacco?

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