Debate--Driest and Dampest Flake Out Of The Tin?

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pipefish

Can't Leave
Aug 25, 2013
341
6
As I continue my journey into flake tobacco, I thought I'd ask a question that may get a little "heated."
A reality of flake tobacco is drying time--as we all know (or as with me, are discovering through trial and error) a drier tobacco typically means less relights and a better smoke. But drying time kinda sucks when you forget to take the flakes out and want to smoke right away.
So, the question I have before this esteemed panel is thus: What flake tobacco, in your experience, requires the least amount of drying time after popping the tin? For accuracy and consistency purposes the tobacco you nominate must be one that you've smoked from multiple tins.
On the flip side, we can always debate which flakes require the longest amount of drying time….while I've never smoked it, I've read that St. James Flake is especially damp and may take top honors here.
Pipe tobacco debates are some of the most enjoyable reads here on the forum so I thought I'd try to "stoke the fire" a bit...

 

teufelhund

Lifer
Mar 5, 2013
1,497
3
St. Louis, MO
LBF tends to be an easy prep for me and requires very little time to dry out; I find that when I rub them out they lose a decent amount of moisture and I know of some who will just fold the medallions and stuff them in their pipes to be smoked immediately. I would say generally anything in a rope or plug would take a decent amount of drying time although I have no experience with them. By design and the amount of prep work to smoke it would seem that they would hold a lot of moisture.

 

bigboi

Lifer
Nov 12, 2012
1,192
3
For me the tobacco with the most moisture was SG Firedance Flake. It is an are flake and it is really moist and can take forever to dry. I will say Luxury Bullseye Flake isn't to bad for moisture, but I have never seen a "tin" of that because I believe it comes in only bulk. Which I could be wrong about.

 

daimyo

Lifer
May 15, 2014
1,460
4
I find Dunhill Flake to be almost smoke ready but I still like to dry it out just a bit. I haven't had enough flake experience to answer the wet side of this question but Stonehaven seemed pretty moist although it didn't take all night to dry or anything.

 

saltedplug

Lifer
Aug 20, 2013
5,194
5,097
Dry = whatever blending house most neglected a tobacco. I've gotten 1792 very dry.

Wet = SG

 

huntertrw

Lifer
Jul 23, 2014
5,219
5,338
The Lower Forty of Hill Country
I find Rattray's Marlin Flake to be far too moist out of the can (to the point where the smoke assumes a steam-like quality - can you say "tongue bite"?), and that it requires extensive drying to work in my briars.
On the other hand I have been able to smoke McClelland's Christmas Cheer offerings right out of the can with no problems.

 

redstar

Might Stick Around
Feb 17, 2014
62
1
Dunhil Virginia Flake is always almost smoke able out of the tin, but popping a tin and coming back to it after a week or two works well. SG flakes always need ten seconds in the microwave or a day siting on the desk - but I tend to be in fairly humid places usually.

 
What a lively and bitter debate this is. Calm down gents, I'll hold Dark Star while you guys gut punch him.
I cannot make up my mind as to what is wetter or dryer. I just know that a flake of FVF has been setting on my dashboard all day since last night in 95F heat, probably 300F inside the car, and it's almost ready to smoke.

As for driest, all of them could use a little drying time, IMO, but I'm weird like that. I would guess that if D&R tobacco made a flake, it would be the driest.

 

mrenglish

Lifer
Dec 25, 2010
2,220
72
Columbus, Ohio
+1 on the FVF. Its generally wetter than the other SG blends.
My vote for driest would Solani Silver Flake. Party because they do not vacuum seal the 100g tins for some reason.

 
As I have had a moment to think about this all of the Peter Stokkebye's tobaccos come in an unsealed plastic bag in a stylish cardboard box. The plastic is just wrapped. I have gotten a few of them LTF, LNF, and LBF that were dry and ready to smoke upon delivery. It is the only tobacco that I have bought in bulk that wasn't sealed in any way, form, or fashion. And, no telling how long it sets in the warehouses before it's shipped to the US, stored, and sent out in the mail.

 
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