How to handle wet tobacco

64alex · Jan 22, 2017

How do you handle tobacco which is too wet when you open the tin and which you are planning to use in few months or even later on? Do you leave it initially in the opened tin for few days in order to dry to the correct level before jarring, or do you put it in the jar as it is, drying the part which you are going to use each time?
I do the latter first of all because I can still dry all of it at a later time if I want, it is difficult to judge how much to dry for the full amount of the tobacco and finally because I think a little bit of extra wetness might be beneficial in fermenting and maturing the tobacco faster if I am keeping for few months or longer.

Any opinions, which way do you prefer to use?

josephcross · Jan 22, 2017

Ive dried some McClelland stuff like Dark Star and St James Woods prior to jarring. I kept it in the tin till it felt it was substantially drier than it was upon opening.Recently I dried a bit of Dark Star, an additional 12 or so hours, and it was still goopy when i got to the bottom(No fine white ash in this bowl). Ive had better luck with drying out St James Woods, and then transferring to the jar, and its excellent every time. At this point im still experimenting with this as well.

balkisobrains · Jan 23, 2017

I jar it up right out of the tin, too wet, too dry, or otherwise. If it's a blend that I don't know about, I'll put it in an 8 oz jar. If it's something that I like, I'll fill a 4oz jar to store, and put the rest in another 4 oz jar to smoke from, and I'll dry out a little every time I smoke it. That way, the stored jar stays closer to "fresh out of the tin" because it is not exposed to air every time I want to smoke some. The reason that I go with the 8oz jar for unfamiliar blends instead of splitting them between two 4 oz jars initially, is so that if I do not like it, I have only used one jar instead of two.

jpmcwjr · Jan 23, 2017

I transfer most tobaccos to a glass jar on opening. If it's wet, I'll leave the top open overnight, or for days if need be. The top layer will be perfect for smoking, and underneath it will be trending that way, and at the bottom, it's almost as moist as when it went in.

Chasing Embers · Jan 23, 2017

Immediately from tin to jar. When I want to smoke it, I will leave it out overnight in a small wooden bowl I keep just for drying tobacco. If I am in a hurry, I will spread out a bowl's worth on a paper towel and microwave it for about eight seconds.

whitesands77 · Jan 23, 2017

I usually put it in an open container in front of my space heater if its too wet. Too dry and I hit it with some non-chlorinated water and air a bit. Im not such a purist I leave it in the tin because it wont last long once opened.

ukbob · Jan 23, 2017

Straight from tin to jar always works for me.

mawnansmiff · Jan 23, 2017

I tend to put the baccy straight into a bail top jar upon arrival and decant from it as required, usually sufficient for about three or four bowls into a small dish which then air dries over several hours. If I'm in a hurry then 10 seconds in the microwave does the trick.
Regards,
Jay.

sablebrush52 · Jan 23, 2017

Tin to a jar upon opening the tin. I'll dry what I need when I need it.
With the exception of a few vintage tins whose contents had dried out, I don't rehydrate. Most tobaccos have extra water added to retard drying out in the tin. Also, water costs less, so let the buyer pay $5 an oz for water.
I find that my tobacco is much more flavorful when it's just shy of bone dry. Hearth & Home, GL Pease, and Daughters & Ryan tin at or near the optimum moisture level, so those I just enjoy "as is".

dottiewarden · Jan 23, 2017

Tin to a jar upon opening the tin. I'll dry what I need when I need it.

There seems to be a consensus on this one.

blendtobac · Jan 23, 2017

I had come up with a prototype for a little device to speed up drying without using heat. It was a small box with vents and a computer case fan installed. There was a hole in the top with a depression to fit a cup into. The bottom of the cup was made of screen material. You just put your tobacco in the cup, set it in the depression and turn on the fan. It accelerated the drying nicely, but when I approached a company to make it, the quote they gave me would have translated to a retail around $50, a point I would consider too high for an item like this. Oh, well.
Russ

toobfreak · Jan 23, 2017

If it is really that much of an issue, spread the tobacco out thin on a window screen. You could even add convective heat under it to waft up through it. No tobacco I've ever seen stayed wet that way more than an hour.

mawnansmiff · Jan 23, 2017

"I find that my tobacco is much more flavorful when it's just shy of bone dry."
Jessie, me too but some folks are most insistent that tobacco, properly processed & packaged is OK straight from the tin! Perhaps they never smoked any Sam. Gawith or Gawith and Hoggarth blends?
Regards,
Jay.

pagan · Jan 23, 2017

Tin to a jar upon opening the tin. I'll dry what I need when I need it.

Seams to be the general conclusions and my preference

cosmicfolklore · Jan 24, 2017

I have a whole different method. Instead of making the tobacco drier. I just make everything else comparatively wetter. For example, FVF is perfect right out of the tin for smoking while scuba diving. Give it a try.
BTW, Russ, you need to quickly market that device. I would love to have something that could dry tobacco in this Alabama humidity without having to use a microwave or heat it up on a coffee warmer.

toobfreak · Jan 24, 2017

Michael, just get one of those little ceramic polonis heaters used to defrost windshields or whatever, and put it under a vented metal box.

jpmcwjr · Jan 25, 2017

Or stick a few tins on the manifold- if you can find it in todays autos.

peteguy · Jan 25, 2017

Russ,
You can always use the redneck ceiling fan - works great!!

kanse · Jan 25, 2017

I have a little table lamp with adjustable direction for the light bulb, put 100ws in it and I simply let it shine over my tobacco if I want to dry it fast.
Also, depending on the cut, current moisture and desired moisture of tobacco I leave them in an open mason jar for different durations. I've left some tobaccoes out in open for a week, others, 1 days is enough.

I have yet to find a tobacco that would suffer from being left open overnight, so that's a good start for me.

How to handle wet tobacco

Log in

SmokingPipes.com Updates

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

Site Sponsors

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

Part of the Furniture Now

Part of the Furniture Now

Lifer

Moderator

Captain of the Black Frigate

Starting to Get Obsessed

Lifer

Lifer

The Bard Of Barlings

Lifer

Lifer

Lifer

Lifer

Lifer

Lifer

Lifer

Moderator

Lifer

Part of the Furniture Now