Mason jars used to store 8oz Escoterica bags?

I tried this. I bought some big ass mason jars. I don't know how many litres they were. The problem is that the hole at the top was still to narrow so you couldn't get the bag in without crushing it, I moved on to use flip tops with silicone seals. I even dipped the top in wax, but then I am anal.

Any reason you don't want to take it out of the bag? My half-pounder of Stonehaven went easily into a 16-oz jar, which takes much less storage space than something large enough to fit an unopened bag.

If you take it out of the bag, you stop and restart the aging process, which isn't ideal. If the tobacco was just purchased, you probably don't care. But if you have a lot of it then you may want to preserve the value of it as well. If I slip the surly bonds of earth tomorrow, the wife will have a ton of esoterica to sell, and she will get much more for it if it is still in an unopened bag.

That makes sense, Peck. I bought & jarred mine the same day, so no difference.
MassPiper, that makes sense too. I wish they did all of their blends in tins; 8 oz. is a lot of tobacco for me to buy just to try something out...
We're all making sense but me it seems; I'll be quiet and learn now.

If you are trying to protect an unopened bag, why not just double ziplock em? Or use one of those freezer sealers.

If you take it out of the bag, you stop and restart the aging process

Click to expand...

WAIT WAIT WAIT!!!! Back the truck up? How does that make sense? It's still aging isn't it? What's the difference if it's removed from it's package and placed in another "encased" environment.
There's another thread about Christmas Cheer in Tobacco Discussions, that talks about cracking a tin and not touching it for like 3 to 6 months. Is it a different type of aging?
Please splain to me. I'm still relatively new to pipe smoking, and it seems there's a whole lot of emphasis on aging tobacco.(At times I think it's too much an emphasis) I'm just trying to get the groundwork down on it.
Sorry, it's not my intention to hijack the post, but I had to ask.

defargin,

THIS THREAD that cigrmaster started a while back has a bunch of great info on aging.
-Jason

Apparently the bags are fine to store it in, there's something like 3 layers to it. I'm not going to transfer mine until I open it and then 4 ounces of each into a mason jar. I guess you can check periodically to make sure the bag is still sealed, but from what I've read their very sturdy bags. And the popping the tin is more the air reacting with the tobacco does something to it, I don't know, all I can say is that after a while sitting with the lid on after you've popped it, it becomes much better. But don't pop the tin until you're planning on smoking it, leave it sealed until then. But honestly I've had LBF in a jar which I opened and closed regularly as I smoked it and it definitely changed in a better way. To be honest though, until you've got a serious amount of tobacco happening don't put too much thought into aging, it's not like these blends are made to not smoke until a certain time has come. I'm just aging tobacco more because I've acquired alot, but it's not like I'm not going to pop a mason jar seal and try it then reseal it. Also not all blends age well, apparantly latakia blends really don't age well other then maybe a few years.

I am getting my first bag of Penzanze next week and I plan to open it and enjoy it. However I will be splitting it up like Andrew mentions above into two small mason jars.

defargin,

THIS THREAD that cigrmaster started a while back has a bunch of great info on aging.
-Jason

Click to expand...

Thanks Jason...I read the link...I think I'm going to go lie down for a while.

Mass, just send me one of the bags of stonehaven, i'll take care of it for you and let you know what works best. You'll get the bag back, can't make any promises about its contents though.
I've said it before, but i don't store my tobacco in anything other than the tins they come in and i have had no issues with anything drying out or losing flavor. Now granted, i don't have a cave full of tobacco like peck, but i think you'll be just fine leaving it unopened in the bag. Unless you are cellaring a shit ton of tobacco, i don't get the big deal with the whole mason jar aging thing and the obsession over it. If i get an order of 5 different tobaccos that i have never tried, i open every tin and just store it the way it came. I have probably 50 or 60 tins of open tobacco and some have been opened 6 months plus, and still look, feel and taste fresh as when they were opened. Just my opinion and experiences, whatever works for you, have at it!

I have no apprehensions at all about storing Esoterica bags for the long term. I've never had one fail. And I've never *heard* of one failing. Yes, you'll have problems if there are holes in the bag. So don't put holes in the bag. (Holes don't happen spontaneously. . . )
Bob

+1 Corey (layinpipe)
Whatever comes in a tin stays in a tin. I'm the same way dude. I haven't had any issues with drying or losing flavor with any of the tins I have opened. Occasionally I'll throw a pouch moistener into a tin if I feel like it needs to hydrate a bit. But again, that's a rarity. Whatever I order in bulk is the only thing that gets put into a jar.

There are some threads out there where people had tobacco in those 8 oz esoterica bags dry out. The problem is that there could be a pin hole develop in the crease of the bag that you just can't see. Further, for the blends that have a plastic tray in the bag, it was suggested that the plastic tray pointy parts can wear away at the bag - creating holes. That said, when I quizzed these folks a bit more, it looked like they primarily had this issue with the older style esoterica bag, which I am told weren't as durable as the current version.
Here's a thread: http://pipesmagazine.com/forums/topic/thoughts-on-esotericas-packaging