A Pound of Dried Up Samples

[AroEnglish]

About a year ago as I was starting to really get back into smoking I bought a variety of 1oz samples. It was probably around 30 different blends that I tried and there we a small handful of winners that got smoked all the way through. Most of them though just say in their plastic zip lock bags overt the year and dried out.

What should I do with these tobaccos? Should I just dump them in the trash, give them away, rehydrate them individually, or rehydrate them together into a mega-blend?

 

[dsturg369]

I would give them away. Some people, such as myself, prefer their tobacco a little on the dryer side.

 

[AroEnglish]

I would give them away. Some people, such as myself, prefer their tobacco a little on the dryer side.

Thanks for the thought! When I say dry I mean really dry. It's all quite crispy and crunchy and nearly dusty.

 

[shanez]

Definitely give them away. Someone might find something they really enjoy in there.

I was in a somewhat similar situation with samples but they were in 4 Oz Mason jars. I sold the jars and included the tobacco for free.

 

[OzPiper]

I’d try rehydrating them SLOWLY
eg with a hydrating disc or a squirt of distilled water
Best to underhydrate than overdoing it

Ziplock bags are OK storage for a couple of months
It really depends on the ambient humidity where you are

In humid Sydney, Oz, baggies are good good for 12 months or more if stored in a wooden container
I do check every few weeks or so

 

[WhiteCrown]

Depending on what it is, I've mixed overly dry tobacco with something else compatible in flavor that was s little too moist, jar it up, wait a week or two, and in usually turned out well and the moisture fairly equalized. It also might be a good time to try the apple slice trick if you don't want to buy a bunch of pouch humidifier disks.

 

[dsturg369]

Thanks for the thought! When I say dry I mean really dry. It's all quite crispy and crunchy and nearly dusty.

Yeah, sounds like a possible rehydration experiment or trash. Just hate to see tobacco lost.

 

[FLDRD]

I'd try them again if it's been so long. Palates change.
And I'm not averse to mixing something dry and moist to make my own concoction.

 

[Streeper541]

As long as it doesn't look like a dust storm when you pour it out... It's still smokable.

 

[kcghost]

I think you ought to realize that rehydrating the tobacco will take time. I would allow at least a month for it to work. You do not want to rush this phase.

 

[milk]

Here’s an opportunity for me to ask something without starting a new thread. A guy on Facebook recently was talking about rehydrating very old dried out tobacco. I distinctly remember a thread here where someone from C&D stated unequivocally that once the oils in tobaccos dry out, it’s finished, and rehydrating will not bring back it back. The guy on FB said, “no, I bring back ancient tobacco all the time, even ancient aromatics. And they’re restored to their former glory.” I’m totally confused about this issue.

 

[bluegrassbrian]

Here’s an opportunity for me to ask something without starting a new thread. A guy on Facebook recently was talking about rehydrating very old dried out tobacco. I distinctly remember a thread here where someone from C&D stated unequivocally that once the oils in tobaccos dry out, it’s finished, and rehydrating will not bring back it back. The guy on FB said, “no, I bring back ancient tobacco all the time, even ancient aromatics. And they’re restored to their former glory.” I’m totally confused about this issue.

Like most everything it's not a black or white issue. Variables and such.

 

[TheIronMonkey]

Here’s an opportunity for me to ask something without starting a new thread. A guy on Facebook recently was talking about rehydrating very old dried out tobacco. I distinctly remember a thread here where someone from C&D stated unequivocally that once the oils in tobaccos dry out, it’s finished, and rehydrating will not bring back it back. The guy on FB said, “no, I bring back ancient tobacco all the time, even ancient aromatics. And they’re restored to their former glory.” I’m totally confused about this issue.

From my experience with cigars, once the oils have dried out, flavour will be lost. However, the tobacco can be rehydrated and made smokable.

 

[milk]

From my experience with cigars, once the oils have dried out, flavour will be lost. However, the tobacco can be rehydrated and made smokable.

That was kind of my assumption. Like, you’re smoking something and it might not taste bad, but it still seems like a mostly wasted effort if you’re not getting close to what it was or even close to something of any kind of quality, subjective though idea that may be. Unless I’m not understanding this. I’m talking about a guy taking a 50 year old open tin of tobacco and rehydrating it. And everyone encouraging this. Now, I don’t KNOW anything but what I’ve read, but if we’re not talking about something on the line, as it were, then this seems like something pipe smokers should just know not to bother with?

 

[TheIronMonkey]

That was kind of my assumption. Like, you’re smoking something and it might not taste bad, but it still seems like a mostly wasted effort if you’re not getting close to what it was or even close to something of any kind of quality, subjective though idea that may be. Unless I’m not understanding this. I’m talking about a guy taking a 50 year old open tin of tobacco and rehydrating it. And everyone encouraging this. Now, I don’t KNOW anything but what I’ve read, but if we’re not talking about something on the line, as it were, then this seems like something pipe smokers should just know not to bother with?

It depends on what your expectations are. When I had the chance to smoke Velvet tobacco from circa 1926 via this forum, I jumped at the chance. It didn’t taste like fresh Velvet, but the experience of being able to smoke nearly one hundred year old tobacco was awesome and fun when I also had it in a period correct pipe. I smoked it as is and rehydrated. It was diminished as compared to fresh Velvet, but the experience was priceless. Worth the bother? I should say so.

 

[AJL67]

I had a 500g box of 2018 BBF that was pretty close to kindling, would have taken some nasa level shit to find moisture in it, I bought a 5 dollar misting bottle off amazon, the kind hairdressers use, filled it with distilled water, spread the kindling out on a cookie sheet and gave it a mist, let it sit, mixed it around and gave it another mist, let it sit then through it in a big ass jar. About a month later i checked it and it was actually great as far as moisture, it might have lost a bit of flavor but it was still pretty damn good. YMMV

These for anyone interested

Amazon.com

 

[warren99]

I would give rehydration a try before discarding.

 

[milk]

It depends on what your expectations are. When I had the chance to smoke Velvet tobacco from circa 1926 via this forum, I jumped at the chance. It didn’t taste like fresh Velvet, but the experience of being able to smoke nearly one hundred year old tobacco was awesome and fun when I also had it in a period correct pipe. I smoked it as is and rehydrated. It was diminished as compared to fresh Velvet, but the experience was priceless. Worth the bother? I should say so.

I had a 500g box of 2018 BBF that was pretty close to kindling, would have taken some nasa level shit to find moisture in it, I bought a 5 dollar misting bottle off amazon, the kind hairdressers use, filled it with distilled water, spread the kindling out on a cookie sheet and gave it a mist, let it sit, mixed it around and gave it another mist, let it sit then through it in a big ass jar. About a month later i checked it and it was actually great as far as moisture, it might have lost a bit of flavor but it was still pretty damn good. YMMV

These for anyone interested

Amazon.com

I'm pretty confused at this point. I definitely don’t understand the import of what the C&D person was saying. There’s got to be something left to taste then.

 

[WhiteCrown]

I'm pretty confused at this point. I definitely don’t understand the import of what the C&D person was saying. There’s got to be something left to taste then.

I heard someone say something about something they read one time too... With pipes and tobacco, I've found these pieces of information useful for providing insight, but never as law, especially when they are presented as such. Most times you just gotta try it and see for yourself.

 

[milk]

I heard someone say something about something they read one time too... With pipes and tobacco, I've found these pieces of information useful for providing insight, but never as law, especially when they are presented as such. Most times you just gotta try it and see for yourself.

So stupid was I that I through out a tin of tobacco that I’d accidentally left lying around for 6 months. I might have given that one a go.