Additives in Tobacco

[smokedogrememberthatsht]

I’ve found through trial and error that drying out my tobacco alleviates tongue bite for me however some blends will not dry out. The blends that will not dry out irritate my tongue and mouth. I really like Connell and Diehl because none of their blends have this issue. I read on their website that none of their blends contain additives so I have concluded I need to seek out manufactures that do not use chemicals to preserve their product. My two questions are:

(1) I gravitate towards blends that are available in bulk due to the price, is this a factor?

(2) What brands/blends can you recommend that would be additive free (I like VAs & VA Pers)?

Thanks in advance,

Mike

 

[smokedogrememberthatsht]

great information, thank you
so I figured out that GLP is G.L. Pease but what is IIRC?
Thanks again

 

[sparroa]

By the way, I believe C&D uses propylene glycol in some of their aromatics. I think they use distilled water for the rest of their lines.
PG is probably one of the more innocuous additives since it is in everything already but I still prefer the blends which use it very sparingly.
Those of us outside the industry do not know much about the additives (flavourings or otherwise) used in pipe tobacco. I wonder about it sometimes but there is no way to know what you are truly getting...
Calls for increased ingredient reporting will probably have the undesirable effect of limiting blend selection as many imported tobaccos would probably be pulled from the shelves instead of being forced to reveal trade secrets.

 

[smokedogrememberthatsht]

For you cigar smokers, I like this one, "That's definitely bloom on your cigar, not mold!"

What? Bloom is not mold is BS? I had no idea

You can lay some out on a tray and put in a 150 degree oven for 15 or 20 minutes and see if that works

I'll give it a shot, I tried the microwave and that didn't work. I think I'm cursed with bad genetics, just really sensitive to the PG and the steam that is created from excess moisture. Even when I buy a new pipe I have to clean out the chamber really good with everclear so none of the paint or whatever is there when I smoke bc that will bite me too. I'm such a wuss :P
thank you all, any other recommendations for brands to try out? I feel a $100 free shipping order coming on soon :D

 

[smokedogrememberthatsht]

I said this because I think most anyone who's smoked cigars for a while have experienced mold on a cigar, as most B&Ms keep their humidors at a much too high level of relative humidity, thus mold is more likely to form on some of their cigars. It's a running joke, as too often, the clerk will insist that the mold is bloom and swear the cigar is just finely aged, not moldy LOL.

Oh OK. When its blue/green and on the end of the cigar its definitely mold but the white powdery stuff on the wrapper is the bloom. I used to sell cigars and have had this discussion with customers on several occasions. Fortunately we never had a mold problem.

 

[smokedogrememberthatsht]

No, you're not, it's just that many pipe smokers don't really understand that the bite they're getting is usually caused by overly moist tobacco

good to know I'm not alone

Also, nuking it will work

Everything I smoke is either air dried for 30 min to an hour or nuked so that I don't get the old raw tongue

 

[flyguy]

Here is a great article on tongue bite:
Tongue Bite

 

[sparroa]

Personally, while it probably will happen with food, I don't think tobacco is on the radar. People have been talking about all the junk in cigarettes for years and except for snippets such as "Turkish blend" on Camels and "All natural tobacco" on American Spirit, a pack of cigarettes rarely tells us anything about what's in there.

You forget that the FDA is expanding its control over the cigar and pipe tobacco industries!
I don't know much about the details but they already banned a wide assortment of flavouring agents in American cigarettes. The most notable casualty, perhaps, was the Indonesian kretek or clove cigarette. (Menthols live to die another day)
I understand your point, though, there is very little disclosure about the blend contents of each cigarette - let alone what additives or chemicals are used in the process.
I'm sure that there must be an updated master list published somewhere...

 

[gxsszh]

yeh,i want know too.

Natural American Spirit "100% Additive-Free Tobacco"

I know "no additives in our tobacco does NOT mean a safer cigarette."

It's no taste than other cigarette.

Rolling tobacco and cigars better than most cigarette,

less Additive,important is no Reconstituted Tobacco.

When do pipe tobacco ?

But i guess Impossible.

Temperature is a problem.

My english is bad.

 

[rhogg]

Just for the record mold and plume are easily distinguishable from one another. Plume is a white dust, and is a natural characteristic of cigars that have been aged at higher humidity. Proper aging humidity is considered to be between 72 and 75. Plume disappears when touched with a finger.
Mold spores are pretty obvious as they are thick. Mold does not just disappear when touched either.
I will say that plume is sort of rare on cigars in a commercial humidor unless the cigars have been laying around for a substantial amount of time. Most B&Ms are turning over between 2 and 4 boxes of a particular cigar in a six month period. This means that for the most part the cigars are not really aging on the store shelf. If they sit around much longer they are likely not selling, and just taking up space.... so they might not be the greatest cigars they do have plume. There are always exceptions.
Some cigars (tobaccos) are aged for years before they ever hit the shelves, and are more likely to exhibit plume as the sugars in the tobacco are naturally coming out.

 

[rhogg]

Every tin of Penzance I have ever opened, including 8oz bags has had plume. This tells me the tobaccos have been aged well, and attributes to the smooth smoking characteristics as well.
You notice the same thing with cigars that are aged properly. They smooth out.
Smoke a Padron Family Blend or a Davidoff..... it will begin to click.