Another Cellaring Question
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I wonder about this. The thing I read, with no sources or proof of any sort, claimed that there are changes to the tobacco through oxidation, and then once the oxygen is gone, different changes occur. And the non-oxygen changes are the “good” ones.
I find some of this very hard to believe, so I’ll let others chime in. Maybe someone has some actual tested knowledge.
I find some of this very hard to believe, so I’ll let others chime in. Maybe someone has some actual tested knowledge.
be told, it depends on how much tobacco I'm putting in and how many jars I have. In other words. do I need to pack it in or can I leave it looser with the jars I have? Honestly,I have jars packed both ways that are ten or more years aged. Both are very, very tasty.
Mike S.
Mike S.
less oxygen, less oxidation. you pack the jar full of tobacco, less room for the oxygen. the reaon why the tobacco changes once the tin is open is due to oxidation. if you are storing for long term, you want it packed reasonably. if you are going to smoke it in relatively short time, it won't make much difference since you'll open it often enough to expose the tobacco to oxygen.
fermentation is yeast turning sugar to alcohol and carbon dioxide. not sure that benefits the tobacco.
fermentation is yeast turning sugar to alcohol and carbon dioxide. not sure that benefits the tobacco.
I packed most of mine very tight out of necessity. 200 plus pounds = lots of mason jars and lots of space taken up.
It kind of ends up however it ends up. Not being glib.... There's just so much tobacco and a jar that is such-and-such a size. Some of mine are VERY tightly packed and others -- like flakes -- not so much.
How tobacco ages seems to be a bit of a mystery. Apparently theres aerobic AND anaerobic fermentation but thats about all anyone seems to know. I dont understand why we get university experiments with shrimp on treadmills yet theres no scientific consensus on the best way to age pipe tobacco after all these years. The tins from the manufacturer seem to be packed fairly tight so I dont see where it would hurt. Who knows
I've always packed mine, but I did so in order to keep it as moist as possible for as long as possible. I didn't know about this oxidation thing.
I pack as tight as I can. There's still plenty of O2 in the jar.
So, does tobacco turn darker as it ages because it's asphixiating? ?
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I pack mine as tight as possible in a jar, primarily because I want to use as small a jar a possible for storage reasons. The rule of thumb I use, which I think I've read on this forum, is to fit one ounce of ribbon cut into a jar that fits 4 fl oz. I split up my bulk orders into half pint (8 fl oz) or or pint jars. I really cram it in there like I'm making a cake. But as I smoke the tobacco in the jar, it is of course exposed to O2. I've transferred some tobacco from pint to half pint jars as I smoke them down.
Obviously you get more in a jar if you compress the hell out of it. But on the flip side, it can be hard getting it back out when it comes time to smoke, months or years later. I've noticed ribbon cuts sometimes break up into small confetti-like particles when overpacked. For me, that's reason enough to try to avoid forcing too much into a jar.
That sounds about right to me. If you compress the hell out of it, it’ll be a hell of a mess when you go to decompress it (get it out)!
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I pack it in reasonably tightly, but nowhere near close to ‘compressing the hell’ out of it.
Example: Let’s say I get a blend like Arango/Stokkebye Balkan Supreme which of course is ribbon cut. I end up with one pound in 2 quart-sized jars and 1 pint-sized jar. They’re about equally compressed in each jar.
I’m not as seasoned of a pipe smoker as some of y’all, as I stated in late 2007 but I don’t really count that nor 2008 since I was very much still learning then. Point is I’ve stored tobacco like I’ve described since around the latter part of ‘08 and it’s never been a problem outside of the invariable few cases of mold.
Seasoned enough. Just think - When, you were cellaring those jars in 2007, smokers who are 21 now and legally buying tobacco were 8 years old...
Nuff Said really
I feel fairly strongly that we should become pen-pals
It’s whatever you want to do.
I put exactly 3.5oz into each of my jars, because once aged ten years or so, it deteriorates to shitdust once open if I don’t smoke it within a few weeks. And, 3.5oz is all I want of a blend before I get bored with it or have time to smoke. Ribbons are more packed than the flakes and drier tobaccos are more packed than the more wet tobaccos. YMMV
I put exactly 3.5oz into each of my jars, because once aged ten years or so, it deteriorates to shitdust once open if I don’t smoke it within a few weeks. And, 3.5oz is all I want of a blend before I get bored with it or have time to smoke. Ribbons are more packed than the flakes and drier tobaccos are more packed than the more wet tobaccos. YMMV
How do the big producers handle aged tobacco? They have bags of old leaf, some of it much older than 10 years and yet it doesn't turn to dust.
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