Bulk Tobacco Aging

[coys]

We spend a lot of time here talking about what tobaccos are best for cellaring and aging, and many of us have numerous tins in our closets maturing.

But one comment I see frequently here and elsewhere is that when you break the seal on a tin the aging process ends. Usually it's said that this introduces room air and even if you pop open a tin and then jar the contents, they won't age as before. Has this been your experience?

What about tobacco initially bought in bulk - do you find that it matures in the jar over years, being that it was never tinned in a sealed environment in the first place?

 

[cosmicfolklore]

The aging process doesn't just end when you expose it to air. Wouldn't it be nice if we could stop aging as easily? No, what happens is that the environment that you've got going that is doing what it is doing (for lack of better terminology), is disrupted. The microbes/enzymes first convert oxygen to CO2, and then as they die off a set of other enzymes start doing their thing, and this is the important process to give us the results we want from the aging process.
So, adding new oxygen destroys the second wave of enzymes, and resealing it may or may not establish the process over again. But, you take a big chance that the second wave of enzymes do not get established. Or, that even a first wave doesn't get established. Whatever happens, it is not the same process that was established in that sealed environment the first time.

Bulk has never been sealed, so once you get it canned, it has the opportunity to establish this oxygen eating microbe and then second wave of enzymes.

Unsealed tobaccos do have an aging process. Almost all tobaccos have went through this even before the tobacconist gets it, but it is a different process. It doesn't have as drastic an effect.

I hope that helps.

All in all, do what you want with your tobaccos. But, there have been sets of "best practices" established over the years, in which some of us stick to. But, it is by no means dogmatic. Some stick to the guidelines, others may not. This is why I would never buy a jarred tobacco with age on it from someone. You just never know what that person has done.

 

[Auxsender]

The aging process doesn't just end when you expose it to air. Wouldn't it be nice if we could stop aging as easily? No, what happens is that the environment that you've got going that is doing what it is doing (for lack of better terminology), is disrupted. The microbes/enzymes first convert oxygen to CO2, and then as they die off a set of other enzymes start doing their thing, and this is the important process to give us the results we want from the aging process.
So, adding new oxygen destroys the second wave of enzymes, and resealing it may or may not establish the process over again. But, you take a big chance that the second wave of enzymes do not get established. Or, that even a first wave doesn't get established. Whatever happens, it is not the same process that was established in that sealed environment the first time.

Bulk has never been sealed, so once you get it canned, it has the opportunity to establish this oxygen eating microbe and then second wave of enzymes.

Unsealed tobaccos do have an aging process. Almost all tobaccos have went through this even before the tobacconist gets it, but it is a different process. It doesn't have as drastic an effect.

I hope that helps.

All in all, do what you want with your tobaccos. But, there have been sets of "best practices" established over the years, in which some of us stick to. But, it is by no means dogmatic. Some stick to the guidelines, others may not. This is why I would never buy a jarred tobacco with age on it from someone. You just never know what that person has done.

Whatever you do, don’t blow smoke rings or rub out your flakes, amiright?

 

[kcghost]

I don't deal much in the way of bulks, but generally feel these lose a little bit in the process of cellaring. But that's just IMHO and shouldn't be taken as any kind of gospel.

 

[HeavyLeadBelly]

I don't deal much in the way of bulks, but generally feel these lose a little bit in the process of cellaring. But that's just IMHO and shouldn't be taken as any kind of gospel.

Why do you think this? If the bulk is jarred in a two piece mason jar wouldn’t that establish a good environment to promote aging of certain types of blends like VaPers and Vas?

 

[coys]

Those seem like good questions. Obviously, a vacuum sealed tin should have little air inside, but a large jar would have quite a bit of air by comparison.

 

[Scottmi]

Good discussion here

 

[brandaves]

Good discussion here

Thanks for posting this. A really interesting look at how introducing oxygen changes aroma. I've never stoved a blend but been very curious about it. This video might have pushed me toward giving it a shot soon.

 

[captpat]

All tobaccos change in storage, some more than others. IME most tobaccos mellow out with age, though I believe that storage can last too long and the tobacco reaches a peak and then declines, My first goal for storing tobacco is to make sure it doesn't turn to dust or lose all of its flavor, I cellar to future-proof myself for a time when the tobacco I like is no longer available, any improvement is an added benefit. I don't worry too much about the ratio of air to tobacco in a given storage container, so far the results have been satisfactory. YMMV.

 

[bullet08]

NASA should really test this. If pipe tobacco ages inside of the space station, and outside in vacuum. Heck, I'm sure Russians are also interested this monumental study of the noblest plant matter on earth. And doesn't our tax money support NASA?

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Obviously, a vacuum sealed tin should have little air inside

The vacuum is very little negative pressure. There is still plenty of air inside the tin. If the vacuum was absolute, the thin tin material would be crushed flat. I have a vacuum press and vacuum casting unit, and they require very thick materials, and even an inch of acrylic can start to make sounds at -70 pressure. It creaks and will set your hair on end. The tins are more like -5 to -10. A hamster could survive for several hours.

 

[sablebrush52]

Why do you think this? If the bulk is jarred in a two piece mason jar wouldn’t that establish a good environment to promote aging of certain types of blends like VaPers and Vas?

Short answer, maybe. I’ve jarred bulks, same batch, within seconds of each other, stored next to each other, and aged differently when opened a decade later. The results of aging are unpredictable. The results of interrupting aging are unpredictable.
There may be some general effects associated with aging, which may or may not happen.
With aging, anyone speaking in absolutes is full of it.