Cellaring Flake Tobacco
- Thread starter rodo
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There's nothing wrong in doing it the way you did. Personally I'd add more flakes in the jar -- even if I had to coil them up tightly.
You want as little oxygen in the jar as possible. You can cut them to fit tight vertically, or mash them together, or coil, or even rub out before re-jarring.
Good question!
Good question!
Curious why you say so. Tobacco is a dead organic material that ferments with or without oxygen. By hurrying the oxygen depletion, all you're doing is hurrying the onset of anaerobic fermentation. No one has come foreword with any data supporting one mode of fermentation over the other, especially regarding taste.
Hold on you two! I've now got some jars stuffed, some as in the photo. We'll see how it plays out a year from now. Thanks for the advice and suggestions.
Rodo, if you look back through the archives here, you will see that this subject has been discussed ad nauseum. While I've yet to see a well designed research project on the matter, peer reviewed and published in a well respected journal of tobacco research, anecdotal evidence leads to a few semi-reliable conclusions: By the time that pipe tobacco is fully processed, it has spent a lot of time in aerobic conditions. Further exposure to a well-oxygenated environment doesn't do much to improve flavor characteristics, and in time will degrade the product. Anaerobic conditions post manufacturing will at worst help preserve the product and in most cases will improve it, especially if the tobacco has a higher sugar content.
To that end, it's generally considered best practice to pack jars for cellaring as tightly as possible. I would go as far as to say that it would be best to flush the jars with CO2 before sealing.
Your Stonehaven was already sealed and probably in a low oxygen condition. It would be best to continue in that direction. It's one of the reasons that I usually don't jar Esoterica products for cellaring. I'll just double-bag them in heat-sealed Mylar.
To that end, it's generally considered best practice to pack jars for cellaring as tightly as possible. I would go as far as to say that it would be best to flush the jars with CO2 before sealing.
Your Stonehaven was already sealed and probably in a low oxygen condition. It would be best to continue in that direction. It's one of the reasons that I usually don't jar Esoterica products for cellaring. I'll just double-bag them in heat-sealed Mylar.
Thank you! Not only better said than I could have, but from a more knowledgeable source. ( I know, I know, hard to believe!) 
I believe Greg Pease has written to the above, but I just don't have the effort to day to try to find his writings on the subject. And as Dan points out, precious little, if any, real data available. (And the end result would be a matter of opinion: one guy would prefer the five year aerobic aging of a blend, and another the five year anaerobic aged blend. And then another guy would pipe up and say it's better at three years; another it's better fresh, and so on.)
I believe Greg Pease has written to the above, but I just don't have the effort to day to try to find his writings on the subject. And as Dan points out, precious little, if any, real data available. (And the end result would be a matter of opinion: one guy would prefer the five year aerobic aging of a blend, and another the five year anaerobic aged blend. And then another guy would pipe up and say it's better at three years; another it's better fresh, and so on.)
Food in the refrigerator or freezer keeps better with less air in the container. I don't know if that applies to tobacco or not, but you certainly save space and money for jars if you pack tighter. I don't see an advantage in packing so few flakes per jar. But I'd certainly be willing to hear, if there's an advantage.
When I'm jarring flakes I normally only put 2oz in at a time. When I open a jar it might be months or longer before I finally empty it. I'd rather they keep aging along rather than being opened up from time to time.
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