Drying Esoterica Blends

[alaskanpiper]

Hello All,
I recently lucked out and came into some Stonehaven and Penzance. These blends came out of the bag with a fair amount of moisture, particularly the Stonehaven. I'm told this is not uncommon for these particular blends.
My questions are two. The first: Is there such a thing as too much moisture for jarring? Do these blends need to dry some before going into the jar for effective/safe/non-moldy cellaring? Or should I just slap them in there as-is, and dry them as needed when ready to smoke?
The second: The great sablebrush52 cracked an egg of knowledge all over me (as usual) and cautioned me as to the "sweet spot" that Stonehaven needs to hit as far as moisture content to be a truly good smoke. Those with experience, what is your preferred level of moisture content for this blend? Where might that sweet spot be? How much drying time before loading up?
As always, I'm sure I'll get different answers from different folks, but as with any noble scientific quest, you cannot reach an empirical conclusion without any data to sift through....
Thanks!
Frank

 

[jaytex1969]

Humidity, temperature, lunar pull, many things to impact the equation.
I like to lay out a flake and check periodically by trying to bend it some. When it gets dry enough to just start cracking at the bend, but not a "clean, full" break, that's a good starting point for the first smoke.
After, make adjustments based on performance of that first bowl. IE- burning wet or steamy, dry longer; burning hot and fast, dry less.
Finding the "sweet spot" for flavor is a separate issue. The above addresses mechanics but optimizing flavor may or may not coincide with those points.
The other way I've evaluated flakes is to lay out the first one for a long time, like a day, and then smoke it "over-dried". Follow up smokes can be dried incrementally less until you find YOUR sweet spot. Requires more patience and time but generates more data for consideration.
Of course, with a limited supply, it would kind of suck to finally figure out the optimal dry time just as you get to the last flake. You seem to be observant and catching on rapidly, so don't be afraid to trust your own judgement and tweak on the fly.
I am of the mind that, like sex and pizza, there are rarely any "bad" smokes, just "less good" ones. :mrgreen:

EDIT: As for jarring, I don't recall hearing about this producer having a mold problem. As long as you use a very clean jar and working environment, it will likely be good. If it's sopping wet, letting it dry a bit would probably not hurt, but then, prolonged air exposure does have the tiny chance that a rogue spore could waltz in before you wrap up the jarring.

 

[jeff540]

I keep 8oz of most Esoterica blends in quart-sized wide-mouth mason jars. Both Stonehaven and Penzance being of the (by and large) flake variety, I found there's enough air space left over to ever so slightly reduce the moisture if opened periodically the first few weeks after jarring. Still have to dry before each smoke, but no longer the 'OMG it's gonna mold' paranoia level of moisture.
Speaking specifically of Stonehaven, I found it has better flavor if simply rubbed out, sit for 20-30 minutes and smoked while still a little sticky. Several relights and a little dottle, but sweet, mild to medium body, and a little figgy tasting. I had a few bowls last night, so that's fresh in my mind.
Alternatively, Stonehaven dried out fully is better behaved in the bowl (fewer relights and no dottle) but to me the taste is fuller, not so sweet, and more "burley."

 

[cigrmaster]

I find Stonehaven to work best with a bit of moisture, not dried out. If dried too much it burns hot and has no flavor for me. Everyone needs to learn what the right one is for your tastes, what I like might not be what you like.
I have been smoking through a batch of 2007 Stonehaven and I still have to let the flakes sit out for 1-1.5 hours before smoking. Jars keep the humidity in just fine.

 

[jaytex1969]

Now that I've stated above that I've not heard of any mold issues from this tobacco producer, we have This New Thread with a molded Esoterica.
Of course, it could still be due to exposure in the jarring process but, we have no way to know.

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

Moisture doesn't cause mold. Mold spores cause mold. I'm surprised there isn't more problems than we hear about with mold and long term storage. The manufacturing facilities aren't exactly state of the art. And people often introduce mold spores while canning. Regardless, mold seems to be a 1% problem, not a 25% problem.

 

[jaytex1969]

Blaming the 1%, hoosier?
I never pegged you for a Bernie guy... :rofl:

 

[jaytex1969]

JOKE, NOT POLITICS!
DON'T TAZE ME, BRO!! 8O

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

jaytex, you had me pegged correctly. I like your keen wit my friend, no tazaing forthcoming.

 

[alexnc]

I agree with Jeff and Cigrmaster. SH works well with a bit of moisture. Burns great even so.

 

[jpmcwjr]

Those with experience, what is your preferred level of moisture content for this blend? Where might that sweet spot be? How much drying time before loading up?

This stuff generally comes in at 90% RH, and the sweet spot for me is around 70% RH, so substantial drying time is needed. Still plenty of moisture at 70% RH @ 70º.