Drying Question: How Dry is too Dry?

[OSOBUCO]

That's the question. I have been experimenting with moisture level in order to reduce tongue bite while maintaining flavor and I am beginning to think too dry is leading me to require more relights especially early in a bowl. I know @cosmicfolklore loves it near crispy but I seem to have more problems with needing relights if too dry. IE - once I stop sipping it goes out almost immediately. It could certainly be my lack of mastery of packing but it seems once I get deeper into the bowl the number of relights goes down - maybe due to combustion moisture dampening the lower half? It could also be the lower half is packed differently but I have noticed this with various techniques I have used. I wonder all this since we are really trying to get a smolder going and damp things seem to smolder better - like a peat bog or leaf pile fire. I am sure different blends and cuts behave differently and even pipes affect this but I am interested in thoughts here and I will continue to experiment.

 

[TheIronMonkey]

For most blends, I like to feel a tiny bit of moisture. Drying might be ten or twenty minutes out of the tin, spread out in a shallow bowl.

If it's a PG laden blend like Samuel Gawith Full Virginia Flake, cube cut and eight hours drying might not even be enough. Combustion will add moisture back, so I find bone dry for this Virginia is a must. Without drying, I find it impossible to keep lit.

It's easy to overpack too tight when using the traditional three stage method. Gravity filling and tamping as you go gives plenty of room for adjustment. I lean towards this more and more.

 

[sablebrush52]

That's the question. I have been experimenting with moisture level in order to reduce tongue bite while maintaining flavor and I am beginning to think too dry is leading me to require more relights especially early in a bowl. I know @cosmicfolklore loves it near crispy but I seem to have more problems with needing relights if too dry. IE - once I stop sipping it goes out almost immediately. It could certainly be my lack of mastery of packing but it seems once I get deeper into the bowl the number of relights goes down - maybe due to combustion moisture dampening the lower half? It could also be the lower half is packed differently but I have noticed this with various techniques I have used. I wonder all this since we are really trying to get a smolder going and damp things seem to smolder better - like a peat bog or leaf pile fire. I am sure different blends and cuts behave differently and even pipes affect this but I am interested in thoughts here and I will continue to experiment.

All I can share is observation based on personal experiences.
Moisture level is a critical component for deriving the strongest flavors in the blends that I prefer smoking. Finding the best combo for strong flavors requires a little experimentation, and results vary a little between cuts and genres.
All that aside, I get the most pronounced and defined flavors when the tobaccos I smoke are just shy of bone dry, dry to the touch when squeezed but still pliant, and not crumbly dry. There needs to be some moisture so when the tobacco is simmering the steamy smoke is a flavorful reduction rather than thin broth.
There are other components to the process, like the pack and lighting that play an important role, but it’s not rocket science, just observation and practice.
Tongue bite is not an issue for me. On the rare occasion that I experience a touch of it, the issue is more with the particular blend than a technique based issue. Some people have adverse reactions to some varieties of tobaccos.

 

[Aomalley27]

It’s up to YOU. I prefer a wetter tobacco, and don’t dry most blends. (*Actually; when sampling new blends I try different moisture levels, but most blends I find are quite fine right from the tin)

 

[monty55]

I like it to be just moist enough that if I pinch some between thumb and forefinger with some force, it just stays together. If the tobacco breaks and doesn't bend, it's too dry for me.

 

[OSOBUCO]

It’s up to YOU. I prefer a wetter tobacco, and don’t dry most blends. (*Actually; when sampling new blends I try different moisture levels, but most blends I find are quite fine right from the tin)

I know it is up to me, what I am asking is if anyone notices an increase in the number of relights if the tobacco is too dry. I seem to have experienced that but it could also be packing.

 

[Morrison Jeremiah]

PG laden blend like Samuel Gawith Full Virginia Flake,

I'm certain there is absolutely no PG in any Gawith products.
sure, it's moist, but there's not a scrap of of propylene glycol in there.

 

[monty55]

what I am asking is if anyone notices an increase in the number of relights if the tobacco is too dry. I seem to have experienced that but it could also be packing.

I can't say that I have experience that. But then again, I don't smoke it if it's too dry, I rehydrate it first. I also don't pay much attention to how many times I relight because there are so many variables. A lot of time I have to set the pipe down to do something for half a minute and have to relight. But all things considered I'd say it's a packing thing, which can vary with the moisture level.

 

[mso489]

I feel like I do more relights with moist tobacco. In general, the right dryness is dryer than most think. When I forget and leave something out in a drying bowl a few days, I get a better smoke.

 

[OSOBUCO]

I feel like I do more relights with moist tobacco.

This certainly makes sense to me and is what I assumed but lately I have been drying a bit longer and now the relight count is increasing. It may be my packing technique as @monty55 suggests and with dryer tobacco I need to adjust things or go back to a little more moisture.

 

[monty55]

This certainly makes sense to me and is what I assumed but lately I have been drying a bit longer and now the relight count is increasing. It may be my packing technique as @monty55 suggests and with dryer tobacco I need to adjust things or go back to a little more moisture.

Here's an easy hydrate hack. If you have a bowls worth sitting out on a plate and it appears to have dried a bit too long, pack it in your bowl loosely. Place your mouth over the top of the bowl an blow warm moist air very slowly through the tobacco and out the stem. In 10 or 15 seconds the tobacco will be just about right

 

[TheIronMonkey]

I'm certain there is absolutely no PG in any Gawith products.
sure, it's moist, but there's not a scrap of of propylene glycol in there.

I may be mistaken, but, it seems to take far longer to dry than any other tobacco.

 

[AppalachianPipe92]

It really depends on the blend for me, and the size of my bowl. But I'm with others here who have said just shy of bone dry - crumbles when rubbed, but stays together if pinch firmly together. It's definitely a feel thing for me. Some blends take 5 minutes of dry time, some I've left for an hour.
Also, some I like wetter than others. Lakeland are one I like on the wetter side. VaPer are blends I like on the dry side, as well as straight VA. I also prefer my Burley blends on the dry side.
I think this will vary person to person as well. What some might consider dry may make for a tongue bite for others. It's most definitely worth experimentation for what suits your liking best. Pick one blend and smoke it at different moisture contents and make notes about the pros and cons of the individual drying times. I still do this when I try a new blend

 

[MattRVA]

Get a good even light by holding the bowl level when lighting, try packing a bit looser and reduce tamping. I like my tobacco to be on the dry side. Sometimes I wonder if a filter in the pipe cuts down on the amount of oxygen getting to the ember, making the pipe go out quicker. I don’t know if you’re using a filter but thought I’d add my two cents.

 

[jpmcwjr]

This certainly makes sense to me and is what I assumed but lately I have been drying a bit longer and now the relight count is increasing. It may be my packing technique as @monty55 suggests and with dryer tobacco I need to adjust things or go back to a little more moisture.

Drier tobacco needing more re-lights is counter intuitive. I'd not focus too much on the original load, but pay attention to tamping throughout.

 

[Chasing Embers]

I smoke nearly everything freshly bone dry to the point of it being crunchy.

 

[Chasing Embers]

I seem to have more problems with needing relights if too

You're packing it too tight.

 

[Morrison Jeremiah]

I may be mistaken, but, it seems to take far longer to dry than any other tobacco.

You could email Gawith Hoggarth to put your mind at rest on this one.

 

[sablebrush52]

I know it is up to me, what I am asking is if anyone notices an increase in the number of relights if the tobacco is too dry. I seem to have experienced that but it could also be packing.

I haven't experience dry tobacco being difficult to light or keep lit. Different blends and cuts have different burning characteristics. There are some blends, like Yorktown, that catch the flame and keep on going. I can put a pipe loaded with Yorktown in my coat pocket if I have to duck into a store, and when I come out 15, 20 minutes later, can pull that pipe from my pocket and continue to smoke it without a relight.

Other blends are very difficult to keep lit. So it could be the blend, toppings and/or casings, or the cut. And, it could be packing. I never pack tightly.

 

[OzPiper]

You haven't mentioned tamping.

If my tobacco is dry enough, it is usually because I've been distracted and forgot to tamp.

That cut makes a huge difference eg Shag burns more easily than flake.

The maker also makes a difference. Yesterday a bowl of GLP's Telegraph Hill smoked down to ash with 2 matches. A second bowl of SG Full Virginia Flake needed a few relights, and left some dottle. Both flakes were dried, and well rubbed out.