Drying Tobacco

[cwpiperman]

Hey all,
I just want to note that, as much as I've heard all of the experienced pipe smokers here extol the virtues of drying tobacco adequately before smoking, I feel like I've underestimated the very great importance of this process. I deliberately, to my mind, overdried some Presbyterian Mixture this morning under an incandescent lamp. The tobacco was just short of crispy (ok, maybe a little crispy), with little detectable moisture and no clumping. This was, in my mind, drying MORE THAN I THOUGHT I SHOULD, as most of you suggest. Stuffed it (gravity fill, somewhat loose packing (breaking in my Radice pipe) into my pipe and lit. WOW. Such a difference. I believe not only the flavor was much better, but the smoking mechanics were MUCH better.
For all very N00Bs like me, I would very much recommend that you do NOT underestimate the amount of drying you might need to do, and to take this recommendation to heart!
Thanks, folks!
CW

 

[cosmicfolklore]

There exists a definite phobia about drying. There is also a phobia of tobacco going stale that is based on nothing rational. Guys putting their opened tins into jars, with dry-loc seals, stashed into airtight vaults, after dipping the entire jar into wax. It's just crazy. Some guys just will not even consider drying their tobaccos. It's just crazy talk to them. So, I just leave it be. Why would I force someone into enjoying more flavor with an overall better pipe experience, if they want to stay stuck in leather tongue world.
Also, it takes forever for a tobacco to go stale. If you consider how many times tobacco has been dried out before it was drenched and tinned, it might relinquish some of these phobias. But, when I open a tin, I will let the whole thing dry out, and even if it takes me several months to smoke the whole thing, I have never encountered staleness, except in cases where I open a tin that has been unsealed for several years. Months, no fear of staleness. More than a year, maybe.
Glad that you've encountered more joy and flavors. More power to you. It's all down hill from here.

 

[timt]

This was, in my mind, drying MORE THAN I THOUGHT I SHOULD

I've recently caught onto this too. The under-cabinet lighting in my kitchen works great and I'm not so concerned with drying out larger quantities at a time instead of just a bowl about to be smoked. There are more and more "working" jars/baggies sitting around now.

 

[arvetus]

Would one recommend drying aromatics out similarly? Would one not want a little moisture in an aro since that seems to be where the flavor/smell is? Or could you get away with drying just as much?

Keep in mind, I am also very much n00bish.

When I loaded my pipe with some rubbed out Mac Baren vanilla flake yesterday, I let the pipe sit in my truck (I live in Texas) for about 4 hours before I smoked it. It was by far the best burn I achieved thus far in my very short pipe smoking journey. But I also have a few other aro blends in ribbon cut I'd like to try eventually, but do often hear differing views on drying/not-drying aromatic blends.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

I don't dry most aromatics. It seems to kill that artificial flavors. ::
Vanilla Flake; however, I do dry.

 

[slowroll]

I agree with all the above indeed. I dry mine in the toaster oven for about 3 minutes at around 180-200 F.

 

[techie]

Same experience for this new piper also. I've been drying mine under an incandescent bulb til about crunchy and it's going well. I do notice the aroma of the tobacco changes a bit from the tin note. I dry mine on a sheet of paper and some of the oils seep into the paper. No big deal, just observations.

 

[lawdawg]

OP, now that you know about how much to dry your tobacco (and it will vary from blend to blend), here's another tip: I like to take several bowls worth of each of the blends I'm currently smoking, and dry them out in empty tins or mason jars. When they reach the appropriate dryness, then I just put the lid back on the tin / jar, and I will have a few bowls ready to go without needing to wait for it to dry. Right now, I've got a couple flakes of Samuel Gawith Full Virginia Flake drying out in the tin they came in. The rest is in a jar. I've also got a few bowls of some Balkan Supreme dried and waiting in a mason jar to be smoked. Now I can pack one up as I get home from work ::

 

[sablebrush52]

Congratulations! I've never understood the logic of folks who refuse to consider drying their tobacco, or at least doing some experimenting with moisture levels before deciding against it. Maybe they're happy with dull tasting smokes and all they care about is the nicotine hit. If they're smoking indoors they get back some of that deficit by virtue of sitting in and smelling the cloud of smoke surrounding them.
I used to nuke my tobacco, but have stopped after I became aware of a "cooked" flavor that I didn't like, so now I just let it air dry, or set it near a heat source where it gets a little gentle encouragement if needed.
The sweet spot does vary a little, so I try out different levels of dryness to find the optimal one for each of the blends that I smoke.

 

[carolinachurchwarden]

Absolutely wonderful! Congratulations on learning the difference between a steamed tobacco and smoked tobacco! It was strange for me at first too, but I did give it a try on a couple of bowls early on. I laid out a bowl and let it dry until I felt comfortable with it, and then filled my pipe. I laid out another bowl of the same blend and then went and smoked my first bowl. When I came back in, it was borderline crispy, but still pliant and didn't turn to dust when I filled another pipe with it. The difference felt like transcendence.
Now with my aros, I try not to let them get that far, but I've come to love aros that aren't heavily topped, or feel like a soppy, gunky mess. I want to smoke it, not drink it. Those I let get to a point where they don't clump and then maybe a little more, then perfect for me.
Enjoy your new found fondness of dried tobaccos! ::

 

[bigpond]

Hmm, well...perhaps someone with more experience can weigh in on the relative humidity in blends of the past? We’ve been told by Esoterica the blends are for immediate consumption, no hint of drying, and tins have an near identical level of humidity to bags. S.Gawith again has consistent moisture, but I’ve always suspected they’re screwing us for a few extra bucks, but they’ve been around for more than 200 years. So, what gives? Is the moisture level the same as in 1792? And if so, are the blends designed for the same type of storage container used back then? Are we supposed to be carrying flakes in a leather or cotton pouch?

 

[instymp]

+1 what Cosmic said in his first post.

I am no scientist, but to my feeble brain, moisture evaporates and I never seen oils evaporate. Not saying to leave it out for days, but I watch & feel.

 

[sablebrush52]

Hmm, well...perhaps someone with more experience can weigh in on the relative humidity in blends of the past? We’ve been told by Esoterica the blends are for immediate consumption, no hint of drying, and tins have an near identical level of humidity to bags.

Yes, but that statement by Robert Germain pertained to cellaring and aging, which he thought was unnecessary. What did he say, "Quit fapping about"? It didn't pertain to moisture levels.
The proof is in the results. I get much deeper flavors when I dry my tobacco to its sweet spot. Besides, different blenders tin at different moisture levels. For example Hearth & Home blends are largely tinned at lower moisture levels, what Russ said he considered optimum moisture levels, so that they are ready to go when you open the tin. People who were used to smoking sopping wet tobaccos would share about rehydrating them...
More people are discovering how to get the most out of their tobaccos. That's a good thing!

 

[pepesdad1]

As usual, Cosmic knocks it outtaa park. To the point, my man.

 

[jpmcwjr]

Yes, but that statement by Robert Germain pertained to cellaring and aging, which he thought was unnecessary. What did he say, "Quit fapping about"? It didn't pertain to moisture levels.

Yes, fapping or faffing.... And it was solely about aging. It'd be especially ironic if he stated their tobaccos were ready to smoke out of the tin or bag: The come in consistently at over 90% RH at 70º, way too wet to smoke well. Dunhills come in around 80% also too wet to smoke well.

 

[brian64]

"Quit fapping about"

That would reduce forum activity by around 90%.

 

[jpmcwjr]

A least!

 

[cwpiperman]

Would one recommend drying aromatics out similarly?

I'm currently smoking some Belmont Station (one of only a very few aromatics I've been interested in) after drying under incandescent bulb, and it's markedly better.
CW

 

[PaulTheScandinavian]

Finally it has become clear to me:The only way to avoid ending up in leather tongue world(Cosmic expression)Is to learn to dry You tobacco before lightin' up, each time when I didn't follow this guideline I would end up in that most hated leather tongue world,yet keeping slow candence especially with any Virginia forward blend is crucial to me.

 

[smittyd]

I always lay out my evening tobacco before i leave for work . When i get home its perfect! For work,I just leave a tin in my desk . It drys out in time.