Finding the Right Moisture Balance?

[ahouston]

EDIT: Fixed Capitalization in Title (See Rule 9) - Bob

Hi!

I have been pipesmoking for about 2 years but the main problem I run into is moisture content of my tobacco. Some tins, like say Royal Yacht, comes in perfect moisture content for me. I can pack my bowl, light and I am fine.

Other (in fact most other) tins --- and I smoke mainly English/Balkan/Oriental blends, are too moist. The very first smoke from a tin, for some magical reason, is fine. If I try to smoke more afterwards, I have trouble lighting it, keeping it lit, and it tastes like burnt steam.

My best experiences have been when I left my packed pipe for 4 hours and then smoke it. Sometimes even 12 hours is fine. However, this is not a convenient method of smoking -- I don't want to pack my bowls hours ahead of time.

So I have tried a few methods of drying. One is the slow method, which is open the tin, close the lid and wait a few weeks. Usually this is not too effective but does not negatively impact the tobacco.

Another is to take it all out and let it dry for half an hour in the air. I find this can easily be overdone, and it loses it's smell completely!

I have also tried put the lid on top but don't actually close it. If I leave that overnight, it's moisture is pretty good, still on the too moist but not bad, however, it loses it's smell quite a lot, which suggests it must be losing flavor/taste too!

Don't even get me started on flakes, which are very moist. Help!

Thanks

 

[gervais]

I can sometimes judge by the feel of it between my fingers. Flakes are another story. SG blends I cube cut and leave out for 24h then tin up what I'll smoke that month. I rarely ever get it perfect though. I normally end up relighting like a madman. Once my kiribi kabuto comes in the mail, I won't mind relighting so often. ?

 

[bullet08]

you must be somewhere it's very humid. most blends i smoke requires only about 30 min drying. i heard some members using microwave oven, i never tried.

 

[sablebrush52]

With the exception of aromatics, I don't find that the slight dissipation of aroma from tobacco left out to dry indicates a lessening of the blend's flavors. Too much moisture masks the flavors in a blend.
What I'm looking for is a moisture level that allows me to slow simmer the blend, on the edge of going out, as I'm smoking it. That's what always delivers the most concentrated flavor experience for me, and I snork, which allows me to pick up the nuances that aren't not picked up by the flavor receptors in your mouth.
Since I primarily smoke Virginias and Virginia variants, that moisture level is almost, but not quite, bone dry. The leaf is getting crispy at the edges but is still pliant. There is no sensation of moisure welling out of the strands when squeezed. The amount of time I leave the leaf out to dry varies depending on the moisture content when I open a tin.
What dictates the drying time is the end result, not some arbitrarily specific length of time. With some blenders, like Samuel Gawith, the leaf can take several hours before it's ready to smoke. With Hearth & Home blends I rarely need to give them any more drying after popping a tin.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

With the exception of aromatics, I don't find that the slight dissipation of aroma from tobacco left out to dry indicates a lessening of the blend's flavors. Too much moisture masks the flavors in a blend.

+100, the steam from the moisture prevents me from being able to taste the tobacco.
Yeh, some I like crunchy, some a little more pliable. I like it play with dryness till I find my happy-point.

For me in Central 90% humidity Alabama, leaving tobacco out to dry, just means that it is absorbing more than it is giving off. I just dry a whole tin at a time, usually with a coffee mug warmer, or if in a pinch, I will use a microwave, but it's not a rule as much as a convenient necessity.

 

[jpmcwjr]

Welcome from the Central Coast of California. Where do you live?

Most houses have a moderate humidity level, unless you live in the desert or high plains, where it'll be un. I tend to dry down a whole tin or jar at a time. Given the wide range of how different blends feel at the same moisture level, I trust a small hygrometer to get things right. Cost five bucks or less. I shoot for 60-65% RH at 70º.

You can put your location in your Profile, which will save questions in the future as to where you live should you mention local stores, weather, tobacco prices, availability, regulations, location of photos of surroundings, and so forth.

 

[Sonorisis]

I don't know anything about aromatics 'cause I don't have any. But, my experience is that more drying is better for most tobaccos. That is: more drying than I think is necessary.

 

[ahouston]

Thanks for all the replies! @jpmcwjr I live in Montreal

How do you smoke your flakes given their high moisture? Do you fold them or rub?

 

[BROBS]

fully rubbed out and dry to the touch.

 

[mso489]

I live in a somewhat humid area, central North Carolina, not torpid, but humid on some days in some seasons. So I find I'm happier with tobacco that feels and looks toward the dry side. It burns, feels, smells, and tastes better. On occasions when blends have been inadvertently left out, in a wrap-up pouch or drying bowl, and I smoke it anyway, it is either just fine or much better than that. If I lived in a drier area, I think the leaf would get powdery sooner and I'd watch the moisture more closely, but here, dry is not a minus.

 

[perdurabo]

Bone Dry, at least that’s how it appears.

 

[Magpiety]

It's a threshold issue for me. It has to be dry enough, after that it can't really get too dry.

 

[jpmcwjr]

Thanks for all the replies! @jpmcwjr I live in Montreal

How do you smoke your flakes given their high moisture? Do you fold them or rub?

I separate the flakes and dry them, so I can fold and stuff, but usually I rub out and dry a bit more.

 

[Richmond B. Funkenhouser]

This can be a pain if you live in a humid area or if the weather is crappy. Sometimes I'll have a bowl of tobacco sitting out that just won't dry. In Alabama, I have to adjust my drying times for my pipe tobacco and ryo tobacco with the weather. Also is the heater running? If so this makes tobacco dry faster. I'm new to this, I've found that basically the drier the better. If you ever do over dry just put it in a bowl for a while with a paper towel over it and rehydrate. Dry tobacco is your friend when it comes to flavor.. especially goopy aromatics.

 

[lawdawg]

Drying your tobacco is one of those things that is really a science, but in practice feels like more of an art. As others have mentioned, the ideal moisture level will vary by blend and by genre, and the only way to get it right is through experimentation and experience.

 

[diamondback]

fully rubbed out and dry to the touch.

Same for me. I’ve done the “fold and stuff” but typically I just rub it out.

 

[diamondback]

Same for me. I’ve done the “fold and stuff” but typically I just rub it out.

??‍ ?

 

[BROBS]

I've stuffed it in but never tried to fold it first

 

[jpmcwjr]

Drying your tobacco is one of those things that is really a science, but in practice feels like more of an art. As others have mentioned, the ideal moisture level will vary by blend and by genre, and the only way to get it right is through experimentation and experience.

It doesn't have to be an art, and the way to get it right quickly is to be slightly scientific. A five buck hygrometer is worth a year of intense experimentation.

 

[anotherbob]

I only keep a couple of tins open (seal broken not lid off), and they start drying out slowly. And it gives me a great idea of how dry is best.