Help Appreciated: Is it Mold or Bloom?

[pipenschmoeker123]

Title edited for capitals and better nomenclature.

I just wanted to smoke a bowl of Cabbies Mixture, which I had jarred away approximately six months ago. In the past months, I smoked four or five bowls already without noticing anything. Today I had this in the jar (See fotos). Is it still smokeable or do I have to throw it out? Thank you for your help!

 

[Piping Abe]

Since it’s not C&D everyone is gonna say that it’s just crystals and to smoke away.

 

[pipingfool]

You're going to get about 67 different responses on this, but I'll chime in with my $0.02:

It looks like "plume/bloom" to me, but without some closeup pictures it's a little hard to tell.

Hold up one of the coins to the light and see if the white stuff sparkles. If so, then you should be good.

If the white stuff is more fuzzy and less "crystal-like", then you're probably looking at mold.

BTW, it's been my experience that a good many of Gawith's blends develop "plume" pretty quickly.

Good Luck!

 

[Chasing Embers]

Doesn't look like cobwebs, I'd smoke it.

 

[Chasing Embers]

Since it’s not C&D everyone is gonna say that it’s just crystals and to smoke away.

Gawith's had a fair number of mold threads over the years.

 

[pipenschmoeker123]

It sparkles under the light, but I can not get a fairly decent picture of it. The best are these

 

[woodsroad]

Years ago, my wife and I had dinner at the home of a dear colleague of ours. She’s a gem. Her husband at the time, a medical resident, was a bit pompous and self-important. While making salad dressing, she looked into the mayo jar and thought she saw something that didn’t belong there. She handed me the jar, and all I saw was white. Looked and smelled like OK mayo to me. Her husband takes the jar, glances into it and say, in all seriousness “looks like Salmonella” and throws it out. Now, I may not be a bacteriologist, but my father was, and I worked in a hospital lab long enough to know that the guy was full of shit. I pity his patients. The only way to know what’s growing in or on something is to test it. Culture it. Just looking at it with the naked eye is not sufficient. Needless to say, the marriage ended a few years later when he was caught cheating on her with a nurse (after she put him through school).

Moral of the story: Anyone here who claims they can diagnose your tobacco afflictions by looking at a cell phone photo of the offending material is probably cheating on their spouse.

 

[pauls456]

It is granular and it shows a specific (looking) distribution. It is plume.

 

[pipingfool]

Moral of the story: Anyone here who claims they can diagnose your tobacco afflictions by looking at a cell phone photo of the offending material is probably cheating on their spouse.

Yeah, that's why most of my responses are laced with a lot of "probablies", "looks likes" and "should bes".

And let's be honest, if I were to cheat on my wife, she would have to be the one to schedule it and send me an Outlook reminder the day before.

I can barely remember to schedule an oil change.

 

[bluegrassbrian]

Standard Gawith appearance.

 

[jpmcwjr]

It is granular and it shows a specific (looking) distribution. It is plume.

That's a mighty big call from a lo-rez photo. I'd check up a bit and say, It looks like bloom.

(Plume is a shape, and the word comes from cigars. Bloom is what may be happening, and doesn't require and particular shape.)

 

[bullet08]

Big faith in the opinion of the collective intelligence of the forum members. And it's based on few pictures that's not very detailed. I agree, it's not mold. But, what if it is? I would feel a lot safer, if I learn how to distinguish between mold and bloom then make the call myself. At least, if I get sick, it would be my own damned fault.

 

[woodsroad]

Question;
For those who say this is “plume” or “bloom”.
Define it.

 

[pipenschmoeker123]

It smells tasty still and taste-wise I would go with it. If it is mold, the jar would smell bad, I would assume…But what do I know?

 

[woodsroad]

Question;
For those who say this is “plume” or “bloom”.
Define it.

<crickets>

 

[jpmcwjr]

Question;
For those who say this is “plume” or “bloom”.
Define it.

How did I miss this one??

Plume is a shape, much like bloom would occur in a cigar, long and lean. In pipe tobacco it can be all over the place or in a couple of spots. Regardless, it would be weird if it resembled a plume.

Somehow the cigar world polluted the pristine pipe world and many seem unwilling to acknowledge that! (I am hyperbolizing! )

 

[proteus]

If it doesn't move its ok. If it's moving you'd better seek help.

Seriously though mold to me has a fuzzy thickness to it. It has a height. That looks like crystals.

I know chasing embers posted here already but also posted this in 2017. May illustrate.

Pipe tobacco bloom? :: Pipe Smoking Basics & Beginner Questions - https://pipesmagazine.com/forums/threads/pipe-tobacco-bloom.55882/post-35654590

 

[AJL67]

This should have been the Ultimate Question in Hitch Hiker's Guide, it's only slightly less hard to answer then at the meaning of life, the universe and everything. lol

 

[woodsroad]

But what is it?
Describing it doesn’t define it.
Is it 42?

 

[AJL67]

But what is it?
Describing it doesn’t define it.
Is it 42?

Have to think about it. Come back in 7 and a half million years.