How Many Open Tins is Too Many?

[jdlander]

Title edited for caps. Please read Rule 9.

The topic is in the title.

But maybe some further details would help. I smoke 2-4 bowls per day. I'm trying to learn the basics of pipe smoking, including what sorts of blends I like.

So can I just go hog wild and open everything I have, or is it better to only have 2 or 3 open at a time and finish them before opening something new?

Also, if I open a tin, should I immediately put the tobacco in a Mason jar, or just leave it in the tin?

 

[proteus]

Buy 4 tins. 1 for now, 1 in a year, 1 in two years and 1 in three. Then you'll know what aging does for you if anything. Some like it some don't and some it depends on the tobacco.

As for how much is too much. Open as many as you like. I've not seen drying issues with tobacco in tins open for over a year. If it were me I would open and smoke what you like when you like. Don't over think.

 

[jdlander]

Don't over think.

If I had a nickle for every time someone told me this...

 

[Sig]

I have about 6 or so tins and jars open at a time usually.
All my tobacco is stored in 4 ounce jars so it doesn't matter how long it takes me to smoke through a jar, it stays moist.
I would put the tobacco in a small 4 ounce jar after opening for the reason I mentioned above. You can take your time smoking it.

 

[shanez]

Tins?

138

Jars?

2

 

[anotherbob]

Personally I advocate the only having a few tins open at a time. The thing is blends don't really open up till you've smoked it a bit. I honestly find more new things doing this then jumping around. I think it's like friends that way. You have 200 friends you don't get to know any of them real well. You have a few and you get genuinely close.

 

[OzPiper]

I got back to pipes in 2018 and smoke only on weekends (2-3 bowls per day)
So I'm still feeling my way around the different genres and blends.
I have over 70 blends open - having a choice is important to me

 

[Servant King]

If you're still nailing down the basics, my suggestion is to try to find some sample kits. Many different varieties, different blend types, but small amounts per sample. True, you're not going to get the multilayered experience of smoking through an entire tin of something, but that is balanced out by not having the frustration of trying say a half dozen different blends, not liking any of them, and wondering what the hell you're going to do with approximately 48 grams each of six blends you didn't really care for (or worse yet, passionately despise). Some will say just stick them in mason jars and come back to them later, but then you risk ending up like me...not counting sealed tins, I had about 40 open blends in jars at one time pretty recently! I've since pared this amount down to a slightly more manageable total of 30, but it's still a bit overwhelming sometimes. Once you suss out your preferred "genres," that's when you can feel a little more at liberty to start sampling in greater amounts. Once you find specific blends you really like, that's your green light to wait for online sales and hit 'em hard. That's how I went from being a one-tin-at-a-time guy to having a 20+ pound cellar with a ton of variety. Of course, it's an ever-evolving work in progress, but then again, so is finding new and creative ways to be repeatedly slayed in battle by the TAD gods...

 

[AroEnglish]

As long as you're storing them properly after opening (i.e. mason jars or mylar bags) then don't worry about how many you've got open.

 

[TakeThisCobAndStuffIt]

There really isn't an answer to this. If you are going to smoke them before opening another then you only want what you will smoke in a couple of weeks open and in tins. If you want to sample what you have then probably best to jar or mylar so if it takes a while to circle back your tobacco has been preserved. When I was starting out I tried a lot of blends, about 100, some of which I liked and some I did not. All were transferred to jars when I opened them. They now constitute the width of my cellar. The depth is down to about 6 blends that I really loved. I have 5-10 pounds of four of those blends and my top two are stacked deep. It is rare for me to access the wider selection, but I go there regularly to share a sample with someone. As I see it, this is a financial and philosophical question. Can/will you afford idle tobacco in a jar that may not be of interest to you and even if you can afford it will it bother you as being wasteful to not finish it...perhaps ever if you find blends you like more? For me I internalized this as the cost of entertainment/enjoyment and finding my preferences. It's a different equation for every person here.

 

[kcghost]

I don't know the exact number is the right number, but I know for me the number is three tins. I only smoke two bowls a day and that's the number that works for me.

 

[sablebrush52]

2

 

[TakeThisCobAndStuffIt]

And if you insist, the answer is 42.

 

[didimauw]

Unfortunately only you can figure this out. Me? It doesn't matter, I prefer it dry. But you will start to notice the flavor and moisture change, good or bad. It's up to you to decide.

 

[bullet08]

Usually about 10. Anything more than that, I can't remember the names of the blends. No, I'm against labeling things.

 

[AcesAndEights]

I USUALLY have 3 at a time: a Va or VaPer, a Lat blend, and an aro. When I finish one, I open the next one up for the blend type that was finished. The Va/VaPer jars go the quickest.

 

[Lucro]

I started pipe smoking in April of this year. I probably have 15-20 tins open but like you I was trying to find what I liked. I have everything jarred so I shouldn’t have to worry about it drying out or anything. Stuff I really like I have bought more of for cellaring purposes. I’m working on clearing out some of the blends I haven’t particularly loved. I’ll smoke a bowl of those sat/sun flanked by others I enjoy more.

 

[Peterson314]

I have about 40 open jars in my rotation.

 

[Sigmund]

I think there are some good points about not jumping from one blend to another when you are learning to taste. Of course one is always learning.

What I would say is open some blends and try them. If you like them smoke them regularly. If you find some you are not crazy about toss them in a mason jar and put them aside. You may grow into them or not. They can live there close to indefinitely. Ordering a couple ounces bulk of a number of types of blends is a good and cheap way of finding what floats your boat.

 

[PipeMarc]

Jars for the cellar that remain closed till ready, 4-6 tins open at a time to discover new things I want to jar. Rinse repeat.