Sums it up perfectly in 3 words. Bone dry but don't store it that way too long.Freshly bone dry.
Sums it up perfectly in 3 words. Bone dry but don't store it that way too long.Freshly bone dry.
Yeppers. Too long, too wet, too dry are all to be avoided, but your too dry/wet may be perfect for another.Sums it up perfectly in 3 words. Bone dry but don't store it that way too long.
As to how long to store it that way, when I dry down a tin and jar it, it remains just fine for quite a while- over a month, while I smoke it and similarly dried tins or bulk.
Since I smoke mostly Virginias, that means just shy of bone dry. For Aros I’ll leave a little more moisture. English blends are generally good straight from the tin.
I find that dry can smoke hot if you don't slow down with them. Mainly just because of the fact it burns easier. Also have found that for me the hardest thing to learn about different moisture levels is how to pack the pipe. Dryer equals pack in more and compress it more. If I under pack it as dry as I like it then I find it burns much faster and hotter.I'd say the opposite is true. Usually if a blend is too wet it's going to tend to smoke hotter, but cadence, and packing method, etc. etc. are going to have a lot to do with how a blend smokes. White Knight and Magnum Opus are all-time favourites of mine. I like the fact that they're fairly dry straight out of the tin. That being said, I can take something like Full Virginia Flake right out of the tin and if I thoroughly rub it out and pack it loosely enough it will burn just fine. I find it tastes better and burns cooler if I dry it out though.
A lot of us here on the forum talk about how we like our tobacco close to bone-dry, but there are many ways to skin a cat and your preferences are totally valid. I'm sure it's true that G.L. Pease blends (and others) are packed at the perfect moisture for smoking. I normally don't dry out GLP, or Dunhill/Peterson blends and they smoke great right out of the tin. I find Daughter's and Ryan, Cornell and Diehl, Hearth and Home, easy to deal with though. It's those GH&Co. ropes that need 24 hours in a food dehydrator to get them to burn. YMMV.![]()
I strongly recommend to the curious to open a tin and let it dry out naturally while smoking a pipeful of it once or twice a day. Gives a good idea of what is the ideal moisture level for a certain blend. And yes Va and VaOrs seem to tolerate and benefit the most from drying.Most of the time, the bone dry tobacco is mentioned for the benefit of the new pipe smokers. Then there are those that enjoy freshly bone dry tobacco. But that all depends on the individual and what blend they are smoking. That doesn't mean everyone has to smoke them dried till crisp. For me, VA and VA heavy blends seem to tolerate being dried as much as possible. Codger blends just out of pouch is wonderful. Latakia blends, dry to touch, but still trace of moisture. Everyone's different.
Agreed. I pack Five Brothers, Semois, all D&R blends, most C&D blends, GH&Co. shags etc. really tight, which gives me a nice, slow, cool, voluminous smoke. Of course the GH&Co. shags need oodles of dry time to begin with.I find that dry can smoke hot if you don't slow down with them. Mainly just because of the fact it burns easier. Also have found that for me the hardest thing to learn about different moisture levels is how to pack the pipe. Dryer equals pack in more and compress it more. If I under pack it as dry as I like it then I find it burns much faster and hotter.
I think that was Mark Ryan, whose tobaccos were delivered at what he considered the optimal moisture for getting the best flavors. Russ also tins at what he considers the optimal moisture for getting the best flavors. So does Greg, as I recall.I recall hearing Russ Oulette mention this on a podcast. His position was that customers should buy tobacco, not water. So I understand the sentiment. But with a little more moisture, as is the case with the blenders previously mentioned, the customer gets flexibility and choice; to dry a blend to suit individual preferences.
yeah that was Mark. And I found that Mark Ryan agrees with me about what the best moisture level is. Greg has said he also does the optimal level but seems to think disagree with me about proper driness levels.I think that was Mark Ryan, whose tobaccos were delivered at what he considered the optimal moisture for getting the best flavors. Russ also tins at what he considers the optimal moisture for getting the best flavors. So does Greg, as I recall.
Almost all I smoke are Virginia, Va/Per and variants of that genre, so I prefer them dry to get the best flavors. I don't further dry D&R or most H&H blends, as they're ready to go. With every blend that I add to the pile I will have tried them at a variety of moisture levels to see what gives me the most flavor.
Bottom line is to smoke them the way you like them best.