Is it Necessary to Cellar Tins Into Jars?

[hymnchimney]

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

Sorry for all the questions! I just found out about this forum and haven't had anyone to ask until now! I was told by the guy who got me into smoking that any time I open a tin I should immediately jar it or it'll likely dry out and not smoke as well. Now, I know this fellow outside of piping as well, and he can be a bit of an alarmist, so my question is, how necessary is this? It makes sense to me that if I'm going to open a tin of something really rare and I don't want to smoke it all in the next month or even year, sure I can put it into a jar and store it that way. Conversely, if I open a tin of Peterson's EMP and imagine that I'll end up smoking it all within the next month or two, is it really necessary? How long will it last in the tin before it starts to dry out and go bad? Do the different types of tins make a difference? It does seem as though a metal tin would keep the product better than a cardboard tin with a plastic lid, but I also can't imagine a Sutliff aromatic blend drying out all that quickly to begin with.

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

Unless you are in an extremely dry environment, the tobacco will be fine for a bit. Unless I'm going to be smoking something over a longer term, months, I just leave it in the tin.

 

[bullet08]

Putting open tin tobacco in a jar is a good idea. Tobacco will start drying once the tin is open. You should keep the tobacco in an airtight jar and take out what you are going to smoke to dry. Some folks know how much the tobacco will dry in time and if they are going to finish the tobacco before that time, they just leave the tobacco in the tin.

 

[olkofri]

What Hoosier said. Personally, I jar everything: it gets dry here in the winter; also, at a rate of 1-3 bowls per week, it'll definitely take me a loooong time to finish a tin, specially since I prefer to smoke something different every time.

 

[scloyd]

I also jar everything. I smoke 1-2 bowls a week and it takes me a long time to finish a tin.

 

[Simmerdown☕️]

Unless I’m going to smoke through a tin in a month or so...I’d Ball the tobacco. Blends are typically fine in the tin (depending on relative humidity).
For me, cellaring tobacco applies to blends I either want to put up and age (i.e. young Virginias & VaPers), or blends that I only enjoy from time to time. Have fun!️

 

[Chasing Embers]

I jar it immediately.

 

[puff_not_snuff]

Do you think 2 opening days before jarring will create much of an issue?

 

[anthonyrosenthal74]

If I know I'm going to be smoking a tin throughout the course of a few days, I'll leave it in the tin, depending on the blend. If it's a blend that's on the drier side, I'll go ahead and jar it up just to be safe. Some aromatic blends that require a lot of drying time, I'll leave in the tin for a week or so unless I'm certain I'll not soon be smoking more of it. Then it gets jarred like everything else.

 

[scloyd]

Do you think 2 opening days before jarring will create much of an issue?

No. I have opened tins and jarred them up a few days later. Sometimes a guy runs out of jars.

 

[sandollars]

Living in L.A. (Los Angeles, not Lower Alabama ) I jar as soon as I open other wise it's like smoking 5 day old grass cuttings.

 

[rmpeeps]

In my early days of pipe smoking I was trying many blends.
Sadly, some tins got opened and sorta forgotten. I found it better to just jar a newly opened tin, than to run across it 6-8 months later dry as Joyce Taylor’s toast.
Bless her heart.

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

Do you think 2 opening days before jarring will create much of an issue?

I usually open a tin (break the seal), put the lid back on and leave it for a week or three before touching it. The majority of blends need some drying out anyway. Again, if you are somewhere it is very, very low in humidity, this may not work for you. I'd suggest you experiment a bit to find out what works for you. Tobacco is more resilient and robust than some think. I think it smokes better when it is dried just this side of crunchy vs fresh out of the tin. YMMV. I also smoke 5 to 6 bowls per day. I usually have a number of tins open at a time but I still will go through a tin in a month or so. It would be rare for me to jar a tin that I'm going to smoke in a month to six weeks. And I've yet to have that present a problem.

 

[olkofri]

Also: note that aromatics don't like to be dried. Jar aromatics, then dry them a bit prior to smoking (I put a bowlfull on a coffee filter to dry), but don't let them go bone dry: they'll lose flavour.

 

[puff_not_snuff]

I usually open a tin (break the seal), put the lid back on and leave it for a week or three before touching it. The majority of blends need some drying out anyway. Again, if you are somewhere it is very, very low in humidity, this may not work for you. I'd suggest you experiment a bit to find out what works for you. Tobacco is more resilient and robust than some think. I think it smokes better when it is dried just this side of crunchy vs fresh out of the tin. YMMV. I also smoke 5 to 6 bowls per day. I usually have a number of tins open at a time but I still will go through a tin in a month or so. It would be rare for me to jar a tin that I'm going to smoke in a month to six weeks. And I've yet to have that present a problem.

I threw my tins in a ziplock bag just to be safe until I buy some jars tomorrow. The forced air heat where I’m at right now makes it seem like Arizona on the east coast without any of the benefits. Am I right to assume that flakes and plugs dry more slowly than ribbon cut?

 

[olkofri]

I threw my tins in a ziplock bag just to be safe until I buy some jars tomorrow. The forced air heat where I’m at right now makes it seem like Arizona on the east coast without any of the benefits. Am I right to assume that flakes and plugs dry more slowly than ribbon cut?

I would say so. Still, I once got my MB Navy Flake too dry by opening the tin upon receiving it and then leaving it unjarred for many days. Even with the tin closed and the blend being a flake, after 5 or so days it was just too dry for my liking. One advantage, I guess, is that now that it's jarred I can just grab some and pack with no drying time needed. Still, I almost ruined it.

 

[Magpiety]

I generally smoke through the tin before it needs to be jarred up. But that has more to do with the fact that I like to open a tin and smoke a bowl out of it every day until it's gone, which takes ~2 weeks.

 

[rushx9]

That Sutliff Barbados Plantation will stay wet in that container until you finish it or the earth is incinerated by the sun. Also, we know how you know who can be. His advice is sage but you can choose your own path. I have some blends aging that I don't touch and some jars that I'm in and out of regularly. I also keep blends in the tin if I'm going to smoke them over the next 3 months or so. If I know it will take me a while to finish, I jar it up, but I like everything, even aromatics, on the drier side. Well, except for Pembroke and ASTB. They smoke well and taste best with some moisture.

 

[hymnchimney]

Thanks for the responses, everyone. Quick follow-up question: do you need to store the jars in a dark place? I assume the answer is yes, but just want some confirmation. Thanks again!

 

[Simmerdown☕️]

Thanks for the responses, everyone. Quick follow-up question: do you need to store the jars in a dark place? I assume the answer is yes, but just want some confirmation. Thanks again!

dark place is best! I store my blends in a spare dresser and large cedar chest out of site of ?.