Learning a New Way About My Tobacco Stash!

[bogie]

When I first picked up a pipe, it was Missouri Meerschaum wood pipe and a bag of Middletons. The exact name of the pouch eludes me because I tried and tried to purchase another and have not been able to find it.
After trying out all the oc brands I discovered online stores and started making purchases that way. I have a B&M an hour away in Memphis and one in Little Rock. I would purchase anything that appealed to me. I even got involved with some very good trades with folks here on this very site. My problem was organization and not really thinking things through!
For instance, when I first started purchasing the tinned tobacco I could not wait to get it open and have a smell! All the bulk tobacco was no biggie because it all went straight into mason jars but the tins...all got opened as soon as I got them! The problem is that until recently I did not smoke frequently enough to justify having opened tins! My favorite FIREDANCE FLAKE...dried out and was like cut hay. A lot of the pouches have become the same way. Now I a plan of action! I am smoking way more than normal. Instead of a few bowls every month or so, I am a 2-3 bowl a day smoker. Comes with the appreciation of the pipe itself!
The last few weeks I have been ordering more and more baccy, but refuse to open any of it till the tins I have OPENED are getting used! Problem with that is the new tins! How will i know if i like it or not and need to order more while they are in stock lol.
I guess it will be a matter of will power! That one tin of Firedance flake is the only tin that has dried out! Maybe its not as big of a worry as I made it out to be. It will be nice though to keep this exercise up and before long i will have a stash to be proud of!!!
I recently discovered I LOVE Moontrace! So with every order I place I also try to get another tin of that, I will put the word CELLAR on there and the days date! Maybe this will be the beginning of me learning how to keep a tobacco cellar and be a bit more mature in my hobby!
The kid in me is very much looking forward to the tin of Samuel Gawith's FVF, The new Christmas Cheer,Virginia Woods that are on their way to me but I will do my best to not open them. Maybe when my current OPENED stuff starts to run out, I will be able to purchase new tins of this stuff to try out instead of opening these!
Ah well. Its a hobby right! And as long as I am turning oxygen into carbon dioxide there will always be an element of trying things in a different way and learning more and more about this great hobby!

 

[cigrmaster]

bogie, I normally have around 20 plus tins or so tins open at the same time and my tobacco never dries out. I store all my open tins in tupperware like containers I buy at walmart. They come in a 4 pack of 4 different sizes and the largest one holds around 16 or so tins. Here is a pic of what I use, the ones with the white tops with the tins in them. My open tins stay fresh for months, and it allows me to have a very wide variety of blends available at any given time for my smoking pleasure.

 

[bogie]

Wow thanks for the tip! I built a coolerdore for my cigars and thought about doing something like that for my pipe baccy. This seems like a better idea though, and like I said that one tin and a few pouches have been all that dried out on me.
Thanks!

 

[wahoo92]

Bogie, thanks for asking the question. I had much the same question myself. I'm new to the pipe, and I, too, have been buying random tins of blends I think I will like, working on getting a "starting lineup" of faves. The exploration has been part of the fun for me so far. What I've been doing is popping a 2oz tin, and splitting the contents, if necessary, into two jelly mason jars. Then I just sample out of one so that the rest stays fresher. I figure if I don't like one much at first, I can save an ounce or so and revisit in 6-12 months. For ease, though, I like cigrmaster's method better. And it clearly works for him.

 

[bogie]

You are right about not liking something the first time only to come back to it way later and love it. The Frogs were that way. Did not like them at all. Then for some reason I ordered another tin and whola! Its great lol.

 

[cigrmaster]

bogie, glad I could help. I am a lazy s.o.b so having a bunch of plastic containers to throw stuff in is the easy way out.

 

[bentmike]

Yes cigrmaster's plastic container method has been working well for me. I have around 20 tins open and I find the plastic container really slows the drying.