Moist or Dry

[salmonfisher]

How does one know if their tobacco is to moist or to dry?

 

[fadingdaylight]

Generally you can tell when you touch it. If it feels slightly damp or sticky, its moist. Maybe too moist depending on your tastes. It also has a bit to do with the type of blend your smoking, aromatics in general tend to be more moist and sticky than, say, an english blend. If its so dry its beginning to crumble or fall apart when handled, it is probably too dry. I tend to leave new bags of aromatics open for a day or two to help them dry to where I like them. I hope this helps some.

 

[salmonfisher]

Ahhh..thanks, I smoke mostly aro's so I guess its time I leave the bags/tins open for a bit.

 

[jah76]

Not disagreeing with Daylight or you Salmon.
I've never gotten the whole tobacco drying bit. Unless the tobacco is wet to the point where you can juice it, I haven't had a problem with it. (I swear I once got Anni Kake that must have just got out of the shower)
I pay more attention to re-hydrating it then I do drying it. I think I like it a little more moist then a lot of people. When its too dry I feel like I lose some flavor and it doesn't burn as even.
I realize it's all a matter of personal choice.

 

[northernneil]

I'm a fan of the pinch test. If you pinch the tobacco in a clumb, does it fall apart once released, or does it stick together? I like my tobacco moist, but not stick together moist. If I do the pinch test and the tobacco stays in the clump, I'll let it dry a little before smoking.

 

[msandoval858]

Pinch test has always worked for me. If the tobacco is too moist, it will clump and generally feel sticky to the touch.
On the other hand if it's too dry, it will be loose and crumble very easily.
I prefer mine somewhere in the middle. I know guys that say they get the best smokes with tobacco on the drier side but I've always found it to be harsh and unpleasant when smoked that way.

 

[taerin]

You just get used to it by first starting with the "pinch test" and later you just get the feel for it and no longer require such a basic test. For me I like it a little drier than what the pinch test goes for, but not dried out entirely.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

It really depends on the blend, as I don't think a blanket test works for all of the different styles. Some aros are going to be heavily topped, such as Molto Dulce. If you dry that out some, it will taste like crap, and Paul Creasy of Sutliff was on the radio show saying that his blends are ready to go right out of the tin. Some aros are drier. Some wetter. It may just be a matter of exploring and your personal taste.
For some Virginias, I like to dry them out completely to crunchy. I seem to be able to pull more flavor out of them and smoke slower that way. Some, I like more moist.
A large part of this hobby is exploring your own personal tastes. If it were as easy a pinch test, many of us would have already gotten bored with it.

 

[bryanf]

I smoke everything quite moist, and straight out of the tin, and I also have never found a tobacco I couldn't keep lit.
I don't like the fact that some SG blends are overly moist, because I feel I am paying for water, rather than 50 grams of tobacco. However, I haven't found one that won't smoke fine...but then again, I usually fully rub out SG flakes (and I haven't tried the notorious Full Virginia Flake.)
The only blends I smoke somewhat dry are Virginia No 1, and any OTC or OTC style Burley. I fill up my snap pouch, and by the end of the day, it's quite dry, and nearly empty. I find Virginia No 1 smokes much smoother dry, even crunchy dry. Everything else, I'll smoke fresh. If I carry around some flake, I'll keep it in the tin. I never deliberately put out tobacco to dry it. I don't smoke any ARO's on a regular basis, so I can't comment on them.

 

[latbomber]

Dry feels dry, moist feels moist. Dry is always better, except for the tobaccos where it isn't. :wink:

 

[salewis]

I smoke three SG blends. SG tobacco is always moist, some more moist than others (FVF) I am a proponent of cooking my more moist tobacco blends. For example, FVF can be baked at 250 degree for two hours, in the tin and comes out just right for Flake is not as moist as FVF and does not require baking. Fred Hanna in his "Perfect Smoke" is a proponent of baking tobacco in the tin and this is where my technique was confirmed. This baking technique takes a little trial and error but the payoff is very significant in that the tobacco blends are dryer but not too dry, the aging process is speeded up and the tobacco tastes significantly better than right out of the tin. The trick for baking is to take it slow and it is much better to under bake than the alternative.

 

[taerin]

Latbomber might give Pruss a run for his money

 

[oldtoby]

Dry is best. Even if said tobak feels dry, dry it a bit more. Pack loose and tamp even less. It's all about technique. :wink:

 

[andrew]

Dry is best. Even if said tobak feels dry, dry it a bit more.

I disagree, I find too dry tobacco to be really harsh and has a different flavor. Like when I first tried el ricon de la pipa it was fairly dry and it was super strong and really burnt my nostrils, then when I moistened it it brought out all these great lemony flavors I was reading about in reviews. I'm in the camp that there's a perfect level of humidity which is quite hard to know when it's at that level and keep it there. I also don't like really dry Va's, I find them to be extremely harsh.

 

[andrew]

Ahhh..thanks, I smoke mostly aro's so I guess its time I leave the bags/tins open for a bit.

I find some of the few aro's I've tried just don't dry out, they're covered in these humidicant chemicals which is why I'm really not a fan of them, like I've had this vanilla maple stuff that's going on a year sitting in a bag and it still isn't crispy dry.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

That's odd Andrew, I find when there's moisture in a Virginia, it is too harsh. If you dry it, there's absolutely no steam, and those lemony flavors are more prominent. Virgina #1, is one of my favorites, and I just let it set in an open tin the whole time I am smoking out of it. Many people claim it bites, but if people would try drying it to crunchy, I think they'd enjoy all of those subtle flavors more.
Or, am I breaking some secret Virginia smoker rule by telling people about this? Are we trying to hide this tidbit from people to keep them from driving the price of Virginias up? LOL. Any moisture in some of these Vas will make them bitey. However, no matter what degree of dryness, smoke them slow. This ain't for puffers.

 

[smeigs]

aros tend to be a little more moist than your other non aromatic blends. I can smoke anything at any humidity level really. I notice that my virginia blends smoke longer without a re light when they are a bit dryer. I guess its all personal preference.

 

[fadingdaylight]

It is very much a matter of personal preference. I like to let aros dry some because I find they burn cooler when dry. The heavy moisture seems to heat my bowls, and tongue, alot faster. Its gonna take some fiddling with to figure out what you like best. But hey, thats half the fun.

 

[andrew]

I find Va's to be the ones that there has to be a perfect level of moisture, yes if it's too moist it bites and it tastes like crap, so I find Va's to be the one's where a perfect moisture level is necessary. I remember smoking LBF and it was crispy and not really enjoying it as much and finding it too strong for my tastes.

 

[bigvan]

In over 25 years of smoking a pipe I've never felt the need to dry tobacco. I tried it recently and found that drier tobacco DOES light and stay lit easier, but loses a HUGE amount of flavor.
Smoking tobacco that's overly dry isn't smoking. It's standing next to a bowl of burning leaves waiting for it to go out.