NZ Homegrown

[Ahi Ka]

Very, very impressive! Do you flue cure your Virginias, or does this kiln replace the need for flue curing? In growing my first Virginia tobacco this year (I live in Tennessee which is traditionally Burley country).

I don’t have a flue set up yet, and when I get around to doing a Virginia crop I’m going to try sun curing them instead of flue curing.

traditionally flue cured stuff doesn’t go into the kiln, however WLT have a double bright Virginia (flue cured and then kiln fermented) which is tasty.

a kiln would essentially mimic the cheaper process of having piles of burley sitting in barns. For me it costs about $30us to run it for 6-8weeks. A cost I can handle, especially given the small scale venture. However I think big tobacco avoid using kilns due to the running costs involved

 

[pantsBoots]

I don’t have a flue set up yet, and when I get around to doing a Virginia crop I’m going to try sun curing them instead of flue curing.

traditionally flue cured stuff doesn’t go into the kiln, however WLT have a double bright Virginia (flue cured and then kiln fermented) which is tasty.

a kiln would essentially mimic the cheaper process of having piles of burley sitting in barns. For me it costs about $30us to run it for 6-8weeks. A cost I can handle, especially given the small scale venture. However I think big tobacco avoid using kilns due to the running costs involved

Interesting. I'm looking at slapping together one of those home flue cure deals in the steel trash can. I've read a lot of positive accounts of using them. The first day or so involves heating with a slow cooker.

 

[Ahi Ka]

Interesting. I'm looking at slapping together one of those home flue cure deals in the steel trash can. I've read a lot of positive accounts of using them. The first day or so involves heating with a slow cooker.

Yeah those do look good. From memory you can use them as a kiln too. Which Virginia/bright leaf variety are you growing?

 

[pantsBoots]

Yeah those do look good. From memory you can use them as a kiln too. Which Virginia/bright leaf variety are you growing?

This is what I have on deck for this year:


They were out of lemon VA when I went a-buying. Really, this is all experimental - I got a great yield of One Sucker last year and have it aging safely in a box.

 

[karam]

Nice one bro! Judging by the amount of leaf and my own growing experience, that’s from 8-10 plants?

 

[Ahi Ka]

Nice one bro! Judging by the amount of leaf and my own growing experience, that’s from 8-10 plants?

Good eye man, spot on. Normally I average 100g per plant, but the goose creek red seems a heavier leaf. I picked my final four plants today and trying a pile/box curing method

 

[Ahi Ka]

My kiln run has finished, so I thought I’d share a few pics of the process of making plugs. I’m lazy, I would get a much better product if I lay the leaf flat and had more moisture.

I use a terrine press to roughly shape, then put in a bag inside the vice, and then will vacuum seal to retain pressure on leaf.

These photos are over a few days, again cos I’m lazy, and are of 3 bags of GCR. I normally use 5-6 bags per press, so these examples are half as thick. I’ll share a pic of the burley plug when it’s out, which used the full amount. When time allows this week, I’m gonna try turning the GCR leaf I suncured into some ropes, no promises.

??

 

[Ahi Ka]

Here are the Queen B slabs. Also a pic of how they compress nicely in the vacuum bags, can see the difference in thickness between this and the earlier GCR (bottom)

 

[OzPiper]

Dave,
How long do you plan to mature this batch before sampling ?

 

[Ahi Ka]

The Kendal ladies would have given me a good clip around the ears today if they had seen me making some ropes. Unfortunately I didn’t leave myself enough wrapper leaf, so what I’ve decided to do is put these xx twists (correct size?) into the press, and then I’ll make some curly cut.

This is suncured goose creek red which then spent 2 weeks or so in the kiln fermenting.

 

[Ahi Ka]

Dave,
How long do you plan to mature this batch before sampling ?

I’ve been sampling it since harvest, and then after each process. One of the cool things with the kiln is that it “ages” the fresh leaf to the equivalent of a year or two in the cellar. Everything I’m putting away for the next decade now, but I leave myself out a couple of onces to figure out if I want to keep growing a variety. I’ll open some in a years time to check how it’s developed too.

next year I’m wanting to do more semois and a decent haul of sun cured Virginia varieties

 

[mso489]

I think you have now established the New Zealand tobacco belt.

I had a colleague at work who was Maori and a research geneticist, later the editor of the research agency's scientific journal, and on retirement he returned to be president of a university with a majority of Maori students.

Years before he left, he offered me a job on the journal, but I was more a translator of the science for the public than a writer for a scientific audience.

He joked that he'd told his son when they got back to NZ, the son would have to get facial tattoos.

 

[OzPiper]

I’ve been sampling it since harvest, and then after each process. One of the cool things with the kiln is that it “ages” the fresh leaf to the equivalent of a year or two in the cellar. Everything I’m putting away for the next decade now, but I leave myself out a couple of onces to figure out if I want to keep growing a variety. I’ll open some in a years time to check how it’s developed too.

next year I’m wanting to do more semois and a decent haul of sun cured Virginia varieties

I will have to start making plans for a Kiwi sojourn ?

 

[Ahi Ka]

I think you have now established the New Zealand tobacco belt.

I had a colleague at work who was Maori and a research geneticist, later the editor of the research agency's scientific journal, and on retirement he returned to be president of a university with a majority of Maori students.

Years before he left, he offered me a job on the journal, but I was more a translator of the science for the public than a writer for a scientific audience.

He joked that he'd told his son when they got back to NZ, the son would have to get facial tattoos.

Up until the 80s, NZ had a solid tobacco industry in the Marlborough region (top of the South Island). From memory there is still one tobacco farm there, running more as a historical preservation project.

I’m based in the bay of plenty (north island), and this is also the region where your esteemed colleague returned to help establish te whare wānanga o awanuiārangi

 

[karam]

Looks good! What is the taste like? Did you add anything to it?

 

[Ahi Ka]

I did a very small amount of vinegar/water solution on the filler leaf just to help bring into case and to help with mould - won’t be an issue if I’m slicing and drying anyways.

I haven’t tried the rope yet. But to the nose this has a very fruity smell. Less rum and raisin, more nectarine or even gold kiwi. I’ve found this variety to be very similar to the stuff used in Gawith brown ropes, especially when it’s sun cured

 

[The Clay King]

Well done ? Congratulations on a great looking baccy crop.
I think it looks like it would smoke well in a clay pipe

 

[Ahi Ka]

Out of the press and and starting to get sliced.

 

[fireground_piper]

When finally ready for storage, what do you do for mould/fungal deterrence? Just low case?

I have some virginia starting to be done with different curing attempts, and I'm curious as to the best way to store them and rest now.

 

[Singularis]

Beautiful work! I hope the end product smokes like a dream.

What was your overall yield from the crop this year? And/or how much smoking tobacco will you get from the yield?