Opening a 10 Year Old Sealed Mason Jar

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Jan 28, 2018
14,029
158,076
67
Sarasota, FL
Talking to another member about a trade. He has 10 year old SG FVF that has been jarred undisturbed for ten years. He doesn't really want to try to ship the jars and all which makes sense to me. But he's concerned about what will happen to the still moist tobacco flakes after the seal has been broken and transferred to large zip locks. He also voiced concerns about the tobacco acquiring mold in shipping or dorky thereafter due to the humidity having kicked in.
We're talking a few pounds here so once I received it, I would want to jar it again and open jars as I smoked it.
What do people think about his concerns? I'm glad he is conscientious and don't know if a potential problem exists or not. What about me jarring the tobacco after receiving that. Will it age any more? Will it just stay the same? Will something bad happen? I read some info that says once the seal is broken once and oxygen is reintroduced, the aging process halts.

 

alan73

Part of the Furniture Now
Apr 26, 2017
667
657
Wisconsin
Offer him extra money for shipping. I'd want to keep the jars closed. There should be a strong seal on the jars.

 
Jan 28, 2018
14,029
158,076
67
Sarasota, FL
That's a reasonable proposal but I'd be concerned the jars could be broken, ruining the tobacco completely and the vibrations could break the seal anyway, thereby defeating the purpose. Have you shipped large, sealed mason jars before with success? How much additional shipping cost was involved? Thanks for your help.

 

ashdigger

Lifer
Jul 30, 2016
11,391
70,250
61
Vegas Baby!!!
Aging will stop. But the oxygen could degrade it a little. This is why using large jars should be avoided. Having said that. Open it and vacuum seal if possible or just put it in double zip top bags.

 
Jan 28, 2018
14,029
158,076
67
Sarasota, FL
Maybe we could rent a hyperbaric chamber, create a perfect vacuum, open the jars and transfer product. But then I'd have to repeat that process at my end. Lol Finding a way to ship the sealed jars would probably be best.

 

jamban

Starting to Get Obsessed
Mar 6, 2018
153
3
If the jars are packed well, it should all be fine. Afterall, jars are being shipped around the world on a regular basis. Just remember to get a fragile sticker or a few of them on the package, and have it insured. This usually ensures that the post office staff don't play football with your precious cargo.

 

morgansteele

Can't Leave
Mar 23, 2018
313
427
My advice is: be honest with yourself. Is this likely a transaction that you're going to be satisfied with? There are a number of variables with buying aged tobacco. So, think through the failure points. And, if you can accept that if things go wrong then that's life, then great. But, if you think you're going to be unhappy, then buy your own stuff and age it.
As Spock once said: "After a time, you may find that having is not so pleasing a thing after all as wanting. It is not logical, but is often true."

 
Jan 28, 2018
14,029
158,076
67
Sarasota, FL
Some more good thoughts. I believe I will volunteer adding funds to pay to ship the jars intact
morgansteele, we're talking about a transaction that is less than $400. So it's not life and death. Assuming the other trader is willing to put in the additional effort and make a good faith effort to properly package the jars, I'm okay with the risk. Based on the feedback, it seems like there's greater risk in opening the jars.
The other trader seems like a conscientious gentleman. The easy thing for him to do would have been to just transfer the product to zip locks and shipped it. Instead, he identified a potential problem and suggested we work it out before moving forward. Astute advice on his part. I'm confident we'll work out an amenable solution one way or the other. Either way, I plan to be in a big tent near Chicago by noon Friday, smoking my pipe, making some new friends and buying some pipes. Given the stupid weather this year, I'm a lot more worried about Chicago getting a foot of snow tomorrow and Friday than I am about a tobacco trade. LOL

 

skydog

Part of the Furniture Now
Jun 27, 2017
586
1,556
I've had jars shipped to me before with no issue as long as they're packed well. I've also got some 8+ year old aged SG FVF I cracked open about a year ago and re-jarred and have been enjoying occasionally since. No issue with mold on that 250g block and it's still just as delicious as when I first broke the seal on it so I don't think you really have any concerns either way here.

 

morgansteele

Can't Leave
Mar 23, 2018
313
427
Either way, I plan to be in a big tent near Chicago by noon Friday, smoking my pipe, making some new friends and buying some pipes.
Wish I was going to be there with you all. I'm out for Chicago this year, but in for Vegas. But, next year's Chicago show will be on my calendar. Enjoy!

 
Jan 28, 2018
14,029
158,076
67
Sarasota, FL
Skydog, thanks. That's my feelings s will. I've shed cigars in humidor for very long periods of time where I was opening and closing it reasonably often. Perhaps the 100`% ideal situation would be to seal it and leave it. But I somehow think the tobacco would survive and do well by sealing it twice. Not sure, that's why I made the post.

 

saltedplug

Lifer
Aug 20, 2013
5,192
5,116
There are many ideas about aged tobacco probably because no one understands fermentation. The idea that comes to mind is "smoke all of it quickly after decanting," which would appear to argue that chemical/molecular changes in an organic substance will be reversed by breaking the seal and contact with air, which seems to me so much trash; which is merely opinion as I really don't know. However if applicable then you will lose a great deal by disturbing the jars on the seller's end, even if you jar expeditiously on yours
But I ask you, how can 10 years of chemical/molecular change vanish in a week? Pease impressed the pipe community with the first detailed information about aging in the early 2000s, his ideas about aerobic and aerobic aging one of them. Once the air inside the vessel is exhausted by aerobic aging, fermentation becomes anaerobic. Forcing the tobacco in and out of anaerobic aging by opening the vessel in this case or removing enough of it for a smoke has always seemed unwise to me. The aging results that we are trying to reproduce is that of old tins of vintage tobacco wrought by anaerobic process.
But I'm unsure if this means anything, and after some years Pease softened much of what he said earlier.

 

smokeydogg

Lurker
Apr 30, 2018
31
3
I would recommend using FedEx or UPS, NOT USPS. It would cost a little more but the service and tracking you receive would be much better.

 

mikethompson

Comissar of Christmas
Jun 26, 2016
11,863
25,745
Near Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Millions upon millions of sealed mason jars are shipped all the time with No issue. As long as it is packed carefully and properly there should be no issue in transit.
Remember that the wall thinckness of a mason jar is pretty thick. I've dropped plenty and they rarely, if ever, break.

 

jvnshr

Moderator
Staff member
Sep 4, 2015
4,617
3,898
Baku, Azerbaijan
The mason jar in this picture traveled from Pennsylvania, USA to Baku, Azerbaijan intact. The picture is from 2016 Secret Santa event:
2017-01-09-095942-600x450.jpg


 

mikestanley

Lifer
May 10, 2009
1,698
1,128
Akron area of Ohio
I recently opened a jar of BBF I put up in 2004. The tobacco wasn’t dry but it was in perfect smoking condition. It’s quite good. If you want to start smoking the tobacco, bag it and ship. If I wanted it to stay in jars to be shipped, I would pay the cost and ask that the kids be sealed with shipping tape or duct tape. There is a reason sealed tins are a better “investment “ than bulk...and this is that reason...IMHO.

Mike S.

 

perdurabo

Lifer
Jun 3, 2015
3,305
1,581
^^^I agree Mike S.
I would back out or pay more in shipping. Breaking the seal is non negotiable at this point. Those sealed jars are the reason you want to buy the stuff in the first place.

 

5star

Part of the Furniture Now
Nov 17, 2017
727
2,021
PacNW USA
I’ve received sealed Mason jars without any issues. The seller might even go to a UPS Store, if he doesn’t have the appropriate supplies, and have them help him pack the jars properly. I would ship UPS or FedEx with insurance.

 
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