Opening A New Tin

[LeafErikson]

I was finishing up a jar of Sutliff 507C (with a few years of age on it) and was pondering what I’d open next. I went to the cabinet where I store my tobaccos and found some Bayou Morning Flake from 2021 and popped it open. Grapefruits and raisins when I stuck my nose in the tin. I packed up my pipe and started puffing away. It was decent but not as satisfying as I know future bowls will be from this exact same tin. Why is it that the first bowl from a new tin is usually subpar? Does the tobacco have to breathe like a wine? I’d be interested to hear the science behind it if anyone here knows.

 

[Chasing Embers]

Does the tobacco have to breathe like a wine?

Some think so but personally I prefer finishing a tin as soon as possible just after opening. With time the contents begin to oxidize and they begin to lose something for me.

 

[LeafErikson]

Some think so but personally I prefer finishing a tin as soon as possible just after opening. With time the contents begin to oxidize and they begin to lose something for me.

I’m in the same boat. I usually open a tin and try to finish it within a few weeks without jarring it. I’m smoking more of that Bayou Morning Flake today and it already tastes way better. It doesn’t need much time. My post was more in regards to the first 30-60 mins of the tim being open and the tobacco tasting a bit more harsh.

 

[bullet08]

Things need to settled down. In that short time, rough edges mellow out, and some strong toppings tone down. And of course, some changes to tobacco itself if given enough time. I guess it like that wine thing.

 

[LeafErikson]

Things need to settled down. In that short time, rough edges mellow out, and some strong toppings tone down. And of course, some changes to tobacco itself if given enough time. I guess it like that wine thing.

Yeah you’re definitely right. It’s crazy how a tin can change so much in a matter of hours but it certainly seems to. That same tin of bayou morning flake is smooth as hell now.

 

[tobakenist]

I always leave a new tin open for at least a hour, mostly to dry the tobacco a bit, never had a problem with the first bowl so maybe you should leave it open for a while.

 

[blackpowderpiper]

It seems that a freshly opened tin smokes better for me after a week or so. I usually finish a tin within a few weeks so in most cases, I have no need to jar it. I just popped a tin of Anthology last night. The initial smoke was fine but I suspect it'll get better as I work my way through it.

 

[smmirza]

I agree that the tobacco needs to breath a bit. I transfer my tobacco to a mason jar to preserve the humidity.

 

[kcghost]

If I open a tin, I finish the tin in about 2-3 weeks, Usually the first bowl is the best.

 

[sardonicus87]

My experience is basically the opposite, first few bowls are the best and then it's diminishing returns.

Put me in that same camp of finishing as soon as possible. I don't have the patience to wait and see if a blend will get better.

If the tin is just fresh opened, I might let the tobacco sit out 30 minutes. But I don't jar anything either.

Though this could just be because of the specific blends I smoke maybe don't age well. A common thing I've seen is that VA heavy blends are the ones that age best, and that hasn't been my experience at all.

 

[bluegrassbrian]

With most tins I'll spread the contents out on a tray to let the tobacco decant for 30-45 minutes before jarring.
I find most Virginia heavy blends without topping or heavy casing improve over the course of a couple weeks.

 

[minerLuke]

It's interesting that so many of us have polar opposite experiences with something as mundane as opening a new tin of pipe tobacco. It goes to show just what an individual journey piping is with few hard and fast rules.

Put me down in the it gets better with time camp. Usually when I pop the tin, I'll take a nice sniff and see what the initial tin smell is and usually 'fluff' up the top layer of tobacco to loosen everything up. Then depending on the moisture level I'll set it aside with the tin open to dry to my liking. Even though I like how a tin develops, I still can't resist packing a bowl after drying and I usually use that as my 'baseline' for that blend if it's a new one I've never tried. I allow the tin to age as I go, I have tins open for weeks sometimes even a couple months, and I don't usually detect any deterioration in the tobacco, if anything a small improvement. I tend to have waaayy more tins open then I need so if I know I won't get to finishing a tin after say maybe 8 weeks or so then I'll usually throw it in a jar for later.

 

[bluegrassbrian]

I've been consciously trying to limit my number of open tins/jars. At the moment I have about 7 flakes and 5 ribbon cut blends open.

I have noticed that some older, well aged ribbon cut blends CAN lose some steam flavor wise after a few weeks.
Seems that is much less common with flakes and plugs. That's my experience anyway.

So anyway, by limiting my number of open tins and jars - if I want to open something new I have to finish one of my opened blends. Been working well so far.

Here's a tin I just opened for your scratch and sniff pleasure.

 

[Sigmund]

HU Anniversary 5 Year in a Ser Jacopo. Its listed as a broken flake but seems more like a heavy ribon cut (not that it matters) This one is interesting. Not my usual tobacco profile. It reminds me of something GL Pease might put together. The Balsaic is Balsasmico, not balsamic vinegar. No notes of vinegar but it does have a Balsamic Onami taste. A bit on the darker side vs sweeter side. Im going to have to think about this one a while.

 

[elvishrunes]

For whiskey an open bottle is almost always better, but hadn’t noticed it with smoke…. Sometimes the toppings evaporate. Sunbear 2023 was 9.5 first smoke with all the flavour, now it’s about an 8.5/10 after the flavour has left a bit.

 

[vosBghos]

For me it depends on the blend some I like straight from the tin and they lose something right away after breathing such as Presbyterian I smoke that as wet as possible, but then with something like Pegasus I feel like it's sour and needs to sit in a jar for like a week or two before it tastes right. It's all an experiment.

 

[yanoJL]

That process of looking into the cellar and thinking about what to open next is one of the many joys of this hobby, for me.
When I first started trying Latakia blends, I read a review of Nightcap that suggested opening the tin and letting it sit for a week or so to settle down. It turned out that, like @vosBghos wrote about Presbyterian, I liked the that blend best fresh from the tin.

 

[FLDRD]

Although it does vary somewhat, for me the most common experience with opened but lidded tins, seems to be that most ribbon cut blends seem to be best a couple of weeks in, peaking somewhere "in the middle", and fading in the 2nd 1/2.

I agree that flakes and cakes don't have the same pace of change, (they're slower) but for me they may follow the same trend.

 

[RudyG]

I like my tobacco dry, bone dry as it rehydrates when you start to smoke anyway. So first I lay the tin out to dry and then replace it and smoke it up within a week or so.

As I smoke it up fairly quickly I've never noticed a change in the taste of the tobacco.

Tobacco that I've had cellared in jars is a different story

 

[Hutch Piper]

Robert McConnell Red Virginia.