Question about Tobacco Dryness among Varieties

[OverMountain]

G'day and welcome.


"I have an odd question that will no-doubt sound rather silly so please forgive my inexperience."
As it says under the section heading; "No such thing as a dumb question".

Before I found pipe forums, I did not know a single pipe smoker.
My only pipe was a Peterson Sherlock Holmes Bent Rhodesian that I smoked daily without rest for a few years. Oh the horror.

The range of tobacco blends here in Nanny State Australia is minimal to say the least so during that time I smoked three blends [No, don't ask ]
Finding U.S. on-line tobacconists opened up a whole new world.
I'd not even heard of Orientals much less Perique or Latakia.
Seriously, I barely possessed half a clue.

Although it was a bit of a learning curve, members on forums and their reviews at www.tobaccoreviews.com made the experience enjoyable rather than frustrating.

Now that I'm a freakn expert [ ] I should cringe at the memory of some of my questions but I don't and you know why?
No one ever made me feel stupid. Members understand that smoking a pipe is a bit of an art where the more one learns, the better the experience.
We were all newbies at some point and we are a fraternity that are here to build one another up.

So please, no need to apologise. We are all here to help where we can.

As to your sensible question on drying; I really don't understand why some blends are so moist that they need drying. That just pisses me off.
When the owner of Daughter&Ryan was asked why his blends are typically dry, he responded by saying that he's in the business of selling tobacco, not water. Respect.
None of the bulk blends that I buy require drying because I avoid overly moist blends.

Rehydration; with really dry tobacco I spritz with distilled water, mix and then leave it in a sealed jar for a few days.
Tobacco that needs just a little bit of moisture, I moisten a couple of layers of paper towel and place it under a closed lid of the jar and check on it after several hours.

Why distilled water only?

Also, do you ever use those rehydrating “buttons” you soak in water and then put in the jar?

 

[chopper]

Why distilled water only?

Also, do you ever use those rehydrating “buttons” you soak in water and then put in the jar?

Tap water has stuff like chlorine and fluoride added.
Depending on ones water source it can also sometimes have a metallic taste.
2-litres of distilled water only costs $1.50 here and since I use it for other things I always have a bottle handy.

No I haven't used Bodeva packs or similar [I've been meaning to get a few Bodeva thingies but have yet to get around to buying some] but I do like the suggestion of soaking a piece off a clay pot to rehydrate.

 

[Wulf]

Tap water has stuff like chlorine and fluoride added.
Depending on ones water source it can also sometimes have a metallic taste.
2-litres of distilled water only costs $1.50 here and since I use it for other things I always have a bottle handy.

No I haven't used Bodeva packs or similar [I've been meaning to get a few Bodeva thingies but have yet to get around to buying some] but I do like the suggestion of soaking a piece off a clay pot to rehydrate.

ive tried the old obes..potato peel, apple peel, dadh of spring water. I find whisky, brandy or rum or a blend (just a few drops ) brings any dry tobacco back from the dead..even if its ancient. It also adds sone extra complexity to the flavour and enhances the enjoyment of the smoke. Try it, i doubt you will be dissapointed

 

[jeff540]

If I went the Boveda packet route, which RH% would get me closest to where I need to be? I am not sure what RH I would want tobacco to be at.

I'd start with the 62% and see if that gets you an improvement after a week.

 

[K.E. Powell]

I definitely think there is some differences between families of tobacco when it comes to drying. I'm partial to Burley-forward blends myself, and most of my favorites in that genre don't require much drying out. I get more variance with virginias, but they usually smoke well out of the gate, too. I find aromatics are the blends that tend to need some drying time. Differences in manufacturers are also apparent. C&D and MacBaren blends tend to be fairly dry right out of the tin, whereas Sutliff blends seem to be more moist. Moisture isn't necessarily a bad thing, though! Some moisture is needed for sake of flavor, especially for aros.

I am, however, one of those weirdos that goes against a lot of commonly accepted practice when it comes to pipe smoking. I don't bother building cake, I don't dedicate pipes to specific blends and only very rarely dedicate them to specific families of tobacco, and I only dry out tobaccos that are really, really wet. I think drying out tobacco is usually only marginally helpful. Again, with some notable exceptions; I will, for example, dry out G&H scented Dark Flake because it is soaked in maple and other toppings. But I'd say about 85% of the tobaccos I smoke don't get dried out at all. I find there is little need, but YMMV.

The things I am very particular about are 1. having a proper flame source and false light, and 2. jarring my tobacco immediately after opening a tin.

 

[HawkeyeLinus]

Decided to compare 2019 Cringle Flake and 2007 Christmas Cheer earlier today. Hadn't set any out ahead of time, so I went to my preferred non-microwave method. Put them on a plate, put them in the upper, small oven, set the temp to 200 and when the preheat bell went off waited a minute or two, took them out. That seems to work reasonably well with my oven and most tobaccos when I don't plan ahead. The CC started out a little drier and was a little crispy-ish which turned out perfect - had the nicest, longest smoke out of a little pipe I've had in a long time. The CF started out a little more damp and had to be nursed along a bit with a few more relights, definitely different in how it burned, but was fine. I was working on something and having to go back in the house to warm my coffee, so was putting the pipes down, picking them up, mostly just clenching and enjoying.