Re-Hydrating Tobacco

[Wolf357]

So I’m in a rural area that doesn’t sell pipe tobacco…and I get my tobacco once every 2 weeks when I go to the city (Winnipeg) … and when I opened up my tobacco it was dry and almost sawdust…O can’t really take it back as it’s a 2 hour (4 hour round trip) the tobacco is smokable but barely…
Anyway to re-hydrate it?

 

[VirginiaMan]

I usually put the tobacco in a glass bowl then cover with a moist paper towel. Wrap it in plastic and let it set for a few hours, or until your desired level of moist.

 

[AJL67]

There is a gigantic thread on rehydrating tobacco here if you search on 'rehydrating' would be a good bet for the threads you want.

 

[craiginthecorn]

On a short-term basis, the best method is to pack your pipe and breathe through it, moistening the tobacco with your breath. It's surprisingly effective.

Do not directly apply water to the tobacco. It works for a short time, but can lead to molding. Of you have a tin, take a couple squares of toilet paper, folding it in half over and over until you can't fold again. Wet it, ideally with distilled water, then squeeze out all of the excess water. Fold a business card on half and put the TP square inside the card, then seal it in the tin and wait. Very reliable.

For larger quantities, I use silicon cigar humidification beads. They're very inexpensive. Hydrate a small quantity in distilled water in a jar. Enough to make about a cup. Place it in an open glass jar. Put the jar and the tobacco in a plastic bag, close it up, and wait a week. Of course, keto the tobacco out of direct contact with the beads.

Prestige Import Group Crystal Gel Humidification Beads for Humidors - 4 oz Bag Amazon.com - https://a.co/d/g7QX6Jx

 

[Wolf357]

Found a old thread about rehydrating tobacco lots of info there…

 

[kcghost]

I have used the method described @VirginiaMan. The only thing I would add is to just moisten the towel. not get it wet.

 

[huntertrw]

I spread my dry tobacco over the bottom of a plastic sheet-cake storage box similar to this



then make a hole in the tobacco. In the hole I place a small bowl of distilled water, then put the lid on the box and burp it. The distilled water hydrates the air in the box which, in turn, hydrates the dry tobacco. All you need do is to check the moisture level from time-to-time until it suits you.

 

[woodsroad]

Short answer: Don’t.
Give it a try as-is. Unless you plan to cellar it for an extended period of time in hopes that it changes for the better, there is little to no benefit in rehydrating beyond the point of it being almost pliable.

Long answer: If you really feel you must rehydrate it, just dump it into a large bowl and mist it lightly with water, a small amount at a time. Keep stirring and turning it over until uniform. If your tap water is chlorinated, use bottled water. Doesn’t have to be distilled.

 

[RookieGuy80]

Without knowing how dried out it is, I'll say this worked for me. Load up a bowl of zombie farts as usual. With your hand, cover the bowl as you put the stem in your mouth. Breathe out naturally while inhaling through your nose. The natural moisture in your breath, the same that fogs up your windows, is usually enough to rehydrate that bowl of tobacco. If you have to, dump it part way through, mix it up a little, and pack your pipe again and repeat.

 

[rotate]

I use Lemon and Orange peel and when it’s in season Kolokassi/Taro peel laid atop the tobacco in its tin with the paper packaging and lid in place. It’s not a quick hydration method and it’ll take several days with the peel being changed frequently as the thirsty tobacco quickly sucks the peel dry but it’s a very safe way of hydrating tobacco and I’ve never yet noticed any flavour or aroma change caused by the peel but never use potato peel or banana skin as they can leave the tobacco soaking and unpleasantly slippery wet.

It’s hot where I am on the island of Cyprus in the Eastern Mediterranean with very high summer day time temperatures combined with in some areas high humidity and I first started using the Peel method during the banking crisis earlier this century when pipe tobacco was in very short supply which caused small business retailers to search for any pipe tobacco that they had in storage to satisfy customer demand. Some of what the retailers had in storage was old stock tobacco with blown seals to the tins which they’d offer at greatly reduced prices and I’d take a chance on its smoking quality for the want of an alternative and tried using peel at my wife’s suggestion it worked and ever since I’ve always asked retailers if they’ve any blown tins they want to sell as although any suggestion of topping has gone the tobacco once hydrated is fine to smoke.

Because of the summer heat I carry pipe tobacco away from home using a Win Up Bakelite Baccy Flap which dates from the 1930’s and has a perfect seal which I’ve tested with the Baccy Flap submerged in a bowl of water but on long journeys when it’s essential to carry water any tobacco I have with me I keep in a cold box together with the bottled drinking water.

Theres an added bonus to using lemon and orange peel as when it’s dry and hard like old leather it makes excellent fishing lures which I use to catch wide mouthed fresh water bass and the odd rainbow trout in my local dam which is stocked annually with all sorts of freshwater fish by the government fisheries department in order to keep the dam clean and free of mosquitoes. The mountain rainfall and winter snow water is pretty clear and when I dropped a dried up piece of lemon skin from the tobacco tin I was using into the water it was pounced upon by the bass which gave me the idea of using it as lure rather than expensive Rapala lures it works and freshwater bass packed overnight in salt is regularly on the menu.

 

[jpmcwjr]

Agree: Sample as is.
Then if it isn't pleasant, rehydrate. There are 297 ways to do it. Not rocket science.