Re-hydration

[hawk60ce]

How does one go about re-hydrating tobacco? I left some in a tin for too long before putting in a mason jar and it dried out. Thanks

 

[plet]

I have tried this, but I think its better to avoid the tobacco to get dry in the first place ::

 

[dhizzy]

I moistened a paper towel, sealed it in the tin and next day removed it. Towel was dry, tobacco moist.

 

[twangthang]

This couldn't be more timely for me.

I just bought a tin of Dan Bluenote. It smells terrific, but it is pretty dry.

Will be trying to re-hydrate with this method tonight.

Thanks

Jim

 

[lankfordjl]

Pour tobacco in a large mixing bowl and lay a damp towel (wet then squeezed-dry) over the rim of the bowl. Don't let the towel touch the tobacco. Tobacco will rehydrate with the humidity from the towel. It works great! Just check the tobacco and remove it when it has reached the desired moisture level.

 

[captainprophesy]

Ive always done what lankfordjl described... just make sure you use "distilled" water.
@plet... if and when the need arises I might try that method and see what happens.

 

[mlyvers]

you can buy small tubes or large disk that you fill with water. these devices are designed to rehydrate tobacco. you can fine them at your local b+m. they work great. i have put whiskey in them and rehydrated that way. hope this helps.
take care.

mike.

 

[hawk60ce]

Thanks guys

 

[cortezattic]

just make sure you use "distilled" water

Wouldn't the water be distilled by evaporation as it moved from the towel to the tobacco?

 

[mlyvers]

good point. the towel may catch those particles.
mike.

 

[taerin]

Every B&M has pouch moisteners, like they say make sure you fill e'm up with distilled water because the salt will clog the system eventually. Soak two in distilled water for a few minutes, dry them off and put them in a tobacco container. The next day shuffle the baccy around and check moisture, repeat as necessary.

 

[spartan]

The evaporation of water from the towel is a form of distillation, I've argued this point a couple months ago and G.L. Pease said the same thing but more elegantly.
As long as your water doesn't smell like the sewer, use it. Just don't let it touch the tobacco directly.
I do this:
Wet a sponge, get a paper towerl to hold it up top. Close lid. Repeat until satisfied.

 

[captainprophesy]

Wouldn't the water be distilled by evaporation as it moved from the towel to the tobacco?

Distilled water is water that has been boiled and the vapor is caught and viola you have distilled water, completely free of all impurities and is considered PURE water... tap water that evaporates is not distilled, and a paper towel or cotton towel will not catch all the minerals, chlorine, chloramine, fluoride and crap that is in tap water.

Now I use distilled water because that is what I was taught and is what I have always done... BUT if the towel never touches the tobacco I guess you'll be ok... but again, the evaporated water still holds the chloramine, fluoride, chlorine and who knows what else in the evaporated water that DOES go into the tobacco. Now maybe thats not a big deal if you smoke it right away, but what if it sits in the jar? is there a possibility that those impurities can grow into something? maybe mold? ... I dont know the answer to that... but I'll stick to distilled water.

 

[cigrmaster]

The cloth towel over the mixing bowl is my preferred method as lankfordjl suggested. The few times I have needed to do it, I used tap water with no ill effects. I like this method because it does the job slowly and I feel I have good control over the humidity that is being added.

 

[bentmike]

A method I read about somewhere but not tried yet is this: Open the tin and place carefully in a 1 gallon ziplock. Boil some water in a tea kettle. Once the pot is steaming hold the bag open and catch some of the vapors and then close the bag. Remove the tin once desired moisture content is achieved.
I'll give it a try sometime.

 

[sparroa]

Caution to those who place a square of paper towel inside of your tin: it will work, but it will cause rust in no time at all. Do it 3-4 times in the same tin and you'll probably start to see rust form... It does work fine in a pinch, though.
For that reason, I personally ring 2-3 days worth of tobacco around the edges of a Glad container and place a damp square of paper towel in the middle. I then reseal the container and place it in a freezer bag. Within a couple hours, you should have moist tobacco so open it up, check, and throw out the square if it has moistened to your tastes... This should stay good for several days; after that, the flavour starts to leave the rehydrated tobacco IMO. You also don't want to risk mold.
That is why I would personally avoid the "bowl" method because I prefer to rehydrate small quantities at a time. I think something is lost when you rehydrate tobacco, and even more is lost when you do it on a large scale...
An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, though, so if at all possible don't let your tobacco dry out.
To Jim/twangthang above, EVERY Dan tobacco tin I've ever seen comes bone dry. I will be avoiding their products like the plague as a result... I don't think it does their blends any favours. I guess its a moot point since 90% of Dan tins are out of stock all the time.

 

[plet]

I'm with bentmike! See my link in my fist post.

 

[bentmike]

Right on plet! I ment to click your link but I forgot to. Yep that's where I read that -I like the Mac Baren website.

 

[philip]

First get a very large bowl -

preferably one shaped like this.

Then put all your tobacco (along with everything else you own) into the bowl.

Place the bowl in water. Cold salt water works just fine.

Then sit in the bowl and wait. Everything re-hydrates just fine.

 

[spartan]

I'll stick with the "Pease"
Read his response on the matter.