Samuel Gawith Mold Issue??
- Thread starter BigIrish1
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I was able to secure FVF, Brown #4, Black XX, Commonwealth, Balkan, Best Brown, Squadron Leader, Skiff Mixture and Navy Flake. All came in with no issues in 250 gr boxes. Hoping the mold was an isolated issue.
I welcome our fungal overlords.
It is awful to see in tobacco, but mold is a fascinating thing. I read a theory of why dinosaurs did not "re-inherit" the earth and it was pretty much down to just a few degrees in body temperature difference. The idea was that they (reptiles) generally regulated their temperature with the sun, whereas we (mammals) regulate temperature with our brain and can more easily induce fever to kill off fungal invaders.
The theory was that reptiles were much better positioned to take hold again, but fungi kept them in check for the next go round when light was not so favourable for their conditions after some cataclysmic event. Interesting idea.
And... in the long view, apparently some fungi are making progress to erase our evolutionary gain on them. They're patient. And numerous. Something to think about if you're ever considering smoking a blend of mold because it is just too rare or precious not to. Maybe you're the next guy who is "new to science". At least you'll be quasi-famous in a journal article somewhere.
So, I don't really have anything useful to add in regards to tobacco, except that in the rare cases of mold, my returns were prompt.
That being said, I would be very reluctant to transfer anything to jars. If you take a sealed container that does not have mold in it (which is probably the majority of your purchases) and unseal it. It seems more likely that you will introduce mold to your tobacco than if you just leave it be in the packaging. Unless you have access to a laboratory "clean" room where you can do such a thing with relative confidence that there will not be contamination.
It will likely take more years than I spend reading pipes forums, but I suspect there will be a slight uptick in mold from "cellars" of mason jars. If I were a betting man, and I'm not, I would bet on that. You just may not notice it until it's rehydrated to a certain level and the fun begins.
And, if you have time, a fun documentary called "Fantastic Fungi" by Paul Stamets is beautiful and interesting. It reminded me that I need to hunt down some hippies soon to get some more of that special fungi. If the whole world collectively ate a handful of those on Tuesday, my other bet is that we'd all get along a hell of a lot more. I've yet to meet a mean person on the other side of that wall. But that's another post for another place.
Your best bet, I think, is to dry the tobacco before "cellaring" to reduce chances of mold.
It is awful to see in tobacco, but mold is a fascinating thing. I read a theory of why dinosaurs did not "re-inherit" the earth and it was pretty much down to just a few degrees in body temperature difference. The idea was that they (reptiles) generally regulated their temperature with the sun, whereas we (mammals) regulate temperature with our brain and can more easily induce fever to kill off fungal invaders.
The theory was that reptiles were much better positioned to take hold again, but fungi kept them in check for the next go round when light was not so favourable for their conditions after some cataclysmic event. Interesting idea.
And... in the long view, apparently some fungi are making progress to erase our evolutionary gain on them. They're patient. And numerous. Something to think about if you're ever considering smoking a blend of mold because it is just too rare or precious not to. Maybe you're the next guy who is "new to science". At least you'll be quasi-famous in a journal article somewhere.
So, I don't really have anything useful to add in regards to tobacco, except that in the rare cases of mold, my returns were prompt.
That being said, I would be very reluctant to transfer anything to jars. If you take a sealed container that does not have mold in it (which is probably the majority of your purchases) and unseal it. It seems more likely that you will introduce mold to your tobacco than if you just leave it be in the packaging. Unless you have access to a laboratory "clean" room where you can do such a thing with relative confidence that there will not be contamination.
It will likely take more years than I spend reading pipes forums, but I suspect there will be a slight uptick in mold from "cellars" of mason jars. If I were a betting man, and I'm not, I would bet on that. You just may not notice it until it's rehydrated to a certain level and the fun begins.
And, if you have time, a fun documentary called "Fantastic Fungi" by Paul Stamets is beautiful and interesting. It reminded me that I need to hunt down some hippies soon to get some more of that special fungi. If the whole world collectively ate a handful of those on Tuesday, my other bet is that we'd all get along a hell of a lot more. I've yet to meet a mean person on the other side of that wall. But that's another post for another place.
Your best bet, I think, is to dry the tobacco before "cellaring" to reduce chances of mold.
I have 4 boxes of Full Virginia Flake and 4 boxes of St. James Flake enroute. I hope it's free and clear....
I absolutely agree with this statement. Bill Hicks spoke about this quite often.
I received the last of my Gawith orders and none had mold. I’ll jar it this afternoon. Probably as I smoke some of it ?
17 boxes between my friend and I - Black XX, Brown #4, Best Brown, FVF, 1792, James Flake, Goldenglow, Kendal Cream - no mold at all. Purchase was from 5 different suppliers. I transferred the tobaccos to mylar bags and sealed. I never opened the baggie that mine came in - put the whole baggie in the 7mm mylar bag.
Some more anecdotal info after my inspection for y'all:
21 boxes (250gr) of the following:
Kendal Cream Flake
FireDance Flake
1792 Flake
ST. James Flake
FVF
Kendal Plug
Best Brown Flake
Boxes with mold - 0
Summary:
I've bought the aforementioned boxes over the last three weeks, from 5 different e-tailers. I live in a very warm location (85 to 100+ during the time period) where the packages were delivered.
I noticed that the content of the bags varied quite a bit. Some bags contained a variety of irregular flakes and some shake. Others contained no Flake and looked precisely cut and packed a la Macbaren.
Toward the end of my inspection I noticed that the content of the bags wasn't very moist (at least, not Gawith moist), and looking at the ziplock bags the 'baccy was in, many of the bags were not closed completely. That, Coupled with the crude plastic covering around the exterior of the boxes, makes me believe that some outside air could make it into the tobacco.
Although I was lucky, it seems plausible that in the right environment and conditions, mold could enter and proliferate in the moist and mostly-sealed interior bags.
I'm making no claims. Hope this is of help to everyone.
21 boxes (250gr) of the following:
Kendal Cream Flake
FireDance Flake
1792 Flake
ST. James Flake
FVF
Kendal Plug
Best Brown Flake
Boxes with mold - 0
Summary:
I've bought the aforementioned boxes over the last three weeks, from 5 different e-tailers. I live in a very warm location (85 to 100+ during the time period) where the packages were delivered.
I noticed that the content of the bags varied quite a bit. Some bags contained a variety of irregular flakes and some shake. Others contained no Flake and looked precisely cut and packed a la Macbaren.
Toward the end of my inspection I noticed that the content of the bags wasn't very moist (at least, not Gawith moist), and looking at the ziplock bags the 'baccy was in, many of the bags were not closed completely. That, Coupled with the crude plastic covering around the exterior of the boxes, makes me believe that some outside air could make it into the tobacco.
Although I was lucky, it seems plausible that in the right environment and conditions, mold could enter and proliferate in the moist and mostly-sealed interior bags.
I'm making no claims. Hope this is of help to everyone.
I noticed the same. I managed to get one tin each of the six blends that I wanted to try. All of the tins are silver now and had no date code sticker. The tins of SG and GH that I bought very early this year from last years shipment were all gold tins with date code stickers.
The tins are silver. The date code sticker is inside the tin. You will see it when you open.
Thanks. That's good to know. It's a peculiar change for SG to make though. Even if they don't want to encourage cellaring by date stamping their tins, it seems problematic to have a date stamp inside a tin. How does that help with quality control or recall issues?
I've never gotten a brochure inside mine. Or, I don't remember seeing one. Interesting.
That was my exact thoughts.
Hard to get, then moldy? Order from some other blender to cheer yourself up.
I had one tin a long time ago that had the brochure. Don’t think it was Cabbies. They don’t have it in the tins anymore.
I just received a 250 gram box of SG Brown #4. A good bit of solid mold growth on about a quarter of it. The seller is out of stock, so I guess I'll keep trying for another six months to get some, sigh. I'd buy the tins, but they're just as unobtainable to me. Fortunately I still have a couple very old tins of it my cellar, and one opened one transferred to mason jar, so I'm still good for a while.
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