Sealed Tobacco Going Bland?

[americaman]

I saw in another thread that a couple of users mentioned that tobacco will go bland after a few months once opened.

Basically, the example is that if you are aging tobacco in a Ball jar, once you open it you must smoke it as soon as possible.

I haven’t noticed this, but I’ve only been smoking about two years. Is this true in your experience? I can’t imagine resealed tobacco going bland. You might stop the aging, but I’m confused as to why the tobacco wouldn’t just stay the same once resealed.

 

[condorlover1]

I would think that would hold true of aromatics. I have never noticed something turning flat as I tend to smoke more heartier blends although I've noticed it the past with open pouches of Condor.

 

[gervais]

In theory: unless your tobacco dries out completely and remains in that state, staleness will occur. If it's sealed in a jar and has moisture it should be good for a loooong time. Just my 2 cents

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

First, aging tobacco will result in it getting a bit bland. Rough edges should soften, flavors should merge and the result will be something more "sublime". I don't buy into once you open aged tobacco smoke it quick school of thought. No scientific or factual evidence to support that. I presume it will quit aging any further. I also presume you would put the lid back on the mason jar each time you dip in for a bowl.

I've smoked a fair amount of 5 year old plus tobacco that I took around a year to smoke. I can't say I noticed any difference between the first bowl and last bowl. But I also don't have a Jim Inks palate either.

 

[lightmybriar]

I have jars that I still take from that are five years old. Jars preserve as long as they’re sealed. That’s my personal experience, and as we all know in this realm, so much is relative. I can just say, it works for me!

 

[logs]

On occasion, I've had a blend go bland after being opened and not smoked up immediately. But I've also had blends that are bland then later seem to recover after being sealed up for a few weeks more. Sometimes the air seems to hurt it, but sometimes it seems to help. The same with rehydrating old stuff. Sometimes it makes it amazing and sometimes it seems to ruin it.

It's all part of the mystery of pipe tobacco.

 

[rushx9]

My understanding is what you're referring to is the "shitdust" theory. I believe that only applies to blends aged longer than 10 years and possibly Latakia blends aged over 4 years. If you like "sharp" VAs or in your face, acrid Latakia, you may prefer blends fresh instead of aged, or with under a years age. Any time fermentation is occurring, you should expect some amount of change between the first and third day after breaking the seal and exposing to fresh air, but this is different than going "stale". More like a bottle of wine "opening up".

 

[danimalia]

Well, my understanding is that due to fermentation and decay, tobacco is always in a state of change, right? So if we open a tin smoke from it a few times, and then jar it, oxygen is still going to be working its magic, and it's still going to be undergoing changes. It's likely to be less predictable than aging a sealed tin, but "stuff" is still going on. Since I came back to pipes last summer after my hiatus, I have smoked through jars I had left over from smoking back in 2015, and in some cases, the tobacco was glorious (Luxury Navy Flake) and in other cases, I didn't enjoy them as much (Irish Flake).

I think Hoosier is right on the money here too. Many people consider the effects of aging desirable, but it's a subjective thing, and some of those effects you might not like. Some flavor attenuation can be common with aged tobacco, which can be good and/or bad. Toppings can dissipate some, too. As a practical matter, I have not experienced issues with tobaccos getting less enjoyable over the short-term, so I don't worry about hustling through tins I have in jars.

 

[jzbdano]

I've only had 1 tin go flat on me. That was a late 70's/early 80's tin of MacBaren Dark Twist, great subtle nuances and complexity for a couple weeks then flavors faded pretty quickly. I've cracked a couple dozen 15-20+ year old tins mostly McClelland Virginias with the only disappointments being rusted through and dried out '95 Blackwoods Flake and 04' GL Pease Kinsington and Charring Cross. I would call the tobacco from the compromised tins shitdust. The MacBaren was probably well past its prime. My only rehydration success was a '95 tin of McClelland No.22 that provided many excellent bowls over the 2yrs it took me to finish the tin. I have noticed some softening in 2002 Christmas Cheer that I dip into about once a month over the last 16mo but it is by no means flat. I've been out of the aged tobacco market for a couple years now mainly because competition got crazy after McClelland ceased production, prices skyrocketed and my wifi is too slow snag my favorites from pipestud. I wouldn't let the chance of fading flavors deter you from buying aged tins.