Signs of Dried Out Tobacco

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1adsarge

Starting to Get Obsessed
Jan 19, 2016
157
10
NE Nevada
The last couple bowls I have gone through have not been enjoyable. They seemed dry and had a bit of a bite in the mouth during smoking. They were different brands and flavors of aromatic tobacco. I keep them stored in mason jars in my tobacco cabinet that is kept in a darker and a mild temperature environment (68-75*F). I have also smoked them with different style pipes as well. I have had the tobacco roughly 2-5 months which was taken out of the plastic bags immediately upon receipt from the mail and placed in the mason jars. Might it be me with just a dry, scratchy throat (since it is starting to get quite warm here) or could it be the tobacco is starting to get too dry? I was hoping that I would not have to moisturize the tobacco for quite a while since I only have about 8 humidor zeppelins and about 70-80 bottles of tobacco.
Cheers,

Jared

 

mcitinner1

Lifer
Apr 5, 2014
4,043
24
Missouri
If I find a jar that seems too dry for my liking, I've had great success spritzing the tobacco right in the jar with a little distilled water, then tumbling the jar several times for a couple days until the jar is dry inside, and the tobacco texture as I like it.

 
You didn't say which aromatics, which would help. Some aromatics (along with almost all non-aros) have much more flavor and way less bite if smoked bone dry, to me, because it reduces the steam which exasperates the bite. But, most burley based aromatics tend to loose ALL flavor and pleasantness when dried, because all of the taste is in the toppings which only lasts as long as it is somewhat wet, and shen these dry we tend to puff harder looking for flavor, this we burn it hotter. But, all aros are NOT created eaqual. The ones that I enjoy are Virginia based or have a quality base leaf to begin with. Once a burley-based aromatic dries too much, they tend to never get that topping flavor back when you rehydrate them, IMO.

But, there are so many factors that can be at work with bite; packing, cadence, etc...

 

1adsarge

Starting to Get Obsessed
Jan 19, 2016
157
10
NE Nevada
The one from last night was the Newminster Superior Navy Flake. I don't recall exactly what the other was but it may have been a chocolate blend.
Cheers,

Jared

 

jpmcwjr

Moderator
Staff member
May 12, 2015
24,565
27,067
Carmel Valley, CA
If there's no spring back to a clump when pinched, it's too dry. I can only really tell by using small hygrometers that I can drop into a jar. Speaking of dropping in, you can use pieces of terra cotta soaked in water to rehydrate tobacco in jars.

 

mso489

Lifer
Feb 21, 2013
41,210
60,433
I like the idea of putting the tobacco in a snap-top container with a small dish of distilled water not touching the tobacco. This allows evaporation to deposit the moisture on the tobacco without spraying the leaf directly, which might start mold. Maybe this is fussy, but it doesn't require much more work. In general, I don't find dry tobacco a big problem. Unless really old and parched, most tobacco that is dry will smoke well enough, or even really well.

 

randelli

Part of the Furniture Now
Nov 21, 2015
914
5
I heard from my local tobacco store guy that a cube of potato works well to rehydrate without influencing the flavor. True??

 

jerwynn

Lifer
Dec 7, 2011
1,033
12
+1 on the spritzer, distilled water, terra cotta devices, those little pouch humidifier disks as well... I've had great results with all of them. I would NOT use slices or cubes of potato, apple, or any other such organic food stuffs... mold and rot potential waaaaay to high. I rigged neutral synthetic sponge cubes on plastic bottle caps in tobacco jars and have also had GREAT results with that. That is my normal default procedure when a little hydration is needed. (must be careful that the synthetic sponges are scent and additive free... no on board cleaners or solutions. Easy to find though and very inexpensive.

 

ssavarimuthu

Starting to Get Obsessed
Jan 14, 2016
179
0
I agree with jerwynn on the food stuffs.
I used a small slice of apple one time, and even though I was monitoring closely, it still ended up molding. I tried airing it out and all.
Can't go wrong with using distilled water. I like to use the humidifier disks. My local B&M carries them for .75 each.

 
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