Spark Plug... Plume?
- Thread starter Masterblaster
- Start date
not always but it's almost always plume. Why because mold usually smells like mold. I've encountered both and if I hadn't encountered mold first and thrown away some really great stuff I've have probably thrown away the plumed cigars I got.
I made this gift to my colleague and friend Dan, with a lot of illusion. Sorry Dan. 
The thing is that it smells great and only a few small bits of whitish powder. I think we will have to smoke this blend with absolute priority, before this tasty tobacco ends up in hell itself. It really pisses me off to save tobacco only to find shit later. I don't blame anyone, it's just the inevitable process of organic degradation. Maybe it's time to buy more whiskey, alcohol doesn't expire 
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The thing is that it smells great and only a few small bits of whitish powder. I think we will have to smoke this blend with absolute priority, before this tasty tobacco ends up in hell itself. It really pisses me off to save tobacco only to find shit later. I don't blame anyone, it's just the inevitable process of organic degradation. Maybe it's time to buy more whiskey, alcohol doesn't expire .
I definitely do not have the years of experience that you do saddlebrush52! I was definitely concerned seeing as I've never experienced mold or Bloom yet, I really was hesitant to smoke this but also didn't want to waste the tobacco for no reason! So like I said earlier in the post I reached out to smoking pipes.com and C&D, they reassured me it was definitely not mold! Here's their responses for posterity sake!
SmokingPipes.com:
"In my experience this doesn't look like mold you would typically see on tobacco. Molded tobacco looks quite similar to moldy produce, with fuzzy, off white or greenish mold that spreads rapidly. The best course of action would be to place this in an empty mason jar and seal it up. When mold is exposed to fresh oxygen it will rapidly propagate. However, if there is no mold it will look and smell the same. I suggest isolating it for a week to see for sure. If mold blooms we can definitely help arrange for a reshipment of a new tin, or a refund!"
C&D Jeremy Reeves:
"Thank you for emailing us with your concern.This is definitely not mold. The dusting you see here is actually depositing of oils and sugars resulting from the pressing of the blend. Mold will be fuzzy and raised up from the surface of the tobacco, rather than being a crystalline or powdery appearance on the edges of individual pieces of leaf. This discoloration is actually a bi-product of fermentation and pressure, causing oils and sugars to be forced to the edges of the block.
Rest assured that what you have shown in these pictures is not mold, and the tobacco is untainted."
I also found an old ask G.L. Pease on the topic:
"First, it’s not clear those shiny jewels sometimes found on tobaccos are "sugar crystals," though they’re often referred to as such. Several times when I’ve discovered these glistening indicators of potential yumminess, I’ve done some rudimentary playing with them, though no full-scale analysis, and found them not sweet, not very soluble, and not very likely to be sugar. More likely, they are organic acids that have precipitated as a result of pH or other changes in the leaf’s chemistry as it ages. Nevertheless, the presence of these crystals usually indicates something good has happened to the tobacco that hosts them, and we’re generally rightfully excited to see them.
Mold, on the other hand, is rather different. How can you tell if it’s there? Your nose will offer the first clue. Moldy tobacco stinks in a way that is difficult to describe, but once you’ve smelled it, you’ll never forget it, and, most people wouldn’t even be tempted to smoke the stuff. Imagine the aroma of mildew combined with the ammoniac scent of soft, ripe cheeses well past their prime. If it was mold, I’m pretty sure you’d know it by nose alone."
I also found some pictures online of other tobacco plugs with small spots of mold on them and they looked nothing like what I had going on, especially after looking through the loop. I let the tobacco sit in a jar for 2 weeks with no indication of any mold growth or off putting smells! After a few bowls I decided I didn't want to deal with cutting on the plug every time I wanted to smoke it so I cut the whole thing up and rubbed it out and it probably took me two weeks to smoke through it and again no indication of mold. So I was pretty confident that it was some type of Bloom and definitely not mold, it was delicious and I had no ill effects!
I can't be 100% sure about your tobacco DanWil84 as I can't see it in person! But from the pictures it looks exactly like what I had going on! I would smoke it in a heartbeat!
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Save those emails! If they're wrong you can always sue them for the cost of the double lung transplant!I definitely do not have the years of experience that you do saddlebrush52! I was definitely concerned seeing as I've never experienced mold or Bloom yet, I really was hesitant to smoke this but also didn't want to waste the tobacco for no reason! So like I said earlier in the post I reached out to smoking pipes.com and C&D, they reassured me it was definitely not mold! Here's their responses for posterity sake!
SmokingPipes.com:
"In my experience this doesn't look like mold you would typically see on tobacco. Molded tobacco looks quite similar to moldy produce, with fuzzy, off white or greenish mold that spreads rapidly. The best course of action would be to place this in an empty mason jar and seal it up. When mold is exposed to fresh oxygen it will rapidly propagate. However, if there is no mold it will look and smell the same. I suggest isolating it for a week to see for sure. If mold blooms we can definitely help arrange for a reshipment of a new tin, or a refund!"
C&D Jeremy Reeves:
"Thank you for emailing us with your concern.This is definitely not mold. The dusting you see here is actually depositing of oils and sugars resulting from the pressing of the blend. Mold will be fuzzy and raised up from the surface of the tobacco, rather than being a crystalline or powdery appearance on the edges of individual pieces of leaf. This discoloration is actually a bi-product of fermentation and pressure, causing oils and sugars to be forced to the edges of the block.
Rest assured that what you have shown in these pictures is not mold, and the tobacco is untainted."
I also found an old ask G.L. Pease on the topic:
"First, it’s not clear those shiny jewels sometimes found on tobaccos are "sugar crystals," though they’re often referred to as such. Several times when I’ve discovered these glistening indicators of potential yumminess, I’ve done some rudimentary playing with them, though no full-scale analysis, and found them not sweet, not very soluble, and not very likely to be sugar. More likely, they are organic acids that have precipitated as a result of pH or other changes in the leaf’s chemistry as it ages. Nevertheless, the presence of these crystals usually indicates something good has happened to the tobacco that hosts them, and we’re generally rightfully excited to see them.
Mold, on the other hand, is rather different. How can you tell if it’s there? Your nose will offer the first clue. Moldy tobacco stinks in a way that is difficult to describe, but once you’ve smelled it, you’ll never forget it, and, most people wouldn’t even be tempted to smoke the stuff. Imagine the aroma of mildew combined with the ammoniac scent of soft, ripe cheeses well past their prime. If it was mold, I’m pretty sure you’d know it by nose alone."
I also found some pictures online of other tobacco plugs with small spots of mold on them and they looked nothing like what I had going on, especially after looking through the loop. I let the tobacco sit in a jar for 2 weeks with no indication of any mold growth or off putting smells! After a few bowls I decided I didn't want to deal with cutting on the plug every time I wanted to smoke it so I cut the whole thing up and rubbed it out and it probably took me two weeks to smoke through it and again no indication of mold. So I was pretty confident that it was some type of Bloom and definitely not mold, it was delicious and I had no ill effects!
I can't be 100% sure about your tobacco DanWil84 as I can't see it in person! But from the pictures it looks exactly like what I had going on! I would smoke it in a heartbeat!
Just kidding.
Sorta...
