Storing Tobacco

[eljimmy]

I jar everything I open. Ball loves me. Hahaha!

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Unless it takes you years to finish a tin, I am in the don't jar it camp. It takes quite a while, I estimate way over year for a blend to loose it's essential oils, and even if it does dry out (which is what I do to every tin I open) it saves you a step.

I pop my tins, and dry the whole tin before I start smoking from it. It saves me that extra time before each smoke waiting for a single bowlful to dry.

I'm fascinated that people want to keep the tin moist, and then dry it out before each smoke. It's an extreme waste of time, IMO.

 

[lawdawg]

I'm not advocating that anyone leave their tobacco in an opened tin for a year. But if I'm going to open a tin with the intent of smoking it down, the couple of weeks to a month aren't going to hurt anything, and I live in SoCal, in a very dry climate. Carrying a tin in my pocket is much more comfortable than carrying a jar.

As for leaving tobacco in an opened canister for a year, both of those were accidents. I'd opened up a tin of Rattray's HOTW and absentmindedly put it back in the closet. A year or so later, I reached for that tin, thinking it was unopened stock and was surprised that it was opened. Turned out the seal was good enough on that tin that the tobacco was at the perfect moisture for smoking. Same thing with the other tin I'd put back on the shelf. If that had a been a C&D tin it would have been mummy dust.

I take regularly take months to smoke tins after opening, and have rarely had any issues with my tobacco getting too crispy. This includes both the metal screw-top tins and the tins with plastic lids. Of course experiences will vary based on climate and personal preferences, as well as different tins. Just IMO, most of the 50g / 1.75 oz. tins will keep the tobacco just fine for a pretty good amount of time after opening.

 

[lawdawg]

I'm fascinated that people want to keep the tin moist, and then dry it out before each smoke. It's an extreme waste of time, IMO.

Exactly. Depending on the relative humidity, it can take hours for a bowl's worth of tobacco to dry to a good moisture content for smoking. If I want a pipe, I usually want it pretty soon, not in three hours. I like when my tobacco dries out some in the tins, and I have had inconsistent results drying tobacco over heat or in the microwave.

I have on a couple of occasions used a little terra cotta humidification coin, soaked in distilled water, to put some moisture back into a neglected tin, but we are talking 6+ months of being opened. I've had tins open that long on many occasions without needing any rehumidification. I'm smoking a tin of Capstan Blue right now that I opened last winter, and the tobacco still requires just a bit of drying time before smoking.

 

[jpmcwjr]

Yup, a shard of terra cotta works very well, and is usually free: Everyone breaks those pots, and if you don't have any, your neighbors do.

The only time I will dump a tin into a bail top is when I want to measure the RH (proxy for moisture content) of a newly opened tin. Then it stays there for a few weeks or months while I smoke it down.

 

[wallyb]

I jar my bulk tobacco to get it out of the plastic. aeros can get sour if left in a sealed jar to long..six months or more depending on the flavorings used...my rule...8oz of more goes in a jar..

 

[Scottishgaucho]

Must admit I'm probably too relaxed about my pipe smoking over the many years I've been at it to varying degrees.
I don't have that many blends 'on the go' so the 50g pouches I have, if liked, don't last long enough to dry out. If it's a blend I'm not that keen on and it dries out I just hydrate it.
I'm not into cellaring either. I still have around a kilo of Argentine twist from the 2 kilos I bought a few years ago which came bone dry anyway. That's kept in a jar more for tidyness than anything else.
As my pipe collection is small most of them are always out ready to be used....thankfully the wife doesn't complain. ? The few I don't use regularly are kept in the one bag.

 

[frozenchurchwarden]

It can vary dramatically from tin to tin.
I have an assortment of plastic lid tins that were opened 6-8 years ago and I'm a bit shocked to find some of them still in very good condition.
Meanwhile I have also had some tins arrive bone dry from the factory.

 

[didimauw]

Frankly, the HOTW was spectacular. This essential oil thing is something I haven't quite wrapped my head about. I recall hearing from people who process tobacco that a some point the leaves are thoroughly dried out, so that being the case, what happened to all those essential oils then?

I don't have jimink's palate for tobacco and his ability to discern the subtlest flavor is the real deal, which is why blenders send him samples of blends in development, for his critique.

I do have enough of a palate that I can accurately figure out ingredients in a dish by tasting it, except for ingredients of which I am unfamiliar. And when in the mood to focus, I can pick out a lot of nuance in the blends that I smoke.

Do we perhaps overthink all of this? Shouldn't it be more like, "I like this blend" or "I don't like this blend" and leave it at that? Only if we feel motivated should the quest to get the most out of the experience become part of the experience? Maybe sometimes ignorance is bliss?.

Bingo. I like this blend. I don't like that blend. I only like about 5 blends. I don't like anything else, and don't care to try anything new these days.

 

[cigrmaster]

I have never opened a tin with the intention of jarring it. I normally keep 20-25 tins open at the same time. I smoke 4-6 bowls a day and I never smoke the same blend twice in a day. I store my open tins in tupperware like plastic containers that keep my tins perfect for 1 - 2 years. In the pic below the opaque containers with the white tops are the ones I am talking about. I bought them at Walmart and have been using them since 2012 to keep my tins fresh and moist. I have also never had a tin lose it's seal, no matter what shape.

 

[mso489]

I'm running an experiment, keeping my quarter cup of 1-Q in a screw top jelly jar and about once a year, smoking a bowl in a cob. It is now about twelve years old and still as moist as the day I bought it, as near as I can tell. Yes, it depends on the blend. This 1-Q is like the twinkie nailed to the shop wall. It never gets old.