Talk to Me about Drying

[Bear100]

Title edited for capitalization. Rule 9. -jpm

I’m having a few issues with ash / cigarette tasting smoke, I’ve just bought a new Savinelli pipe and a pouch of Century vanilla custard, looked forward to smoking it but got a bit disappointed with the flavour. After reading may posts I was certain the bowl was going to hit the spot but only a hint of vanilla came through.
Some further reading later…..I’m going to start my fixing journey with drying out the tobacco. The new pipe has a balsa filter and after my bowl and cleaning the pipe I noticed the filter was very soggy.
So! How do you dry the tobacco? And how long for?

 

[reloader]

Each tobacco will take a different amount of time to dry to your liking. If its really moist I've let a bowls worth sit out all day. Some I can load up and smoke right away. Sometimes a brand new pipe will have an off taste if it has the pre-carbonized bowl coating. My Rossi had that coating and the first smoke was horrid tasting. After a couple smokes its now a great pipe. Make sure to take the filter out after each smoke once the pipe has cooled. A wet filter left in a pipe can cause some problems. You'll probably get several smokes from each filter though.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Drying time depends on so much. I am in Alabama, and sometimes leaving a tobacco out to dry makes it absorb ambient moisture, getting wetter, never actually drying out. So, I have to put my open tins on coffee mug warmers for a day or so to dry them out.

Also, I prefer to dry out the whole tin or jar. It makes no sense to me to do it bowl by bowl, because it wastes so much time and slows me way down. I prefer to just pop a tin and load without all of the drying a bit, bowl by bowl.

Also, I dry mine to almost crunchy, not worrying about over drying, because as I've said, I can just take it off the warmer and it will start absorbing ambient moisture.

I don't fully understand folks who feel like they have to keep their tobacco under seal all the time, because I've never had a problem ever.

 

[reloader]

Drying time depends on so much. I am in Alabama, and sometimes leaving a tobacco out to dry makes it absorb ambient moisture, getting wetter, never actually drying out. So, I have to put my open tins on coffee mug warmers for a day or so to dry them out.
View attachment 121188
Also, I prefer to dry out the whole tin or jar. It makes no sense to me to do it bowl by bowl, because it wastes so much time and slows me way down. I prefer to just pop a tin and load without all of the drying a bit, bowl by bowl.

Also, I dry mine to almost crunchy, not worrying about over drying, because as I've said, I can just take it off the warmer and it will start absorbing ambient moisture.

I don't fully understand folks who feel like they have to keep their tobacco under seal all the time, because I've never had a problem ever.

I think I might just need to get one of those. We have very little humidity here so probably wouldn't worry about it rehydrating.

 

[Ahi Ka]

Fold a paper towel in half and then put a bowls worth on it and press firmly to remove some moisture. Smoke it.

Leave 2 bowls worth out on a plate with or without a paper towel. Try some after 12 hours, and the the rest after 24hours.

See what you gives you the best flavour and then tweak.

Where I live, tobacco goes crispy after 10 mins in the direct summer sunlight

 

[Simmerdown☕️]

Some blends I like with more moisture than others. Avg drying time for me is 15-30 min. I leave it on a leather tray such as this…?️

 

[monty55]

Hey pipers

I’m having a few issues with ash / cigarette tasting smoke, I’ve just bought a new Savinelli pipe and a pouch of Century vanilla custard, looked forward to smoking it but got a bit disappointed with the flavour. After reading may posts I was certain the bowl was going to hit the spot but only a hint of vanilla came through.
Some further reading later…..I’m going to start my fixing journey with drying out the tobacco. The new pipe has a balsa filter and after my bowl and cleaning the pipe I noticed the filter was very soggy.
So! How do you dry the tobacco? And how long for?

I can't really speak to aros. When I first started smoking a pipe I tried a dozen different ones and inevitably they rarely taste like they smell, or like you think they're going to taste.

 

[OSOBUCO]

Also, I dry mine to almost crunchy, not worrying about over drying, because as I've said, I can just take it off the warmer and it will start absorbing ambient moisture.

I don't fully understand folks who feel like they have to keep their tobacco under seal all the time, because I've never had a problem ever.

Nice. I was wondering about it getting too crunchy. At 8000 feet the air is extremely dry and I store in mason jars but if it gets crunchy I suppose i can rehydrate a bit

 

[WVOldFart]

If I know what tobacco I'm going to smoke the next day, I put out some to dry before I go to bed. It usually is good and dry the next morning. Do not expect your Vanilla Custard tobacco to taste strongly of vanilla custard. Most aromatics will have a mild flavoring over the tobacco. Remember you are smoking tobacco, not vanilla custard and so it will taste like tobacco. I think that drying is one of the most important things to do in pipe smoking. It makes it easier to pack, easier to light, easier to stay lit and the different nuances of the tobacco can be tasted better. Good luck and post how things progress for you.

 

[jpmcwjr]

Some smoker says definitively, "Dry for ten minutes, no more" and folks believe it and do just- and only- that.

As cosmic points out, there are many factors at play, not the least of which is the cut and its moisture content to begin with. ambient humidity etc.

I also dry an ounce or two at a time, but I use hygrometers as I can't always rely on feel to get to the right moisture level.

 

[Jacob74]

Title edited for capitalization. Rule 9. -jpm

I’m having a few issues with ash / cigarette tasting smoke, I’ve just bought a new Savinelli pipe and a pouch of Century vanilla custard, looked forward to smoking it but got a bit disappointed with the flavour. After reading may posts I was certain the bowl was going to hit the spot but only a hint of vanilla came through.
Some further reading later…..I’m going to start my fixing journey with drying out the tobacco. The new pipe has a balsa filter and after my bowl and cleaning the pipe I noticed the filter was very soggy.
So! How do you dry the tobacco? And how long for?

You could possibly be puffing a little too fast and hard, trying to get enough smoke to get the flavor.
At least, that was what I was doing when I had a similar experience in my first months of pipe smoking.

Drying the tobacco out helped me keep the ember going, getting better at packing helped keep the ember going, and getting better at tamping helped me keep the ember in the right place...all of which helped me out when I needed to slow my cadence and volume way down, (which actually increased the flavor tremendously). Keep at it, you'll get there!

 

[Bear100]

Thanks chaps for the wealth of advice.
I don’t personally know any other pipe smokers which is a shame plus there are no tobacco stores close enough to pester.
Will dry a bowl or 2 for a couple of hours and go from there increasing or decreasing to get a dry feel

 

[Andriko]

I've never bothered drying tobacco, and never had a problem. Personally, I feel it might be a pointless excersise - infact, I think it tastes better a bit moist.

On the other hand, I suspect that Century Aromatic tobacco might not be the best aromatic, and it might be worth paying a few dollars more for a better brand. 'Cigarettey' is something I've often heared people complain about with certain aromatics, and I think it's to do with the cheaper tobacco they use in combination with slapdash application of the toppings.

 

[fireground_piper]

If you never bothered drying your tobacco, how can claim it to be pointless and better moist?

As a predominantly VA and VA based aromatic smoker, I dry it all to some degree. Daughters and Ryan are perfect right out of the tin. Flakes I generally leave out for a few hours or out under a heat lamp to speed it up. C&D flakes I dry for a bit but their ribbon is good enough for me as is. I even let the 3 Mac Baren vanilla blends air out for maybe 20-30 minutes.

 

[Andriko]

If you never bothered drying your tobacco, how can claim it to be pointless and better moist?

It dries slowly the weeks after I've opened the tin, even when jarred up. I definatley notice that the flavour and taste drop off a bit.

 

[Jacob74]

I dry "in the tin or in the pouch" as well. Since I usually only have one bowl a day-ish, it works out really well for the excessively moist blends. If they are already perfect, I'll jar them right away.

 

[kcghost]

It varies per tobacco and where you live. If you are in a typical situation you can put some tobacco in a small contrainer and leave out if the ambient air for some time. If you want me to throw you a number try it for an hour and make it later to suit your taste.

 

[Sweet Home Alabama]

I get mine pre dried....LOL!! It does cost extra.

 

[username]

Can always microwave it for a couple seconds till it’s dry to level you like.

 

[BROBS]

Everyone dries someday.