Tins, Cans, And Jars

[ssavarimuthu]

I wanted to ask about your experiences with all forms that tobacco can come in. I came across a review of Frog Mortons Cellar, and the reviewer claimed that those types of cans (with the plastic lids) don't keep the tobacco as well as a tin.
Should I always decant tobacco in a mason jar? Do other styles of tins do better than others?

 

[cigrmaster]

Back in 2002 the cans with the plastic tops did have major problems keeping the tobacco fresh at the ten year mark. Those tins were re designed to allegedly withstand much longer aging. We will see. I have a number of 2012 cans from GL Pease so I am hoping they will last. I store both round and square tins and have not had issues except a little rust with the Mac Baren Old Dark Fired. It has not affected the tobacco but who knows ten years down the road. My tins are 2012.
I personally would not decant anything in a tin as for my tastes, I love a well aged tin.

 

[griffonwing]

I bought a tin of GL Pease Barbary Coast a few years ago. Popped the tin, smoked about half the tin before moving on to something else, and ended up "losing it" in the cellar. I found it about a year after putting it away, and popping the plastic lid off, it was not dry and brittle like I was expecting. It was still soft and good enough to pack and light up.
Apparently it was a good seal.

 

[ssavarimuthu]

griffonwing
Thanks for your comment. That's just what I needed to hear!

 

[griffonwing]

Another observation.
I popped an open tin of Black Shag that was opened a month ago, and it was extremely dry. Odd that the Barbary was not in such a state after a year. What could the difference be? I think I may know.
The Black Shag was sealed with the cardboard circle plate. The Barbary Coast was resealed without any insert.
I am thinking that the cardboard plate might have absorbed the moisture, drying out the Shag over the few weeks, whereas the Barbary had nothing in the tin to remove the moisture, hence, it stayed softer much longer.
Keep that in mind when keeping popped, plastic-lidded tins. Make sure you either remove the cardboard from the sealed tin (perhaps in a drawer for keepsies), or if you do wish to keep the cardboard, perhaps a few drops of water in the cardboard in order to keep the tobacco from drying.

 

[shutterbugg]

My experience has been that a higher percentage of blends in cardboad cans has dissapointed me than those in metal cans. I'm not saying it has anything physically to do with the container. My theory is since the cardboard cans are less expensive, perhaps it alludes to a cost-cutting attitude on the part of the blender. It is to the point now that I won't even bother considering a blend in a cardboard can.

 

[clickklick]

If you open a plastic lid can and aren't going to smoke it for a while, you can take two layers of tin foil and place them under the cap to create a less permeable seal. It'll keep the moisture content better for longer than just the plastic would.

 

[jpmcwjr]

Keep that in mind when keeping popped, plastic-lidded tins. Make sure you either remove the cardboard from the sealed tin (perhaps in a drawer for keepsies), or if you do wish to keep the cardboard, perhaps a few drops of water in the cardboard in order to keep the tobacco from drying.

If the cardboard top has been in the tin from the beginning, and has not been left out to dry, it will not dry out the tobacco if re-inserted. Adding some water to it will increase the moisture content of the tobacco, but with plastic lids, the whole tin will dry out over time, regardless of type or absence of any interior 'lid'.

 

[clickklick]

I don't wet cardboard as I've had issues with mold. Even using distilled water.

 

[rigmedic1]

Once the tin is open, oxygen is reintroduced to the blend. Of course, that will change the tobacco, sometimes quite quickly. One example I like to use is a tin of McClelland Blue Mountain, which was awesome when I opened it. It was in a cardboard tin, with the plastic lid. A week later, I opened the lid again for another smoke, and it had changed, losing the original taste and tin note, even though it had not dried at all. The lesson I took from that is to transfer from the tin to the jar, unless I plan to smoke the tin up in short order.

I have not had that experience with every tobacco, but I jar everything now, using small jars to limit the oxygen exposure. All tobacco will change once you open the tin, but I think jarring slows the process a little, and some tobaccos get better with oxygen as well.

 

[jpmcwjr]

I don't wet cardboard as I've had issues with mold. Even using distilled water.

That's an issue of overly moist tobacco, not the medium!
I can think of a lot of things better than cardboard to purposely hydrate the tin, such as my favorite, a shard of terra-cotta pottery.

 

[griffonwing]

Good responses all around.
@jpmcwjr - The cardboard has been in from the beginning, however, I only had a one bowl, so it was previously in an unopened tin (between lid-plastic and lid-metal, so could not have absorbed anything.
Looks like its time to go and get some smaller pint jars for my opened tins.
Huzzah!

 

[newbroom]

Or, you could eat a lot of Smucker's Natural peanut butter, or Newman's Own salsa and use those jars.

I guess uniformity on the shelf and in the cellar is worth buying dedicated jars though.

Some day, I'll get inspiration and energy in sync and put a set up together that unifies my sprawling yet modest collection of pipe stuff. Then I'll be more attuned to neatness and uniformity.

It's fun to think about things you might do someday.

 

[ssavarimuthu]

Thanks everyone.
I don't necessarily mind taking the tobacco out of the original tin and placing it into a mason jar, but I really like the aesthetic of having all of my tobaccos in their original tins on display.
The particular tobacco I am wondering about is Frog Morton's Cellar. It is a metal tin with the plastic lid.

 

[sthbkr77]

Cellar is pretty moist to begin with. I don't see why you couldn't keep it in the tin for at least a few months, especially if you use the foil method mentioned above. I just wouldn't count on it for anything long term. I hear you that the display of tin art is important but you can always display the tins on a shelf empty while having another equally interesting display of safely stored jars.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

How long does it take you folks to smoke a tin? This cracks me up. A tin lasts me a week to a month, and they usually get better after a few weeks of being open anyways. Maybe for people who only smoke a bowl a week or have a billion tins open all the time, but in my years of smoking a pipe, I have always just left the tobacco in the tin or put it into a ziplock baggie.
Yes, I use jars for cellaring the back-stock, and if a blend is just so awful that I set it back to see if it tastes any better just before Armageddon. But, to just carry a jar with me all day, I have found this to not be very practical. When I do pop a jar open, about half of it gets pout into a ziplock. And, the driest part at the very end usually is the better tasting part of the tin.
But, to each their own. Do you guys tote a jar with you while you are out and about? Or, is this a thing for guys who only smoke a few times a week and at home in the same place every time? Just curious. ::

 

[griffonwing]

I dont smoke nearly as often as I would like. Mainly its in a bowl on the way home from work. Maybe half a bowl or less per day.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

I envy you guys who can just smoke a little like that. I keep hoping that if I can get down to a bowl a day some day. But, as for now, just getting quantity down to six bowls a day makes me feel like I have accomplished something.

 

[robwoodall]

ssavarimuthu,
This morning I smoked a bowl out of a 3.5 oz tin of FM Cellar that I had originally opened in June. It was fine. In fact, I felt it was still a little wet for my tastes, though I do tend to smoke dry.
It had certainly lost SOME moisture over the past 7 months, but very, very little.
I didn't use any foil, and I've probably opened the tin 10 to 12 times in that 7 months.
So, to answer your original question, FM Cellar lasts on an opened tin for at least 7 months.
I wouldn't, however, try to store it for 30 years that way...