What Does Mold Smell Like?

[woodsroad]

Mitchell LOL one person is not a herf, it's a guy smoking a cigar, I've actually herfed with him in LA a couple times, i could tell you what i think of him but not something to share on the board or with people not in my close group who amazingly all feel the same. Been using the term herf for over 20 years, just popped into existence one day and no one can say where or when, it just spontaneously appeared, even 420 was hunted down to the group of kids that came up with it, alas herf remains a mystery. I'm heading to a herf in October which is the herf (annual herfs have names and people sign up and it's a big thing this one is about 40 or 50 people all meeting up in the LA area, actually the first place i met MO was at that herf a few years ago LOL ).

OH and I bought that box of Selectos in one of his auctions when prices were normal and no one went after partial boxes, I got this one for like 100 bucks with 16 sticks in it or something around there. The good old days.

“Herf” pre-dates the WWW. I first encountered it on Usenet in the early 90’s.

As for making up words, my point wasn’t about the word as much as it was about the thing it is supposed to represent. It seems to me that “bloom” and “plume” are used interchangeably to describe something that most people have no idea what it is. Some say it’s “crystals” (of what?), some say sugar, but who has the facts? The truth is out there…

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Plume is when something like a mineral seemingly grows into its structure within a stone, a liquid, or any solid.


Plume is an adequate descriptor for what happens on tobacco. Better than fuckin' Bloom. Plume actually refers to "mineral growth." Bloom sounds like stupid flowers.

The cigar boards sent off a huge selection of cigars that showed the exact same "plume" growth that we see in pipe tobacco and had them all analyzed a few years ago. ALL of them were results of mold growth. And, none of them were sugar.

If you actually taste the crystals, they are NOT sugar. They do not make the tobacco taste sweeter. Whenever I read that someone smoked some crystally tobacco and says it tastes sweet, I know for certain that that person is either affected by the power of suggestion, or can't taste anything well and is just saying what they've read others say.

On tobacco that I have smoked that was all crystally, the only thing I notice is a slight minerally taste, like calcium or the taste you get when you lick a chalk board. It's really nothing to get excited about, IMO.

 

[AJL67]

“Herf” pre-dates the WWW. I first encountered it on Usenet in the early 90’s.

As for making up words, my point wasn’t about the word as much as it was about the thing it is supposed to represent. It seems to me that “bloom” and “plume” are used interchangeably to describe something that most people have no idea what it is. Some say it’s “crystals” (of what?), some say sugar, but who has the facts? The truth is out there…

I was just calling out Mitchell pin pointing the moment that the word was first used. The guy is a so full of himself but very little actual information.

 

[jpmcwjr]

Plume is a shape. Bloom in a cigar is usually called plume because it has the shape of a plume.
Bloom in pipe tobacco is more accurate, as seldom does it take a recognizeable shape.
Sorry, Michael, but I think of you as both practical and precise, so I don't understand the hate for "bloom".

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Plume is a shape. Bloom in a cigar is usually called plume because it has the shape of a plume.
Bloom in pipe tobacco is more accurate, as seldom does it take a recognizeable shape.
Sorry, Michael, but I think of you as both practical and precise, so I don't understand the hate for "bloom".

I don't hate Bloom. I also don't hate stupid flowers, ha ha. Hell, this year I have grown about 30 varieties. If someone uses the term, I understand what they mean, and it is also fitting... just as fitting as Plume. I don't put down the use of bloom; just advocate against denigrating folks that use the term plume.

I rarely ever use either term. I either call it crystals or fuzz. Fuzz goes into the trash, and crystals depend on whether it smells moldy as to what I do.

 

[jpmcwjr]

Damn! If I have denigrated anyone, I apologize. Please PM me so I can offer a more direct apology.

Yes, everyone knows both those terms, as well as crystals and fuzz.

 

[FLDRD]

This is what I thought it (plume) was referring to, and how I thought I was using it - the shape of said item in question.

Plume
/plo͞om/

noun

• 1.a long, soft feather or arrangement of feathers used by a bird for display or worn by a person for ornament:"a hat with a jaunty ostrich plume"

Interesting responses from others...

 

[anotherbob]

Plume is when something like a mineral seemingly grows into its structure within a stone, a liquid, or any solid.
View attachment 242159

Plume is an adequate descriptor for what happens on tobacco. Better than fuckin' Bloom. Plume actually refers to "mineral growth." Bloom sounds like stupid flowers.

The cigar boards sent off a huge selection of cigars that showed the exact same "plume" growth that we see in pipe tobacco and had them all analyzed a few years ago. ALL of them were results of mold growth. And, none of them were sugar.

If you actually taste the crystals, they are NOT sugar. They do not make the tobacco taste sweeter. Whenever I read that someone smoked some crystally tobacco and says it tastes sweet, I know for certain that that person is either affected by the power of suggestion, or can't taste anything well and is just saying what they've read others say.

On tobacco that I have smoked that was all crystally, the only thing I notice is a slight minerally taste, like calcium or the taste you get when you lick a chalk board. It's really nothing to get excited about, IMO.

The last cigar I smoked with crystals on it tasted sweet. Not quite sugar sweet but similar to artificial sweeteners. Semois by the way. I doubt that stuff has enough sugar to look the way that stuff looked. Also looked way more minerally like salt then any sugar.

 

[bullet08]

It looks like spider mite infection on a plant. Without spider mites. If you don't know what mold looks like, and what spider mite infection looks like, it's kinda SOL.

 

[ThermionicScott]

"Bloom" is what happens to chocolate. Hope this clears it up!