So today I spoke to my brother (CEO/director) about the issue raised. It seems that in the past there were complaints about SG products being too wet, not staying a light or even being able to be lit and there were many tins being returned or complained about as mouldy. In the old factory basically there was no 'steaming' and the moisture was put on more or less using a watering can. This meant that much of it was far too damp and went mouldy when packed. When moved to the GH factory, to address this problem and loss in retail/production the tobacco is now steamed, similar to GH is, as the machinery is available for SG now and so this is why it is not as wet (this is a good thing for quality). The wetter the tobacco, the darker it is, hence why it is now lighter (and drier). This is in response to customer and retailer's feedback.
I recall seeing tobacco being "watered" in an old video filmed at the GH&Co factory, probably back in the early 1970's, produced by Anglia Television.
Problem is the amount of watering can vary depending on who's doing the watering. And I didn't see any humidity monitoring equipment. I've seen other manufacturers recently using a spray bottle and checking humidity using a probe. In any case, changing the process in order to get more uniform results is a good thing.
I would also think that steaming in order to impart moisture is different than just applying water, so there might be a subtle difference in flavor because of that.
I have no experience in processing tobacco. Just what I've read on the interwebs. And some of the articles are written by people who have experience, some are written by people who have no experience, other than what they've read on the interwebs. A lot of articles seem to be based on speculation, conjecture, and are for the most part convoluted.
Over the years I've enjoyed GH&Co & SG products. Of late, (when they are available) I haven't had any issues with any products.
There are tobaccos that I have that have various amounts of age on them. In some cases what I seemed to remember about a particular tobacco doesn't come across a week or month later, even though it's from the same jar. And in some pipes it just seem quite the same. The weather, body chemistry on that day, who knows...
Guess I'm just happy to live at a time and place where there's so much variety available.
