Why Press Tobacco???
- Thread starter mojoe
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I never bother pressing commercial blends, I figure they don't change much. My own blends, I put them in a small press or just pack a vacuum bag. Turns out either way gives about the same result after about a week, a crumble cake with well married flavors.
Here are 2 I did.
The one on the right was pressed using some really old (1987) Heinrich Va's that I had re-hydrated. They had a really nice apricot aroma. I then added = weight of McCrannies red ribbon. Then blended 22% Wessex burley and 8% perique. Pressed for 10 days.
The darker is a project I did using old Cope's Escudo that I re-hydrated. They came back very well, but I added = parts mid 2000's Escudo. Super yummy stuff that came out full of coffee and chocolates.
Hope this pic works...
Here is the press I used. It's pretty much a straight line torque system. Easy, cheap and you get get some good pressure if you put some arse behind the turns.
The one on the right was pressed using some really old (1987) Heinrich Va's that I had re-hydrated. They had a really nice apricot aroma. I then added = weight of McCrannies red ribbon. Then blended 22% Wessex burley and 8% perique. Pressed for 10 days.
The darker is a project I did using old Cope's Escudo that I re-hydrated. They came back very well, but I added = parts mid 2000's Escudo. Super yummy stuff that came out full of coffee and chocolates.
Hope this pic works...
Here is the press I used. It's pretty much a straight line torque system. Easy, cheap and you get get some good pressure if you put some arse behind the turns.
I'm in the Cosmic Camp on this one. I've made many a plug with my homegrown and it tastes the same as if I had just shredded it. There is a difference with commercial tobacco though. When you press a tobacco that has a boatload of sauce in it most of it will drip out, so a plug only gets half a boatload of sauce.
If I am not mistaken, Jitterbugdude is a trailblazer in crockpot cavendishes amongst the homegrowers.
I'd love to hear his opinions on it, Cosmic.
I started using this method when told about it from RonniB from Nightowl Pipeworks several yrs ago.
Charles Rattray used heated blending tables back then in Perth. Robert McConnell pan fired his Virginias (along with others).
Even the original Redmond Balkan Sobranie supposedly used a special Virginia technique that has not been replicated today. Can't verify the Sobranie/Redmond thing, but the Rattray thing is true.
This is totally different from tin baking. I'd never bake a unopened tin in the paper cradle they're incased in. You're baking the chemically infused paper into the tobacco. Many say they have had no ill effects, but smoke a hundred tins of it and let me know. lol.
There's many speculations on these techniques but, as you know, being a grower and experimenting with heat and pressure, there are some true benefits.
I started using this method when told about it from RonniB from Nightowl Pipeworks several yrs ago.
Charles Rattray used heated blending tables back then in Perth. Robert McConnell pan fired his Virginias (along with others).
Even the original Redmond Balkan Sobranie supposedly used a special Virginia technique that has not been replicated today. Can't verify the Sobranie/Redmond thing, but the Rattray thing is true.
This is totally different from tin baking. I'd never bake a unopened tin in the paper cradle they're incased in. You're baking the chemically infused paper into the tobacco. Many say they have had no ill effects, but smoke a hundred tins of it and let me know. lol.
There's many speculations on these techniques but, as you know, being a grower and experimenting with heat and pressure, there are some true benefits.
I have pressed several kinds of tobacco including Bengal slices, brown bogie, most of Sutliff’s virginias et al.
I can tell you a few things. First off any tobacco pressed under enough pressure will turn darker and will get sticky. It then needs to be dried out just a little. Second it becomes very sweet to the taste, like if you stick your tongue on it. Third it does not SEEM to affect the nicotine content one way or another eg. one inhale of double pressed brown bogie was enough to make me lose feeling from my fingers to about halfway up my arms. Fourth it changes the flavor of the tobacco. For Sutliff’s red Virginia ribbon, it simply smooths out the flavor, but it makes bengal slices extremely spicy. I know this probably raises more questions than answers, but it’s just a few things I’ve observed in my short career pressing tobacco.
I can tell you a few things. First off any tobacco pressed under enough pressure will turn darker and will get sticky. It then needs to be dried out just a little. Second it becomes very sweet to the taste, like if you stick your tongue on it. Third it does not SEEM to affect the nicotine content one way or another eg. one inhale of double pressed brown bogie was enough to make me lose feeling from my fingers to about halfway up my arms. Fourth it changes the flavor of the tobacco. For Sutliff’s red Virginia ribbon, it simply smooths out the flavor, but it makes bengal slices extremely spicy. I know this probably raises more questions than answers, but it’s just a few things I’ve observed in my short career pressing tobacco.
Best Home Press EVER!!! and it only cost about $15 to $19 depending where you buy it from. It’s the most fun I’ve had with tobacco in a long time! Read that whole thread if any of you are just the slightest bit interested.
You all won’t regret it but I highly recommend reading through that thread I linked as you can learn from others mistakes. I have found that the Sutliff Victorian Match has had the best transformation after being in the press for a week. I weigh out 58g (2oz) put it in the microwave for 18 secs, mix with my hands put it back in the microwave for another 15 seconds and load up as quickly as possible and press. Don’t press so hard that you break the press but give it some good pressure, each day you’ll be able to twist the handle a bit more until it just won’t turn anymore. I use aluminum foil to to cover the holes on the cap and it works perfect. I think the trick is to heat the tobacco before pressing. But again read that thread, Ernie Q from Watch City posts a lot of excellent tips in there too so it’s definitely worth the time to read through it. Other successful plugs I’ve made are; Kendal Dark, the shag cut presses very well, and Haunted Bookshop came out excellent as well. This is by far the best home press I’ve ever seen, the pucks come out with the press with the same density as Salty Dogs Plug, someone on there actually did the math. It’s amazing fun, and the cheapest and most convenient method I’ve seen of doing your own pressing at home. I hope you have as much fun with it as I’m having. After 30 min with my first press I immediately went back on Amazon to buy another one so I’m working with two presses now. One of the members had 5 presses going at once. Lol
Sounds like a winner. Look further down where Ernie suggest the infusion method. Put the port in a shot glass and put the tobacco and the shot glass in a closed Tupperware for several days, he says spraying alcohol on the tobacco can do bad things. I’ve never tried it but I trust him as his quite the blender.
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