Whole leaf tobacco

[ArizonaDave]

I did find a small ziplock baggie with a BURSA sample, inside the 2 lb bag of orange/red vfc.

But the center of that 5 lb WET bag of yellow VFC you sold me is moldy. I threw away a good bit, no need to reimburse me. I learned a lesson, stick with WLT tobacco.

What reputable seller would ship 5 lbs of wet tobacco out in one lump bag to a new customer?

I put all of that 5 lbs in a large box, left it in my attic all this time. had plenty of time to dry. The outside top I could see was ok....But once I dug thru all of it I was pretty pissed.

If you sell tobacco it should arrive ready to shred anyways.

I buy from WLT and Larry. Since I live in AZ, I can dry Tobacco leaves pretty fast for long storage. It dries faster on paper towels, more so than cardboard. I'm just finishing up some One Sucker I purchased from Larry from 4 years ago, and need to order some more soon. WLT, I can store it right away, or use a portion and store the rest.

There's no long term storage tobacco in my shelves that's moist. I just won't chance it.

 

[BigBonner]

Shipped it at 18% moisture . Dry enough to keep well . If it is green spots that is from curing / bruising / packed in curing bins and results from a failure to
break down all the chlorophyll during the curing process . That is normal to have some green in flue cured tobacco .
Pictures would be good .

 

[ZigZagZeppelin]

Responded to your email and pm. I don't want anything except Don's tobacco next time. It was never wet like that, its ready to smoke. Maybe some of it is brittle dry but none of us were scared to smoke it. I bought his Lemon every month and liked it.
Maybe the conditions where you had the tobacco caused it to be that wet, no idea. Piling it all in one bag did not help matters.

 

[BigBonner]

Responded to your email and pm. I don't want anything except Don's tobacco next time. It was never wet like that, its ready to smoke. Maybe some of it is brittle dry but none of us were scared to smoke it. I bought his Lemon every month and liked it.
Maybe the conditions where you had the tobacco caused it to be that wet, no idea. Piling it all in one bag did not help matters.

Return the five pounds and I will refund your money .

 

[ZigZagZeppelin]

Don't have 5 lbs anymore and not looking for money or tobacco. Smoked a pound probably and tossed a bit less then another pound. Just wanted to mention this, and I should have emailed u instead.

 

[SmokesAhoy]

I've never had a problem with tobacco from Larry over the years, it's always been top notch leaf.

I noticed you've had it a while though before noticing mold, you might consider changing how you store bulk tobacco that isn't in special bags in the future.

 

[RyanM22]

Yeah, I can vouch for Larry as well.

Are you positive that the conditions you kept the leaf in didn't cause the extra moisture, and eventual mold? I made the mistake of keeping a big bag of Virginia by an open window over the summer, and it got just as yours did.

I think you need to pull yourself out and look at this in a much less emotional way.

He's not trying to screw you.

 

[ZigZagZeppelin]

I noticed you've had it a while though before noticing mold, you might consider changing how you store bulk tobacco that isn't in special bags in the future.

This is most likely the real problem, I'm not skilled enough to store tobacco properly, altho I still insist that yellow vfc was a lot more moist then the orange/red VFC or the YTB. Both of the others were probably about 18% or close to shredding/injecting moisture level. I did mention originally how moist the yellow was and just transferred the pile into a good sized cardboard box and stuck it in my attic. I grabbed about a pound of it from the top of the box and left that bit downstairs in the man cave. That bit was smoked, on Saturday I started to move the remaining tobacco around and noticed it was pretty wet still in the center and pulled that out to look at it.

Bonner's orange/red was excellent, tbh. the YTB was ok too, for a burley. But I never had leaf tobacco arrive in that condition (too wet by far to work with) and I asked here how to deal with it. Was told to air it out and keep it in a cool dark place, my attic is NOT COOL this time of year. Hot and probably a bit humid, so I may have screwed it up myself.

 

[Gavroche]

I think that you have to buy a thermometer hygrometer, and slide the probe in the middle of the tobacco. It is necessary to prop up you in 60/65 % for 20°C. In every degree C less 3 % more.


Je pense que vous devez acheter un thermomètre hygromètre,et glisser la sonde au milieu du tabac. il faut vous caler à 60/65 % pour 20°C . A chaque degré C en moins 3% de plus.

 

[larryccf]

i've had no issues with the order i received a few weeks before you posted about your order - i'm about 2/3s of the way thru shredding it, haven't found anything in the way of mold etc. In fact it's actually cleaner than WLT's in terms of green chlorophyll spots. It was a little moister than WLT's, but i actually like it that way, no leaves too dry to shred. Just saying

 

[deluxestogie]

Some Physics of Tobacco Storage

• Begin with a 5 pound bag of tobacco that has ideal moisture content.
• Place the bag into a relatively hot environment in which the temperature swings between day to night.
• The interior of the tobacco will become wet, and will likely mold.

A large mass of tobacco serves as its own insulation. The exterior of the mass of tobacco will become warmer than the interior during the day. The interior will reflect the average temperature of the location--that is to say that the insulating properties of the mass of tobacco will allow the interior of the tobacco to generally remain at a temperature of the day-night temperature averaged over several days.

This creates a heat pump which evaporates moisture from the exterior of the mass, and condenses the moisture within the interior of the mass. -->Wet tobacco in the center!

The result is that a multi-pound bag of tobacco that is placed into an intermittently hot environment will cause the interior of the tobacco to become moist enough to mold. The opposite is also true. A large bag of tobacco that is placed into an intermittently cold environment will cause the exterior of the tobacco to be come moist enough to mold.

Remedy
When storing a large mass of tobacco that is not fully dried (out of case), keep it in a thermally stable environment. The quantity of tobacco in a single container plays a role. The self-insulating effect increases exponentially as the quantity of tobacco increases. The smaller the bag (or other container) the less likely you are to have a noticeable heat pump effect. It is also wise to inspect your purchased tobacco upon receipt.

EPILOGUE: I have purchased tobacco from BigBonner for years. I have never had any problems with it that were not attributable to my own errors in storage. I would have no hesitation in purchasing more.

I understand the aversion from a bad experience, but one should be open to the possibility of user error. And always communicate directly with the vendor if you have any concerns.

I've left most of these awkward posts in place, despite the acrimony, since it may serve to encourage tobacco purchasers to consider proper storage of their leaf.

Bob

 

[ZigZagZeppelin]

i've had no issues with the order i received a few weeks before you posted about your order - i'm about 2/3s of the way thru shredding it, haven't found anything in the way of mold etc. In fact it's actually cleaner than WLT's in terms of green chlorophyll spots. It was a little moister than WLT's, but i actually like it that way, no leaves too dry to shred. Just saying

Big tried to get it out to me fast (he shipped before he could have received my check in fact) , that Houston storms remnants were approaching his area at the time and he told me he wanted to save his crops. Understandable. That being said, his area was very humid at the time and NY up here is still very humid daily. not ideal conditions. This combo affected that large batch in a single bag. The other batches I bought were in much smaller quantities, and arrived in smokeable condition (or very close).

 

[ZigZagZeppelin]

Some Physics of Tobacco Storage

• Begin with a 5 pound bag of tobacco that has ideal moisture content.
• Place the bag into a relatively hot environment in which the temperature swings between day to night.
• The interior of the tobacco will become wet, and will likely mold.

A large mass of tobacco serves as its own insulation. The exterior of the mass of tobacco will become warmer than the interior during the day. The interior will reflect the average temperature of the location--that is to say that the insulating properties of the mass of tobacco will allow the interior of the tobacco to generally remain at a temperature of the day-night temperature averaged over several days.

This creates a heat pump which evaporates moisture from the exterior of the mass, and condenses the moisture within the interior of the mass. -->Wet tobacco in the center!

The result is that a multi-pound bag of tobacco that is placed into an intermittently hot environment will cause the interior of the tobacco to become moist enough to mold. The opposite is also true. A large bag of tobacco that is placed into an intermittently cold environment will cause the exterior of the tobacco to be come moist enough to mold.

Remedy
When storing a large mass of tobacco that is not fully dried (out of case), keep it in a thermally stable environment. The quantity of tobacco in a single container plays a role. The self-insulating effect increases exponentially as the quantity of tobacco increases. The smaller the bag (or other container) the less likely you are to have a noticeable heat pump effect. It is also wise to inspect your purchased tobacco upon receipt.

EPILOGUE: I have purchased tobacco from BigBonner for years. I have never had any problems with it that were not attributable to my own errors in storage. I would have no hesitation in purchasing more.

I understand the aversion from a bad experience, but one should be open to the possibility of user error. And always communicate directly with the vendor if you have any concerns.

I've left most of these awkward posts in place, despite the acrimony, since it may serve to encourage tobacco purchasers to consider proper storage of their leaf.

Bob

Makes sense, Bob.

I know he has a good rep that is well deserved but I had no exp working with a big moist bag o bacca prior......So I can accept the user error bit.

 

[larryccf]

interesting - hadn't thought about that but also have never thought about using my attic to dry tobacco. Mine went into a spare room in the house i use as my "tobacco room" - and enjoys A/C, generally 74-76F. IIRC, 80F and greater & 80% and greater humidity, mold growth becomes a greater possibility

you must have grown up watching that "Mr Rodgers" science TV show

Some Physics of Tobacco Storage

• Begin with a 5 pound bag of tobacco that has ideal moisture content.
• Place the bag into a relatively hot environment in which the temperature swings between day to night.
• The interior of the tobacco will become wet, and will likely mold.

A large mass of tobacco serves as its own insulation. The exterior of the mass of tobacco will become warmer than the interior during the day. The interior will reflect the average temperature of the location--that is to say that the insulating properties of the mass of tobacco will allow the interior of the tobacco to generally remain at a temperature of the day-night temperature averaged over several days.

This creates a heat pump which evaporates moisture from the exterior of the mass, and condenses the moisture within the interior of the mass. -->Wet tobacco in the center!

The result is that a multi-pound bag of tobacco that is placed into an intermittently hot environment will cause the interior of the tobacco to become moist enough to mold. The opposite is also true. A large bag of tobacco that is placed into an intermittently cold environment will cause the exterior of the tobacco to be come moist enough to mold.

Remedy
When storing a large mass of tobacco that is not fully dried (out of case), keep it in a thermally stable environment. The quantity of tobacco in a single container plays a role. The self-insulating effect increases exponentially as the quantity of tobacco increases. The smaller the bag (or other container) the less likely you are to have a noticeable heat pump effect. It is also wise to inspect your purchased tobacco upon receipt.

EPILOGUE: I have purchased tobacco from BigBonner for years. I have never had any problems with it that were not attributable to my own errors in storage. I would have no hesitation in purchasing more.

I understand the aversion from a bad experience, but one should be open to the possibility of user error. And always communicate directly with the vendor if you have any concerns.

I've left most of these awkward posts in place, despite the acrimony, since it may serve to encourage tobacco purchasers to consider proper storage of their leaf.

Bob

 

[deluxestogie]

you must have grown up watching that "Mr Rodgers" science TV show

I grew up going to school, and studying science.

Bob

 

[larryccf]

you do realize that was said in jest

 

[SmokesAhoy]

That might not have been covered in the curriculum

 

[4wdboss]

For my first time purchasing whole leaf, ( BB was actually my second order to arrive) (WLT being the first to arrive), I must say, BB,s seemed much better to me. Granted, I don't fully grasp what the correct moisture content, texture, etc is. But Larry's just looked so much better.

Both arrived fairly dry in my novice opinion, however, it was well into the 100's around here when it arrived.

 

[ZigZagZeppelin]

I find it much easier to maintain tobacco in "case" when its stored in one pound bags. Big's yellow did look better, but once I smoked it I much prefer the sweet smooth lemon WLT sells.

I think Bonners' burleys are as good or better. The orange/red VFC's are similar, not a lotta diff.

Leaf Only's "canadian" vfc, a pale yellow, is not as good as Don's Lemon either.

For me, its not that important how it looks, its how it smokes that matters.

 

[burge]

That is chlorophyll zig not mold. Light yellow leaves are like that.