What, *ANOTHER* rabbit hole??? @Nothing Clever

[ShiniKoroshi]

I have had success with the theory that there is a point where a jar has not enough air in it to grow mold. I have even had a plug that started to to grow mold right away so I took it out, wiped the mold off put it back in with no further mold growth to date. I have also had a plug that had a mold spot on it that I ignored and left in the jar. After a few years when I got back to it there was a “wet” spot where the mold was that I simply wiped off. I have certainly had mold in jars that have had more air than tobacco. Those types of jars I take more care with moisture levels now. I have a mold watch system to keep tabs daily until I am confident of a jars condition. I will still do monthly mold checks on jars especially if they are not full. I have been using a jar vacuum lately to suck air out of jars that I think need it. It does not work on jars that don’t have much air which is fine because I feel they don’t need it. Maybe I have just been lucky and I do make quite a few assumptions but I like to think there is a method to my madness.

Pardon me then, I was not aware that you were doing real science. See, this is what I get for not taking that "Tobacco Aerobics Class" in the 80's.

 

[deluxestogie]

If growing mold happens to produce aflatoxins, common with Aspergillus sp., the aflatoxins remain, even after the mold has ceased to be active.

Bob

 

[Juxtaposer-]

If growing mold happens to produce aflatoxins, common with Aspergillus sp., the aflatoxins remain, even after the mold has ceased to be active.

Bob

And here I am assuming that the aflatoxins are not airborne by simply wiping the slime off. Thank you though, I am listening.

 

[Nothing Clever]

Everything is destemmed, shredding continues, ~100-150g to go.


Knife works very well…I’m less than perfect @ maintaining a reasonable shred size, but I have improved (I think)

I’ve tentatively identified several varieties, including bright (large heavy leaves), lemon (way more yellow), red tips (…). The brown ones are harder, but I’m guessing ripe & fire-cured

I’m enjoying this: I’ve been pinned down by mobility issues for a month & been going stir crazy; this gives me something to focus on that I CAN do, which distracts me from what I can’t do, and gives me interesting cigarettes to smoke, which has been peaceful.

I’m about to roll cigarette-from-my-random-mix #5 & see what it’s like & am debating shredding the red-leaf 1st & adding it (or smoking it instead). I find it (so far) mild but substantial(?) w/ no harshness, bite or burn. So far, easily satisfied with smoking half & coming back for the rest later. Hard to guess on nicotine content, but I’m getting enough, pretty sure. Burns ok

This all makes me fairly happy - hope everyone’s weekend is safe & smooth

 

[ShiniKoroshi]

Good job! Far better than I can with a knife.

 

[Nothing Clever]

Thank you kindly

Not accurate to say I grew up in a kitchen, but…I grew up in the kitchen - let’s say I’ve practiced this, just not w/ tobacco. It’s messy to roll free-hands, but I use a machine so I don’t care about that. The cigs are even works of art…

Kinda miss my sense of smell/taste, tho

 

[Nothing Clever]

And with that, the shredding is done

I changed blades after two-three sessions: same style, thicker blade, much sharper, went thru the rolls like butter, it’s in the bottom pic

Things I see I’ve learned: start with the more stout blade; how to roll leaves for this; how to adjust case; how to destem (3 ways); how to keep the thickness down; a plan is more important than elbow room. Probably other things I haven’t noticed yet.

Next is combining, rubbing, casing, stirring, drying some, returning to the bag to let the humidity settle in & the casing do its work? I’d love to hear suggestions if ya have any

Right now I’m going to rest & let the shreds rest - just aired them out & gave em loose tops. They look different a day or two after shredding, or is it just the difference in my ability? The first nights strands seem huge to me today

They change color, too - it was hard to tell what was what going thru this first bag, but the colors of the different leaves seems stronger after

Cigarette #5 was very pleasant. Just bits of scrap leaf in that, no casing, no idea what’s in it, and bless me it was as enjoyable & satisfying a cig I can remember having - I could smoke this as is as a daily treat if I could duplicate it. What it really makes me want to do is grab a bit of each to play with after, *and* complete the purchased blend.

My next order will be undoubtedly be the sampler

 

[Nothing Clever]

All blended together, casing applied

Must say, not fond of the casing’s effect: all the enjoyable aspects I experienced before are gone, the smoke is more harsh, flavors have disappeared. Wish I’d followed my instinct & cased only a portion to check it out before going all in, but pain sometimes has a way of blocking wise decisions. I won’t make that mistake again, so I’ll make my peace & carry on…I have several months-worth of tobacco to get thru, and age might improve it

I appreciate all the commentary & input - and not going away

 

[Juxtaposer-]

A tobacco that has been cased requires rest. Put a date on it then give it some time. Two weeks at the very least.

 

[Nothing Clever]

Great news, I’m happy to give it time to do its stuff

It’s currently resting in the dark, in 2 1/2-gal ziplocks (w/ gap for respiration), ~66F… will it hurt or help if I stir it now & then?

Any other tips on care & feeding?

 

[Juxtaposer-]

You are not going to want to touch it if it dries out or it will just crumble. The tip of the day is to consider humidity levels.

 

[ShiniKoroshi]

All blended together, casing applied

Must say, not fond of the casing’s effect: all the enjoyable aspects I experienced before are gone, the smoke is more harsh, flavors have disappeared. Wish I’d followed my instinct & cased only a portion to check it out before going all in, but pain sometimes has a way of blocking wise decisions. I won’t make that mistake again, so I’ll make my peace & carry on…I have several months-worth of tobacco to get thru, and age might improve it

I appreciate all the commentary & input - and not going away

Which of the casing did you use and how much?

 

[Nothing Clever]

Casing #1 - w/ tobacco contained in a 16q bin, sprayed lightly 2-3x over surface, mixed, repeat, repeat, then bagged up per instructions. Felt damp, so kept stirring off & on, finally bagged.

Still a lot of casing left in bottle, humidity in bag = 49%

 

[ShiniKoroshi]

Casing #1 - w/ tobacco contained in a 16q bin, sprayed lightly 2-3x over surface, mixed, repeat, repeat, then bagged up per instructions. Felt damp, so kept stirring off & on, finally bagged.

Still a lot of casing left in bottle, humidity in bag = 49%

That will be ok. One thing to note is that the casing will make the leaf more hygroscopic and it may feel more dry than it really is. The excess moisture comes off has harshness. I find it better to dry down until crunchy and either let humidity bring it back in case or light misting. Light, as in you a are left with the feeling that it needs a couple more sprays. Bringing it out and back into case will aid in resting and may be good to smoke right away.

 

[Nothing Clever]

Correction: both bags, humidity is 51%

 

[Nothing Clever]

You are not going to want to touch it if it dries out or it will just crumble. The tip of the day is to consider humidity levels.

Humidity has been much on my mind…surprised & pleased I got the mass down to 51%

Given that shredded tobacco settles & compacts, it will stay more damp inside the clump, so I’m going to adopt ‘stir each bag once daily’ as a rule & head toward ~40%…unless I get contrary advice. I dont know if I want to take it that low or lower for storage (still so much to learn), & want to keep it in the ‘maturing’ zone if I can.

 

[ShiniKoroshi]

A tobacco that has been cased requires rest. Put a date on it then give it some time. Two weeks at the very least.

Instructions say spray..., let soak for 2 hours, then dry. Mix. Smoke. Ive not seen significant changes in these blends by resting, they are really good to go!

Maybe @FmGrowit could clarify this for us.

 

[Juxtaposer-]

Instructions say spray..., let soak for 2 hours, then dry. Mix. Smoke. Ive not seen significant changes in these blends by resting, they are really good to go!

Maybe @FmGrowit could clarify this for us.

This is good news for the OP.

 

[Nothing Clever]

My instructions were slightly different:
- blend
- apply casing
- less casing for stronger flavor
- return to original bag for 1 hour
- air dry if necessary

I applied as little casing as seemed reasonable, and air-dried / mixed until it stopped feeling moist

If it won’t improve from where it is now, that’s too bad; it’s not awful, I just very much prefer the flavors & smoking experience without the casing, based on this one blend/experience. I’ll order it again, hold back on the dark leaves, skip the casing, & go from there in search of perfection…climbing the learning curve again

Meanwhile, I’ll smoke this - it’s a better cig than I can buy, and practically free, to boot. It’s also been a blast finding y’all & doing this - wish I’d found y’all a few years ago & had gotten started then…I’d have saved thousands

 

[ShiniKoroshi]

I applied as little casing as seemed reasonable, and air-dried / mixed until it stopped feeling moist

Tomorrow, if your mix feels dry but soft it needs to be dried again. Virginia tobacco (yellow leaf) has a high sugar content and and likes to hold moisture (inside the leaf).

Cigarette tobacco should be stiff but not crunchy. Soft and pliable no matter how 'dry' will result in a horrible taste.