New here: @kasall

[kasall]

Hello everyone,

I am new here and did not know where to post my question.

So besides saying Hello. Please forgive me if I am not posting this is the right area. [It's good. @deluxestogie]

My question is. How would you deal with very dry tobacco that is not pliable and crumbles when touched? I know it is possible to moisten it by misting the tobacco with water. I am completely new to buying my own tobacco. I have never done this before and do not want to destroy the tobacco. I am not sure how to proceed.

I have included a couple of pictures. I was only able to get a small amount from the pound of tobacco. It was very moist and pliable and completely different color. These lighter leaves were on the top of the bag.

Thank you for your help.

 

[deluxestogie]

Welcome to the forum. You may wish to scan through the topics in our Index of Key Forum Threads, linked in the menu bar.

For leaf that is dry (out of case), place only the quantity that you will work with into a container or plastic bag, and lightly mist it with water. Check it in the morning, and repeat if needed. Once the leaf is more flexible (in low case, rather than wet), you can handle it with ease. Just be sure to allow it to dry down to low case (somewhat flexible, but can be cracked by folding), prior to storing it. The leaf stem can hold a lot of moisture, so don't aim to make it too flexible, or it will release its stored water into the surrounding tobacco during storage, and lead to mold.

Bob

 

[Knucklehead]

Welcome. Thank you for joining us.

 

[vktr]

I just sprinkle dry leaves with water in a shallow cardboard box and shuffle them occasionally for a couple of hours. They become pliable very quickly. Then let them dry to get rid of the excessive moisture. Not a fan of plastic bags due to uneven moist distribution.

 

[Alpine]

Welcome to FTT

pier

 

[kasall]

Hello and thank you all for your welcomes and help. Thank you @Bob and @vktr, I will try that. Being new to this, it is some what time consuming. I had no idea before I decided to order whole leaves. I am also concerned about the huge color differences between the leaves. The dry ones are very dark. I thought all the leaves would be lighter in color. I mean, I assumed they would be similar to the same color. But what do I know, being new to all this. With that said, I will continue forward.

 

[deluxestogie]

Is the tobacco you ordered a "blend kit", or is it a single variety and stalk level?

Bob

 

[kasall]

Is the tobacco you ordered a "blend kit", or is it a single variety and stalk level?

Bob

Hi Bob, it is the Premium Virginia Blend. Forgive my lack of knowledge. I see now it is different tobacco blends. I am not sure what "stalk level" is. I did spray the dry leaves and they are a little more pliable. I have noticed some green spots and black spots on the leaves as I open them. I am looking for any fizziness to the green spots. It is hard to see at this point. Many are still all mushed together. To be honest I am not sure if this option of tobacco is for me. Sad to say.

 

[deluxestogie]

That blend kit contains several varieties of tobacco for blending a "typical" American-style cigarette, or Virginia pipe blend: maybe Virginia, burley and Oriental. But I'm not sure. So that is why they are different colors.

Many are still all mushed together.

Allow them to rehydrate again overnight. It's easy, but can be confusing at first.

I am not sure what "stalk level" is.

Tobacco leaves ripen on the plant stalk, starting from the bottom of the stalk, and progressing toward the top. These stalk levels, or priming (harvesting) levels, determine the character of the leaf. With Virginia, the sequence from bottom to top is "thin leaf", "lemon", "bright", "red". With air-cured leaf, the names are different: lugs (seco), mid-leaf (viso) and upper leaf (ligero). [All this clumsy naming has been around for over 100 years.] The aroma changes with that progression. Nicotine levels are lowest in the bottom leaf, and highest in the top leaf. In addition, the combustion rate is high on the bottom leaf, and diminished for the upper leaf.

For your your blending, sort the colors of the leaves (dark to light), then try starting with an equal proportion of the different colors. This all get easier if you purchase specific, named leaf offerings. But the blend kit can be fun to play with.

Bob

 

[kasall]

That blend kit contains several varieties of tobacco for blending a "typical" American-style cigarette, or Virginia pipe blend: maybe Virginia, burley and Oriental. But I'm not sure. So that is why they are different colors.

Allow them to rehydrate again overnight. It's easy, but can be confusing at first.

Tobacco leaves ripen on the plant stalk, starting from the bottom of the stalk, and progressing toward the top. These stalk levels, or priming (harvesting) levels, determine the character of the leaf. With Virginia, the sequence from bottom to top is "thin leaf", "lemon", "bright", "red". With air-cured leaf, the names are different: lugs (seco), mid-leaf (viso) and upper leaf (ligero). [All this clumsy naming has been around for over 100 years.] The aroma changes with that progression. Nicotine levels are lowest in the bottom leaf, and highest in the top leaf. In addition, the combustion rate is high on the bottom leaf, and diminished for the upper leaf.

For your your blending, sort the colors of the leaves (dark to light), then try starting with an equal proportion of the different colors. This all get easier if you purchase specific, named leaf offerings. But the blend kit can be fun to play with.

Bob

Thank you so much for taking the time to share this information with me. I did have a god look at the tobacco leaves that is really dry. I see green mold on a few of them. I am concerned about using this tobacco due to the green mold and black spots (which I think is mold) but not sure. Is this a normal thing with the tobacco leaves? What I mean is. When buying whole leaves can one expect to have mold? I understand this is a agricultural product and this can happen, but I am not experienced enough to know how to deal with this. I have looked around the forum and have read many different opinions on the subject. I also read the WLT's product insert. It advises to remove the mold on the mid-rib and cut away any other mold. What about mold spores that I can not see? What is the best way to deal with the leave in that case? Thank you again Bob

 

[deluxestogie]

What about mold spores that I can not see?

They are ubiquitous. Don't worry about those. It's not unusual for mold to appear on the central stem of burley. If you are planning to combust the tobacco (rather than smokeless preparation) then any mold you missed will be burned. But mold is always a reminder to not store tobacco in medium to high case.

The common mold spores currently floating about your kitchen, for example, are not a problem, unless they find the nice combination of nutrient and moisture.

Bob

 

[kasall]

They are ubiquitous. Don't worry about those. It's not unusual for mold to appear on the central stem of burley. If you are planning to combust the tobacco (rather than smokeless preparation) then any mold you missed will be burned. But mold is always a reminder to not store tobacco in medium to high case.

The common mold spores currently floating about your kitchen, for example, are not a problem, unless they find the nice combination of nutrient and moisture.

Bob

Thank you again Bob. I will do my best to work with these leaves. I am still trying to get them opened so I can get the stem off. I don't want to mist them too much, so possibly I did not mist enough. I will keep trying. You mentioned a medium to high case. What does that mean? Sorry, I am a complete newbie to all this. I am storing what I was able to work with in a air tight jar. The leaves have not been shredded, just slightly rolled and pressed down into the jar. I then take want I want and shred it. I don't have a shredder yet so I am cut the leaves by hand with scissors. I included a picture of the jar.

 

[deluxestogie]

You mentioned a medium to high case. What does that mean?

Definitions of case

Bob

 

[StoneCarver]

The tobacco in your pictures looks fine. I wouldn't worry about it. Learning about how to bring whole leaf tobacco "up to case" is par for the course. I'm in the same boat. Its fun and very interesting to get so hands on with the tobacco you smoke. Instead of using water to bring your tobacco up to case, you could use a casing mixture. The sampler pack I bought from Whole Leaf Tobacco came with a couple mist vials of casing to try. Its worth learning about. Once learn about casing mixtures, you can begin experimenting with your own mixes. I haven't gotten that far yet though.

 

[kasall]

The tobacco in your pictures looks fine. I wouldn't worry about it. Learning about how to bring whole leaf tobacco "up to case" is par for the course. I'm in the same boat. Its fun and very interesting to get so hands on with the tobacco you smoke. Instead of using water to bring your tobacco up to case, you could use a casing mixture. The sampler pack I bought from Whole Leaf Tobacco came with a couple mist vials of casing to try. Its worth learning about. Once learn about casing mixtures, you can begin experimenting with your own mixes. I haven't gotten that far yet though.

Thank you StoneCarver, I am looking for casing recipes now. Not a lot out there. That I can find. I did find a pdf on all the flavors etc. But wow! Way too much information for me yet. I am going to post it for everyone in a new post. People here on the forum may find it useful.

 

[BarG]

Welcome, it sounds like you got some good advice. There is a lot to be learned here, so enjoy.

 

[StoneCarver]

, I am looking for casing recipes now. Not a lot out there.

I'm having the same challenge. I've seen some recipes for casing mixtures that will produce a quart but that's way more than I'll need for years and years. I'd like a recipe to produce maybe a half pint. I'm not confident of scaling down a recipe for a quart to a half pint or maybe I'm just being lazy. I know though that its definitely worth learning about.

 

[deluxestogie]

scaling down a recipe for a quart to a half pint

Just divide everything by 4.

Bob's Recipe Rosetta Stone

• 3 tsp = 1 tbsp
• 4 tbsp = 1/4 cup
• 1 cup = 1/2 pint
• 2 cups = 1 pint
• 2 pints = 1 quart
• 4 quarts = 1 gallon
• 1 peck = 2 gallons
• 1 bushel = 8 gallons

Bob
EDIT: I have this printed on a tiny square of paper, posted on a kitchen cabinet. Sometimes I forget the conversions.

 

[kasall]

Just divide everything by 4.

Bob's Recipe Rosetta Stone

• 3 tsp = 1 tbsp
• 4 tbsp = 1/4 cup
• 1 cup = 1/2 pint
• 2 cups = 1 pint
• 2 pints = 1 quart
• 4 quarts = 1 gallon
• 1 peck = 2 gallons
• 1 bushel = 8 gallons

Bob
EDIT: I have this printed on a tiny square of paper, posted on a kitchen cabinet. Sometimes I forget the conversions.

That is really helpful Bob. Thank you for sharing. I hope to find some casing recipes now.

 

[StoneCarver]

I keep forgetting about this:

4. Flavorings and Sauces

There are four general categories of casings for pipe tobacco: Some of these play multiple roles. For pipe tobacco made from an excellent quality whole leaf that has been properly blended…

wholeleaftobacco.com

this ought to get us started in learning some basics to homemade casing.
I'm particularly interested in casing recipes as pH modifiers because I'm a geek like that, but I also want to develop a recipe that uses honey because I keep honey bees and have gallons of honey to mess with. I don't care about the sweetening aspect; I'm more interested in the chemical changes from using a reducing sugar- again geeky stuff.