Did I ruin my tobacco in my kiln?

[Gage]

Hello. Newbie here.

I recently built a kinl with temperature and humidity control to ferment my tobacco from last summer. Its set up so I can hang my tobacco in bunches. First day in the kiln went great. Temperature at 120 with 70% humidity. My shop already smelled of wonderful sweet tobacco. Next day I had humidity issues and my humidity dropped to 30% it was probably like that the whole day. Fixed the issue and then same thing happened next day. Tobacco was hot and crunchy.

I think I've got it fixed for good but now my tobacco smells like roasted leaves. Did I ruin my tobacco by baking it at 30% humidity for basically 2 days? Its cigar tobacco and I'm really worried it's all ruined.

 

[deluxestogie]

Welcome to the forum. Feel free to introduce yourself in the Introduce Yourself forum. Be sure to read the New Growers' FAQ, and scan through the topics in our Index of Key Forum Threads. Both are linked in the menu bar.

A temp of 120-130°F while the humidity is too low simply means wasted kilning time. If, however, the temp rose above 130°F, then it has been mildly toasted. Above 149°F, and the primary oxidizing enzyme is destroyed.

I would suggest keeping the humidity "high", and the temp between 123-130°F, to continue kilning for at least another month, to see what you get. (Temps above 122°F will prevent vegetative growth of mold, regardless of how high the humidity goes.) Despite the recent conditions, I would not apply the word, "ruined". You will end up with useable tobacco, though it may have a different character than what you had expected.

Bob

 

[Gage]

Welcome to the forum. Feel free to introduce yourself in the Introduce Yourself forum. Be sure to read the New Growers' FAQ, and scan through the topics in our Index of Key Forum Threads. Both are linked in the menu bar.

A temp of 120-130°F while the humidity is too low simply means wasted kilning time. If, however, the temp rose above 130°F, then it has been mildly toasted. Above 149°F, and the primary oxidizing enzyme is destroyed.

I would suggest keeping the humidity "high", and the temp between 123-130°F, to continue kilning for at least another month, to see what you get. (Temps above 122°F will prevent vegetative growth of mold, regardless of how high the humidity goes.) Despite the recent conditions, I would not apply the word, "ruined". You will end up with useable tobacco, though it may have a different character than what you had expected.

Bob

Wow. Thank you so much. I knew I came to the right place. That makes me feel way better