smoking midrib?

[wazzappenning]

maybe im just still used to commercial tobacco, but im finding that real tobacco is still too strong for me. ive tried toasting, and letting it air out.

so i got to thinking, is there anything wrong with smoking the midrib? i could see incorporating it in a way to slightly water down the tobacco. is it bad to smoke? we already know commercial tobacco uses it as tobacco.

i already shred some of the smaller ones at the tip of the leaf where it is hard to separate. also those turkish leaves are quite small and some of the midrib is no larger then the veins in virginia, so i run those through too.

i tried a quick soak, and then running a midrib through the flattening rollers, then shredding it. seems like it would work.

 

[Jitterbugdude]

I have the same issue with tobacco with too much nicotine. Look around for low nicotine tobacco's to grow. I know Black Sea Samsun-Maden is low as well as Little Dutch. Do a post looking for low nic varieties to grow, you might get some good input. As for smoking the midrib, I don't know but why not give it a try. Another thing you can do ( I have not tried this) is to take a handful of cured leaves, put them in a bowl with water and squeeze them out and let them dry. This should remove a lot of the nicotine but it might remove the flavor too.

 

[wazzappenning]

i thought virginia and maryland were the mildest. both are still too strong for me and my wife. i had tried soaking some virginia (which was so strong it was making us sick to our stomachs) but i think i oversoaked it. it just tasted like a cigarette that got wet and then dried back out.

since commercial tobacco is only 40 or 60 percent leaf (i forget which), i can see that with this stuff, you either have to smoke less in a day, or start smoking half smokes, but changing smoking habits is hard. i may smoke slightly less (still over a 25 pack a day) but cant smoke just half a cig.

either that, or find a way to water it down somehow. instead of soaking i was thinking of giving the leaves a quicker rinse. problem is it takes forever to dry leaves.

 

[Michibacy]

maybe im just still used to commercial tobacco, but im finding that real tobacco is still too strong for me. ive tried toasting, and letting it air out.

so i got to thinking, is there anything wrong with smoking the midrib? i could see incorporating it in a way to slightly water down the tobacco. is it bad to smoke? we already know commercial tobacco uses it as tobacco.

i already shred some of the smaller ones at the tip of the leaf where it is hard to separate. also those turkish leaves are quite small and some of the midrib is no larger then the veins in virginia, so i run those through too.

i tried a quick soak, and then running a midrib through the flattening rollers, then shredding it. seems like it would work.

I'm not a pro, but I didn't have too much trouble doing it, it tasted a bit more woody. I just cut them up and added them into my pipe tobacco.

 

[leverhead]

since commercial tobacco is only 40 or 60 percent leaf (i forget which), i can see that with this stuff, you either have to smoke less in a day, or start smoking half smokes, but changing smoking habits is hard. i may smoke slightly less (still over a 25 pack a day) but cant smoke just half a cig.

I have a similar situation here. My wife only smokes half cigarettes until about noon but still prefers them over name brands. Me, I'm down from 30 cigarettes to 15/20 a day. I got rid of some of my "reflex" cigarettes.

 

[johnlee1933]

No offense you guys but you might want to consider cigars. They make and you can roll some really mild ones. As a former cig smoker I think they do help break the hand/oral part of the cig habit.

John

 

[SmokesAhoy]

I've noticed a lot of our members reporting they smoke less after growing their own.

 

[darren1979]

I only smoke roll ups, I used to use the cig tubes and make a carton in advance but i used to get through them quick. Smoking roll ups slows you down and sometimes you cant be assed to roll one when its pissing down(missus makes me smoke outside, as ive got a filthy habit )

 

[leverhead]

I've noticed a lot of our members reporting they smoke less after growing their own.

I don't know why, at first I thought it was because of a slower burn, a 10 min. king size cigarette is not unusual now. I can't tell about the nicotine level. One day I left my cigarettes at home and bought a pack of my old brand, they tasted for shit but I thought they gave me more of a buzz (different). The labor involved from prepping tobacco to assembling cigarettes make me think now about who I would actually "give" a cigarette to. All in all, the reduction in smoking IS real, for me.

 

[wazzappenning]

thanks for the suggestions.

since i am a cigarette smoker, if i smoked cigars, i would probably be inhaling. i think you probably have to no longer be addicted to appreciate 1 or 2 cigars a day.

i roll as i go as well, unless im going out, but i almost find i smoke more then when im out.

i will try mixing some rib in and see, other than that i will try to rinse them off and see how that goes.

as for the different or more buzz, commercial cigs have less nicotine, but then they add ammonia to give that nicotine a kick. i suspect it makes you absorb it faster = you need another cig sooner.

 

[Matty]

You could try blending with a sun cured variety such as turkish tobacco if you want to "water down" the nicotine.

 

[deluxestogie]

Mid rib usually burns fairly well, and with a lower nicotine than the lamina. In general, handling and processing mid rib is not all that productive.

One use that I have found is when rolling a cigar entirely of shredded filler. Here, the mid rib will come from stemming the wrapper leaf. Just make sure it's not soggy.

Every long filler cigar generates a quantity of small scrap filler--too small to call scrap leaf, too much to throw away. I accumulate one or two pounds (maybe more) of small scrap every year. While it can be smoked in pipe, the nature of the varietal blend is usually more suitable for a cigar. One notable problem with a large cigar made from shred is that as soon as it fires up, the cigar begins to sag.

I use a leaf strip for a wrapper and a leaf strip for a binder. The bottom third of the binder strip is cut off, parallel to the veins. This is flipped over, and placed above the longer portion of the binder, in order to form a large, rectangular bottom for a shredded filler cigar (like a cigarette paper, only much bigger). Any spare long scrap is added to improve the durability of the cigar.

I dump a quantity of shred, as though I'm making a giant cigarette. Over this, I lay segments of the wrapper's mid-rib, that have been cut to the length of the cigar. I dump a little more shred on top, and maybe add a strip of India Dark Air, then roll a semblance of a loose cigar in the binder. Now the wrapper can be applied to compress the bulk into an attractive, firm cigar.

With the cigar-length stem segments included with the shredded filler, the cigar easily maintains its shape, holds its ash well, stands up to being chewed, and burns nicely.

Bob

 

[Chicken]

maybe im just still used to commercial tobacco, but im finding that real tobacco is still too strong for me. ive tried toasting, and letting it air out.

so i got to thinking, is there anything wrong with smoking the midrib? i could see incorporating it in a way to slightly water down the tobacco. is it bad to smoke? we already know commercial tobacco uses it as tobacco.

i already shred some of the smaller ones at the tip of the leaf where it is hard to separate. also those turkish leaves are quite small and some of the midrib is no larger then the veins in virginia, so i run those through too.

i tried a quick soak, and then running a midrib through the flattening rollers, then shredding it. seems like it would work.

i think you may be smoking a burley,,,,,and bright leaf alone is a strong baccy..you need to find a weak baccy,,,and mix what your smoking now with it,

my ciggs have a mixture of 3 baccy's in it,,, BIG-GEM [ light baccy] mixed with a touch of shariza { turkish]. bright leaf[ mild burley], and tn 90 [ strong burley]

how much of each is up to you

but ive found a good cigg, needs at least 3 different baccy's in it,

I've noticed a lot of our members reporting they smoke less after growing their own.

this is very true,,,,i smoke a lot less, per day,,,

You could try blending with a sun cured variety such as turkish tobacco if you want to "water down" the nicotine.

i agree,

 

[FmGrowit]

For a milder home grown cigarette, try to take care of your lugs (lowest leaves...actually the whole bottom third of the plant). This is always the ugliest leaf, but it is also the lowest in nicotine...they're the lightest in weight and flavor too.

A proper blend for a cigarette would be three stalk positions from at least two different types (Burley, Flue Cured)...twelve positions if you include Maryland and Dark Air Cured.

Don't forget to add the Oriental in the blend.

 

[jeapadrenaline]

I may be wrong here, bur i have smoked a lot of american cigarettes and also swiss amd german, besides the canadian. Canadian cigs taste different, while swiss, german and american are somewhat similar. I believe the difference would be the oriental that is found in american and say european cigs, but is not found in canadian cigs. It is my guess that canadian cigarettes do not use an oriental tobacco, or if they do, a very small amount.
Does anyone have any info that would prove me right or wrong? I'd love to know.

 

[Jitterbugdude]

One notable problem with a large cigar made from shred is that as soon as it fires up, the cigar begins to sag.
Bob

Bob-Define "large". I roll Corona's with short filler and never had the sagging problem. Are you using actual shredded tobacco or bits and pieces?.. Oh, You know you can get something for that sagging problem, I think its called Havan-agra or something like that..
Randy

 

[leverhead]

I think its called Havan-agra or something like that..
Randy

I wonder if it would cause vision problems?

 

[leverhead]

For a milder home grown cigarette, try to take care of your lugs (lowest leaves...actually the whole bottom third of the plant). This is always the ugliest leaf, but it is also the lowest in nicotine...they're the lightest in weight and flavor too.

A proper blend for a cigarette would be three stalk positions from at least two different types (Burley, Flue Cured)...twelve positions if you include Maryland and Dark Air Cured.

Don't forget to add the Oriental in the blend.

Thank you for that! Something new every day, It's going in my notes.

 

[BigBonner]

For a milder home grown cigarette, try to take care of your lugs (lowest leaves...actually the whole bottom third of the plant). This is always the ugliest leaf, but it is also the lowest in nicotine...they're the lightest in weight and flavor too.

A proper blend for a cigarette would be three stalk positions from at least two different types (Burley, Flue Cured)...twelve positions if you include Maryland and Dark Air Cured.

Don't forget to add the Oriental in the blend.

This is right . The lower leaves is what big tobacco buys all they can get and pays beter money . They are the trashy bottom leaves and bring more money than the top leaves do .

 

[deluxestogie]

Bob-Define "large". I roll Corona's with short filler and never had the sagging problem.

I'm speaking of shredded tobacco, and of a cigar larger than a small corona. A Toro size cigar made of shredded filler, say 6" x 50 ring, definitely tends to sag after it's lit.

Bob