Storage of baccy,ferment or not.

[springheal]

Have spent countless hours reading through the forum, watching members vids and being a silent junior member. (Joined recently).

I am now full of it and feel like I know it all thanks to you great people. There is just one matter that really confuses me that I have not really found an answer to, so here goes:

When a person reaches the stage of having a good supply of baccy for the long term and the tobacco has only been air dried. I have read that storing it in cartons in a dry place indefinitely is fine and then ferment nearer to when one wants to smoke it. On the other hand as it's been in storage so long, it may not even require fermenting if it's a year or two old. Is it possible to have a nice smooth blend if it has never been fermented if it has naturally aged over a very long time? ( I believe DrBob no longer ferments if the baccy is old enough ). I have also read where stock has been air dried/fermented/shredded and then put in the freezer is another option ( perhaps for the short term only ). Frozen food still has a limited life span in the freezer and I guess the same applies with tobacco.

So looking at these two options, I would think the best option for the bulk would be to only air dry and then put into long term storage for later use with the option of possibly fermenting or possibly not. Is this a reasonable assumption? My end goal is to have the smoothest taste with no harshness what so ever!

Am I correct in assuming fermenting is just speeding up the natural process or is it to improve the overall taste as well?

Oh,exactly at what stage is ammonia released from the leaves? I feel this is very important as I don't want to be smoking ammonia!! Not one bit!!

Thanks in advance for any input.

 

[Webby]

Hi Spring , I left mine hanging the first season as I had the space and the room it was hung in had ideal conditions, it was there 11 months+. Dont have that option this year but am storing in cartons and grinding a couple of hundred grms at a time and storing that in jars. I have also got in some of Dons leaf and as its needed I grind it then reseal the bags it came in which are great. If your smokin that commercial shite I'd dump it and get an order in from Don or Bigbonner.
Dunno that I've help much but thats what I'm doin, the boys will give you some better ideas.
Where bouts are you?
Alan

 

[springheal]

Ah, we are thinking much the same, store and cut as needed. I'm in Wanganui ( will update my profile ). I have my seedlings just germinated now so unfortunately, I am smoking that commercial shite currently. In the meantime, I would be interested in getting some from Don or Bigbonner. Are they members here? Thanks for the reply Webby.

Edit: Found Bigbonner but not Don using members search.

 

[FmGrowit]

Welcome to the site.

Fermenting is required for certain tobaccos to become a specific product. Air Cured tobacco will continue to mellow as it ages without fermenting, but the same leaf will not taste the same as if it were fermented.

What types of tobacco are you growing?

 

[springheal]

Great, so fermenting does still improve the final taste in the end. I have sown virginia and burley.

Thanks for the welcome. Love this site!

 

[johnlee1933]

Ah, we are thinking much the same, store and cut as needed. I'm in Wanganui ( will update my profile ). I have my seedlings just germinated now so unfortunately, I am smoking that commercial shite currently. In the meantime, I would be interested in getting some from Don or Bigbonner. Are they members here? Thanks for the reply Webby.

Edit: Found Bigbonner but not Don using members search.

Don is FmGrowit.

 

[Knucklehead]

Welcome to the forum. Until you get some plants going and aged, try www.wholeleaftobacco.com or send a PM to BigBonner for product and price list. FmGrowit is the founder of this forum and owner of Whole Leaf Tobacco. (His name is Don, nickname Possum) BigBonner is a forum member and a commercial grower. Some of the products overlap and one will have some of one thing and the other some of something else. I'll be smoking whole leaf myself for the next year or so until my crop naturally ages. Purchases from www.wholeleaftobacco.com help support this forum.

 

[springheal]

Don is FmGrowit.

Thank you

Thanks Knucklehead, shows my ignorance

 

[FmGrowit]

Great, so fermenting does still improve the final taste in the end.

There are at least three fermenting processes.

1. Kilning, Search "Curing Chamber", I don't know enough about it to comment.

2. Pilone, (pile curing) This is the traditional way to ferment tobacco in the manufacture of cigars.

3. Perique, This is a fermentation process using high pressure.

Fermenting can improve the flavor depending on what your finished product is going to be. If you're making cigarettes, using #2 or #3 fermented tobacco will make them taste like cigars.

I have sown virginia and burley.

Please see this thread to identify the type of tobaccos you're growing. It is helpful to everyone if we all use traditional terminology when referring to tobacco. There are nine Classes of tobacco which are further divided into 73 types. Type 37 is the only type known as "Virginia". My guess is you're growing a Flue Cured type. Flue Cured types are most often not fermented and most often used in cigarette blends.

 

[springheal]

Thanks Don, I am #1 got my kiln/curing chamber is made.

I thought I was type 37 (for cigarettes) as I will be fermenting by heating with humidity.

Nice break down of the three fermenting processes, thank you.

Will need to check that thread again tomorrow.

Meantime, I will be looking into placing an order to keep me going.

 

[DonH]

If your growing tobacco for cigarettes just storing them in boxes for 11 months will work fine. That's what I did with my 2012 crop and it's perfect for cigarettes now. It's cigar tobacco that needs to be fermented by piling or kilning.

And the reason it's 11 months for me was because I was storing them in my unheated attic and for the last bit of aging I had to wait until the hot weather came.

 

[springheal]

If your growing tobacco for cigarettes just storing them in boxes for 11 months will work fine. That's what I did with my 2012 crop and it's perfect for cigarettes now. It's cigar tobacco that needs to be fermented by piling or kilning.

And the reason it's 11 months for me was because I was storing them in my unheated attic and for the last bit of aging I had to wait until the hot weather came.

That is great to know. However, I do know of some members who still insist on fermenting when it's used for smoking cigarettes. Your reasoning works for me and simplifies things enormously. I still wonder about ammonia being present though.

 

[Jitterbugdude]

Agree with DonH, cigarette tobacco can just be stored away for a year (or less if you have high temps).

 

[Boboro]

I store in boxes for a year and smoke it as is most of the time. Burlys may need a little extra heat.

 

[johnlee1933]

That is great to know. However, I do know of some members who still insist on fermenting when it's used for smoking cigarettes. Your reasoning works for me and simplifies things enormously. I still wonder about ammonia being present though.

Ammonia isn't "stored" in the leaf. It is produced by the ageing/curing process. Kilning just makes the ammonia producing process go faster. It happens all the time. It's just slower at lower temps. Take color cured leaf that is dry enough to bag and put it in a sealed plastic bag for a month or two. When you open the bag you will get a whiff of ammonia.

 

[springheal]

Thanks Jitterbugdude @ Boboro, it's sounding better all the time. They are good size leaves boboro, well done.

Thanks for clarifying my ammonia issue johnlee1933.