piping_presbyter
Well-Known Member
Back in November, I built a plug press which I shared with all of you. Since then, I have been refining my process. Lately, I have adopted a method of natural “stoving” which I offer freely to you as it has been quite successful.
First, here’s a look at the goods (video further down):
Now, I will tell you what I did.
I got the idea from someone else, though sadly, I cannot remember who. Basically, Ive been leaving the tobacco in its press outdoors for two weeks while the weather was constantly between 95 and 110°F. The results are excellent. This to me is some of the smoothest, sweetest, and coolest burning tobacco I’ve ever tasted. Equal or better than things like Salty Dogs, FVF, and Capstan Blue in terms of quality (though distinct in flavor). That might sound like hubris, but I do not attribute the quality to some wizardry on my part. Rather to the fact that commercial pipe tobacco is heavily fortified with glycerin and other ingredients meant to preserve it for decades in a tin. As a consequence, those other agents affect the flavor and burn, typically not for the best. By contrast, I’m using tobacco, distilled water, and just a touch of honey, lemon, and vinegar. When I began pressing my own tobacco, I was shocked at how effortless it is to keep the pipe lit and how the tobacco burns to the finest dry ash. No dottle.
Visually, the difference was automatically noticeable. The tobacco is significantly darker than it was after a single overnight press at 75°.
Here’s a video about it (it is a bit rambly):
View: https://youtu.be/DE7_OZwt-jI
More details: after pressing the tobacco overnight, and wrapping it in foil to retain moisture, I returned to the press, but with just enough pressure to hold the form. Otherwise it becomes so dense that you can’t cut through it then I left the press outside in direct sunlight, for two weeks, day and night. here in the southwest, the temperature was always between 95 and 105°F. The press itself probably reached 120° because it was sitting in direct sunlight absorbing heat. As a result, the tobacco was, you might say, gently stoved, and became much darker. It is also noticeably sweeter from the press than otherwise. No sweetener has been added to the tobacco, but it is already considerably smoother and sweeter than it would have been on the first night when I pressed it.
It takes me about an hour to cut out the leaves and arrange them in the press. I do it while listening to audiobooks. I make one or two a month. It is probably about $1 worth of whole leaf for 1.5 ounces of finished flake. Seriously.
Start up cost is negligible, too. The clamp was about $15. The press was about $15 [corrected] worth of white oak.
First, here’s a look at the goods (video further down):
Now, I will tell you what I did.
I got the idea from someone else, though sadly, I cannot remember who. Basically, Ive been leaving the tobacco in its press outdoors for two weeks while the weather was constantly between 95 and 110°F. The results are excellent. This to me is some of the smoothest, sweetest, and coolest burning tobacco I’ve ever tasted. Equal or better than things like Salty Dogs, FVF, and Capstan Blue in terms of quality (though distinct in flavor). That might sound like hubris, but I do not attribute the quality to some wizardry on my part. Rather to the fact that commercial pipe tobacco is heavily fortified with glycerin and other ingredients meant to preserve it for decades in a tin. As a consequence, those other agents affect the flavor and burn, typically not for the best. By contrast, I’m using tobacco, distilled water, and just a touch of honey, lemon, and vinegar. When I began pressing my own tobacco, I was shocked at how effortless it is to keep the pipe lit and how the tobacco burns to the finest dry ash. No dottle.
Visually, the difference was automatically noticeable. The tobacco is significantly darker than it was after a single overnight press at 75°.
Here’s a video about it (it is a bit rambly):
More details: after pressing the tobacco overnight, and wrapping it in foil to retain moisture, I returned to the press, but with just enough pressure to hold the form. Otherwise it becomes so dense that you can’t cut through it then I left the press outside in direct sunlight, for two weeks, day and night. here in the southwest, the temperature was always between 95 and 105°F. The press itself probably reached 120° because it was sitting in direct sunlight absorbing heat. As a result, the tobacco was, you might say, gently stoved, and became much darker. It is also noticeably sweeter from the press than otherwise. No sweetener has been added to the tobacco, but it is already considerably smoother and sweeter than it would have been on the first night when I pressed it.
It takes me about an hour to cut out the leaves and arrange them in the press. I do it while listening to audiobooks. I make one or two a month. It is probably about $1 worth of whole leaf for 1.5 ounces of finished flake. Seriously.
Start up cost is negligible, too. The clamp was about $15. The press was about $15 [corrected] worth of white oak.
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boy am I glad I own a sawmill, for a few small pieces of white oak that price is eyewatering
