What, *ANOTHER* rabbit hole??? @Nothing Clever

[Nothing Clever]

The switch to sensory terms makes sense

The tobacco does indeed feel soft, is very pliable, floppy & tears easily; in looks & feel, it’s not like any rolling tobacco I’ve seen or used. I’ll expect the shreds to shrivel & turn brown as they dry, then, so I’ll use the visual cues, too.

This is all good stuff, I appreciate you sharing - and maybe you got thru to me, too. Time will tell!

 

[ShiniKoroshi]

Don only buys the best tobacco so it has a lot more body than typical RYO tobacco.

This hobby has a steep learning curve but the rewards are worth it. You'll be 'there' in no time thanks to this forum.

 

[Nothing Clever]

Air-drying has recommenced

I’d like views on how to pursue it:
- in a plastic bin
- in ziplocks
— uncovered
— partly covered
— covered
— move between bin & ziplocks

 

[Nothing Clever]

I can see possible advantages to all the variations, but I’m not trying to rush things, so wise guidance is requested…baccy is in partially-covered bin now being stirred every few hours

 

[ShiniKoroshi]

Spread it out on a pan or table and let it dry out. If it gets too crunchy you can either leave it out until humidity brings it back or lightly mist with water.

 

[Nothing Clever]

The bin’s about the biggest footprint I can use, but I could put half in another the same size & it will dry a bit faster. Stirring should keep damp spots & compaction from occurring, & take it down as low as it will go & bag it just before it’s crispy

One thing I didn’t do right when shredding was crosscut the slices…it left a lot of very long shreds in the mix. Since noticing, I’ve started gently tearing clumps of the blend when fluffing & mixing, which shortens those strands but seems to spare the already shorter bits, which haven’t increased noticeably. Don’t know how it will work out, but it’s rather satisfying & could make it roll more easily

It also seems to enhance the release of moisture

 

[Nothing Clever]

Each of the bins holds ~1” of shreds; the mix has shed more moisture today than it has since I cased. The colors are muting, and the feel of it in my hands has changed - less like petals, more like paper. It is becoming aromatic.

Ambient temp 74F, outside 63F
RH 42% (this room), outdoors 97%
Rain predicted for the next 36 hours

Things seem to’ve picked up speed…

 

[Nothing Clever]

So it looks like today I’ll be playing with humidity…(pain & boredom are a bad combination) partly to see if I can keep balancing the crispy w/ the damp & make a preferable smoking condition, partly just to see what happens & if I like it

The slightly-damp hand-rolls I’ve been smoking haven’t been harsh, but they kinda fill up my lungs, so I warmed a plate in the toaster oven for 1 minute, turned it off & put a pinch of the still-drying on the plate.

5 min. later, crispy…so I put it in a mason jar w/ another pinch, dismantled one of my rolls, aired it out, re-rolled it. Outside smoking it while the 2 pinches sort each other out…perfectly fine smoke. Gotta say, it definitely seems to be improving as it goes

30 min later, the whole jar was crispy, so I added 2 more pinches from the more damp bin. I combined the 2 bins’ contents, mixed/tore/rubbed, & re-divided. RH for the room is now 49%. Mix continues to darken slowly but perceptibly , but shreds’re not shriveling…even the crispiest aren’t shrinking

Another :30, jar contents just barely off crispy; moved to a larger mason jar, added 2 more drying pinches (yes, I’m checking ‘too often’ (gathering data), shifting to hourly) & hygrometer

Another hour, hygrometer went up 1, entire jar in desired state, neither crispy nor floppy. Pressed it all into 4oz mason jar to rest

No more hygrometer readings: seeing swings of 10-15% up and down, cycling around 55%

Am now doing another drying run as above…. This time, I warmed the plate longer, used a larger amount, let it sit for longer & right at crispy again; jarred it w/ 2x from the damper bin. Result not as close to perfect, but still close. I let it sit out a while & now both batches are pressed into jars for the night - it’s so variably damp in here…& evenly spreading the remaining humidity has been basic to the effort. I’ll roll a couple of tasters from these ‘fast-dried’ batches tomorrow to see how they roll & burn & taste

 

[Nothing Clever]

Don’t know if I’ve ever spent so much time thinking about smoking, and tobacco, as I have in the last week since my order arrived

I have just put it to bed for the night:


After spending days open to the air, tonight I’ve firmly compressed it into a single mass, & put a lid on it. I might let it stay like that for a day or two
And I also have these, my heat-drying experiments 1 (half-cup) & 2 (cup) from today, and a pint jar of uncased tobacco from this batch of blend, which I’ve been drying in parallel & is now pressed into an 8oz tall

I am definitely amused, there’s something real basic, kinda ancient about running your hands thru the fruits of your labor

 

[johnny108]

“Data! Data! I cannot make bricks without clay” -Sherlock Holmes, The Adventure of the Copper Beeches, 1892

Being bored can lead to great discovery.

Question for the forum: what is the ideal humidity for cigarette tobacco?

Question for NothingClever: have you thought about getting those little humidor
packets to keep in the jar, so you can get an ideal humidity more consistently?
I’ve seen the humidor units come rated with different levels of humidity, maybe get one (depending on the forum answer to the above question)?

 

[Nothing Clever]

Sherlock fan here…

No idea what the humidity *should be* right now, but I do know this isn’t done drying yet - inside that box, RH is 55%. Yes, I’ve been smoking it, but I taste food before it’s done, too (when I’m cooking)…it’s clumpy, it burns unevenly, rolls unevenly, doesn’t taste harsh, bitey, etc, but is not yet pleasant to smoke, there’s lots of physical changes to the shreds still to come IMO, but I’m new to this, I could certainly be totally wrong about all of it: RN I’m thinking it’s a beautiful sunny day, & considering taking the shoebox of compressed tobacco outside (still closed) and let the sun warm it up for :30… or even mixing it thoroughly, opening it, & letting it bake for a bit…these might all be bad ideas, or pretty good ones

I *do* have some of those humidity packets, but they adjust humidity for burning, not for finishing - or so I understand. I keep one in my cigarette box, & one in my rolling pouch, but seems to me it would be kinda like adding water to something to dry it.

AND - I may still be sleepy, or just not understand at all…I appreciate the comments

 

[ShiniKoroshi]

There isn't a "should be" because different tobacco attracts/holds moisture differently. This is complicated by the addition of casings. Furthermore, the moisture level of tobacco smoked in Canada or Arizona will be too wet for the Southeast. Big Tobacco has had 150+ years to perfect the traits of smoking products hence the sharp learning curve for us.

Measuring humidity and all that is great for hobby/research sake but over-complicates matters when we are trying to get a good smoke. When that time comes, spread* the tobacco out and let it dry down to stiff but not crunchy/crumbly. If it smokes too dry just add a little moisture. Once you find the sweet spot of moisture content then it will only improve with rest/age.

BTW- all tobacco goes through dozens of cycles of dry vs "in case" by the time its consumed.

*The plastic bins are fine but I would sit them under a paddle fan and stir every so often and break up the clumps. At your usual indoor humidity of 40-45% and some air movement it shouldn't take more than a couple hours to get it dried.

 

[Nothing Clever]

The humidity here is all over the map - 53% right now, was 60% when I got up…& emptied the dehumidifier. No ceiling fan, but I mix it pretty thoroughly every couple hours for ~5 min or so, & fan with an old hand fan while doing so…one of the reasons I’m still considering taking it outside to warm up & expel more water

Main feels moisture-neutral as of last stirring, which should mean an increase in the rate of browning & shrinkage, and it’s taken 5 days to get to this point. My ‘fast-dry’ experiments are data collection/curiosity, but I also want to smoke a less-wet cigarette without having to buy an industrial pack, so those are my effort to do 2 things at once

Speaking of, I just rolled one out of fast-dry #1….rolling is improved, mix is more manageable; flavor not improved, but smokability & satisfaction are, as is the burn - only one relight.

Put the uncased & FD#2 jars in the sun for an hour; opening the jars released puffs of humid air. I quickly emptied each, fanned away the moisture while fluffing, and re-jarred / re-pressed each. Sun permitting, I’ll do the same tomorrow (rain is moving back in).

This is kinda like learning to cook…you end up trying all manner of things, to see how they’ll turn out; so far, I have a smokable portion & everything else seems to beautiful

 

[Juxtaposer-]

It’s great to see your having so much fun.

 

[Nothing Clever]

Please feel free to call out my mistakes as I make them! Yes, I am having fun, but I don’t want to wreck what I have

 

[Nothing Clever]

I mentioned things were speeding up

By this morning, nothing felt damp, it seems to have hit the ambient humidity, & the thinnest threads are shriveling…so I decided to bag it & move on.

Finished weight is 261g, or about 9.5oz



Now it’s all about the care & feeding.

I’ll check the bag daily for moisture & will warm/stir/leave out as seems appropriate (no sun today).

I was thinking about sunning for moisture expulsion & it occurred to me that direct sunlight might do more to the process than I‘d want, so I’ve arranged to block the light & keep the heat in the future my usual low-tech way)

Anything I *ought* to do at this stage, other than smoke it & take care of it?

 

[ShiniKoroshi]

Nice job!