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China Voodoo 2018 Air-cured and Rajangan

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deluxestogie

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They both seem appropriate. Some of my varieties that exhibit little or no yellow, but transition directly from green to brown, may show an intermediate "red" stage, before going to deep brown.

Another consideration is that the Kasturi seems to have a much more succulent vein structure, which always delays stem coloration.

Bob
 

ChinaVoodoo

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They both seem appropriate. Some of my varieties that exhibit little or no yellow, but transition directly from green to brown, may show an intermediate "red" stage, before going to deep brown.

Another consideration is that the Kasturi seems to have a much more succulent vein structure, which always delays stem coloration.

Bob
Thank you Bob. I'm glad to hear that this isn't all that abnormal.

Last year I hung about 5 Delhi leaves out in the sun and they cured just fine. I reviewed the weather data for the next while, and when the day is warmest, we drop down to about 60-65% rh, and when it's the coldest, although relative humidity is mid 80s, the temperature is mid 30s. So although slow, I think sun curing will be a good option here.
 

Tutu

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That's Kasturi for you. Although there are several different types of Kasturi, and some are more rigid and thick than others, this is the shape of it. Samporis is one of the varieties that is usually the one that ends up as Rajangan around Jember and Bondowoso (although some types of Kasturi do lend themselves for it). In other regions the varieties have other names (Lumajang, Madura, Piton, Bojonegoro).

For these characteristics I was interested in crossing Kasturi with Amersfoort ,(Maryland type), but unfortunately first and second generation are not germinating any longer after my move from Indonesia to the Dominican Republic. I've down again last Sunday...
 

ChinaVoodoo

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That's Kasturi for you. Although there are several different types of Kasturi, and some are more rigid and thick than others, this is the shape of it. Samporis is one of the varieties that is usually the one that ends up as Rajangan around Jember and Bondowoso (although some types of Kasturi do lend themselves for it). In other regions the varieties have other names (Lumajang, Madura, Piton, Bojonegoro).

For these characteristics I was interested in crossing Kasturi with Amersfoort ,(Maryland type), but unfortunately first and second generation are not germinating any longer after my move from Indonesia to the Dominican Republic. I've down again last Sunday...

You know, I'm really excited to try it. It may not grow large here, but it has that density that helps to make up for it.

Now I understand why you would want to cross it. It has unique physical characteristics.
 

deluxestogie

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I'm glad you grew the Kasturi, and have shared photos and spurred an in-depth conversation about it. In my seed vault, I have Kasturi seed, graciously sent to me by tutu a few years ago. Kasturi was just a name, and I had already committed to a comparison grow of Indonesian Besuki varieties. So my Kasturi seed is just lying in repose. I look forward to your further characterization of if--like, "What do you do with it?"

Bob
 

Tutu

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What to do with it --> kick up nicotine content in any blend.
It is a high nicotine tobacco which goes up to 5%. So it kicks up any cigarette blend that you put it in, given that you like the taste. Kasturi translates as "scent", because it has a very typical one. It's used for pipe consumption too in Indonesia, though pipe smoking is not very common. I've also seen it dark air cured, smoked it, and it spices up cigars the same way regarding nicotine strength. It's not an easy leaf to dark air cure because it retains a lot of moist and thus the veins are difficult to get dry without mold. The reason I like Kasturi is because it is quite something different than many other types. For it's taste, I like other things better, to be honest.
 

deluxestogie

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For those fat, juicy stems, try knucklehead's trick of waiting for the lamina to yellow, then stacking the leaves on a seedling heat mat.

Bob
 

ChinaVoodoo

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A note on rajangan. Particularly about convenience. On one hand, if you have a bunch of leaf that's all ripening at the same rate, awesome, do a batch, it's super easy. But if you check every couple days and only get a handful of ripe leaves, it's a pain, because then you're doing countless batches.

I'm too busy for that with work and the classes I'm taking, so plan B. Sun cure.
Set and hopefully forget. So all the Samporis and Kasturi are out. Finally. I'll throw a big tarp over the lot with a great source of some kind on cold nights.

IMG_20180919_113537748_HDR~3.jpgIMG_20180919_114253875_HDR~2.jpgIMG_20180919_114241538_HDR~2.jpg
 

OldDinosaurWesH

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Remind me...What do you use Samporis and Kasturi for? Cigar, Cigarette, Pipe, Decoration?...They certainly look nice.

Hey...What kind of rocks are those? Anything interesting?

Wes H.
 

ChinaVoodoo

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Remind me...What do you use Samporis and Kasturi for? Cigar, Cigarette, Pipe, Decoration?...They certainly look nice.

Hey...What kind of rocks are those? Anything interesting?

Wes H.

First time growing them. I smoke a pipe, mostly, but I think they're mostly used for cigarettes, but aren't most pipe tobaccos also used for cigarettes? Tutu in a post just above explained that Kasturi actually has multiple uses.

Wes,
They are pretty rocks. My favorite kind.
:giggle:
 

OldDinosaurWesH

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ChinaVoodoo:

Generally pipe tobaccos are much higher in nicotine content than cigarette tobaccos. Same with cigar tobaccos. I have been known to blend a cigar type into cigarette shred. But only in small quantities (10% or so). Too much percentage of cigar type overpowers the cigarette blend, both in flavor and nicotine content. A little "accent" in the blend mostly for fun.

What kind of pretty rocks? I know my geology pretty well, and if you give me a name I'll probably recognize same. All we have around here is Basalt, and Basalt is pretty boring stuff.

Wes H.
 

Tutu

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Yes Kasturi is a main ingredient in the majority of Indonesian cigarette brands like Sampoerna, Gudang Garam, Dji Sam Soe, Wismilak, LA, and many others. The Indonesian government is pushing towards a forced percentage of local tobaccos used as ingredients for local blends, which means that it will be even more dominant in these blends in the future. This is why prices for Rajangan and Kasturi are rising at the moment and less and less is becoming available for export.

Another way to dry the stem is to slice it open slightly.
 
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