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Red Virginia

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DGBAMA

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I've noticed that the aroma of flue-cured tobacco takes a week or two to develop after it comes out of the kiln.

Bob

Absolutely! Fresh from the cure, I get almost zero aroma even when it first comes back into case. Takes a few days before I can begin to judge smell.
 

Jitterbugdude

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I've noticed that the aroma of flue-cured tobacco takes a week or two to develop after it comes out of the kiln.

Bob

That could be because freshly flue cured tobacco is high in sugars. Over time (especially after being bulked) the sugars convert into reducing sugars. Reducing sugars are basically a "regular" sugar with an aldehyde radical attached to it. Aldehydes are the flavor and good smell things that food chemists like so much.
 

ProfessorPangloss

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I realize it's a year later, but I'm curious how this all turned out. I'm thinking of trying VA of some kind next year, so I'll need to build a kiln, and I love the sound of red Virginia and homemade Perique. Did the flavor come out right after the temperature bump?
 

Planter

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That could be because freshly flue cured tobacco is high in sugars. Over time (especially after being bulked) the sugars convert into reducing sugars. Reducing sugars are basically a "regular" sugar with an aldehyde radical attached to it. Aldehydes are the flavor and good smell things that food chemists like so much.

Yes, something is definitely happening there. I have a tin of Samuel Gawith's Grousemoor (steamed and slightly stoved flue-cured), which originally was bright lemon-yellow. I liked the aroma then, but found it burned a bit harsh and hot, with blackish ashes, and a note of burned sugar. I forgot about it for a year. A few weeks ago I opened it again, and the colour had changed to a beautiful orange. It is really smooth now, ashes are white, no bite, slow burn, really good now in any respect.
I wonder what the mechanism of aging is in flue-cured. One year in a moist environment (the tin dried down from rather wet to ideal moisture) makes a world of a difference.
My own flue-cured Orientals went through a similar colour change, but mostly the leaves on the outside of the bunches. (Storage is rather dry, though).
 
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