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Air Curing - Curing Speed/Colour and the Effect on the Finished Product

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Northern Light Up

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I am air curing more than one type of tobacco. Some of it is going green directly to chocolate brown. Nice colours. Some of it is turning a golden yellow, really nice colour, and turning to brown on the tips.

Can be dried once it is fully golden yellow? What is the effect on the flavour of tobacco if it is dried in a yellow state versus letting it go full brown before drying?
 

deluxestogie

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As the yellow leaf dries, it will likely all turn brown. You have to flash dry it (flue-cure it) to fix the yellow.

Bob
 

squeezyjohn

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As Bob says - air-curing nearly always ends up with brown tobacco regardless of the variety. Most types will yellow a bit before browning, but some will go straight from green to brown. Only a strictly regulated curing that regulates the humidity and temperatures closely (i.e. flue curing) will give the result of fixed cured yellow tobacco. The effect of flue curing is to fix the sugars in the tobacco - when it browns the sugars normally break down in the leaf giving a less sweet smoke.
 

deluxestogie

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Once it has yellowed, you can dry it as rapidly as you wish. (White-stem burleys will need at least a few weeks--or maybe several months--beyond that to be ready.)

Bob
 

bonehead

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i air cure all my tobacco and it all comes out good to great. the whole trick to getting good quality smoking material is waiting for it to age. tobacco is like making whiskey or wine. patients really pays off.
 

DonH

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As the yellow leaf dries, it will likely all turn brown. You have to flash dry it (flue-cure it) to fix the yellow.

Bob
Depends on the curing conditions and the variety. A lot of my flue cured varieties air cure yellow. Not all leaves, or more precisely not all the parts of a leaf. But I've got a lot of yellow flue cured hanging in my basement. It's lower humidity than a barn or shed so that may have something to do with it, drying it faster. Of course when it comes out of a kiln it will probably darken.
 

Ben Brand

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Like Bob said, once the leaf is coloured you can dry it quickly. Flu cured tobacco in curing barns, usually gets dried (after colourng) from 38 deg C to 65 deg C in about 4-5 days with heat and big fans.
Ben
 

Ben Brand

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I must add when the temp goes up,their must be no humidity present, in the curing barns the flukes gets opened for the humidity to escape.
Ben
 

Chicken

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I believe air curing is the way to go.

I've.given green leaf heat. Before to have it dry green.
 
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