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I'm Suffering With The Flue

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Orson Carte

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As a relative beginner in this art-form, and having read an awful lot of the information contained in this forum, I am presently confused on a number of issues.
I won't burden you with all my queries at once (hoping that most of the answers will become self- apparent before I really need to know, towards the end of this year) but I'd really appreciate some enlightenment on this one;
The way I understand it, generally speaking, 'Virginia' varieties of tobacco are flue-cured (although I understand that they may also be air or sun-dried, and then 'aged', either quickly by fermentation or slowly by the mere passage of time). Have I got this understanding correct?
Now, I have recently read in the FAQ section that by flu-curing Virginias the light colour is retained and the leaf 'is immediately ready to smoke without further processing' (after five days). Is this correct?
If this is so, why do I read about folks then fermenting these flue-cured tobaccos? I do understand that you would need to do this (to age it quickly) if it had been only air-dried, but why would anyone do it if the flue-curing has already made it perfectly smokable? Isn't the fermenting process an overkill that does little more than darken its colour?
Thanks.
 

Jitterbugdude

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Let's see if I can confuse you some more...:)

Yes, Virginia varieties are correctly called Flue-Cured. You can flue cure them or sun cure them. You can also air cure them but they will lose their sweetness. A leaf that comes out of the flue chamber (or the sun curing rack) can be smoked right away but it develops a better taste if allowed to set for a few months.

The reason you read about folks fermenting flue cured tobaccos is because they are probably air curing them.
 

Orson Carte

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Let's see if I can confuse you some more...:)

Yes, Virginia varieties are correctly called Flue-Cured. You can flue cure them or sun cure them. You can also air cure them but they will lose their sweetness. A leaf that comes out of the flue chamber (or the sun curing rack) can be smoked right away but it develops a better taste if allowed to set for a few months.

The reason you read about folks fermenting flue cured tobaccos is because they are probably air curing them.

So, do I take it then, that although you can (according to the FAQ info) 'successfully' air-cure Virginia varieties (and then 'age' through either sheer time or fermentation) you really aren't getting the best out of them by doing this.
It's starting to look like I need to build a flue-curing chamber to stand alongside my fermenter.
Thanks again.
 

ProfessorPangloss

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I'm glad for this thread because I have a related question. My greenhouse is ideally built for sun curing leaf. If I sun-cure my Virginia Bright Leaf, what sort of end product might I expect to see? A yellow leaf? A red one? A brown one? I may get a chance to build a flue curing chamber this summer, but I might not.
 

deluxestogie

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A kiln that is insulated well enough to reach 170 degrees F fully closed, and has the capability (during the early part of the flue-cure) of being adequately vented to release the substantial moisture, can also be used as a flue-curing chamber.

As for what you get with sun-curing, the answer is yes. You'll get yellowish, mostly reddish, sometimes brownish leaf. If it dries before it yellows, you get green leaf. If the ambient moisture is high, the leaf becomes more brownish. The goal is similar to flue-curing, in that you attempt to quickly yellow the leaf, then dry it rapidly to preserve the sugars. One possible approach is to hang it in the shed until it begins to yellow, then move it into the sun to finish.

With Orientals, I've been stalk cutting, hanging in the shed to begin yellowing, then hanging the stalk and all out in full sun until cured. With strung, primed Oriental leaf, I've maintained very close spacing of the leaf, and directly hung it in the sun (without shed yellowing). All of this depends a lot on the humidity, and the degree of cloudiness. My best results have come with the first few days being overcast, then the next week being sunny.

Bob
 

Orson Carte

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A kiln that is insulated well enough to reach 170 degrees F fully closed, and has the capability (during the early part of the flue-cure) of being adequately vented to release the substantial moisture, can also be used as a flue-curing chamber.

As for what you get with sun-curing, the answer is yes. You'll get yellowish, mostly reddish, sometimes brownish leaf. If it dries before it yellows, you get green leaf. If the ambient moisture is high, the leaf becomes more brownish. The goal is similar to flue-curing, in that you attempt to quickly yellow the leaf, then dry it rapidly to preserve the sugars. One possible approach is to hang it in the shed until it begins to yellow, then move it into the sun to finish.

With Orientals, I've been stalk cutting, hanging in the shed to begin yellowing, then hanging the stalk and all out in full sun until cured. With strung, primed Oriental leaf, I've maintained very close spacing of the leaf, and directly hung it in the sun (without shed yellowing). All of this depends a lot on the humidity, and the degree of cloudiness. My best results have come with the first few days being overcast, then the next week being sunny.

Bob

Bob -

I am aware that the construction of small-scale homebuilt flue chambers has been pretty thoroughly discussed in the forum. I have read a lot of this discussion before asking my question.
It is very interesting to hear you say that a insulated fermenter has the potential to be also used as a flue chamber. Exactly! I was struggling to see any real difference between the two processes, apart from degree. (I did think that it would be practical, however, to make the flue-chamber a lot larger than a fermenter needs to be.)
To get the air-space to maintain a regulated heat of 170 degrees (77C) shouldn't be very difficult - it might exceed the capability of a crockpot or hotplate, but it wouldn't be difficult with a small diesel-fired blower (or similar).
I would imagine that the hardest parameters to achieve and maintain would be reasonably accurate humidity control. This, I would have to think about for a bit.
 
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