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Does finished tobacco have a particular pH?

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OldDinosaurWesH

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Does finished (kilned, flue cured, etc.) tobacco have a distinctive pH? Is it acidic, basic, or neutral. Or for that matter, does tobacco pH vary between varieties, or according to local soils and growing conditions?

The reason I ask, is that some cigar types in particular, seem to me to have a bitter flavor indicative of a basic (pH more than seven) nature.

Wes H.
 

mwaller

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I'm not an expert on this, but I believe that cigar tobaccos tend to be alkaline, and flue cured tobaccos tend to be acidic. In addition to flavor, pH impacts the amount of nicotine that is available. Increasing the pH makes tobacco 'stronger' whereas lowering pH will make it weaker.

Does finished (kilned, flue cured, etc.) tobacco have a distinctive pH? Is it acidic, basic, or neutral. Or for that matter, does tobacco pH vary between varieties, or according to local soils and growing conditions?

The reason I ask, is that some cigar types in particular, seem to me to have a bitter flavor indicative of a basic (pH more than seven) nature.

Wes H.
 

ChinaVoodoo

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You are right. Everything I've read agrees with your idea that air cured tobacco is basic while flue cured tobacco is acidic, in particular, the smoke of said tobaccos. And that's what matters, right? I don't know if the tobacco itself is necessarily the same pH as the smoke. I'd be curious if a tobacco were actually acidic in solid form, whether those acids might turn into neutral or basic oxides when burned. I know perique makes the smoke basic, but is it not actually acidic from the fermentation? One constituent which had an impact on acidity is the sugar content; when sugar burns, it breaks down into formic acid, making your flue cured smoke acidic. Sugar itself is not acidic. Perique sugar has been fermented away so you don't get the acidic smoke. Moreover, I am guessing that when proteins burn, they produce compounds which make the smoke alkaline.
 
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