Aging Tobacco in Dry Climates

[SeanKelly]

I live in Cochrane, Alberta Canada. Due to our height above sea level and our distance from oceans, things get dry around here... my lips chap like now tomorrow, this I can handle. That tobacco though, I am struggling to keep it moist. For my cigars I have a humidor, even with three passive humidifiers, I cant keep my cigars at a humidity of of 70% for very long. My pipe tobbacco drys out way too soon. I am starting to think that I'm never going to have properly humidified tobacco without extreme measures, which leads me to my question... How well will a super dry tobbaco age compaired to those kept at 65-70%. I'm trying to build up my cellar of pipe tobacco and want to have something amazing to smoke in 20 years time. Will my dry tobacco age just fine compared to a well humidified tobacco?

 

[ciennepi]

I also live in a country that have long period of very dry weather (20% RU). I abandoned the traditional humidifiers and use a shallow tray with common table salt just kept moist. 75% of umidity constant and for now no mold in the tobacco or cigars store at 20 -22 C.

 

[ChinaVoodoo]

I'm in Edmonton and I feel your pain. I have found that tobacco stays at a fairly constant moisture level in a sealed brewing bucket. I suspect food grade pails are also a good option. They need to be in a constant temp so there's no condensation. Also divided into bags is a good idea.

 

[davek14]

I wonder about this a lot myself. I don't have a kiln and am beginning to reap the benefits of aged tobacco to an extent. I have tobacco aging in boxes which I try to keep humidified and as warm as possible which I am sampling and playing with. However, I also have tobacco in boxes which are in a pretty dry place intended for long term storage. I'm wondering if the dry tobacco will age, but more slowly, or if it will not age much at all.

 

[CobGuy]

Dry?? I know a thing or two about that living in the high desert of Arizona.
First, ditch any standard humidor and go with a "Tupperdore" or "Coolerdore" … much easier to maintain humidity.
For pipe tobacco, it's got to be mason jars and I use either Ball or Kerr.
Tins with good vacuum seals have all been fine for me, so far.
Whole leaf is stored in the bags they arrive in from WLT and brought back to case when needed.

~Darin

 

[deluxestogie]

Some great answers up there. I'll jump in with the firm assertion that totally dry tobacco will never "age". What we consider to be "aging" changes are chemical changes that are mostly accelerated (on the order of a thousand-fold) by enzymes within the leaf lamina. And those chemical changes require water molecules. No water, no aging.

@ciennepi refers to the water vapor equilibrium (within a closed container) above a saturated solution of sodium chloride--table salt. That solution is made initially by dumping non-iodized salt (I use rock salt when I do this.) into a small vessel--cup or tray--of water. You add enough salt so that some of it remains undissolved. At typical room temperature, the relative humidity above the salt will remain at ~75%RH. [You can use this same phenomenon to accurately calibrate any hygrometer.]

If you have adequate room within a humidor, you can add an open bag (like 12-16 ounces) of super-cheap, commercial black Cavendish tobacco. It will have been literally soaked in polypropylene glycol, and will dramatically stabilize the humidity within the humidor in the mid-to-high 60s RH. If it is aromatic, then the humidor will smell just like the ones at a tobacconist shop, and doesn't seem to adversely affect the tobacco or cigars within the humidor.

If you use canning jars (with sealed lids), make sure the moisture within the jar is not too high (tobacco should be flexible, but not "moist"), to prevent mold. Otherwise, if you actually "can" the tobacco as you would home-canned green beans, it would be sterile, and will never mold, so long as it is not opened.

For pipe tobacco containers that are regularly opened, the tobacco will eventually become too dry. Just dip your fingertip into some water, and flick a few drops onto the tobacco prior to reclosing the container, check it again the next time you open it. After a few trials, you will become an expert at adding just the right moisture to keep the tobacco nicely packable in a pipe.

Bob