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Is there any way to mellow out shredded tobacco ?

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deluxestogie

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Here's my take on boiling tobacco, or repeatedly soaking it (assuming you avoid having it mold).

So long as you allow the soggy tobacco to reabsorb all the cooking water, you won't lose any nicotine. The cooking itself alters many of the aromatic compounds, and evaporates some of the more volatile ones. This technique is often used commercially to render less desirable tobaccos into something more desirable, though flavored casings are usually added as well.

Repeated soaking probably does not particularly "age" the tobacco. (Besides, flue-cured tobacco is not capable of "aging" much at all, due to the destruction of its primary oxidase enzyme during the flue-cure process.) It probably, though, reduces some of the residual sugars, and increases the pH slightly--making it less acidic (likewise reducing tongue bite), which you may or may not desire. Cooking results in darker, blander tobacco, and is how Cavendish is made.

I suppose that you could render superb American bright leaf into the blander Canadian style by such a method.

If you start with harsh, crappy tobacco, then repeated soaking and drying cycles will likely be an improvement over what you had to begin with. Doing this with excellent American tobacco, such as Virginia Lemon would probably not be to the liking of many American smokers.

I have used a Cavendish method (steaming, but kept clear of the boiling water) to make some of the 100 varieties that I've grown--some being primitives, some being just crummy--into blendable, smokable pipe tobacco. But the best leaf is always better when left alone.

In the situation posed by the originator of this thread, probably light steaming or light toasting, or both would help mellow the shredded tobacco. A mild citric acid casing might also help. (WLT offers several carefully crafted casings for cigarette tobacco.)

Bob
 

JohnH

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I have the answer to "tongue bite" from Virginia Flu Cured tobacco. You must "case" it yourself for best results. I have a thread here in this "cigarette tobacco" section regarding how to. All natural products: distilled water, a 8 oz misting bottle from Walmart, natural honey (no additives type) and buy a few lemons. This will make enough casing for the wife and yourself.

Spread the shred out on a tray, mist it good, a few sprays all around.....Let it all dry (takes about an hour).......it will DEFINITELY remove sharpness!

HERES HOW: http://fairtradetobacco.com/threads/7654-Homemade-VFC-quot-casing-quot


Thanks everyone , didn't expect so much response , I like to keep things easy and
simple ..., ZigZags method makes the most since to me , going to try a batch and
see how it works out
 

JohnH

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Would never do that , my sister lived in western and central
BC for some 20 years , back in the states now
 

davek14

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Here's my take on boiling tobacco, or repeatedly soaking it (assuming you avoid having it mold).

So long as you allow the soggy tobacco to reabsorb all the cooking water, you won't lose any nicotine. The cooking itself alters many of the aromatic compounds, and evaporates some of the more volatile ones. This technique is often used commercially to render less desirable tobaccos into something more desirable, though flavored casings are usually added as well.

Bob

I've boiled freshly harvested tobacco and had it reabsorb most of the cooking water and it did indeed make it "smokeable". Boiling for a while broke down volatile compounds being my theory. It gave it a "different" taste though. Not bad I guess, but not good either. Not a thing I would repeat if I had any proper tobacco to smoke.
 

deluxestogie

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It's usually best to allow freshly harvested leaf to color-cure, by hanging is a shed, for at least a few weeks, preferably a few months or more. That allows the leaf cells' own enzymes to do most of the chemical conversion work, and do it in a way that rids the leaf of albuminous proteins and carbohydrates. When in case, the color-cured leaf's texture should remind you of supple calf skin. You can also directly sun-cure fresh leaf for flue-cure varieties and Orientals.

Then you can kiln it, or cook it, or whatever. An exception is rangangan, in which shredded green leaf is then immediately sun-cured, or for making Perique, by putting mostly color-cured leaf under pressure for several months.

Bob
 

davek14

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I actually should have said freshly color cured leaf, but totally un-aged.

Would the citric acid spray do any good for pipe/cigar tobacco which has tongue bite?
 

burge

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Bob Canadian expertise enters in here on Virginia. The longer it ages the complexity of the tobacco changes. Especially on Dons Virginia I opened a 3 year old bag it had that ammonia smell but once it breathed was exceptional. I have that is turning 4 years old. It gets a fruity citrus taste and is amazing I hand press mine in a tobacco tub using my fist. It becomes caked and wow That however is from a Canadian perspective. When boiling tobacco it acts as the pasteurizing tobacco which reduces the probability of mold. It changes the flavor. The Three Castles is tied with Auld Kendal or Kendal Gold as the best tobacco in the world. I am proud to say Dons lemon is in that category.
 

JonnieM82

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Have you tried casing shredded tobacco? I shred va and burley and add inverted sugar syrup and a tsp of glycerin put it in jars for overnight than air dry. Makes for smooth smoke imo
 

ZigZagZeppelin

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I actually should have said freshly color cured leaf, but totally un-aged.

Would the citric acid spray do any good for pipe/cigar tobacco which has tongue bite?

No, unless your blend is pure Virginia leaf tobacco. The citric acid corrects flaws inherent in Virginia tobacco (sugar saturated leaf) or immature Va. leaf that was harvested.

For pipe type tobaccos (burleys, dark leaf, fired) many use maple syrup, chocolate and some even licorice flavorings in those types of casings.
 

burge

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The new lemon shredded it when wet. And all the resins came out making it sticky and the leaf gets darker and kind of like the old McKlintock Virginia. I find something new every day and the tobacco is sticky. It looks like I have 2 different tobaccos blended. It has some bite but in a good way.
 

Muggs

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My wife used to smoke Misty light 100s , 7 to 10 sticks per day , and about 4
months ago we decided to go with stuffing our own , using TGS natural tobacco
/ gambler 100 light tubes / premier light 100s tubes , and after about a week
the smoke started biting her tongue and has gotten progressively worse to the
point of numbness after the second puff , also have tried Virgina Orange whole
leaf shredded to the same as the TGS and still the same result . Any ideas how
to mellow out the tobacco ?
I have been reaching hard.an i found one google site, that talks about using Paraffin on tobacco to remove the harshness.that's wax,scratching my head W A X? another web page said use Coca.
Burley seem to be the harshest tobacco.any ways i bought some tobacco that supost to pipe tobacco but used for cigarettes.
I smoked this in a pipe an cough everytime i take a drag.but I smoke this in a cig form,an no cough why?
 

burge

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Myself I do not like adding toppings to tobacco. Age mellows tobacco out as well the moistening. It gets better over time all good tobacco does.
 

Muggs

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WRONG !
"That is easy. To mellow tobacco you need to soak it. let it dry and soak it again."

Nicotine & flavor are highly soluable, you'll pour it out with the water, and very high risk of mold if the tobacco is too wet.
Yes, it's mild, because there is nothing left worth smoking.
This seem to work.i did this with burley 64.it does cut the cough. But the after taste is like eating bitter turnip greens.
 

CT Tobaccoman

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Thinking the problem might be in the blend? Burley is harsh and I use it as only about one third of my blend, the balance being mild Virginia flue cured and Turkish. I also spray the shredded tobacco with a 5% citric acid solution, which is supposed to make it less harsh, although it is hard to tell if it makes much difference.
 

Muggs

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Thinking the problem might be in the blend? Burley is harsh and I use it as only about one third of my blend, the balance being mild Virginia flue cured and Turkish. I also spray the shredded tobacco with a 5% citric acid solution, which is supposed to make it less harsh, although it is hard to tell if it makes much difference.
I might be wrong, but I think this burley I pulled was still green.I watch videos of them pulling the leaves when they had turned completely yellow.i pulled mine while it was still greenish
 

CT Tobaccoman

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Usually with burley they cut the whole plant and hang it upside down. It's the flue cured that is picked leaf by leaf. Is it cured, dried out now? Did it turn brown?
 

Muggs

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Usually with burley they cut the whole plant and hang it upside down. It's the flue cured that is picked leaf by leaf. Is it cured, dried out now? Did it turn brown?
Yes,the burley turn dark drown.smells wonderful.im smoking this straight,
An it make me cough, an has an bitter after taste. I tried the citric acid an vanilla which has PG in it an the citric acid,its helping.i can take a full drag with cough my toe nail out
 

deluxestogie

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Muggs, Is you burley from the 2018 season? Has it been kilned? If the answers are yes and no, respectively, then you're just smoking the stuff way too soon.

Bob
 
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