Colour-Curing Blues

[SmokesAhoy]

I've often wondered how non flue cured varieties turn out when flue cured. I hear sun cured and flue cured is close and I've had rustica that was sun cured turn out divine. One of these years I'll build it

Tell us how she likes it

 

[riverstone]

Smokes
I was a bit apprehensive about the flue cure because I read on the forum that Burley came out bitter and Maryland is cast as an easy air cure variety. I tried it because the leaf was going to rot if I didn't do something with it and it would have been a complete waste after months of work. I used the same temps and timing as my Virginia but it seemed to colour up easier and it was an easy five day cure.
Necessity is the mother of invention they say. I will post on the taste when I know.

 

[deluxestogie]

My scoreboard on flue-curing (FC) varieties other than flue-cure varieties.

• Little Yellow (a dark-air): FC to dull, deep yellow. Retains some sweetness. Neutral pH. Interesting and tasty.
• Çelikhan: FC to light yellow for lower leaf, yellow-gray for upper leaf. Sweet. Aromatic. Slightly acidic. OK.
• Xanthi Yaka 18a: FC to dull yellow and dull light brown. Minimal sweetness. Mildly aromatic. Not as good as air-cured and kilned. Neutral pH.
• Prilep 79-94: FC to yellow-orange. Sweet. Intensely aromatic. Mildly acidic. Very nice.
• Prilep 66-9/7: FC to gold and orange-red. Very sweet. "Tobacco Candy." Acidic. Nicer than sun-cured or air-cured. Outstanding.
• Bolivia Criollo Black: FC to yellow and light brown. Moderately sweet. Excellent burn. Minimal throat hit. Smoke smells like a cigarette. Acidic. While no menthol aroma, it does tickle the membranes with a similar edginess.
• Tabasqueño Prieto: FC to dull medium brown. Not sweet. Robust strength. Good burn. Neutral pH. Dry and subtle flavor.
• Iztepeque [Costa Rica 589]: FC to medium yellow and light, dull brown. Crêpe texture. Excellent burn. Acidic. Mildly aromatic. Probably a flue-cure variety.

http://fairtradetobacco.com/threads...lue-cure-Chamber?p=53603&viewfull=1#post53603

I also flue-cured Mutki and Cyprus Latakia mw, but I can't recall any specifics about their taste and aroma.

Bob

 

[riverstone]

Well! I shredded a leaf for my wife and the verdict is in. OK. Definitely not crappy, strong or grassy just different from what she is used to. She normally smokes an approximate blend of 45% Lemon Virginia 45% Red Leaf Virginia and 10% Prilep. She is English so is not used to strong tasting and smelling cigarettes. It smells like a Marlboro/Lucky Strike type cigarette. I will put it away to age for a while and use it when I run low on Prilep. Hopefully she won't notice.
I am quickly learning that tobacco is like spirits; one mans nectar is another mans poison. Unfortunately my nectar is single barrel bourbon (George Dickel) and single malt Scotch (Ardbeg) but my income is Jim Beam and Red Label.

 

[riverstone]

I have just come across a paper in my Document folder that I downloaded some time ago from this site. It is by Paul N Winn Jnr and is titled "Compact Curing of Maryland-Type Tobacco".
It is a type of flue curing for adverse weather conditions when air curing is not possible. Very similar to what I did. Outcome is that it is good tobacco at the end. Nothing is new.