How to make strong tobacco more mild and smooth

[Sirius]

I realise that this thread had itsgenesis quite some time ago but I'm a little intrigued and want to give it a try.
I've been looking to source some citric acid and it appears that it usually comes in crystal form - not as a liquid. Can anyone confirm this?
So, in posting #4, where it says a 2% solution is made, are they dissolving, say, 2 grams of crystals in 100ml of water?
Thanks.

confirmed, any store that sells canning supplies sells citric acid in crystal form. Check the Ball™ mason jars area of the store.

Yeah 1g should be an equivalent to 1ml of water, thus 2g to 100ml of water should make a 2% solution. I did this recently by spraying down dry tobacco leaves in a plastic bag, then filling the rest with water so that the leaves were submerged.

afterwards I added 2 shots of high proof alcohol (Like Everclear™) just to make sure it doesn't go bad, and threw it into the fridge for 2 days.

After 2 days I used this method to further process it:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a5p9S303mCM&t=5s


With the left over water from soaking, I referred to Gdaddy's other thread about making "oil of havana". Took the stuff, added Valerian root extract powder mixed it and simmered. Filtered it out with a coffee filter, and added 1 tsp of vanilla

extract and 2 shots of Everclear™ as a preservative. I sprayed some on a processed tobacco leaf, let it dry, then loaded it into a cig. Now I gotta find a guinea pig to try it out...

 

[ChinaVoodoo]

I realise that this thread had itsgenesis quite some time ago but I'm a little intrigued and want to give it a try.
I've been looking to source some citric acid and it appears that it usually comes in crystal form - not as a liquid. Can anyone confirm this?
So, in posting #4, where it says a 2% solution is made, are they dissolving, say, 2 grams of crystals in 100ml of water?
Thanks.

You can buy it at the homebrew/wine making supply store in crystal form.

 

[burge]

I am not one for adding stuff to tobacco

 

[Sirius]

I am not one for adding stuff to tobacco

It's just to speed up the process of mellowing out tobacco; lowering the alkalinity of the leaves fast by neutralizing it with acids. Other wise I gotta wait for it to mellow out. Too impatient

 

[deluxestogie]

Two grams in 98ml water gives you 2%.

Bob

 

[Sirius]

Two grams in 98ml water gives you 2%.

Bob

Eh, close enough. it's easier to measure 100ml than precisely 98ml. Doubt it'll make much of a difference if you're a couple ml off.

 

[Orson Carte]

I appreciate the calculations but I'm lucky enough to already know how to do that. And I'd imagine that it wouldn't matter too much if it was say, 4% rather than the targeted two.
One of the great things about the metric system is, in this case, you don't have to actually measure the water volumetrically - you can simply weigh it.
It's a matter of weighing-out two grams of crystals and then adding sufficient water (because 98ml weighs 98g) to weigh 100g in total.
My original question really was due to my ignorance of fact that citric acid is usually purchased as crystals (as opposed to being sold in liquid form).
Having said that, I wonder if the stuff actually works the magic that is claimed.

 

[Sirius]

I appreciate the calculations but I'm lucky enough to already know how to do that.
One of the great things about the metric system is, in this case, you don't have to actually measure the water volumetrically - you can simply weigh it.
It's a matter of weighing-out two grams of crystals and then adding sufficient water (because 98ml weighs 98g) to weigh 100g in total.
My original question really was due to my ignorance of fact that the citric acid is usually purchased as crystals (as opposed to being sold as a liquid).
Having said all that, I wonder if the stuff actually works the magic that is claimed.

I'm pretty ass at math, so I'm embarrassed for that mistake again. I can confirm it makes it less harsh as I've run a few cig tests with a couple of guys who do smoke. However, more tests need to be done.

 

[deluxestogie]

Lowering the pH of cigarette tobacco reduces the nicotine absorption from the oropharynx. Proper flue-curing of Virginia lowers the pH of its smoke. If you make cigarettes from air-cured Virginias, then adding an acidifying chemical likely makes a substantial difference.

Burley is traditionally not flue-cured. The "throat hit" attributed to burley is to some extent the impact of its higher pH. Finished cigar leaf does the same thing (in spades!) if you attempt to inhale it.

So, if you are making cigarettes primarily from air-cured leaf, then chemical lowering of the pH may be useful, and may make otherwise unsmokable leaf palatable in a cigarette.

Bob

EDIT: In as much as this thread is nominally about cigar tobacco, I'll add that proper curing, fermentation and aging are the only reasonable remedy for awful cigar leaf.

 

[ChinaVoodoo]

I once made a plug out of cigar scrap. I don't know how much citric acid I added. You know, the 2% concentration thing is meaningless without knowing how much solution to add to how much tobacco. What we need to know is the ratio of Citric acid to tobacco.
Anyways, it significantly increased the smokability of the cigar leaf. For the first few months you could clearly taste the acid. That gradually went away. If I did it again, I'd also add some glycerin because it was really hard to keep soft and moist.

 

[Sirius]

I once made a plug out of cigar scrap. I don't know how much citric acid I added. You know, the 2% concentration thing is meaningless without knowing how much solution to add to how much tobacco. What we need to know is the ratio of Citric acid to tobacco.
Anyways, it significantly increased the smokability of the cigar leaf. For the first few months you could clearly taste the acid. That gradually went away. If I did it again, I'd also add some glycerin because it was really hard to keep soft and moist.

According to Gdaddy he just sprayed the leaves till you could see droplets on it, and then let it sit for 48 hours. Perhaps that's enough to make it less harsh?

 

[ChinaVoodoo]

According to Gdaddy he just sprayed the leaves till you could see droplets on it, and then let it sit for 48 hours. Perhaps that's enough to make it less harsh?

Sure, seems legit.

 

[burge]

I prefer to wait I don't smoke much and find blending tobacco is a hobby that for me is worth it and if you order lots then its not a problem to wait.

 

[Muggs]

I found this a very interesting subject and wanted to share.

Ever want to make your cigars smoother and less harsh? If so, then this may be an experiment to try. It's very inexpensive and easy to perform.

According to the Bureau of Plant Industry from the Department of Agriculture in 1908 they did tests using cigar tobacco that was too sharp and pungent. They did experiments using a 2% solution of citric acid in water and spraying down the leaves. Let them soak for 48 hours to thoroughly absorb the solution and then removed them from the container to air dry back to a low case.

The testers involved found the citric acid to remove the undesirable sharpness and pungency and render the tobacco smooth and agreeable like a tobacco of much higher quality. Even though they started with very high quality samples. This got my attention!!!

The citric acid does several positive things... according to the test it reduces nicotine. It also lowers the Ph of the tobacco. Cigar tobacco has a higher Ph (alkaline) than cigarettes making it more harsh and difficult to inhale. Citric acid also aids in the burning process creating a more uniform burn.

Citric acid is available from Walmart in the housewares section by the canning supplies for $2.


http://books.google.com/books?id=5XpBAQAAMAAJ&pg=RA1-PA27&lpg=RA1-PA27&dq=citric+acid+tobacco&source=bl&ots=OOXYDuaRFO&sig=iAY5-Kf9DbGYapxhYcBfHZTZjxE&hl=en&sa=X&ei=T0M3VJDNFaeIsQS764C4Bw&ved=0CEwQ6AEwBDgK#v=onepage&q=citric acid tobacco&f=false[/OTE]
Think you still need to ferment tobacco. Before you add anything to it.
Fermenting should remove the Harshness
Im find removing the mid ribs when ferminting.helps

 

[CT Tobaccoman]

I think I might have seen that 1908 thing online somewhere. I use a 3-5% solution of citric acid to spray on my cigarette tobacco, once I have mixed my blend. Hard to tell, but I think it helps cut harshness. I got powdered citric acid at a hippy type health store, very cheap. I stopped using casings and just spray the citric acid solution until the tobacco is damp, then I let it dry out for a little bit. I figure, it can't hurt.

 

[Muggs]

You can buy Citric acid at Walmart in the canning section.
Think we need to ferment baccer before we put any additives on it.
Not sure though.

 

[Muggs]

If you try this method you need to get the formula correct.

The citric acid gets mixed with water for a 2% solution.

100ml of water + 2 grams of citric acid = a 2 % solution.

I used 700 ml water + 14 grams citric acid = 23.66 oz. in a spray bottle of 2 % solution

Use a digital scale or you can make a scale very easily but measure it out correctly.

Would the 14 grams of citric acid come around 2 tablespoons.

 

[LeftyRighty]

So, in American/English terms, one slightly rounded teaspoon of citric acid crystals per 1/2 cup of water will yield a 2% solution, more or less, for those of us that don't speak metric or have a scale in grams.
Correct me if I'm in error

 

[ChinaVoodoo]

Would the 14 grams of citric acid come around 2 tablespoons.

2 tablespoons of coffee grounds weighs about 14g, so I will say, yes.

 

[Gdaddy]

A quick follow up... after lots of experiments. The citric acid works (lowering the PH). However, it won't take poor tasting leaf and make it fantastic so you must have realistic expectations when doing these experiments.

My best cigars have been done using 'Bentleys' recipe. The main ingredient is finely ground green coffee bean solution as per the recipe. This not a difficult recipe to follow but it is important to note... the best and easiest is to simply order green coffee bean power. Most of us don't have the special grinders to get the powder fine enough for a good, rich solution. I tried and failed. They are like little hard rocks and will destroy most grinders. Just order it online and have the stuff delivered in a couple of days.

The green coffee recipe also lowers the ph and may be the main reason for its success. The ph in green coffee is around 5.5 vs citric acid 2.2. Important to note that citric acid diluted in a 2% solution is much higher than 2.2. The green coffee solution is much more concentrated so I believe the ph of both working solutions to be similar.

The leaves are laid out and sprayed well. Not dripping but very moist almost wet. They get stacked in a pile and let sit for several days for the solution to absorb. Then they are spread out to dry to proper case, re-stacked and put away for later use.

Green coffee does NOT smell, look or taste like coffee in any way. I find it works better than the citric acid and has a more pleasing flavor. As Bentley says "green coffee is simply immense in every flavor, having a natural affinity for all tobacco."

Again, this recipe isn't very difficult to accomplish. Simple really and imho very well worth the effort. One afternoon for the whole process. Pretty easy.

I highly recommend flavor #1 and use every item in the recipe but eliminate the Almond extract.

https://archive.org/details/bentleysacmeflav00bent/page/10

Good luck!!