ChinaVoodoo
Moderator
I've decided to regrow Kumanovo next year because of of all the tobaccos I tried, it's my favorite for Cavendish.
Making Black Cavendish Pipe Tobacco
- Thread starter deluxestogie
- Start date
Crackerjack
New Member
This forum is a good find. I’ve been getting into pipe smoking lately and I had grown a bunch of tobacco hydroponically with the idea that I would try rolling some cigars... well, that was a massive fail, so what to do with all this tobacco? Anyways I had a few hands of air-cured stuff that had been sitting around smelling like honey for a couple of years. Virginia Gold grew the best in the hydro garden (followed by Havana Gold, Kentucky Brown, and Turkish Izmir, in that order), so I decided to try the virginia first. 
It was at about 65% humidity before it went into the Instant Pot, and I pressure-steamed it for 4 hours, split up into a few open top jars. I put a tablespoon of top shelf whiskey in each jar. This is how it looked when it came out:
It pretty much turned the leaves to spinach, though. I wasn’t able to get them flat again, they just fell apart. So I dried them on a clothesline and then pressed them for half a day in a packet of parchment paper, crushed between two brick pavers and a couple of wood clamps. Here is my ghetto press:
And here is the finished stuff after it came out. Still has a lot of its original natural honey-like aroma but now it has a more fruity tone to it. It’s still too wet to smoke, so I’ll give it a shot tomorrow and see how it turned out. It sure looks and smells nice.
Thanks for the initial post here on how to do it, homebrew stuff is super fun.
It was at about 65% humidity before it went into the Instant Pot, and I pressure-steamed it for 4 hours, split up into a few open top jars. I put a tablespoon of top shelf whiskey in each jar. This is how it looked when it came out:
It pretty much turned the leaves to spinach, though. I wasn’t able to get them flat again, they just fell apart. So I dried them on a clothesline and then pressed them for half a day in a packet of parchment paper, crushed between two brick pavers and a couple of wood clamps. Here is my ghetto press:
And here is the finished stuff after it came out. Still has a lot of its original natural honey-like aroma but now it has a more fruity tone to it. It’s still too wet to smoke, so I’ll give it a shot tomorrow and see how it turned out. It sure looks and smells nice.
Thanks for the initial post here on how to do it, homebrew stuff is super fun.
Welcome to the forum. Feel free to post an introduction in the Introduce Yourself section.
That looks like an excellent outcome for Cavendish. My experience has been that freshly made Cavendish, even when shredded and spread onto a cookie sheet that's heated with a seedling heat mat, takes nearly a week to dry down enough so that you can store it. Cavendish is way more hygroscopic than uncooked tobacco, so it dries slowly, and can rehydrate itself in fairly modest ambient humidity.
If you pressure can using lids, you can safely leave one or more of the jars filled with soggy leaf indefinitely, so long as the lid remains sealed.
Nice work.
Bob
That looks like an excellent outcome for Cavendish. My experience has been that freshly made Cavendish, even when shredded and spread onto a cookie sheet that's heated with a seedling heat mat, takes nearly a week to dry down enough so that you can store it. Cavendish is way more hygroscopic than uncooked tobacco, so it dries slowly, and can rehydrate itself in fairly modest ambient humidity.
If you pressure can using lids, you can safely leave one or more of the jars filled with soggy leaf indefinitely, so long as the lid remains sealed.
Nice work.
Bob
ChinaVoodoo
Moderator
I think I'm going to like you.
My last batch of Cavendish dried within about 20 minutes. I took it out of the pressure cooker, set it on some screens (that I propped up for air circulation) and placed them in the sun. Nice and dry in no time.
SmokinSasquatch
Member
Any suggestion as to what a good relative humidity would be for storing and aging an additive-free cavendish? Maybe just stick it in a sealed jar at near-crumbly case?
Some years ago, I made a batch that I left at the perfect, commercial Black Cavendish, squishiness. It was a bag of mold in 5 days. So I am inclined to always store it in low-case--near-crumbly.
Bob
Bob
pukulsesuatu
Active Member
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Looks perfect.
Crackerjack
New Member
Nice. Mine didn’t get that dark but after it dried out (still haven’t smoked any) it smells great, like raisins.
Had some 6-foot plants this year, but they are all sort of mystery breed since it rained hard enough to wash the seeds around in the garden bed. Just harvested, new batch of leaves curing in the garage.
Had some 6-foot plants this year, but they are all sort of mystery breed since it rained hard enough to wash the seeds around in the garden bed. Just harvested, new batch of leaves curing in the garage.
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That is a beautiful black Cavendish, @pukulsesuatu . Be sure to allow it to fully dry--very dry, before storing it. Once a freshly made Cavendish has completely dried, then is returned to usable case, it burns better than if you just allow it to fall to usable case, without fully drying it first.
The final color is influenced somewhat by the leaf variety, but mostly by the total cooking. The extent to which it cooks is both the time and the temperature. I have several varieties that were cooked in sealed jars, within a pot of boiling water (so, 212°F/100°C) for a total of about 15 hours. All of these ultimately dried to an similar, deep brown--brown Cavendish. By contrast, two other varieties that were cooked in sealed jars, within a pressure cooker @15 psi (so, ~250°F/121°C) for 7 hours are absolutely black.
Bob
The final color is influenced somewhat by the leaf variety, but mostly by the total cooking. The extent to which it cooks is both the time and the temperature. I have several varieties that were cooked in sealed jars, within a pot of boiling water (so, 212°F/100°C) for a total of about 15 hours. All of these ultimately dried to an similar, deep brown--brown Cavendish. By contrast, two other varieties that were cooked in sealed jars, within a pressure cooker @15 psi (so, ~250°F/121°C) for 7 hours are absolutely black.
Bob
Lumberjack
Member
This is awesome. I made some plug from the local bnm using 5 different tobacco's. I pulled it out of the press yesterday. It definitely needs to be dried a bit. I left the cover off the MASON jar and my wife asked what the smell was, she said it smelled nice....I didn't tell her it was tobacco.
ChinaVoodoo
Moderator
7 hours. What's that like? I only went above 4 once, and it wouldn't stay lit.
You bring up an interesting question. My general opinion is that no pure Cavendish burns all that well. Because of the breakdown of the laminar cell walls, all Cavendish tends to be quite hygroscopic. So it burns noticeably better on very dry days than on more humid days.
Another matter is the variety of tobacco used to make the Cavendish. Those with inherent terpenes (e.g. Bolivia Criollo Black, Silver River, Black Mammoth) burn better following Cavendish processing, regardless of process intensity, than varieties without terpene constituents. My experience is that Maryland, which seldom burns all that well as an air-cured leaf, or as a kilned leaf, really is a challenge to burn after Cavendish processing.
If your intent is to make puro cigars of Cavendish (which I've done when younger and foolisher), you'll need a well fueled lighter to get through it. But since Cavendish is usually blended in pipe mixtures, the supporting actors assist with combustion. [I'm presently smoking a bowl of my Chaptico blend, which doesn't have Cavendish, but does have kilned Maryland. At only 25% the Maryland has little impact on the combustion of the blend.]
Actual Data: I currently have Cavendish of 6 varieties. Four were processed as brown Cavendish, the other two as black Cavendish. The two latter came out of the cooker just last night, and are now drying. One of those overcooked, black ones--still not fully dried--is Black Mammoth. Even at that disadvantage, when a section of lamina is gently ignited and the flame allowed to quit, little sparkles of red combustion continue to spontaneously propagate through the lamina for over 10 more seconds. Silver River, which is well dried, and undercooked to a medium brown color, displays the very same combustion trait. Another undercooked one, Virginia Bright, will ignite alright, but shows much less propagation. The smoke of all these tests smells wonderful. The varieties that I like the least as simply kilned tobacco actually smell the best as Cavendish.
I'll do some photos, taste comparisons, and blending trials within a week. Honestly, it's been several years since I've fussed with making any Cavendish, but the samples I received from @Levi Gross inspired me out of my Cavendish neglect.
Bob
Another matter is the variety of tobacco used to make the Cavendish. Those with inherent terpenes (e.g. Bolivia Criollo Black, Silver River, Black Mammoth) burn better following Cavendish processing, regardless of process intensity, than varieties without terpene constituents. My experience is that Maryland, which seldom burns all that well as an air-cured leaf, or as a kilned leaf, really is a challenge to burn after Cavendish processing.
If your intent is to make puro cigars of Cavendish (which I've done when younger and foolisher), you'll need a well fueled lighter to get through it. But since Cavendish is usually blended in pipe mixtures, the supporting actors assist with combustion. [I'm presently smoking a bowl of my Chaptico blend, which doesn't have Cavendish, but does have kilned Maryland. At only 25% the Maryland has little impact on the combustion of the blend.]
Actual Data: I currently have Cavendish of 6 varieties. Four were processed as brown Cavendish, the other two as black Cavendish. The two latter came out of the cooker just last night, and are now drying. One of those overcooked, black ones--still not fully dried--is Black Mammoth. Even at that disadvantage, when a section of lamina is gently ignited and the flame allowed to quit, little sparkles of red combustion continue to spontaneously propagate through the lamina for over 10 more seconds. Silver River, which is well dried, and undercooked to a medium brown color, displays the very same combustion trait. Another undercooked one, Virginia Bright, will ignite alright, but shows much less propagation. The smoke of all these tests smells wonderful. The varieties that I like the least as simply kilned tobacco actually smell the best as Cavendish.
I'll do some photos, taste comparisons, and blending trials within a week. Honestly, it's been several years since I've fussed with making any Cavendish, but the samples I received from @Levi Gross inspired me out of my Cavendish neglect.
Bob
The Varieties I Enjoy as Cavendish
I've fiddled with making Cavendish from about a dozen tobacco varieties. This is a list of the ones that I believe make excellent pipe blending components, and are worth having on hand.
Very damp leaf, with little to no standing water inside the jar gives me the loveliest color (deep tones of red), and the smoothest flavors. A jar with an inch or so of excess water may result in a much darker final leaf, with a more ponderous flavor. I prefer the lighter versions.
With canning lids, the finished jars can be left indefinitely, without molding, since you have effectively sterilized the contents. Given my limited leaf drying area, I open one jar every couple of days. Removal of the leaves is easy, since the little sausages of leaf are not entangled. I spread them out to dry, then bring the leaf back into low case for storage. The new Cavendish will change noticeably over the next two weeks, while just sitting in a sealed Ziplock. At that point, I have a stocked "library" of whole leaf Cavendish varieties, which I shred as needed for pipe blending.
Bob
I've fiddled with making Cavendish from about a dozen tobacco varieties. This is a list of the ones that I believe make excellent pipe blending components, and are worth having on hand.
- Flue-cured Virginia (I get distinct Cavendish from Lemon/Bright vs Virginia Red): lower nicotine, light, flavorful
- Burley (my favorite is burley red tips): adds a fuller body, with far less impact than straight burley
- Maryland (I use MD 609, and love it): adds a fuller nicotine, not as much body and impact as burley Cavendish
- Pennsylvania seedleaf: I get PA cigar leaf sweetness, without cigar stinkiness
- Dark Air-Cured: this is the double-bass of blending ingredients
Very damp leaf, with little to no standing water inside the jar gives me the loveliest color (deep tones of red), and the smoothest flavors. A jar with an inch or so of excess water may result in a much darker final leaf, with a more ponderous flavor. I prefer the lighter versions.
With canning lids, the finished jars can be left indefinitely, without molding, since you have effectively sterilized the contents. Given my limited leaf drying area, I open one jar every couple of days. Removal of the leaves is easy, since the little sausages of leaf are not entangled. I spread them out to dry, then bring the leaf back into low case for storage. The new Cavendish will change noticeably over the next two weeks, while just sitting in a sealed Ziplock. At that point, I have a stocked "library" of whole leaf Cavendish varieties, which I shred as needed for pipe blending.
Bob
Olmstead
Member
@deluxestogie - I'm new here but I've been a lurker for some tim. I'm both a pipe smoker and a cigar man - definitely right at home here with all of you tobacco enthusiasts. I know this thread is old, but I wanted to thank you personally for posting it.
I've used this method of steaming in a colander several times over the past two years and I've had some surprisingly good results. The first time I tried it, I used red Virginia. I was trying to replicate the red cavendish that Cornell & Diehl makes and adds to their famous Kajun Kake. I steamed some of the ribbon cut reds for 8 hours, and what I got was a very enjoyable new blending component. The steaming process turned the red Virginia to a mahogany brown color, and it is exceptionally smooth. Also, I dried the leaf before storing it in a jar, but did not press it.
The second time I tried it with some ready-rubbed style cut dark Burley that came from Cornell & Diehl. It's a non-cased Burley that's labeled for blending. I found it to be exceptionally harsh, even as a fan of strong tobacco.
I took about 2oz (approximate dry weight) out of the steam after 4 hours to have some brown Cavendish and set it aside; it's color didn't change a whole lot from its original dark brown, just a little darker. The remaining 4oz, after 8 hours in the steam bath, turned almost black (from its original dark brown) and is the closest thing I've come to making unsweetened black Cavendish.
This time around, after air-drying it for a few hours near my wood stove, I pressed it into a cake using a rudimentary homemade press which I made out of a sturdy hardwood box (about the size of a cigar box) and four C-clamps. When pressing, I line it with parchment paper so to keep the juices from seeping into the wood and the wood from affecting the final product.
A third time I experimented with something new; re-pressing a plug of G.L. Pease Temple Bar - a plug consisting of Virginias, Katerini, and a small amount of Perique. This plug was very loose, and the smoke was harsh. A previous tin of the same plug I'd bought a year earlier was much better; it was firmer, the color was darker, and the flavors were excellent. So I repeated my process for the aforementioned dark Burley cavendish.
The only thing I did differently this time around was leaving it in my press for a full seven days. Because it was still fairly damp after drying and I was doing this during a Cape Cod summer, I had no issue with it drying out, and no mold. The end result was an excellent plug that was not only wonderfully dense, but mouth-wateringly flavorful; all of the harshness it had beforehand was gone entirely, and the process didn't ruin the strength or muddy the flavors either. Aside from the ugly stems, I ended up with some great looking plugs:
Anyways, sorry if this was a bit long-winded, but I can't thank you enough for posting this tutorial. I'm looking forward to what other great batches I'll cook up in the future.
Best Regards from Cape Cod, Massachusetts!
I've used this method of steaming in a colander several times over the past two years and I've had some surprisingly good results. The first time I tried it, I used red Virginia. I was trying to replicate the red cavendish that Cornell & Diehl makes and adds to their famous Kajun Kake. I steamed some of the ribbon cut reds for 8 hours, and what I got was a very enjoyable new blending component. The steaming process turned the red Virginia to a mahogany brown color, and it is exceptionally smooth. Also, I dried the leaf before storing it in a jar, but did not press it.
The second time I tried it with some ready-rubbed style cut dark Burley that came from Cornell & Diehl. It's a non-cased Burley that's labeled for blending. I found it to be exceptionally harsh, even as a fan of strong tobacco.
I took about 2oz (approximate dry weight) out of the steam after 4 hours to have some brown Cavendish and set it aside; it's color didn't change a whole lot from its original dark brown, just a little darker. The remaining 4oz, after 8 hours in the steam bath, turned almost black (from its original dark brown) and is the closest thing I've come to making unsweetened black Cavendish.
This time around, after air-drying it for a few hours near my wood stove, I pressed it into a cake using a rudimentary homemade press which I made out of a sturdy hardwood box (about the size of a cigar box) and four C-clamps. When pressing, I line it with parchment paper so to keep the juices from seeping into the wood and the wood from affecting the final product.
A third time I experimented with something new; re-pressing a plug of G.L. Pease Temple Bar - a plug consisting of Virginias, Katerini, and a small amount of Perique. This plug was very loose, and the smoke was harsh. A previous tin of the same plug I'd bought a year earlier was much better; it was firmer, the color was darker, and the flavors were excellent. So I repeated my process for the aforementioned dark Burley cavendish.
The only thing I did differently this time around was leaving it in my press for a full seven days. Because it was still fairly damp after drying and I was doing this during a Cape Cod summer, I had no issue with it drying out, and no mold. The end result was an excellent plug that was not only wonderfully dense, but mouth-wateringly flavorful; all of the harshness it had beforehand was gone entirely, and the process didn't ruin the strength or muddy the flavors either. Aside from the ugly stems, I ended up with some great looking plugs:
Anyways, sorry if this was a bit long-winded, but I can't thank you enough for posting this tutorial. I'm looking forward to what other great batches I'll cook up in the future.
Best Regards from Cape Cod, Massachusetts!
Welcome to the forum, and you are welcome! I'm glad to see you are having as much fun with the infinite variations on Cavendish as I enjoy. I find it gratifying to make such a wide variety of pipe tobaccos without adding food flavors.
Do feel free to introduce yourself in the Introduce Yourself forum. And have a look at the Maryland 609 (in the "American and Turkish" section) at Wholeleaftobacco.com. I don't care too much for it straight, but as a Cavendish, it's delightful.
Bob
Do feel free to introduce yourself in the Introduce Yourself forum. And have a look at the Maryland 609 (in the "American and Turkish" section) at Wholeleaftobacco.com. I don't care too much for it straight, but as a Cavendish, it's delightful.
Bob
SmokinSasquatch
Member
Here's a 5 hour/15psi cooked TN90 bag (on the right) after sitting a week in the jar and then dried to the point of crunchiness over 2 days in front of a fan, with some of the original TN90 leaf I forgot about in the left bag. Leaving it to dry in my small home office made a very strong smell of baked bread/crackers with notes of coffee which tended to give way to a more forward bready-ness after 24 hours. I'll let it mellow in the bag a while and report back.
I did have to smoke a little bit as soon as it was dry enough to do so, for whatever the reason the nicotine hit me noticeably harder as I've heard some people report with cooked burleys, didn't really realize it until I stood up. It was somewhat mellower and more flavorful than the original TN90 which had been aging dry as a bone in the bag since purchased in late 2017.
I did have to smoke a little bit as soon as it was dry enough to do so, for whatever the reason the nicotine hit me noticeably harder as I've heard some people report with cooked burleys, didn't really realize it until I stood up. It was somewhat mellower and more flavorful than the original TN90 which had been aging dry as a bone in the bag since purchased in late 2017.
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SmokinSasquatch
Member
The bag aroma is now virtually identical to a box of melba toast crackers. Any idea where such a flavor would find itself well suited in a blend? I'm not sure I've ever smoked a blend with noticeable "notes of melba toast", although granted I haven't smoked a great many blends.
Try blending the burley Cavendish 50:50 with flue-cured Virginia, then fiddling with the addition of an Oriental.
Bob
Bob
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