Hi, I'm a newbie and I need educating on leaf tobacco. I've been purchasing flue dried leaf tobacco but I've never seen this before (see attached). The shipment was opened 2 days after it arrived and I thought Mold! I notified the company and they said it was chlorophyll from drying too fast and I could take a brush and get it off, it was safe to smoke. Is it chlorophyll or mold? If it's chlorophyll is it safe to smoke and can I get rid of it before rolling? Help please, educate me. Thanks
Newbie needing help, mold or chlorophyll?: @TTrash
- Thread starter TTrash
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- chlorophyll mold
Welcome to the forum. The small, white ovals (some with a central hole) are little spots of leaf chlorosis that are not uncommon, and can be ignored. The larger, gray, vague splotches are difficult to evaluate from the photos. Is there any aroma of mildew or mold? Is the surface fuzzy?
Uncleared chlorophyll makes leaf taste kind of crummy, when smoked. But chlorophyll is not toxic.
Perhaps other members have a clearer notion of what those larger areas might be.
Bob
Uncleared chlorophyll makes leaf taste kind of crummy, when smoked. But chlorophyll is not toxic.
Perhaps other members have a clearer notion of what those larger areas might be.
Bob
Thank you Bob. There is no aroma of mold or mildew that I can tell but I didn't actually smell it. However, there was a feel of something coating my fingers when I was stripping the leaves. It almost felt like an invisible powder. Due to the look and feel I became very suspicious. Hopefully it can be explained and it won't go in the trash. Thanks again.
Alpine
Moderator
Try to spray some hydrogen peroxide on the fuzzy spots. If the spots (almost suddenly) disappear then it’s mold. If the spots don’t change at all (or turn a little paler) then it’s chlorophyll, and it can turn completely brown during kilning or not, depending on how much residual chlorophyll has remained uncured. Usually a SHADE of green disappears, but not always.
pier
pier
I'll sure try it tomorrow and I'll let you know the results. Thanks for the info.
Whoopee, no mold! Thank you so much for your input. The rest of the tobacco was very nice but being a newbie I was a little intimidated by what I first saw. Never too old to learn. Thanks so very much.