What Is The Absolute Longest A Flake/Plug Can Be Pressed Before It Is Ruined?

[Blender86]

Hi everyone
So I am building a small box to press a mixture of cut Latakia and whole leaf VAs & Orientals. I will press it with clamps. I'm planning on 5 days approximately, but I must ask to be safe: How long is too long? A week? A year? What would happen if I press too long? I'm going for a final flake density of Old Dark Fired. Something that will not squish/fall apart like a tomato under a dull knife.
Thank you in advance for your help!

 

[Mad Oshea]

Keep Your Tobacco at High case to press it, No more. And keep it at 50 lbs. "MOST" ( I use 35-45 lbs) for no longer than two weeks. It will not harm it longer, But will bring on different flavors due to time in the wet press stage. Remember, Not wet- But damp. Think of what You wan't it to tast like? Perique or Black chaw? (Sweet) - Mad-

 

[Blender86]

What exactly is high case? Additional flavoring?

 

[DGBAMA]

What exactly is high case? Additional flavoring?

My understanding of "case"...

Out of case: crumbly dry
Low case: feels dry but is still flexible enough not to crumble easily.
Medium case: flexible but not damp feeling.
High case: noticeably damp, but not wet; possibly elastic/stretchy.

 

[Blender86]

I had an inkling it may not have been additional flavoring. Makes total sense now! Thank you both so much

 

[Blender86]

This may seem like a no brainer, but I'm assuming I can estimate the pressure by hand? Will clamping down to 45psi FEEL like a 45 pound weight on the final turn of the clamp?

 

[Jitterbugdude]

Hey Blender.. Have you read the link on pressing? Mac Baren presses their flake to 325 psi. Not saying you have to obtain the same pressure, you'll just have to experiment.
http://fairtradetobacco.com/threads/4809-Slicing-Plug?p=87489#post87489

Randy

 

[smokinghole]

I've gone a week with good results. I currently have one that's three times thicker than my first pressing so I might let that go for an additional week. I will check it tomorrow though to give you an idea of how it's coming along.

 

[deluxestogie]

Shredded leaf (or a blend) in low case can be pressed well into a press cake at relatively modest pressures--in the range of 3 psi. Increasing the pressure makes the press cake more dense. In low case, it can remain in the press for eternity without molding. The longer it remains in the press, and the higher the pressure, the denser the result. Too much, and you can end up with an un-cuttable brick of particle board. Most of the so-called "melding" of aromas occurs within the first few weeks.

For Latakia blends, the higher the percentage of Latakia, the more it needs pressing, since the Latakia does not bind well to other shred. At ~50% Latakia, you can still get a sliceable press cake. At ~75% Latakia (like Cornell & Diehl's Pirate Kake), you end up with what is termed "crumble-cake".

Bob

 

[DGBAMA]

I had an inkling it may not have been additional flavoring. Makes total sense now! Thank you both so much

You are not wrong to think of flavoring. This was confusing to me for a while. Two very similar terms mean two very different things.

CASE: Refers to moisture condition of the leaf.

CASING: refers to a flavoring solution added to the leaf.

 

[Mad Oshea]

No one said "caseing". The flavors come out in time, in the press. and how long the press under what preasure You use. They actualy fermint in the press. Just not wet. You can add what You like for a store puchased type. Try it first, Then re-press. I use a bottle jack and a chunk of iron pipe for plug. You can, as Delux. said indefinately. Age is good.. Mad-

 

[DGBAMA]

No one said "caseing". The flavors come out in time, in the press. and how long the press under what preasure You use. They actualy fermint in the press. Just not wet. You can add what You like for a store puchased type. Try it first, Then re-press. I use a bottle jack and a chunk of iron pipe for plug. You can, as Delux. said indefinately. Age is good.. Mad-

Since Blender mentioned added flavor when asking about Case, I offered a clarification of the similar terms.

 

[POGreen]

My understanding of "case"...

Out of case: crumbly dry
Low case: feels dry but is still flexible enough not to crumble easily.
Medium case: flexible but not damp feeling.
High case: noticeably damp, but not wet; possibly elastic/stretchy.

As far as I can understand this has to be a very good clarification.

 

[deluxestogie]

The ear can also tell:

• Out of case: rustle of dry autumn leaves that crumble
• Low case: noisy without crumbling
• Medium case: soft sound of thick vinyl (when stemming)
• High case: silent

Bob

EDIT: Find a place inside your home, like a hallway, where you can hang a hygrometer and one color-cured leaf. Touch the leaf and then check the humidity reading each time you pass it.

 

[POGreen]

My leaves are out of case , they rustled just as of today when my door was open + largest window just a bit.
I can acknowledge that now due to yet another very well described clarification.
In my case , thats just they should do.

 

[Mad Oshea]

DG, and Delux hit it on the head. The way You are headed is good. You can't hurt tobacco, only dry it out like water and are left with residuales.

 

[Blender86]

Thank you everyone, very informative

 

[Blender86]

Here's the press, minus clamps and tobacco...

 

[smokinghole]

For what it's worth I've been letting my plugs press for five days in my hot garage. They will obviously need more aging but this VA plug has great flavor from the start it just needs to mature more. So it's off to a great start.

 

[Blender86]

Checked on it last night, in haste, and glad I did because it was fairly dry. I mixed a 50/50 TBSP of hot cocoa and sugar into some water. Here's where the flavor gets interesting: I didn't have a spray bottle laying around aside from one with some water/eucalyptus/tea tree/lime essential oils. I took the nozzle out, mixed the cocoa/sugar water in a soda bottle, screwed the nozzle on, then sprayed 20-30X into the sink to flush the oils out. Well, after I separated the far too easily separated layers of plug, I then proceeded to spray between each layer with this spray. That's when I noticed the lime scent was lingering. It was present, but not in your face. Might add a nice touch to the blend. I won't know for 12 days though, when I check on it again. I'd be doing more blending right now, but not a lot I can do without a proper shredder. Going to have to wait a few weeks though for that :/