New Study on Tobacco Mold v. Plume

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I thought about posting this in the Humidor instead of the Tobacco Jar, but since the potential for overlap and interest among even non-cigar smokers seems obvious I figured this is the place:

http://www.friendsofhabanos.com/forum/topic/131757-final-mould-report/

The TL;DR version is they sent off 10 different cigars for analysis from a biotech lab, and in every single case the "plume" was in fact some form of mold or another. Bummer news to be sure, but looking at the magnified pictures of the examples it's not really surprising--unlike the plume on pipe tobacco, all of these seem at least a little hairy, as opposed to the crystalline bloom I've always seen on pipeweed. An interesting study, anyway.

Also, they're offering a $250 bounty for anyone who can produce a cigar with plume that analysis proves is indeed a crystalline substance and not mold. No word yet on if they'll take an old Esoterica flake...
 
Would love to hear if plume really exists. I have some fvf with some stuff on it I have always thought was plume.
 
I'm not able to read the study right now, but it could be simply a matter of semantics because some mold is good, or edible, while others are bad and not something you would want to ingest. Plume = good mold. other = bad mold. Ask the artisan cheese makers.
 
If you eat rocqfort or blue cheese you eat LOTS of mold !! :twisted: :twisted: :twisted: :twisted: :twisted:
 
Zeno Marx":fxmq5pd9 said:
I'm not able to read the study right now, but it could be simply a matter of semantics because some mold is good, or edible, while others are bad and not something you would want to ingest.  Plume = good mold.  other = bad mold.  Ask the artisan cheese makers.
What's really interesting to me is that they identified different individual mold strains, some of which definitely aren't good! None of the examples here look like the plume I've found on a lot of different pipe tobaccos, though, even when magnified--maybe cigars are more likely to mold due to being both manufactured and stores in more humid conditions than pipe tobacco? But yeah, even if all tobacco bloom/plume/fairy dust turns out to be some variety or another it doesn't change the fact that old virginias and such taste and smell damn delicious...
 
monbla256":joqulrk1 said:
If you eat rocqfort or blue cheese you eat LOTS of mold !! :twisted: :twisted: :twisted: :twisted: :twisted:
Some molds are definitely our friends...but not all. I mean, I've eaten pounds and pounds of stinky cheese over the years, but if the cheddar in the fridge grows a beard it goes into the trash!
 
Again, a great post. Looks like one of the members there has offered to donate some aged flakes to get them tested. I will definitely be keeping up with this to see what happens.
 
I'm gonna check my stash tomorrow. $250 credit for Habanos would be cool. The examples they show look like mold to me on first glance, even without the microscope. Totally different from what you see on flakes.

But what the hell is on Esoterica Blackpool? I think it's a casing that goes weird with age.
 
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