Tinned Tobacco Freshness

[Milan]

How long will tobacco stay fresh after opening a tin? I smoked a bowl of Early Morning the other day and it tasted stale. The tin had been open a couple months. I smoked it in a pipe that hadn't been in my rotation for a while, so it may have been the pipe? Just curious about the fresh life of an opened tin of tobacco?
Thanks,
Milan

 

[Harlock999]

Well, it probably depends on the blend in question, as some are naturally drier than others, but I keep my open tins in ziplock bags, and I haven't had a problem with any getting overly dried out. I have a MacBarens Navy flake that's been open for 7-8 months, and I checked on it the other day, and it was just fine.

 

[z-fog]

It could be either, I would suggest putting the contents of an open tin into a small mason jar. It will last years as long as you don't leave it open by accident.

 

[cakeanddottle]

If I'm not going to smoke the contents within a month I jar the tobacco.

 

[ruta2]

I tend to pop the contents of a tin straight into a jar upon opening; it's the most effective way of preserving not only moisture but also the aroma, which matters to me. (The aroma is something that seems to dissipate very quickly if you don't do something to contain it). Reading your post, however, I'm inclined to blame the out-of-rotation pipe in tandem with a smoking pace not adjusted to the dryness of the tobacco. It's hard to say, but what you're experiencing as stale may be the overly-hot and sometimes even mildly metallic flavor of a tobacco burning too rapidly. Anyway, just a thought.

 

[ZeroContent]

I tend to pop the contents of a tin straight into a jar upon opening; it's the most effective way of preserving not only moisture but also the aroma, which matters to me. (The aroma is something that seems to dissipate very quickly if you don't do something to contain it). Reading your post, however, I'm inclined to blame the out-of-rotation pipe in tandem with a smoking pace not adjusted to the dryness of the tobacco. It's hard to say, but what you're experiencing as stale may be the overly-hot and sometimes even mildly metallic flavor of a tobacco burning too rapidly. Anyway, just a thought.

I do the same. Open a tin and it goes straight to a jar. But your time frame seems too short for anything to go too bad unless it was in a musty damp basement of something.

 

[zunismoke]

Archeologists have found tobacco in Egyption tombs that after rehydrating was still smokable. I have purchased a number of tins on eBay that had a bad seal. Most are good after rehydrating. I have found a few that were flat in flavor. I think a tin can be ok for 20-30 years as long as it is not exposed to excessive heat. What I think happens in that case is the oils in the tobacco evaporate because of the heat. Thus the flat flavor.

 

[fishnrust]

I find opened tins of VA's and VApers get better when they are allowed to "breathe", as long a they don't dry out. I keep opened tins in a large humidor, and some of my most memorable smokes have come from the bottom of a tin that has been opened for over 6mo.