When popping open a new tin....

Brothers of Briar

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I've found in my own experience that some tobaccos smoke fine right out of the tin, but even then usually with some "airing out" to benefit from the change of oxygen. I've also found however that most tobaccos do improve with some aging. Even the ones that smoke fine out of the tin benefit from some aging, with some exceptions. Those exceptions include many aromatics and some latakia-heavy blends like Penzance. Those who like the latter baccy like to get that fresh hit of latakia that is provided by the contents of a newly opened tin. I prefer it with a little in-jar time myself.

What I do is to scout out recommendations from those who have smoked and reviewed a given blend for what they have to say about moisture out of the tin, whether it's right or not. Most Hearth & Home blends, for example, whether in bulk or tinned, are shipped drier than other brands. I think Russ Ouellette makes a point of doing that. I have a nice little cellar since I've been smoking a pipe for many years now, so I have no problem jarring and aging a blend if need be. If not, I'll smoke a few bowls out of the tin and jar the remaining contents to see how a little aging will affect them. That's the only way to learn, imo. And it's a process of discovery, if you will, that can be fun, really.
 
Interesting reading all the replies. Our tastes differ, yet we appreciate the same things. I like to consume the tobacco as soon as possible after opening the tin, because, in general, it seems to loose flavor as it stays in the tin and dries. However, I open the tin a few hours before smoking it: just take the lid off for a few seconds and put it right back on. This takes away the sharpness that I would otherwise be found in the first bowl.

By the way, I think blenders (I've read it somewhere, I think from GLP) tin the tobacco with the optimal moisture levels they believe each blend should be smoked at, and this idea has agreed with my taste buds very well. That is not to say that we shouldn't do what we want to do. There is no right or wrong way.
 
Wet Dottle":lu8gllop said:
Interesting reading all the replies. Our tastes differ, yet we appreciate the same things. I like to consume the tobacco as soon as possible after opening the tin, because, in general, it seems to loose flavor as it stays in the tin and dries. However, I open the tin a few hours before smoking it: just take the lid off for a few seconds and put it right back on. This takes away the sharpness that I would otherwise be found in the first bowl.

By the way, I think blenders (I've read it somewhere, I think from GLP) tin the tobacco with the optimal moisture levels they believe each blend should be smoked at, and this idea has agreed with my taste buds very well. That is not to say that we shouldn't do what we want to do. There is no right or wrong way.
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If you and possibly GLP are right, then Samuel Gawith really wants us to smoke their blends at a very high moisture level indeed, including FVF! Also, some blenders may say that also because they want us to smoke their baccy right away, so we can buy more. There should be no such fear from them. I usually buy three tins at a time of blends I like - one to sample a bit and two others to cellar for a while. Like you, those I do smoke right off a new tin I let air for a short while before sampling. And I agree - to each his own.
 
babysinister":dndqznnp said:
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If you and possibly GLP are right, then Samuel Gawith really wants us to smoke their blends at a very high moisture level indeed, including FVF!  Also, some blenders may say that also because they want us to smoke their baccy right away, so we can buy more.  There should be no such fear from them.  I usually buy three tins at a time of blends I like - one to sample a bit and two others to cellar for a while.  Like you, those I do smoke right off a new tin I let air for a short while before sampling.  And I agree - to each his own.  
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:lol: Yes, FVF is indeed a challenge. I still smoke it fresh out of the tin and it works for me, but I do admit it is an exception: I usually fold flakes, but have to rub out FVF. But I'm fully aware that my tastes are quite contrarian in this area of kapnismology.
 
There are tobaccos that are best kept moist, and smoked dry. FVF for example.
I open the tin, take out a flake, and close it immediately in order to keep it wet.

Then I rub out the flake, spread it thin across the table or piece of paper to dry for half an hour or so until it reaches the desired dryness level and then I stuff it into my pipe. That way it preserve best all the goodies.
If you dry it in the tin, you're gonna have a bad time.

There are other tobaccos however, (mostly Latakia blends) that are best when left open for a while to catch air and lose some moisture. I like them more on the dry side, so I do that regularly.

Open the tin, sniff it good, leave it open for a while, and then pack. 30 minutes of air can make a lot of difference.
 
Something a lot of folks don't consider concerning all this is what the blender is looking at as far as inventory time, shipping time and the retailers shelf time prior to the end users use of the blend. I don't know many folks who want to open a tin of bone dry 'baccy and have to go thru a rehydration exercise prior to being able to smoke what they just bought. As far as how each smoker prefers to prepare and smoke his 'baccy, that is something out of the control of the blender so they have to find a level of compromise to maintain the quality of the product they sell. :twisted:
 
monbla256":on7j5ion said:
Something a lot of folks don't consider concerning all this is what the blender is looking at as far as inventory time, shipping time and the retailers shelf time prior to the end users use of the blend. I don't know many folks who want to open a tin of bone dry 'baccy and have to go thru a rehydration exercise prior to being able to smoke what they just bought. As far as how each smoker prefers to prepare and smoke his 'baccy, that is something out of the control of the blender so they have to find a level of compromise to maintain the quality of the product they sell. :twisted:
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indeed........
 
monbla256":cokkyxl4 said:
Something a lot of folks don't consider concerning all this is what the blender is looking at as far as inventory time, shipping time and the retailers shelf time prior to the end users use of the blend. I don't know many folks who want to open a tin of bone dry 'baccy and have to go thru a rehydration exercise prior to being able to smoke what they just bought. As far as how each smoker prefers to prepare and smoke his 'baccy, that is something out of the control of the blender so they have to find a level of compromise to maintain the quality of the product they sell. :twisted:
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With all due respect sir, I think the reason most blends come soaked wet (Sam Gawith for example) is a little bit more trivial. It's not an Alchemy, but there's a magic called water that turns 50 grams of dry tobacco into 100 grams of wet one. :) you know, $$$$
 
balkan_boy":9tw8gzrj said:
With all due respect sir, I think the reason most blends come soaked wet (Sam Gawith for example) is a little bit more trivial. It's not an Alchemy, but there's a magic called water that turns 50 grams of dry tobacco into 100 grams of wet one. :) you know, $$$$
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That's certainly one way of looking at it. However, I think the extra moisture content, at least in when it comes to the Sam G. stuff has more to do with the fact that they're tinning the tobacco into containers that often give up the ghost. They know this, but they're not about to change the look of their product for the sake of functionality. We all know what kind of marketing nightmare new labels and containers can create for a company with such a long standing tradition.

Anyway, I can't tell you how many rectangular tins I have had in my cellar that have lost their seal. Hell, Gawith Hoggarth even goes so far as to seal their tobacco in a plastic baggie within the tins to help preserve the content within. The extra moisture isn't such a bad thing.
 
You're not kidding, Drums. I've about had it with rectangular tins. I think half the Squadron Leader I've ever bought was sawdust, and I just had a "Penzance mold" scare that actually crossed state lines. (Ask Mr Wizard about that.) ;)

Also:
Dutch":f41yzkwj said:
Like George, I too am a fluffer.
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That was so good it needed repeating.
 
George Kaplan":nfcoh8dk said:
You're not kidding, Drums. I've about had it with rectangular tins. I think half the Squadron Leader I've ever bought was sawdust, and I just had a "Penzance mold" scare that actually crossed state lines.
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Uh, oh. I have a pile of older SL tins in the back of a closet. I don't even want to look.
 
Come to think of it, all the square tins I've had that lost their seal were from SG. Maybe the elevated moisture content has something to do with it...
 
Perhaps the seal issue is pressure sensitive, i.e. what was barometric, thermal, altitude, and possible fermentation creating it's own new internal pressure? I get that twist tops have threads that can help hold down a lid better than compression tops, but it's not like the blends get cabin fever and muscle their way out after a time, right?

I would hope also, that they intend all of their tins to be sealed, so there must be some sort of quality control, eh?

BTW....

Got to finally try Penzance.. Pretty yummy stuff I must say, even if it had a rather soft seal....

Thanks again George for the enlightenment!
 
A jeweler once told me that a square or rectangular watch won't seal as well as a round one, as far as waterproofing goes. Don't know if that's relevant to tobacco tins or not, but the only watch I ever had a seal problem with was a nice little square Ebel.
 
Ozark Wizard":qecfqeo8 said:
.... so there must be some sort of quality control, eh?
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I wouldn't rely on it, knowing that average age of the grandpas employed at SG is somewhere around 80 :)
Now old folks sure know how to make a good tobacco, it just comes with years and experience, but not so sure about the tin sealing though.
 
I haven't had too bad of luck with tin seals. But the one that sticks out is a tin of Squadron Leader that had appeared as though it was packed on the surface of Mars. It was parched to say the least. On the other hand, I've recently bought several vintage SG tins with no problem but every St Bruno tin they had in the vintage bin at the same store had a seal that called it quits long ago. Crapshoot, I guess.

Ps, I tried to find the thread where it was recommended to me to try Commonwealth but I haven't yet. Anyways, Commonwealth obtained.
 
So this thread prompted me to do a tin check this afternoon. It's been some time since I have gone through my stash of vacuum sealed tobacco tins. The result of my inspection?  Four rectangular tins and one cylindrical needed to be jarred up. The culprits? Two older S. Gawith's, one G&H and Two older Germain's (Brown Flake and Dorchester). Two of the tins a Penzance and some Gawith & Hoggarth Rum Flake might require rehydration. The others were fine, but needed to be jarred up.  :x
 
As far as tins go,in the past I usually smoked most of my 'baccy "fresh" from the tin and found that either the round of rectangular/square European tins worked fine for the amount of time it took to smoke their contents. So far, the round screw down European tins I've had in "storage" the last few years I've had no problems with. (I should say most are Dunhill, Presbyterian, GSF and Erinmore and the few square/rectangular are Erinmore and GSF and no problems with theirs either. It goes without saying I've Never had ANY problems with the round ring-pull style of tins the US blenders favor. JMHE :twisted:
 
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