Need to fill me in on this as ive started flowering
ditto but I am weeks from harvest . I'd still like to hear what you have to say about it.
Absolutely! So Just like marijuana there is a very particular process to drying, curing, and making cigars. The tobacco is harvested, hung to dry. The drying process just like weed must be a slow one. I forget exactly how long it takes but potentially it can take months. This would be the air drying method. Classically it's done in barns. Where the humidity and heat are kinda high, keep in mind the climates of the three largest tobacco countries of Dominican Republic, Honduras, and Nicaragua.
At this point the leaves need to be fermented/cured to release all the ammonia in the leaves. They are bound very tightly together and the humidity and heat are kept relatively high. This allows the enzymes to ferment the leaves. The farm will break the stack down to release the ammonia on the inside and rebuild. This will usually happen several times. This is what gives the tobacco it's smooth and non-acrid taste. Usually the farm has a special room that they can control the climate really well in. This process can take several weeks, typically 4-6.
At this point the the tobacco is held in a humidor. The humidor is again a very tightly controlled climate room, typically lined with a spanish cedar. The rooms humidity MUST be between 68-72 degrees as well as the heat. Some people will tell you higher or lower, but this is the sweet spot. There are two reasons for this. One, if kept at these stats, the tobacco will burn slow and even. Two, this helps keep the tobacco from molding. Anything lower, and the tobacco dries up, usually losing all of it's tasty oils, and if it's too high, well that's when mold and even tobacco beetles. The mold move very fast and the beetles even faster. You could literally have an entire stock ruined in the course of just a couple days. The tobacco is held in the humidor until the master maker feels that the taste is good. Because it's left to sit in the humidor the more oils come to the surface of the leaf and more flavor comes through. Also it allows any more ammonia to be release. Most tobacco is cured for at least 6 months before it will be made into a cigar. Many companies even cure their tobacco for years. This creates the smoothest, creamiest and sometimes complex smoke. At this point it will be made into a cigar.
The part I am taking from the cigars, and I suggest some of you try it, is the humidor part. I keep my weed at 68% humidity and about 75 degrees at almost most times, oh yea it's never in direct sunlight either. Most people will not be used to such a moist plant. The plant is harder t break up by hand but will easily be taken down by a grinder. The weed tastes SO much better. This is because it burns slower, meaning less hot. You know when you smoke an L or a J and after a few puffs it just gets acrid and gross? This helps keep that problem from happening so quickly. It also helps preserve the smell of the weed, and when mixed with spanish cedar, OOOOOH baby. It makes me feel like a connoisseur lol.
You can buy a cheap humidor, humidifier, and hygrometer anywhere online or in a smoke smoke. Word to the wise, spend alittle more money on the humidor than anything else. The seal needs to be good or else it's useless. They should be almost air tight. A way to test it in the store is to take a dollar bill and close the lid on it, on all sides. Then try to pull the dollar out. You shouldn't be able to pull the dollar out at all, or at least without tearing it. For the newbies I suggest getting the Boveda humidity packets. They are pre-set to 65%, 68%, and 72% humidity. This takes all the thinking out. The hygrometer can be the same one you use in the grow room. Also makes sure to season the humidor, but that's for another lesson.
I hope this helps. I love cigars as much as I love weed. I used to work for a cigar company that I won't name and I had a dispensary order the boveda packets from me. They said it kept the product perfectly fresh and their customers loved it. Even if you just buy the packets to throw in the mason jar, everyone will be very happy you did. I promise.
Test it out and let me know guys!
