Reducing the strength of tobacco is quite simple, even if it is not fermented. To do this, just take a container, pour tobacco into the container, then pour boiling water over it, like tea, so that the water completely covers the tobacco. In two minutes brown liquid, which contains nicotine and tar, drain and squeeze the tobacco from the water, then scatter thin layer on newspaper to dry. After this procedure, the strength of the tobacco will decrease to almost zero, and then you can add stronger tobacco and adjust the strength to your taste. For those who want to quit smoking, or get a minimum of nicotine and tar into their body, I recommend using my method of reducing the strength. After drying the tobacco, you can stuff it into cigarette tubes with machines and smoke cigarettes own production. Please note that when using my method, there is no need to ferment the tobacco; in a few hours we get ready-made tobacco suitable for smoking. After brewing and drying the Maryland variety, we get pleasant aroma smoke with notes of honey, while the color of the tobacco becomes dark. Everything ingenious is simple.
Initially, it turned out that I bought, out of inexperience, pipe tobacco with a nasty vanilla smell. To get rid of the smell, I brewed the tobacco with boiling water, then drained the water, squeezed out the tobacco, and poured in wine vinegar for 2 minutes, then drained the wine vinegar, dried the tobacco, the resulting tobacco had no strength at all, and the smell of vanilla disappeared, but this tobacco could be smoke only in a bag with another stronger one. Then I ran into another problem, the Maryland grown tobacco, even after fermentation, had a strength that was too much for me. Then I remembered my past experience with pipe tobacco, but I poured boiling water over the unfermented crushed tobacco, after two minutes I drained the water, squeezed it out, and dried the tobacco. To my surprise, the strength of the tobacco decreased to almost zero, and a hint of honey appeared in the smell of smoke. Thus, we get not only a change in strength, but also a change in the smell of smoke. I want to say right away that I have not conducted experiments with other types of tobacco, except for Maryland, I don’t know what the smell of smoke will be like after this heat treatment, other types of tobacco, but the strength of any tobacco will decrease significantly.
Artificial aging of tobacco.
About the aging of tobacco. It would seem that aging of tobacco and fermentation are one and the same, since through fermentation we accelerate the aging process of tobacco. For example, in order to obtain finished tobacco from raw materials without fermentation, it is necessary to keep the tobacco for about 20 years under conditions of natural oxidation, but in 40 days of fermentation we get such tobacco. However, there is still a difference in the aging of already fermented tobacco. The fermentation process always occurs, even after fermentation the process continues, its dry oxidation continues. To give tobacco artificial aging, changing its taste and smell, for this we place tobacco with normal humidity in a glass jar, cover the top of the jar with a glass lid, maybe not airtight. Then put it in the microwave, power 600W, grill mode, for 2 minutes. Then cool the tobacco naturally, and you can also put it in the microwave for 2 minutes. A total of 2 - 4 minutes of baking the tobacco will be enough to age it for 10 years, the tobacco will smoke softly and pleasantly.
I can order it for you.
I can order for you with delivery throughout Russia:
1. Tobacco humidifier, dimensions approximately 6 cm in diameter, thickness about 1 cm. I never moisten tobacco with chemicals such as Glycerin, I moisten only with spring water by soaking the humidifier sponge. It was precisely because of the presence of chemicals and the sale of counterfeits that I refused to buy manufactured cigarettes, and accordingly I moisturize tobacco only with natural products. Without salt and Glycerin, tobacco can be stored very well in dry form, then just fill the cigarette tubes, place the finished cigarettes in a box with a humidifier, and after 12 hours the cigarettes can be smoked.
2. Electronic humidity meter and thermometer, two in one, this is necessary for measuring the temperature and humidity of tobacco during fermentation. This device has a separate probe on the wire, which we place in a jar of tobacco, and the device will show the temperature and humidity of the tobacco. This is necessary during fermentation.
3. Regionalized tobacco seeds: Kentucky Barley, Virginia, Maryland, and shag with a cigar smell and taste.
4. Mechanical machines for stuffing cigarette sleeves. One mechanical machine will last for several years, but electric ones quickly break down, my electric one only worked for 3 days, converting it into a mechanical one turned out to be ineffective, so I had to throw it away.
5. A light bulb for growing seedlings, consisting of LEDs, is bright and energy efficient.
The cheapest cigarette sleeves are best bought in Poland, on the website: www.4allsmokers.com/ru/11-gilzy?p=2
The cost is low, as a result, in a week we will receive a huge parcel. I buy cigarette casings there.
A few words about cigars.
Varieties of tobacco that have a smell Cuban cigars:
1. All hybrid varieties of Havana.
2. Szamosi Dark.
3. Bolivian Criollo Black.
4. Criollo 98.
The secret of the real smell of Cuba in cigars lies not only in the type of tobacco, but also in the correct fermentation technology. I doubt it would be possible to make a cigar that smells like Cuba with less than 5 months of fermentation. In the Dominican Republic, these same varieties are grown, but the leaves are also aged in oak barrels from several months to 7 years.
Besides temperature regime fermentation, there are many more secrets, this is the type of cover leaf, its cultivation and fermentation. The main criterion for a covering sheet is its elasticity and the thickness of the leaf veins. The filler can be another type of tobacco, for example, weak oriental Xanthi, or stronger - Herzegovina flor, or, like in Cuba, the top leaves of Cuban varieties of tobacco, but the binding and covering leaf must be from the Cuban variety. In Cuba, cigars are made from a single variety, but to obtain a good top leaf, tobacco is grown in the shade so that the leaves grow thin and elastic. For shading, you can use white covering material, or we sell a special shading mesh with 30% shading. In Cuba, cigars are made in this way: one type of tobacco is grown, after fermentation, the upper leaves are used to fill the cigar, the middle leaves are used as a binder, and the lower leaves are used as a wrapper. Based on this, we can say that the cigars are a bit strong, and not everyone likes them for everyday use.
The cover leaf of a cigar and the wrapper of a cigar are the same thing, just a translation error into another language. To make cigars, filler leaves are folded like an accordion, then rolled into a binding sheet, and after the mold is pressed, the cigar is rolled into a covering sheet and glued with natural resin. fruit trees. The cigars are then left to rest at room temperature for several months to dry them out and impart even moisture to the contents of the cigar. Then a ring is glued onto the cigar and placed in cellophane so that the cigars do not lose their flavor over time.
Fermentation cabinet.
I can offer inexpensive electrical equipment for a fermentation cabinet. You can make a fermentation cabinet yourself; all you need to do is take an old refrigerator, place electrical equipment inside, and the fermentation cabinet is ready. The cost of electrical equipment with delivery to the CIS countries is around $98, which means the fermentation cabinet will cost only $98. The electrical equipment includes a thermostat with a temperature measurement sensor and a safe heating element. We set the temperature on the thermostat to 53 degrees, the permissible temperature difference is 3 degrees, and the thermostat will maintain the set temperature in the fermentation cabinet. The entire harvest of leaves after drying must be fermented, then left to rest, so the cabinet must be of decent size in order to ferment the entire harvest of leaves in three weeks. If you ferment in parts, it will take a long time to ferment the entire harvest, which means huge electricity costs, it is better to make a fermentation cabinet once, for many years. In addition, it is necessary to leave fermented tobacco for aging, and not dry tobacco leaves.
If you have any questions related to growing tobacco, please contact me at email, the address is written on the left. I don’t sell tobacco, there is no way to grow tobacco in large quantities, I grow it only for myself and treat it to friends.
Related information.
Those who like to smoke with a pipe or cigarette often prefer to grow raw materials for their hobby themselves. After harvesting, the question arises of how to dry tobacco correctly in order to fully reveal its aroma and taste.
How to dry homemade tobacco
The first stage of drying tobacco is called simmering. For this, the crop is placed in a closed room with minimal air circulation and humidity. Ideal option- an ordinary barn or attic. It is important that air is able to penetrate to all the leaves, so they are strung on a cord and hung.
How to dry tobacco correctly? Leaves should be placed in a windless place
Drying in this form continues for up to three to four days. During this period, it is important to ensure that everything goes correctly:
- the leaves should not show signs of rotting or mold;
- The leaf blade turns yellow at the edges, but remains green inside.
The next stage is fixation. There are several options:
- Drying in the sun. Everything here is extremely simple. The leaves strung on cords are secured in special frames that are easy to carry and place under warm rays. Frames are needed not only for fixing the leaves, but also in order to be able to remove the crop under a canopy or move it to another place at any time. Since drying can last a month or even more, this is a very important point.
- Steam drying is carried out in rooms specially equipped with heating pipes that support high temperature. This is not the most convenient way for home use.
When drying in the sun, it is important to find a quiet place without gusts of wind. The task is to ensure that the sheet plate maintains its integrity.
Fermentation
Fermentation – last step to obtain the finished product. The essence is to activate its aroma and taste due to the transformation of substances under the influence of high temperatures. How to dry tobacco after removing it from the frames?
Each of the leaves is processed:
- first, the central - the thickest vein - is removed;
- then the sheet is cut into thin strips;
- the resulting raw materials are placed in ordinary glass jars and sent to the oven.
The processes that occur during drying of tobacco stop when the leaf tissue is dried. Processes resume again when favorable conditions at a new stage - during the fermentation of tobacco. At the same time it improves appearance raw materials; aroma appears, moisture capacity decreases, elasticity increases, changes chemical composition, resistance against damage by microorganisms increases.
The harvested heated sheets,% as mentioned above, are placed in bales and stored in an unheated room. Tobacco leaves should be placed in bales according to the breaking time to obtain high-quality raw materials.
One of the environmentally friendly and practically proven ways to ferment tobacco and obtain high-quality raw materials at home is warehouse (seasonal) fermentation.
The fermentation process depends on weather conditions: air humidity and temperature. Tobacco packed into bales is placed on wood flooring, spaced 25-30 cm from the floor. It is necessary for natural air circulation. Bales can be stored at a height of no more than 2.5-3 m.
Natural fermentation (i.e. aging) takes quite a long time, but produces high-quality raw materials. It should be noted again that seasonal fermentation has been developed empirically by many generations of tobacco growers around the world.
The aging period (reaching maximum quality improvement) for aromatic oriental Tobacco is 24 months, skeletal 18 months, other types - 12 months.
If tobacco is stored for a very long time, then deep-seated aging processes deteriorate the quality of the raw material: the aroma of the smoke weakens, the taste becomes light, empty, and incompleteness of taste develops. Reduced temperature air and its low humidity slow down the aging process of tobacco.
During the fermentation process, tobacco reaches a temperature inside the bale of 53-60°C and a humidity of 30-35%. Therefore, it is necessary to periodically rearrange the leaves in the bale as this temperature is reached (it is determined either by touch or with a thermometer).
Rearranging for ventilation is necessary to prevent mold and is done as needed, but at least once every 2-2.5 months.
Leaf tobacco that has not completed fermentation is not suitable for factory processing, both in taste and physical properties, and due to the instability of products during storage and transportation due to the ease of damage by molds and bacteria.
During fermentation, tobacco usually loses weight. The weight loss of tobacco during this time varies depending on the type of tobacco and its composition, the moisture content of the raw material, the fermentation regime, etc. In tobacco growing practice, weight loss during fermentation is called shrinkage. It arises as a result of a loss of dry matter and water during biochemical transformations of the composition and changes in the properties of the tissue of tobacco leaves and is considered a technologically necessary loss.
As mentioned above, this technology, used for many decades, was developed purely empirically and was based on knowledge of the signs of processing tobacco leaves: the state of the air in the fermentation rooms, heating the tobacco and changing its humidity, improving the color and smell of tobacco. It is environmentally friendly and allows you to obtain valuable tobacco raw materials very high quality With low content nicotine The whole process is based on natural properties tobacco leaf without the use of any synthetic chemicals.
With the growing popularity of everything crafted, exclusive, and handmade, smokers are increasingly practicing growing their own tobacco. It is important to know how to dry tobacco at home. This procedure requires appropriate knowledge and skills so as not to spoil it.
There are many benefits to growing your own tobacco. First of all, you can be sure that this natural product, without unknown impurities.
There are several types of tobacco. There are differences both in strength and in taste qualities Oh. Mild is the softest and lightest tobacco. Fruit additives are usually added to it. Oriental is also one of the weaker varieties and is often used as a supplement. Zwar is strong and suitable for occasional smoking. Virginia is known throughout the world for its versatility and pleasant aroma.
How to dry tobacco correctly
This process takes a lot of time, the longer the drying continues, the better the quality of the tobacco. Its taste and aroma depend on how you dry tobacco - on special equipment or in ordinary home conditions. Improper drying can ruin the entire harvest. Therefore, you should treat this process responsibly in order to achieve a good result.
Tobacco drying stages
You can also dry tobacco using a radiator. central heating. But this option takes longer - about a month. Dried and cut tobacco is also moistened and placed in sealed containers, then placed in a dark room on a radiator. Once a week, you should open the lids briefly to prevent mold from growing.
You can also carry out fermentation in a slow cooker, as in this video:
All types of tobacco are fermented. But you should not mix them before starting the procedure, since each has its own taste and color characteristics. Mix different varieties better immediately before use.
If the tobacco is too strong, there are several ways to reduce the strength. To do this, you need to pour in the already fermented product hot water and let it brew for a while. Painted in brown the water is drained, and the tobacco is tested again on a piece of clean cloth or paper.
You can also place the container with tobacco in the freezer for several hours. Then let it brew at room temperature. This method makes the taste softer and lighter.
How to store tobacco at home
Tobacco storage - no less important process than how to dry tobacco at home. It is important to limit air access to it. Self-prepared tobacco can be stored for several years. For this, it is best to use sealed jars or bags. Kitchen cabinet away from stove 3 best place for him. Hit sunlight and the lack of airtight packaging will lead to overdrying of the tobacco. If this happens, do not despair, moisturizing craft from a spray gun clean water will help save the situation. The main thing is not to overdo it. Following these simple rules you can preserve it for decades.
It's no secret that filling modern cigarettes is more of a pulp and paper mixture with the addition of combustion activators than real tobacco. Therefore, many amateurs practice growing tobacco on their own and making cigarettes on their own.
In addition to choosing the right variety and following agricultural cultivation techniques, to obtain a high-quality smoking mixture you will need to know how to properly dry self-sown tobacco.
How to properly dry tobacco at home
It is best to dry tobacco leaves in a room with low humidity and poor air circulation. Most often, a regular shed is used for this purpose.
It is advisable to dry tobacco leaves at home by stringing them on a cord to ensure the most uniform access of air to all leaves. The duration of the preliminary stage of drying (simmering) tobacco is several days. A sign of proper drying of tobacco leaves is partial yellowing of the leaf blade, no signs of rotting, and preservation of the green color in the main part of the leaf area. After this, you can proceed to the so-called fixation stage, during which the tobacco leaves are completely dried.
Note
An important requirement for drying tobacco at home is the absence of strong wind in the area where the frames with tobacco leaves are installed, since strong gusts can damage the leaf plate and render the product unusable.
There are several ways to dry smoking tobacco at home. One of the most common options is to dry the tobacco in the sun. To do this, the leaves are strung on cords secured in special frames and placed in a sunlit place.
How long to dry your tobacco will depend on many factors. First of all, weather conditions play a role: air temperature and humidity, the presence and strength of wind, and so on. In addition, the type of tobacco, the characteristics of the soil on which it was grown, and similar conditions have an impact. In most cases, the period for drying tobacco at home ranges from 20 to 40 days, depending on the factors listed above.
There are also special rooms where you can dry tobacco. In particular, during steam drying, pipes pass through the room in which the leaves are dried, providing high temperature and low humidity. At the same time, the use similar methods not always suitable. For example, Turkish tobacco can only be dried in the sun.
The next stage is fermentation of the leaves, which consists of the transformation of a number of substances. Contained in tobacco leaves and their acquisition of properties that favorably affect the smell and taste properties the resulting smoke.
Regarding the question of whether tobacco leaves can be dried in the oven, clarification will be required. Dry fresh leaves smoking tobacco using this method is not recommended, since if moisture evaporates too quickly, the required chemical composition of the leaf will not be provided, which will cause a deterioration in the taste of the smoking mixture being produced.
The oven is usually used to ferment tobacco, the final stage of preparing the leaves of this plant for use as a smoking mixture. To do this, the midrib of the leaves, previously dried in the manner described above, is removed, cut into thin strips and placed in glass jars, filling them two-thirds. The jars are hermetically sealed with lids, placed in the oven and the temperature is set to about 50 degrees for seven days.
The situation regarding whether it is possible to dry tobacco leaves in the microwave is actually similar. The procedure for drying tobacco cannot be carried out using this technique, but if you want to adjust the chemical composition of the leaf and the taste of the smoke, this method can be used. Only in this case the fermentation time is reduced to several minutes. The method of preparing the leaves for fermentation is similar to that used for the oven.
