China Voodoo 2017 Grow Blog

[ChinaVoodoo]

Flue cure batch number one is sufficiently yellow and moving ahead from 75%/95F to 50%/120F.

 

[deluxestogie]

I'm impressed with the consistency of the yellowing. Nice work.

Bob

 

[ChinaVoodoo]

My intuition was that this was a warmer year than usual. The agriculture Alberta website confirms that. There have been 16% more growing degree days this year above average. This graph is from the weather station a few blocks from my home.

Key: green/yellow is growing degree days. This year vs average.
The other colors are average temperature.

 

[deluxestogie]

Not surprising. The sea surface temperature anomaly over nearly the entire west coast of North America has been about +1ºC for a thousand miles out to sea. Hudson Bay is also up.

Bob

 

[ChinaVoodoo]

After a day at 50% and 120F, I moved it up to 135F and 35%. I'm not really comfortable increasing it to 165F. Maybe that's irrational. It strains the equipment and someone warned me about fire. So adder a day at 135F/35%, I changed it to 140F, 15%. The stems are dry and I'm satisfied. No moments ago, I changed it to 75F / 70%. Should be ready to package up in a day or two.

 

[Gavroche]

Nice color China... rich color, i like !

 

[deluxestogie]

If you use that kiln-dried batch fairly quickly (weeks to a month or two), it should be fine. The high heat fixes the state and color. Without it, the leaf enzymes will darken the tobacco with time.

Bob

 

[ChinaVoodoo]

If you use that kiln-dried batch fairly quickly (weeks to a month or two), it should be fine. The high heat fixes the state and color. Without it, the leaf enzymes will darken the tobacco with time.

Bob

I thought the enzymes were fixed already at 135 and that the stem drying stage on the flue curing schedule was just that, for stem drying. No?

Oh, and I'm using the shed. I removed the piloto and hung it in the garage.

 

[ChinaVoodoo]

I found a quote from DGBAMA in another thread that he once flue cured to 130, and the tobacco was turning brown 6 months later.

I wonder what sort of difference the aging produces.

 

[SmokesAhoy]

If the higher heat concerns you, it does me too, could you not finish it in the oven in batches? With maybe a small test at the beginning

 

[ChinaVoodoo]

If the higher heat concerns you, it does me too, could you not finish it in the oven in batches? With maybe a small test at the beginning

There's an idea. I also have a wooden box I smoke meat in. I could fire that up. I assume the enzymes denature in a matter of minutes. I also, kinda don't know if I care. It might be really good the way it is and I'll only know if I leave it be, right?

 

[SmokesAhoy]

Yeah, never know without trying. So you stopped at 140, I'll be curious to hear the smoke reports over the next year. I know my kiln does 140 easily so could easily replicate. Cool stuff you have going on with the flue cure and rajan experiments.

 

[deluxestogie]

The most fragile (and most rapid acting) of the two oxidase enzymes is broken down at 149ºF. Other than color change, you may notice that its yummy, flue-cured sweetness is fading away, as the oxidizing enzymes degrade the sugars.

The oven idea should work.

One way to consider the value of reaching up to 165ºF is that from a commercial standpoint, it is quite expensive to add all that extra heat, and hold it there for 24 hours. In exchange for spending that money, the flue-curing is eternal (-ish).

Bob

 

[ChinaVoodoo]

The most fragile (and most rapid acting) of the two oxidase enzymes is broken down at 149ºF. Other than color change, you may notice that its yummy, flue-cured sweetness is fading away, as the oxidizing enzymes degrade the sugars.

The oven idea should work.

One way to consider the value of reaching up to 165ºF is that from a commercial standpoint, it is quite expensive to add all that extra heat, and hold it there for 24 hours. In exchange for spending that money, the flue-curing is eternal (-ish).

Bob

Ok. Maybe I should have just gone up to 165. I think I'll do half of it.

 

[deluxestogie]

Ok. Maybe I should have just gone up to 165. I think I'll do half of it.

That sounds like a good comparison.

That reminds me of a kilning experiment I did a few years ago. I kilned some WLT flue-cured Lemon for 30 days, just to see what would happen. With its primary enzyme gone, the changes in kilning relied on the much less active enzyme (which denatures at 191ºF) to bring about any change. The result was a slightly darker color, and a loss of some of the acidity. It was like well aged flue-cured, rather than this year's batch. So something does change, but it's fairly subtle after flue-curing. Maybe not quite as sweet.

Bob

EDIT: I can't locate the photos of the kilned Lemon, but here are photos of Prilep 66-9/7 flue-cured and flue-cured plus 2 weeks in the kiln.

 

[ChinaVoodoo]

My flue cured from last year is for the most part, the same color as when it came freshly out of the chamber. I did go up to 165 last year. The kilned leaf varies greatly in color depending on stalk position and the duration in the kiln.

But here's a question I don't understand. Why is the air cured frog eye Orinoco from 2015 still giving me tongue bite despite having low sugar content?

 

[deluxestogie]

Why is the air cured frog eye Orinoco from 2015 still giving me tongue bite despite having low sugar content?

Has it been kilned?

Bob

 

[ChinaVoodoo]

Has it been kilned?

Bob

Some of it. Some not. Both hurt. Kumanovo also. Making black Cavendish significantly reduces it. Kumanovo Cavendish has no bite and actually cools blends off.

 

[deluxestogie]

Add Perique. Or better yet, make it into Perique.

Bob

 

[ChinaVoodoo]

Add Perique. Or better yet, make it into Perique.

Bob

That, and I gotta take burley growing seriously next year.