Just curious but is the plug moist? Will it be easier to get out if it dries down some?
Noodle Press Plugs
- Thread starter ProZachJ
- Start date
I put it in when the tobacco was in moderately high case. It might have come out after a couple days of drying, I don't know. It only took a couple minutes to get it out. It's a big plug, so lots and lots of friction on the sides of the press barrel. Mostly I have been doing little 16 g plugs just to try out new blends. I think 100 g would be about the limit - or I could maybe not try to squeeze it to death! This stuff, though... yum. I'm going to drop it in a jar and just let it sit for a while. I have about half a 16 oz Ball jar from the last batch I can smoke while this just ages a little.
A trick I learned while working as a millwright using clevises for rigging was to never tighten them all the way down, instead tighten them down then back off about an eighth of a turn, when under pressure things stretch an bind.
Juxtaposer-
Well-Known Member
Which leads to something worthy of note; Screw presses do not provide constant pressure. While a weighted press would. Both are used in tobacco pressing with similar results. How similar? They are certainly not the same. I wonder if it would be worthwhile investigating. Surely I will think on it.
Revisiting this after a bit over a month resting in a jar it has improved significantly. Much of the bourbon bitterness has evolved to sweet and the astringency of the COOH has been reduced. It's an enjoyable smoke now and I'm betting it will be even better given more time. The jar smell is definitely unique.
GreenDragon
Well-Known Member
Zach inspired me to give this method a try. Picked up a noodle press off Amazon last month. Mixed up a batch of the following blend. Cased with peated scotch and let steep for 3 weeks. Then shredded the leaf, added a casing made from figs and gold rum, and loaded up the press. Moderate pressure for 3 weeks.
Test smoke in my Gandalf pipe (churchwarden): Nice flavor, burns a little hot, no relights. I think I'll call this blend "Moria".
Moria pipe blend - Measured in Parts
4 - Dark Fired (WLT)
2 - Cherry Red Va. (GD)
2 - Va. Red Tip Beerique (WLT)
1 - Maryland (GD)
1 - J8 Cavendish (GD)
1 - Turkish (WLT)
Test smoke in my Gandalf pipe (churchwarden): Nice flavor, burns a little hot, no relights. I think I'll call this blend "Moria".
Moria pipe blend - Measured in Parts
4 - Dark Fired (WLT)
2 - Cherry Red Va. (GD)
2 - Va. Red Tip Beerique (WLT)
1 - Maryland (GD)
1 - J8 Cavendish (GD)
1 - Turkish (WLT)
How are you liking/using the beerique?
Have you found a “standardized” production method for it?
GreenDragon
Well-Known Member
@johnny108 I really like processing almost any pipe tobacco variety this way. It mellows / quick ages the leaf and seems to moderate the pH. Rough method can be found in my Beerique thread and a more refined method in Bob's ebook "Ninety More Pipe Blends"; both can be found in the Key Forum's Thread link at the top of the page.
ShiniKoroshi
Dept. of Shenanigans
Tobacco Noodles are really a thing?
" "Tobacco noodles" most likely refers to the Taiwanese instant noodle brand, "TTL Hua Tiao Chicken Noodles". This brand is marketed by the Taiwan Tobacco and Liquor Corporation and features a chicken broth infused with wine and real pieces of chicken. The noodles themselves are also made from wheat. "
" "Tobacco noodles" most likely refers to the Taiwanese instant noodle brand, "TTL Hua Tiao Chicken Noodles". This brand is marketed by the Taiwan Tobacco and Liquor Corporation and features a chicken broth infused with wine and real pieces of chicken. The noodles themselves are also made from wheat. "
I've added this thread to our Index of Key Forum Threads.
Bob
Bob
ShiniKoroshi
Dept. of Shenanigans
A real Texan would have cased this with Tabasco.
marksman01
Active Member
For any of you still pressing your own plugs, I found that they are exceptionally cheap on ebay right now at $1.35 each with free shipping.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/397060691300
https://www.ebay.com/itm/397060691300
Controlled Chaos
Well-Known Member
Just an update: ebay has noodle presses for $0.99 with free shipping right now
Juxtaposer-
Well-Known Member
I have been transferring some of the year old cakes that have been held in compression inside the small 4oz jelly jars to larger 6oz jars. Rubbing out and lowering the case then re-pressing to fit. It’s much easier to pinch off a bowl in this half pressed condition.
StoneCarver
Well-Known Member
I just got 3 noodle presses at 97 cents each from ebay. I wanted five but that's all the vendor had left. I may keep one to actually try making noodles with.
I haven't pressed anything yet. Last night, I deveined and cased about 60g of various leaves from WLT's pipe sampler pack. Tonight, I'll bring it up to high case and then tomorrow I'll finally press it. Very excited to see how this turns out. Does anyone shred their tobacco prior to pressing? I don't see any point to it but I might be missing something. I wish I had gone ahead and prepped the tobacco whilst I was waiting for the order to be shipped.
I haven't pressed anything yet. Last night, I deveined and cased about 60g of various leaves from WLT's pipe sampler pack. Tonight, I'll bring it up to high case and then tomorrow I'll finally press it. Very excited to see how this turns out. Does anyone shred their tobacco prior to pressing? I don't see any point to it but I might be missing something. I wish I had gone ahead and prepped the tobacco whilst I was waiting for the order to be shipped.
Sergey Ukraine
Well-Known Member
A few years ago, I bought a pipe and some inexpensive pipe tobacco. I had no experience smoking a pipe whatsoever. I lit it up a few times, but since I only smoked cigarettes, I smoked the pipe quickly... But one day, on a warm autumn day, I lit my pipe, relaxed, and decided not to rush... About half an hour passed, and many interesting ideas came to mind... I realized that there was no need to rush. Perhaps when I am older, I will return to it again... Reading the forum, I became interested in making pipe tobacco—maybe it's time to start stocking up on plug tobacco? How long can it be stored and under what conditions? How do you avoid mold in plug tobacco? It is pressed when wet... I probably posted this in the wrong thread, please move it to the right one.
I have been pressing noodle-press plugs with shredded tobacco. I coarsely shredded quite a bit (with an ulu knife, not a shredder) of it when I received it, with the idea that I'd either use it as-is or use it for pressed plugs. It's worked fine. When I pull the plugs - I tend to use a lot of pressure - I just slice them and end up with "chunked" rather than shredded tobacco; in other words, it's random shaped and sized little flakes. On the last batch I may have gotten a little over-enthusiastic with the press. After slicing up the plug the slices don't really rub out well, and I get a fair amount of little chunks in with the flakes. They smoke fine, but when you light it the ones on top expand and try to escape the bowl, and need to be tamped back into place. Next time I'll use less pressure.
Right now I have some in the press and am trying a much lighter pressure, mostly just to keep the shreds in close contact for melding the flavors and aromas. I'm hoping it comes out as more of a "crumble cake" than a plug. What I'm actually focused on today is fighting the urge to pull it from the press and try it out... it's only been in there a day, but I really want to try this stuff!
Right now I have some in the press and am trying a much lighter pressure, mostly just to keep the shreds in close contact for melding the flavors and aromas. I'm hoping it comes out as more of a "crumble cake" than a plug. What I'm actually focused on today is fighting the urge to pull it from the press and try it out... it's only been in there a day, but I really want to try this stuff!
Controlled Chaos
Well-Known Member
Sometimes, but only if the blending components are already shredded. It's much more simple to press whole leaves and slice the plug into flakes when you're ready to smoke. But it's more convenient to be able to grab a chunk of a crumble cake and rub it out quick when you're ready to smoke. So it comes down to whether you want to put in the work when you're ready to smoke or before.
From what I've been able to tell, there's a trivial difference between the end result of both ways but Bob is the one with the golden taste buds so his input is the one you'd want
