Burley curing for cigarettes

[Pfix03]

Hi everyone.
I'm a beginner in tobacco curing, and I have some questions to ask before I completely ruin my first experience.
Sorry for my poor English, not my first language.
I'm growing Burley plants(specifically the bursanica variety, the one they have in Germany from what I could understand) and I want to make rolling tobacco with it. I only have this variety, unfortunately that's all I could do with the space I have.
I need advices on how to cure it, and I'd like to make it a little less strong(I'm used to lucky strike red and Marlboro red, so not too light, but also not too strong) and give it a good taste without the dry/burning throat sensation of Pueblo for example.
I googled curing methods, and I think I have an idea of what to do. I'm thinking of stoving part of it and casing with honey, whiskey and cocoa. Is this good? My fear is that this will turn out to be more of a pipe/cigar kind of taste or too strong for cigarettes. Being a beginner, I also don't have any specific tool for tobacco curing, and I'm scared of messing things up with some overly approximative equipment.

 

[Wombat_smokes]

Welcome to the Curing.

It sounds like you have some good ideas and are on the right track. Have a look through the Key Forums thread for inspiration and how to cure Burley. I prefer stalk harvesting and curing. After the leaves have turned brown, mist the leaves so they are moist enough to handle. Pick the leaves, let them dry to low case (dry and noisy, but not able to break), and store them in an air tight container until ready for processing. Nicotine strength will not change, but the flavor and "throat burn" - caused by ammonia as proteins break down - will improve. Casing as you described might make a more pipe-like product, but it may still be enjoyable.

Again, read through the Key Forums for helpful information while your plants grow.

 

[Pfix03]

Edit:

Welcome to the Curing.

It sounds like you have some good ideas and are on the right track. Have a look through the Key Forums thread for inspiration and how to cure Burley. I prefer stalk harvesting and curing. After the leaves have turned brown, mist the leaves so they are moist enough to handle. Pick the leaves, let them dry to low case (dry and noisy, but not able to break), and store them in an air tight container until ready for processing. Nicotine strength will not change, but the flavor and "throat burn" - caused by ammonia as proteins break down - will improve. Casing as you described might make a more pipe-like product, but it may still be enjoyable.

Again, read through the Key Forums for helpful information while your plants grow.

Thanks. What keywords should I search? I can't find anything on pure Burley cigarettes.
Also, the process you described for removing ammonia(in Italian it's called fermentation, but idk if we're talking about the same thing). Should be done before or after everything else? I thought it was the last thing to do

 

[Alpine]

Benvenuto sul forum. Take a look here:

Key threads in the FTT forum

Bookmark This Page for Future Reference This is a list of threads that have been nominated by forum members to be particularly useful. The list will be updated as suggestions are added. Tips on Using the FTT Forum How to post pictures Seven Moral Rules Found All Around the World Cannabis...

forum.wholeleaftobacco.com

Marlboro and Luckies are the tipical “american blend” i.e. roughly 50% flue cured, 40% air cured burley, 10% oriental (or turkish If you prefer) PLUS an inordinate amount of casings, flavorants and various chemicals. Trying to duplicate a commercial cigarette is nearly impossible (and, IMHO, a waste of time).
A 100% burley cig is definitely a manly smoke, but some forum members do enjoy it.

pier

 

[Pfix03]

Benvenuto sul forum. Take a look here:

Key threads in the FTT forum

Bookmark This Page for Future Reference This is a list of threads that have been nominated by forum members to be particularly useful. The list will be updated as suggestions are added. Tips on Using the FTT Forum How to post pictures Seven Moral Rules Found All Around the World Cannabis...

forum.wholeleaftobacco.com

Marlboro and Luckies are the tipical “american blend” i.e. roughly 50% flue cured, 40% air cured burley, 10% oriental (or turkish If you prefer) PLUS an inordinate amount of casings, flavorants and various chemicals. Trying to duplicate a commercial cigarette is nearly impossible (and, IMHO, a waste of time).
A 100% burley cig is definitely a manly smoke, but some forum members do enjoy it.

pier

Thanks mate. I'm not trying to replicate American blend, I'm trying to make my own. That was just an example of what I'm used to smoke, to get some comparison in terms of taste and strenght

 

[deluxestogie]

Welcome to the forum, @Pfix03. Feel free to introduce yourself in the Introduce Yourself forum.

Bob

 

[Juxtaposer-]

Edit:

Thanks. What keywords should I search? I can't find anything on pure Burley cigarettes.
Also, the process you described for removing ammonia(in Italian it's called fermentation, but idk if we're talking about the same thing). Should be done before or after everything else? I thought it was the last thing to do

Are your leaves already color cured? This is first and foremost. Fermentation (kilning) is next although could be skipped. Aging is needed and kilning speeds this along otherwise an estimation of three years of aging is what I give. Resting, storing, and above all, humidity are key words. You can rush things if needed and cooking, casing, and pressing can all be helpful. I only make pipe tobacco but the idea of washing tobacco to make it milder has been on my mind. I recommend small test batches when testing casings. Having flue cured tobacco to mix with is ideal. Good luck and get a pipe, why don’t you?

 

[Pfix03]

Are your leaves already color cured? This is first and foremost. Fermentation (kilning) is next although could be skipped. Aging is needed and kilning speeds this along otherwise an estimation of three years of aging is what I give. Resting, storing, and above all, humidity are key words. You can rush things if needed and cooking, casing, and pressing can all be helpful. I only make pipe tobacco but the idea of washing tobacco to make it milder has been on my mind. I recommend small test batches when testing casings. Having flue cured tobacco to mix with is ideal. Good luck and get a pipe, why don’t you?

The plants are still growing, I don't have dried leaves yet, I think I'll collect them at the start of September. But damn, 3 years aging is a lot. It is for pipe tobacco, right? I thought the whole curing process requires 5-6 months, at least for cigarette tobacco

 

[Juxtaposer-]

The plants are still growing, I don't have dried leaves yet, I think I'll collect them at the start of September. But damn, 3 years aging is a lot. It is for pipe tobacco, right? I thought the whole curing process requires 5-6 months, at least for cigarette tobacco

I have no experience with color curing. I have only handled already color cured leaf. If you can color cure successfully then you will be well on your way. After color curing aging recommendations are for best results. You should be able to create a tobacco that is smokeable immediately after color curing. Smokeable is subjective.

 

[deluxestogie]

I think I'll collect them at the start of September

Harvest the leaves only after they have matured. [Scan through the section on Harvesting, in our Index of Key Forum Threads, linked in the menu bar.] In the burley growing areas of the USA, commercial tobacco farmers usually stalk-harvest burley, then hang the entire stalks in the curing shed. The color-curing process (going from yellow-green alive to fully brown dead) may require 6 or more weeks minimum. The tobacco is then "smokable", but quite raw tasting. If simply allowed to age after color-curing, it improves significantly after about 6 months of aging. Without kilning, most tobacco requires several years of aging to approach its potential.

Virginia flue-cure varieties are primed (harvested) leaf by leaf, and undergo the flue-curing process [see flue-curing], which takes about 1 week. This is the bright yellow tobacco in commercial cigarette tobacco. Flue-cured tobacco produces relatively acidic smoke, while burley tobacco produces relatively alkaline smoke. Blending the two can balance tongue bite at the front of the tongue vs. "throat hit" at the back of the tongue.

Bob