How I process my whole leaf

[Juxtaposer-]

How I process my whole leaf tobacco purchases.

Step 1 Storing


Things you will need;
1# tobacco bag
scissors
two 16oz wide mouth jars

Cut the bag across to open on the stem side
take out one leaf keeping the rest in the bag as to not loose case (moisture)
fold the leaf along the stem with the leaf bottom on the outside, this will expose the stem
hold the stem with one hand while pinching off the two leaf sides with the other
this is done holding the thick end of the stem while levering the pinch of leaf off
lever off only what you have pinched and do not continue to pull apart further
take another pinch further gripping veins as you go along levering the leaf off the stem
when you reach towards the tip of the leaf and the stem is the size of veins you can continue by tearing the leaf in half You now have two halves of one leaf with no stem
fold the leaf half to fit the jar so that most of the leaf will be horizontal in the jar
you may fold both halves at the same time and have the top or bottoms of the leaves facing in certain directions etc. but what is most useful is to fold all the leaves in the SAME way for convenience of use
press the folded leaves firmly in the jar and cover to preserve case
repeat until all the leaves have been de-stemmed
press the tobacco firmly into the jars using your thumbs and be sure there will be no tobacco on the rim of the jar when the lid is finally placed keep the jar full of tobacco in a dark and temperature stable place


notes;
de-stem and jar as soon as possible to prevent mold
larger veins can be removed if desired
stems can be left to dry and used for products other than pipe tobacco
any mold or mildew can be picked or wiped off
sun spots or discolorations of the leaves can be ignored
tobacco leaf is normally sold at a good case though it’s possible that it could be too wet or too dry
I would question any seller that ships tobacco that is too wet as it is very unlikely to happen
if the tobacco is to dry for folding without cracking you can spray with a little distilled water to rehydrate
a jar full of compressed tobacco leaf will use up available oxygen quickly so mold is not likely to grow
a twelve year old jar of folded Virginia leaf is an amazing thing burley however is simply preserved
four 8oz wide mouthed jars could be used instead of two 16 oz any smaller would not be practical

 

[Juxtaposer-]

Step 2 casing/pressing

things you will need;
tobacco from storage
spray bottle
casing ingredients
press (noodle press)

jars 4oz or tall 8oz

ideas for casing recipes are widely available here are some general guidelines
acidic (sour) casings for flue cured tobaccos (maybe even fire cured)
lemon juice or citric acid area few ideas
bitter casings like cocoa for air cured tobaccos
sugars for any tobaccos glycyrrhizin from the licorice root is my favorite
other plant extractions that may have mildly bitter or sweet qualities may also be added
tea made from plants work well though some may need alcohol for extraction
plant material is filtered out as best as possible
Liquors can be used along with water or juice or tea
some plant material can be added for smoking if desired ( think kinnikinnick)

citric acid is usually added at 1/4 teaspoon per 4oz liquid
sugar syrups are usually added at 1 tablespoon per 4oz liquid

one 16oz jar from step one will normally take all of 4oz of casing
I would normally make more than 4oz

after casing I will usually put the leaves into a noodle press
the noodle press normally takes all of the one 16oz jar of tobacco with a little thumbing
this amount after pressing usually fits perfectly into a 4oz jelly jar
three hours in the press is enough to get a puck that will then need to be held down by the jar lid for storage or cut immediately if desired
crank down on the plunger every hour as the tobacco settles into itself
if I am going for a tall 8oz jar I will press then push the puck down and add more to the press before the three hour settling time
from a 4oz jar to a 8oz jar usually only takes adding half as much more tobacco
if the plug is too tall I will peel of a leaf or two so the jar will seal properly
the tobacco can now be stored and aged in the jar as a plug

I don’t use anything in the noodle press like parchment or wrappers
I don’t even bother with covering the end with a disk
I just use the smallest hole cover no problem
the cover can be hard to unscrew olive oil on the the threads can help
knocking on the corners of the cover like the stuck jar lid technique can help
the plunger handle can screw into itself and needs engineering
I put a rod inside the handle for the screw to set on

 

[Juxtaposer-]

Noodle press & how it fits pushing out into an tall 8oz jar

 

[Juxtaposer-]

I made a mistake on tobacco volume. It is half the 16oz jar when pressed that fits into a 4oz jelly jar and that is the amount of tobacco that will take all 4oz of casing.
Note: oz (ounces) are all a liquid measurement so the weight of the tobacco hand pressed into a 16oz jar would be <1/2lb or <8oz. I say < (less than ) because the stem weight is missing.

 

[Juxtaposer-]

Step 3 cutting

Things you will need;

plug of tobacco
chopping knife
cutting board
a jar that is one size up
mixing bowl

I like to press tobacco leaves to facilitate cutting
dry tobacco is harder to cut so at the very least I would case the tobacco with water
a simple chopping knife and some skill works well
if the plug is too tough I will cut it in half horizontally first…
also when the plug is too difficult to hold vertically for slicing I will half it in this way
If I wished the tobacco to be presented as a flake I would leave pressed for two weeks
same for a broken flake or a cube cut
cutting coins off of rolls is another method I use occasionally
if I plan to rub out fully, I can do it out of the press at any time, even before three hours
rub out in a mixing bowl pick and split any large pieces up
aside from a pressed cake that fills an entire jar, tobacco that has been cut this way will need to be dried before jarred to prevent mold growth
these tobaccos should be checked until a noticeable vacuum is created in the jar or at least an equilibrium has been reached this may take up to two weeks
even then you may want to check it again after a few more weeks
if there is any mold growth the tobacco is not dry enough
don’t forget to label jars, more details are better unless you are keeping a separate log
varietals, casings, dates, are all useful to know

so now you have some jars of aging raw tobacco, some jars of aging plugs, some jars of aging cuts, and are ready to start blending

 

[deluxestogie]

This thread has been added to our Index of Key Forum Threads.

Bob

 

[Juxtaposer-]

step 4 blending tobaccos

things needed;
tobaccos
mixing bowl

both the components and combinations of blends are infinite
do your research to see which types of blends are most popular and try them out
some combinations balance each other so much so that water is the only casing used
some casings work better than others for certain varietals
once you learn the characters you can play them in support or contrast of one another
there are a myriad of recipes to choose from
Virginia tobaccos age extremely well in jars so they make a good first to set aside
other things to do with your leaf will keep you busy meanwhile
stoving, toasting, steaming, kilning, are all common methods of manipulation

My method of stoving is to put a jar of tobacco in the oven, it’s as simple as that
don’t screw the lid too tightly and put the jar in the oven as the oven is warming up
190*F for two hours is common, longer times, higher temperatures can be done
tale care not to burn your tobacco
lower temperatures can be used for days or weeks such as a tin on the dashboard
a jar should be allowed to sit for a couple weeks to reconstitute itself

toasting would be to expose the tobacco to heat with an open environment
similar temperatures could be used but times may be shorter
the tobacco will need to be cased before handled, with water at the least

steamed tobacco, also called cavendish has many methods
in fact a stoved tobacco at high case may be very similar to cavendish yet in that situation it is not allowed to off gas which may be important for some tobaccos
I steam tobacco in a pressed condition placed sideways in an open jar
the jar is placed in a crock pot with water on high for four to eight hours
four hours, brown cavendish, eight hours, black cavendish

Perique is another component that can be created using tobacco
this can be very involved and it takes months of time
there is much information on this here at the FTT forum
I use a coffee making French press and simply hold tobacco under water
this method is an ongoing experiment for me so I will be sure to report

start out blending tobacco by the bowlful adjust the ratios as you like
then make a couple of ounces and jar to marry flavors for a few weeks
you can go on for years putting together your blending components for testing
feel free to incorporate tobacco from other blenders
this is a good way to find out what you might want in a blend
blends can be pressed to form a cake which can also help marry flavors
cakes also take less space and are a good method for aging in jars

 

[Juxtaposer-]

Step 5 topping/scenting

things needed;
tobacco
herbs spices
extractions
chemicals
alcohol
spray bottle or atomizer

you can leave herbs and spices in a jar along with tobacco to influence it
I have a holiday spice mix to review soon
tonka beans will scent tobacco very effectively though you had better like it
snuff can be sprinkled into your bowl to add specific scents
tea made from herbs and spices can be used for flavorings
good tobacco can be ruined so start small and if you find a favorite see if it holds
some flavorings can be added to the casing for a more subtle influence
however they can be sprayed on at any time
aromatics as they are called are the most popular pipe tobaccos
if you like these aromatics I would recommend letting professionals make them
many scents do not stay with the tobacco very long
glycerin and or propylene glycol and other things are used to hold on to scents
if you like tobacco flavors you can certainly find flavors to enhance those
Burley tobacco is said to absorb toppings well a steamed Burley is very popular for this
you can have a flavored cavendish as a blending component

 

[Juxtaposer-]

This is some of what I do with and think about whole leaf tobacco.
Since editing times out and I am still experimenting there certainly will be more to post.

 

[adamziegler]

Great post, very helpful. I already plan to adjust some of the things I am doing based on ideas from this thread.

if you like these aromatics I would recommend letting professionals make them

I am not ready to accept this yet.

 

[Juxtaposer-]

Toasting

Things you will need;

oven
tobacco
baking pans
spray bottle
water

Using tobacco that is out of case that has had no added ingredients. Place tobacco on baking pans into oven preheated to 260* F for ten minutes. Remove pans from oven and spray tobacco to bring back to desired case.

So easy!

I used whole de-stemmed leaf halves but whole leaf, cut leaf, plugs, cakes, flakes, or even stems only should work as well
You do want the tobacco to be dry for toasting as steaming does bring about different types of flavors but don’t fret over minor steaming
If you do have adulterated tobacco be aware that some ingredients may not fare well
smells are minimal and pleasant with dry unadulterated tobaccos
fresh out of the oven the tobacco is in perfect condition to absorb casings
have a plan for handling the tobacco once done, you are blending it, jarring it, pressing it, cutting it, etc.
other methods of toasting can also be done, such as over or near open flames or on a stovetop pan but these will require skill and attention, using a crock pot is common and works well

 

[Chinese explorer]

It's really excellent experience and I'll watch it carefully.

 

[Juxtaposer-]

8oz stoved Red VA
I planned to rub out and have ribbons for blending but after a week held as a plug the flakes look too good to break.

 

[Juxtaposer-]

The French press test has proven relatively successful. I now have a useable rustica blending tobacco that was once unusable.. Four months under water was not enough to get it through the sour stage but it is fine as it is for now. The pictures are of the next batch using the WLT PA binder. I am going for nine months this time. More tobacco here (7oz) will allow for a little plunger pressure using rubber bands. The idea is to simplify the Perique making process. With minimal pressure and minimal airing I don’t expect time to be minimized. I don’t expect “Perique” either. What I am expecting is to discover a practical way to process tobacco that results in something that is desirable.

 

[Juxtaposer-]

Pulling tobacco out that was processed using step one.

 

[Juxtaposer-]

Noodle pressed plug placed sideways on top of a 4oz jar inside a 8oz jar inside a crock pot

 

[Juxtaposer-]

After six hours of steaming

 

[KroBar]

A Cavendish Plug!

 

[Juxtaposer-]

A Cavendish Plug!

Yes, it is light fire cured that will be now pressed and stoved similar to 1792 flake. I will not top the flakes with tonka though. I simply do not like tonka.

 

[Juxtaposer-]

I‘ll call this Dark Broken.