piling till ''yellow'' and hanging/ vs just hanging them while green.my observation,

[Chicken]

i hung a lot of my baccy early in the year that was green without piling it...

some dried green,,,and all of it dried a light colour,,,

here lately in the ending of the season i piled it till the leaf was mostly yellowed,,,and hung it to air cure,

ive noticed the piled till yellow leaves seem to be curing a '' much'' darker colour,,,

i may have made a error in the first hanging by not piling till the leaf was yellow, because not too much of it yellowed on the stalk,,,,

am i right in my observation,,,,,hang after intense piling till yellow no matter how long it takes the green leaf to turn yellow,?

 

[deluxestogie]

Chicken,
I don't do any piling, but I'll try to clarify what's happening.

During the stretch of time from picking a green leaf, until it fully yellows, high humidity slows the yellowing and improves the quality. So far as I know, high humidity in this stage does not darken the leaf. Low humidity at this stage will give you dried green leaf.

Once it is fully yellow, but not yet totally dried, high humidity darkens the leaf and promotes mold.

So, once the leaf has yellowed, you can dry it to a crisp. If the environment is contrary to slowly yellowing the leaf by hanging (too dry or too cool), then pile-curing may help. Once it's yellowed, hang it promptly to dry.

The differences between these two stages is that the leaf must remain alive in order to yellow. The leaf can be allowed to die (dry out or freeze) after it has fully yellowed.

Bob

 

[Bika]

So if i cure in 80% humidity I should be ok correct?

 

[deluxestogie]

So if i cure in 80% humidity I should be ok correct?

During the yellowing phase, yes. During the browning phase, 80% RH is risky, unless the RH is allowed to drop significantly every couple of days.

Bob

 

[Bika]

During the Browning phase "fermenting correct" it needs to be about 70% correct?

 

[deluxestogie]

During the Browning phase "fermenting correct" it needs to be about 70% correct?

Incorrect. Browning is the death of the leaf. The lower the humidity the better. After the leaf has yellowed in higher humidity, allow it to brown by drying naturally.

Once the leaf is brown, and crispy dry, you can either allow it to continue hanging (a few months to 1 year +), to age whenever the humidity and temperature happen to be conducive, or you can kiln the leaf to complete the process in 4 weeks. Inside the kiln, the temp should be 120 to 130ºF, with RH between 65 and 80%. Fermentation, per se, is a microbial process. Most leaf finishing (mislabeled "fermentation" in the cigar literature) utilizes active enzymes that are present within the dead leaf (rather than microbial enzymes), and requires some moisture to be active.

Bob

 

[BigBonner]

Bob
Is right . I leave my barn doors and fly windows open when the tobacco is first harvested , I close them if the weather is extremely foggy or rainy but opened during the day and open at nights if there is little to no fog . When the leaves cure from green to yellow and starts to brown . I close up my doors and windows to let it finish curing . If you let Burley just hang and dry fast it will not have the color it should have .

 

[LeftyRighty]

I don't stack/pile until it yellows - because I've had to many leaf go to near compost too quickly.

I stack ripe leaf - most showing splotchy yellowing or lightening of the green, while on the stalk.
It seems the the first day or two in the stack, the leaf goes back to a darker green, then starts to lighten in color or get the yellow spots back. As soon as most the leaf is showing lighter color green (sometimes almost pastel) and some yellowing color, then I hang to finish curing.
I've learned that if I leave yellowing leaf in the stack/pile, the yellow can quickly change to brown. This browning is not the color change you want - it is decompostion or compost.

 

[Bika]

Ok Im way confused... So I need to let the leaf yellow in high RH once it has yellowed let it dry out completely? If so why in all the videos you see like in Cuba, they let it hang and dry out then dampen it and bail it to ferment? Or am i missing a step or skipping ahead. Or just speaking different languages?

 

[DonH]

Ok Im way confused... So I need to let the leaf yellow in high RH once it has yellowed let it dry out completely? If so why in all the videos you see like in Cuba, they let it hang and dry out then dampen it and bail it to ferment? Or am i missing a step or skipping ahead. Or just speaking different languages?

I imagine it's pretty humid in Cuba, so hanging and drying would color cure. And, as I understand it, if the humidity is not too high, once it's color cured you can keep it hung in the same place to totally dry it out. Fermenting would be the next step in the process. But I haven't seen those videos of Cuba, are they drying it green then fermenting it?

 

[Bika]

Most of the videos I have seen come from south of the border. They will air dry it till it turn brown and the binder is dry then they mist them down to re-hydrate them and bail them to ferment. They never totaly let them dry out though. they are kinda of silky and stretchy at all times. Even when trying to get the binder to mostly dry out.

 

[Tom_in_TN]

Yeah, it's stays really humid in Cuba so they need to hang the leaves with some space between the leaves so they do not touch. Then the leaf color changes and it cures slowly until it turns a light golden brown, depends on the leaf too. Then the leaves are ready to be piled and 'fermented' or get the final curing.

So, in a nutshell, if the humidity is good and not too high or low, it will color cure OK, then it can be left to totally dry out. Then wait until it comes back into case to handle it or do anything with the leaves. The final step(s) is to kiln it for 30 days, then rest it 30 days and then it's ready to roll and smoke.

 

[Bika]

How do they prep it to rest for 30 days?

 

[johnlee1933]

Check out "chicken's grow log" for serious ideas and lots of pics.

John

 

[BarG]

I usually hang mine soon after picking. Be careful of to many rainy days in a row or you'll get mold with open air curing here, other wise for this climate the relative humidity goes from high at night to low afternoon enough to air cure your leaves without mold, When you factor in the high daytime temps.. I'm almost glad I got my crop in late for that reason. We nearly without fail have a dry august.

 

[Randy]

I have question about air curing the leaves?..I belive I understand the process of green-yellow-browning of the air-cured process,but the few leaves I have are turning brown color with-out the dry/crusty feel like you would thing a dried leaf would feel..they are changing from green to yellow..then starting to brown-up but still feel smooth like leather to the touch??? Im missing or somthing wrong? or way to soon to feel crumbly like..

Randy

 

[johnlee1933]

They won't feel crumbly till they dry out. You can always bring back the leather feel by adding moisture. I let mine hang till I need it. In the winter it is dry enough they crumble at a touch. I just spray them down and wait till they soften.

John

 

[Randy]

ok thks John,I was worried about to soon to be going from green-yellow-brown its only been week hanging in garge.

Randy

 

[johnlee1933]

ok thks John,I was worried about to soon to be going from green-yellow-brown its only been week hanging in garge.

Randy

Nope, That's the right order. It's when it stays green but is drying out you might be facing a problem.

John

 

[Randy]

I think really what got me was how fast they are color changing,I thought all this time it took weeks to run through the color "code" lol


Randy