Thanks for the suggestion.
- hard to see through it
- the product lists no dimensions
Really Easy Perique Press
- Thread starter deluxestogie
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That looks similar to what I use. I bought 4 SS single walled coffee mugs (12 oz) from Ebay via China. Cost was a whopping $1.50 per mug. Right now one being put to use periquening Semois.
Here's a nice flat bottom one for less than a buck!... http://www.ebay.com/itm/Stainless-S...459011?hash=item3f759241c3:g:SBwAAOSwx2dYIKiL
Here's a nice flat bottom one for less than a buck!... http://www.ebay.com/itm/Stainless-S...459011?hash=item3f759241c3:g:SBwAAOSwx2dYIKiL
Another good suggestion. I'll probably just purchase another short acrylic jar (since I like being able to see through it), and be more careful with the applied pressure. The tall one that I'm currently using makes the whole rig more top heavy. OR...maybe I'll buy one of those SS mugs. (A nickel says that it's 4" diameter is the rim, rather than the walls, so my polypropylene follower wouldn't fit.) Change is hard.
Bob
Bob
Smokin Harley
Well-Known Member
this why I went ahead and built a wooden box to compress. The 4 ft oak board cost me about what you are expecting to pay for another acrylic jar . Build it to whatever dimensions you need and just line it with a gallon ziplock bag to be leak proof. No worries of cracking if you pre-drill and use long screws . Use your super human strength and tighten the clamps as much as possible.
greenmonster714
Well-Known Member
Yeah they do. You must have not seen the details tab. Do those big barrels used in LA have windows on them? Or is that just a personal feature you like to have? I'd like to try this someday but I've got a lot more to learn first.
Dimensions: 6.500 inches H x 5.000 inches W x 5.000 inches D
Smokin Harley
Well-Known Member
pretty much it ,too.
need to add/keep moisture or its just flake .
need to add/keep moisture or its just flake .
Smokin Harley
Well-Known Member
I had the Perique plug chilling in the garage all last week. Sliced up the rest of it by hand this morning and now have it in the oven on warm to dry it further. Kitchen smells like salty apricots/plums...wonderful !
Crack Perique
This is the final outcome of my batch of Habano Colorado Perique that suffered a catastrophic jar crack during its pressing. All of the thick, gooey liquid drained onto the floor, and was lost.
I transferred the leaf into a different jar of the same diameter, added some water, and continued the run. It should have been done 3 weeks ago, but I'm lazy. It was removed today.
The slab of Perique weighs about 1/2 pound wet. Diameter is 4 inches. It's a half-inch thick. I expect about 2 ounces of Perique, once it has dried down.
I will slice the slab into flake, allow it to dry some more, then rub it out for a final drying. The aroma is fruity and slightly barnyard. Perfect. I expect that it has lost some of its nicotine, but that's alright. It's principal role is to alter the pH of a pipe blend, and add aroma.
On Deck
I usually have to mist and bag hanging leaf, to bring it into high case for packing. This is a nuisance, and eats up a day. Since we have drizzle forecast for all day today, I just hung the prospects out on the porch, to soak up Mother Nature. This will be a generous batch: Habano Colorado, Moonlight, Metacomet and a tied hand of Red Rose. They range in age from the 2013 season to that of 2015. The Moonlight and Metacomet are shade wrapper varieties that weren't very useful when sun-grown, so they've just been hanging around in search of a purpose. The Red Rose is a cigar variety that sounded much better than it tasted. And the Habano Colorado smokes nothing like any Havana variety, and was a productive and interesting looking disappointment.
I'll stem these, prior to stuffing the press jar.
Bob
This is the final outcome of my batch of Habano Colorado Perique that suffered a catastrophic jar crack during its pressing. All of the thick, gooey liquid drained onto the floor, and was lost.
I transferred the leaf into a different jar of the same diameter, added some water, and continued the run. It should have been done 3 weeks ago, but I'm lazy. It was removed today.
The slab of Perique weighs about 1/2 pound wet. Diameter is 4 inches. It's a half-inch thick. I expect about 2 ounces of Perique, once it has dried down.
I will slice the slab into flake, allow it to dry some more, then rub it out for a final drying. The aroma is fruity and slightly barnyard. Perfect. I expect that it has lost some of its nicotine, but that's alright. It's principal role is to alter the pH of a pipe blend, and add aroma.
On Deck
I usually have to mist and bag hanging leaf, to bring it into high case for packing. This is a nuisance, and eats up a day. Since we have drizzle forecast for all day today, I just hung the prospects out on the porch, to soak up Mother Nature. This will be a generous batch: Habano Colorado, Moonlight, Metacomet and a tied hand of Red Rose. They range in age from the 2013 season to that of 2015. The Moonlight and Metacomet are shade wrapper varieties that weren't very useful when sun-grown, so they've just been hanging around in search of a purpose. The Red Rose is a cigar variety that sounded much better than it tasted. And the Habano Colorado smokes nothing like any Havana variety, and was a productive and interesting looking disappointment.
I'll stem these, prior to stuffing the press jar.
Bob
Beautifull black color !
Let us know if this "Habano Colorado Perique" is good !
I suppose you will do separated batch of perique with your different leaves (Habano Colorado, Moonlight, Metacomet and Red Rose) ? or you plan on mixing all in one ?
Let us know if this "Habano Colorado Perique" is good !
I suppose you will do separated batch of perique with your different leaves (Habano Colorado, Moonlight, Metacomet and Red Rose) ? or you plan on mixing all in one ?
My plan is to mix them all together. Since they will be sharing the same liquid that is squeezed from the ruptured cells, it should all become blended to their average strength and flavor. About half of the total leaf weight is Habano Colorado, and the other half will be roughly equal quantities of the remaining three varieties.
Other than the time required to initially load the pressing container with leaf, the size of the batch makes no difference in the amount of work required to make a batch. And because the tobacco for this batch comes from the land of neglected leaf, the risk of an untested blend is zero.
I have no doubt that it will just do what all my other Perique batches have done. It will come out dark and fruity--some time in late August.
Perique is such a wonderful blending ingredient in flue-cured pipe blends. And it requires very little skill and hardware to make it. [I wish making Latakia were so easy.]
Bob
Other than the time required to initially load the pressing container with leaf, the size of the batch makes no difference in the amount of work required to make a batch. And because the tobacco for this batch comes from the land of neglected leaf, the risk of an untested blend is zero.
I have no doubt that it will just do what all my other Perique batches have done. It will come out dark and fruity--some time in late August.
Perique is such a wonderful blending ingredient in flue-cured pipe blends. And it requires very little skill and hardware to make it. [I wish making Latakia were so easy.]
Bob
Packed Press Jar
I didn't count the leaves, but this batch is about 150 leaves. That's the equivalent of all the leaves from 7 or 8 plants. Compressed, it comes to roughly 1 quart (1 liter) volume.
In the photo, you can see the slight "rootbeer" foam at the top. The bubbles are formed by trapped air being physically squeezed from the mass of leaf.
Over the next week, I will need to frequently tighten the press, as the leaf gradually settles into a compact form.
Apparently, the whole story about Perique comes down to allowing a specific yeast, Pichia anomala, to take command. It requires a high osmolarity--high enough to suppress the growth of other microbes. So whatever grows in there early on doesn't matter much. As the expressed cellular contents thicken the liquid to a tarry goo, the Pichia will celebrate its competitive advantage, and begin the Perique transformation.
Bob
I didn't count the leaves, but this batch is about 150 leaves. That's the equivalent of all the leaves from 7 or 8 plants. Compressed, it comes to roughly 1 quart (1 liter) volume.
In the photo, you can see the slight "rootbeer" foam at the top. The bubbles are formed by trapped air being physically squeezed from the mass of leaf.
Over the next week, I will need to frequently tighten the press, as the leaf gradually settles into a compact form.
Apparently, the whole story about Perique comes down to allowing a specific yeast, Pichia anomala, to take command. It requires a high osmolarity--high enough to suppress the growth of other microbes. So whatever grows in there early on doesn't matter much. As the expressed cellular contents thicken the liquid to a tarry goo, the Pichia will celebrate its competitive advantage, and begin the Perique transformation.
Bob
In the past, I've estimated that a nice size batch would be a string of 40 large leaves (which is about 2 plants). When it is finally pressed in the container, it would come to a discouraging 1 inch thick. Sometimes a little more.
This time, I gathered enough leaf to possibly not even fit in the tall acrylic jar. Although I had to press it several times while packing the jar, every bit of leaf came to only 5". I would guess that it weighs about 2 pounds now.
When finished and dried, I expect this batch to be a little under a pound. For a Virginia/Perique blend that is 25% Perique, a pound of Perique will make up 4 pounds of the blend. So this represents, perhaps, a one to two year supply.
As a side note, while I was stemming the Red Rose, I was reminded why the leaf had been ignored for 2 years. Each and every leaf had bug holes, dead aphids, blotching of the color--just generally low quality leaf. The others were aphid free, but the Metacomet was blotched as well--not great for a wrapper, and the Moonlight had a lot of tiny holes. Only the Habano Colorado was beautiful leaf, but that specific variety is neither fish nor fowl. It is cigar-stinky when smoked in a pipe, but doesn't taste like cigar tobacco when used as filler. So if the entire batch turns to rot, the only major loss is the time that was required to stem 150 leaves and stuff them into the jar.
Bob
This time, I gathered enough leaf to possibly not even fit in the tall acrylic jar. Although I had to press it several times while packing the jar, every bit of leaf came to only 5". I would guess that it weighs about 2 pounds now.
When finished and dried, I expect this batch to be a little under a pound. For a Virginia/Perique blend that is 25% Perique, a pound of Perique will make up 4 pounds of the blend. So this represents, perhaps, a one to two year supply.
As a side note, while I was stemming the Red Rose, I was reminded why the leaf had been ignored for 2 years. Each and every leaf had bug holes, dead aphids, blotching of the color--just generally low quality leaf. The others were aphid free, but the Metacomet was blotched as well--not great for a wrapper, and the Moonlight had a lot of tiny holes. Only the Habano Colorado was beautiful leaf, but that specific variety is neither fish nor fowl. It is cigar-stinky when smoked in a pipe, but doesn't taste like cigar tobacco when used as filler. So if the entire batch turns to rot, the only major loss is the time that was required to stem 150 leaves and stuff them into the jar.
Bob
ArizonaDave
Well-Known Member
Very interesting thread and read. I've been seriously contemplating growing Habano Colorado, and a flavor report from you would be helpful? Although I've not committed to making my own Perique yet, your thread here is the best documented on the subject I've seen, and would definitely use this guide.
mwaller
Well-Known Member
Packed Press Jar
I didn't count the leaves, but this batch is about 150 leaves. That's the equivalent of all the leaves from 7 or 8 plants. Compressed, it comes to roughly 1 quart (1 liter) volume.
In the photo, you can see the slight "rootbeer" foam at the top. The bubbles are formed by trapped air being physically squeezed from the mass of leaf.
Over the next week, I will need to frequently tighten the press, as the leaf gradually settles into a compact form.
Apparently, the whole story about Perique comes down to allowing a specific yeast, Pichia anomala, to take command. It requires a high osmolarity--high enough to suppress the growth of other microbes. So whatever grows in there early on doesn't matter much. As the expressed cellular contents thicken the liquid to a tarry goo, the Pichia will celebrate its competitive advantage, and begin the Perique transformation.
Bob
Hi Bob -
How did the perique from cigar leaves turn out? I'm thinking of making some Corojo 99 perique... good idea, or...?
Do you remove the central veins before pressing?
Thanks!
That batch finished several of weeks ago, and I've had the opportunity to smoke some of it. It is distinctly mustier than my other, fruity batches, but it does not smell like cigar. It's nicotine load is potent. So, to answer your primary question, using a cigar variety (or four) to make Perique gives you Perique--hefty Perique. So it is simply used in a lower ratio in pipe blending.
I've smoke a couple of bowls of it straight. Yowzah! But...but...St. James Parish Perique is even rougher when smoked straight.
As far as stemming the leaf ahead of time, it doesn't matter with the pressure process at all. However, I've found it something of a nuisance to remove the really thick portions of the stem after it's done processing. So, I suggest a quick froglegging of the leaf on its way into the press container, or just stemming it entirely. I guess that if I owned a beast of a shredder--one that could easily handle thick stems, then I would leave the stems in for ease of manipulation.
For this large, mixed batch, I tossed most of the still soggy Perique into a 3 pound plastic cheese box (that seals!), and stored it in the fridge uncut. Whenever I have the energy to fuss with it, I peel out a wet slab, and slice it like a plug. Then I rub it out, and dry it on a cookie sheet that rests on a seedling heat mat.
Even in the fridge, the Pichia anomala yeast continues to grow--very slowly. So this evening, when opening the cheese box, it actually had a nicer, fruitier aroma than when I put it in.
Perique is really strange stuff.
Bob
EDIT: To obtain a similar cheese box, go to a Middle-Eastern grocer or Yuppie cheese boutique, and look for Genuine Bulgarian Sheep's Milk Cheese in a 3 pound box (~$12). It used to be called Feta, until Greece threw a tantrum.
mwaller
Well-Known Member
Hmmm... This may be worth a try, though I'm not sure musty is what I'm after. I will say that I've never found a cigar or pipe to be too strong, so perhaps this will kick things up a notch...
Do you think Florida Sumatra would make a good, less musty perique?
Do you think Florida Sumatra would make a good, less musty perique?
The first little tin of genuine St. James Parish Perique that I ever smelled was a little over 45 years ago. My olfactory memory of my first impression was "barnyard". But all Perique is a blend of fruity/grapey and barnyard. The more that Pichia anomala yeast can predominate (cool "indoor" temps and high osmolarity--that is very thick liquid) to fruitier it becomes. All of my own Perique, including this last batch, and all of the Perique samples made by other FTT members (many distributed by jitterbugdude for a comparison a few years ago) is fruitier than St. James Parish Perique. Every batch is different.
But when you blend any Perique into a pipe mixture (with flue-cured VA, Orientals and maybe Latakia), it loses its barnyard notes, and even some of its fruitiness, and expands the aromas of the other ingredients, and merges to create magic. It's remarkable how it comes out. And it makes the tongue bite of the flue-cured components vanish.
Just tonight, I shredded some of my own 2017 flue-cured VA Bright Leaf tips, which had a reddish-brown color. When smoked alone, the flavors and aroma were were rich and deep, but it caused ferocious tongue bite. I then added some of my latest Perique to about 40% of the blend. Bingo! Tongue bite gone. Flavors broader. I'm puffing it in a small Stanwell briar as I type this.
Perique is expensive to purchase, and cheap as dirt to make yourself.
Bob
But when you blend any Perique into a pipe mixture (with flue-cured VA, Orientals and maybe Latakia), it loses its barnyard notes, and even some of its fruitiness, and expands the aromas of the other ingredients, and merges to create magic. It's remarkable how it comes out. And it makes the tongue bite of the flue-cured components vanish.
Just tonight, I shredded some of my own 2017 flue-cured VA Bright Leaf tips, which had a reddish-brown color. When smoked alone, the flavors and aroma were were rich and deep, but it caused ferocious tongue bite. I then added some of my latest Perique to about 40% of the blend. Bingo! Tongue bite gone. Flavors broader. I'm puffing it in a small Stanwell briar as I type this.
Perique is expensive to purchase, and cheap as dirt to make yourself.
Bob
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