Adventures in home rolling
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Looks delicious buddy!
Here is some Paraguay Flojo Viso. 3 weeks of fermentation.Ammonia was down to almost undetectable levels. Now smells incredible...
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I mentioned my latest experiment involves applying an aqueous solution of ammonia carbonate and water. No flavoring. This sort of kick starts the fermentation process. After several weeks of fermentation the tobacco can be brought to higher temps which causes the ammonia to evaporate. After the ammonia evaporates there is no trace left and only the odor of sweet tobacco remains. Then the temps can be raised to darken the leaf to as dark a color as you want. (higher temps kill the enzymes that cause the fermentation.)
Smokepoleobsession, what temp is your leaf kept? How wet is it when you put it in? It would seem the color change is caused by heat.
For those who are interested this is a great paper written in 1882 explaining the process. The best I've found. This fellow, Charles Philips, cracked the code. This also explains the glass steam rooms I've seen being used in current day Cuban cigar videos. Gives a good understanding for those interested in further experiments in petuning.
https://archive.org/stream/tobaccocuringres00phil#page/n3/mode/2up
Smokepoleobsession, what temp is your leaf kept? How wet is it when you put it in? It would seem the color change is caused by heat.
For those who are interested this is a great paper written in 1882 explaining the process. The best I've found. This fellow, Charles Philips, cracked the code. This also explains the glass steam rooms I've seen being used in current day Cuban cigar videos. Gives a good understanding for those interested in further experiments in petuning.
https://archive.org/stream/tobaccocuringres00phil#page/n3/mode/2up
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That's a hell of a read. Seems to be no end to the fascinating antique tobacco documents now available thanks to the good people at the internet.
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My box stays at 110 deg. in the middle. Its a couple deg higher at the top and a couple deg lower at the bottom. Moisture content will play a roll in how dark the leaf is as well. If you "wet" the leaf rather than just dampening it, you will get darker leaf.The moisture must be evenly distributed or you will get an uneven color as was the case in some of my first attempts. I also have found that if any moisture collects in the bottom of the jar, any leaf that comes in contact with it will be darker than the rest. There is a balance that must be struck with the moisture/heat and the thickness of the leaf. A heavier thicker leaf can take much more moisture, but a thinner wrapper need less.Because the leaf is literally breaking down you can destroy delicate wrapper leaf if you are not carefull. There also my be a connection between moisture content and oil content on the finished leaf. I am experimenting with some leaf using just water rather than my usual mixture. I also am experimenting to see if a heavy thick leaf can be broken down by higher heat/moisture content to the degree that it comes out thinner. I used some "one sucker" as my test leaf and it looks very promising.It has become the most gorgeous red/brown color. It is still fermenting as it needs to loose more of it's leathery texture but it,s looking good so far.Before fermentation the stuff was so thick and tough I doubt it would have even burned worth a dam.
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Oh for sure. I have only tried a couple sticks. All of them have been very promising.No age on any of them so too soon to realy give a fair evaluation but when I go back and smoke an unfermented stick rolled months ago they just dont compare. I do find also the fermenting can really help improve the burn on the thicker leaf.
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Here is a shot of the "one sucker" Unfortunately the pic does not do it justice.It is now turning reddish/black. I was originally going to throw this out but I am glad I didnt.Its well on its way to becoming some beautiful wrapper.It should be similar to the broadleaf in texture but different in color. Likely another week yet in the box to get it to the texture I,m after. I have also decided to change my process somewhat.The only downside I have found to using jars is that you must roll the leaf up to fit it in.It makes for a lot of time spent flattening the leaf for rolling.Now it will do the bulk of its time in the jars and be sealed in double plastic and pressed flat for its final week or so.This will leave the leaf much closer to ready for rolling and should alow any remaining traces of ammonia to escape through the plastic.
Questions for any of you experience rolls out there - would any of you mind sharing for leaf prep techniques? This will be helpful for when I get started, but I was thinking about starting a Beginners Guide thread like what was up on the bliss forum (unless one of you want to start the thread and cut out the middle man lol). I figured I could just include links or the info you guys share on leaf prep, approximations on how many leafs to get to a few different rgs, bunching and wrapping techniques, @Gdaddy videos, etc. Just a central place for some instruction and guidance for those of us who don't yet know what the hell we are doing lol.
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Filler you want just moist enough not to break into pieces while working with it. Binder needs to be moist enough to flatten easily and stretch some without tearing. Wrapper just slightly higher moisture than binder. It's hard to explain without having the leaf in your hand to feel but it's something that is picked up easily imo. It's best to gently spray the binder and wrapper gently and keep in a bag overnight for the moisture to evenly distribute through the leaf. Thinner leaf preps faster, but also tends to be much more fragile and not as stretchy.
I'm finding this works very well with wrapper. Very fine mist front and back, little extra on the stem to draw up the leaf, as per @blisscigarco, then let it sit over night. Makes a strong, stretchy wrapper.
Here's my question, how do you fight veins? It seems unavoidable in my case. I roll the veins out with some copper tubing, but they are definitely still prominent.
Example:
Front
Back
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Check it out, those guys at Martinez cigars had a little interview post about themselves: http://gearpatrol.com/2015/06/12/how-to-roll-a-cigar/
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I document all my leaf prep techniques on my youtube page.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKQPvIbslAFFDYDGi-EivRQ
The handle of my kitchen shears is slightly rounded and works well to flatten large veins. If the vein is straight it works best, then a stretch as tight as possible. Leaf like San Andres that has veins that wind all over are impossible for me to get completely flat on the backside, but the front usually comes out pretty goodI'm finding this works very well with wrapper. Very fine mist front and back, little extra on the stem to draw up the leaf, as per @blisscigarco, then let it sit over night. Makes a strong, stretchy wrapper.
Here's my question, how do you fight veins? It seems unavoidable in my case. I roll the veins out with some copper tubing, but they are definitely still prominent.
Example:
Front
Back
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Very awesome. I love the description of a fresh cigar as tasting like "wet laundry." True.
I adore my 44 rg mold, I'll never need anything bigger. However, he still has a 50...
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My 44 from Martinez is awesome and is used almost daily. The 40 ring has 4 damaged slots but with a few rotations they all wind up working. Now I'm kinda wishing I would have got two 44s as I'm loving that size the most. Also wanting to really increase production to be able to justify building or buying a press.