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Gold Specks

bballbaby

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So i got this coolerdor that's plumb full. Nearly everything in it has been in there for at least 8 months. I use heartfelt 65% beads and everything is stored in either original boxes or spare boxes. I have to remoisturize the beads about once every couple months. I rarely smoke anything out of it and i open it about once a week.

It's doing a wonderful job and is extremely stable; EXTREMELY.

ANyhow, the vast majority of them are starting to develop a gold sparkle to them when you hold them in light. This is mostly occuring on the more oily, darker wrappers; oscuros, habanos, rosados, sungrowns, etc. It's happening on expensive and cheap cigars alike; it is indiscriminatory. and the boxes at the bottom that are opened less frequently are developing more specks than those at the top that i am more likely to open.

I'm guessing that, since plume is crystalized oils, these gold specks are the oils that are migrating to the suface of the cigars, and given more time, they will turn into that whitish crystal.

Is this assumption correct? The gold specks are the start plume?

THoughts? Opinions?

And NO, i will not be duped into sending them out to you guys for proper verification and resulting disposal.
 

Mitch

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Sounds like plume to me, is it crystal like? I don't think of plume as white crystals, more like off white, and starts out looking like a light dusting of powdered sugar.
 

bballbaby

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mitch, there's really not much size to it. you can't really see it unless you turn the cigar in the light and the light hits it. If you turn it real fast it would look like twinkling gold lights.
 

njstone

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I've been getting some "stuff" on some of my sticks too. I've WAY parinoid about mold because I had 2 occurrences when I was using the cheaper beads/gel stuff (since switching to Heartfelt beads--no problems whatsoever!).

But this isn't mold either, more like an occasional sprinkling of barely-white powder. You can hardly even see it--and sometimes it has the same "sparkle" that bballbaby mentioned. Not all over and not every stick, just here and there. I'm keeping a close eye, but I'm hoping it's just normal aging.
 

Mitch

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It's rare I see any plume with lots of mass, even the super old stuff I have in celo, you get down to a new layer in a box and go wow, there is huge plume on those cigars in the tiny areas where there were gaps between the cigars, but as soon as you pick up one of those sticks, all the big crystals are gone, they just can't handle any movement or touching at all. If you are seeing a fine powder evenly spread out and it catches light like a crystal, then Bingo you got plume.
 
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Gale I believe it is plume forming. I've had lots of cigars have a strange sparkle from time to time that did not have that sparkle in the past. I also have a cooler that has boxes in it that I basically only check on the beads at this point.
 

bballbaby

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Gale I believe it is plume forming. I've had lots of cigars have a strange sparkle from time to time that did not have that sparkle in the past. I also have a cooler that has boxes in it that I basically only check on the beads at this point.

Boy wouldn't i love to have a peak inside that box?!?!
 
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Hey if you come to PA for Cigarfest you can meet up with me first and I can let you peak in there. Nothing impressive. Now if you're talking dirty then...umm....well....
 

bballbaby

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lol

Seriously, laughing out loud.

crackin me up.

last time i used that line..."i'd love to have a peak inside that box" the chick slapped me
 

indyrob

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Plume is definately cool. Smoking a cigar on a sunny day and giving it a twist as you're smoking it so you can see it sparkle is a way cool experience.

Sometimes you can get patchy plume on a cigar that is naturally splotchy- like some of Litto's Oscuro wrappers. I have had it happen yet but I suspect it will happen at some point in time.
 

CWS

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Sounds like the secret Wonka plume only found in very few locations. :innocent:

If it sparkles, it is cyrstals and if it is crystals it is plume. Good job.
 

bballbaby

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Sounds like the secret Wonka plume only found in very few locations. :innocent:

If it sparkles, it is cyrstals and if it is crystals it is plume. Good job.
WooHoo!!!! THat's what i wanted to here!!!

I got a cooler full of cigars that are properly aging. and at the rate i'm going, theyre gonna get at least a few more years of age before i get to them. :drool:

I've probably got 14 boxes in it that have all been acclamated to the 65% RH so i spray my little bag of beads that's maybe 1/4 pound about once every 3 months. THe thing is super stable. much MUCH more so than my desktops.
 

WhiteLightning

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You know, I was wondering the same thing Gale. I pulled out a La Riqueza #1 the other day I had noticed some sparkle to the wrapper. They been sitting for about 5 months now. Pretty quick I guess.
 
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