Vacuum Sealing

[Pugsley]

How well does vacuum sealing in plastic bags work? Does it affect the aging process in a negative or positive way? I have a vacuum sealer and with all these new FDA regs I'm considering buying in large bulk amounts, (which I've never done before), and putting it aside for later use. Do the plastic bags impart a flavor over long term storage? I know I could use canning jars but the bags seem like a better option in terms of storage space. What say you?

[OnePyroTec]

That would be a great question for Russ at P&C.

[Haebar]

Here's what a blog on tobaccopipes.com says about it:

Cellaring Tobacco: The Dos and Don’ts - TobaccoPipes.com (http://www.tobaccopipes.com/blog/cellaring-tobacco-the-dos-and-donts/)

Do NOT Store In Plastic
One of the worst crimes a smoker can commit is to store their tobacco in plastic long term.

People believe it is OK to store tobacco in plastic, mostly because when they buy tobacco from their local tobacconist, they store the tobacco in a plastic bag. The intent behind that bag is that you take it home and store it in a jar, or that you smoke it relatively quickly. We are never given plastic bags to keep as storage containers.

The chemicals in the tobacco will begin to erode part of the plastic. This is then absorbed into the tobacco (not good). On top of that, the plastic will itself absorb the tobacco. It will begin to ghost (change colors). Just like how you store chili in a tub container, and after a few weeks the container is no longer clear, but brown, your tobacco will do the same.

“Pounds of tobacco are often delivered to shops in plastic”, you may say.

The truth is is these plastic bags have been chemically engineered to store tobacco for up to five years. So they are safe from the effect.


I don't know if you remember about the 5 lbs. of bulk Dunhill My Mixture that I purchased at the Nashville Pipe Show last year that was unsmokable. It had been stored in the original bag for about 10 years and bit like nobody's business. I ended up giving it to Lostmason who tried various remedies and wasn't able to improve it. Anyway, my theory is that the casings reacted with the plastic bag and created some nasty contaminant that tainted the tobacco.

[Pugsley]

Well ...... so much for that idea.

[OnePyroTec]

Wonder if there is any study on the mylar/metalized plastic food bags? https://www.uline.com/BL_5552/Food-Bags
Esoterica has been using the mylar/metalized plastic bags for some time. Before that, they used plastic. Makes me wonder how good some of this is anymore after reading the report.
Pipestuds Consignment Shop (http://www.pipestud.com/301/5501.html)

[Tgs679]

Mylar

[Aguineapig]

You can cram quite a bit into mason jars. Flakes are also another obvious choice for effeciency sake. I have 20 lbs cellared now, 99% of which is in jars, and it can get kind of expensive to buy jars. if I were to do it over again, I'd just cellar everything in quart jars. Now I only put the stuff prone to age really, really well long term in 8 ounce jars, since I don't need to interrupt aging for more than a few ounces. Everything else is going in quart jars.

[Lostmason]

Just to chime in my two cents, that tobacco Tab sent, I don't really remember the flavors.
But, I do remember the burning numbness. Tried washing it and letting it dry, no go.
No amount of drying time helped. It was saturated with that chemicle number.
You know with meats you wrap in wax paper then foil, maybe a wax paper pouch with
the tobacco then slide it in a vacuum bag.

[indigosmoke]

If you do vacuum seal, you may want to leave a little air in the bag to allow the tobacco to age. Per this from GLP:

"Vacuum sealing is great for vegetables and coffee, but is pointless for tobacco. Tobacco needs some air to be locked in with it , at least to begin with, in order for it to age. A perfectly vacuum sealed container will likely keep the tobacco "fresh," but it may not really age the way we expect it to. I'm more than a little suspicious about the heavy plastic "bags" used by most of these machines. They hold moisture in just fine, but they really don't prevent gas exchange, and I'm not sure they're truly able to stand the test of time. Tins are best. Jars are a close second. The special high barrier bags we used for a while for our 8oz packaging have several layers, each designed to be impenetrable to a different sort of molecule. I've conducted extended tests with this material, and am satisified that the tobacco will age nearly, if not as well as in the tins, at least for the short term. They are only slightly evacuted to facilitate packing and sealing. For best long-term aging, though, I still recommend tins." - GLP

[Pugsley]

In addition to the new FDA regs there's another reason to start buying in bulk soon. On the ballot here in California is Proposition 56 which is expected to pass by a wide margin. This is from the official voter's guide:

" A YES vote on this measure means: State excise tax on cigarettes would increase by $2 per pack—from 87 cents to $2.87. State excise tax on other tobacco products would increase by a similar amount. State excise tax also would be applied to electronic cigarettes."

Everything is about to get a lot more expensive.

[Bruck]

Good info, tnx, y'all.

I've been using the plastic containers that Chinese take-out soup comes in (with a piece of tape over the little hole they poke in the top), for some of my tobaccos. Perhaps I should scrounge up / invest in some more jars and ditch the plastic.

Granted, I just keep short-term tobacco for semi-immediate use, but over time, short-term tends to become long-term :)

[Aguineapig]

In addition to the new FDA regs there's another reason to start buying in bulk soon. On the ballot here in California is Proposition 56 which is expected to pass by a wide margin. This is from the official voter's guide:

" A YES vote on this measure means: State excise tax on cigarettes would increase by $2 per pack—from 87 cents to $2.87. State excise tax on other tobacco products would increase by a similar amount. State excise tax also would be applied to electronic cigarettes."

Everything is about to get a lot more expensive.

Yes, it's not just losing some of the newer great blends due to the FDA deeming date. Taxation is my bigger concern, along with my favorite companies potentially closing due to cost of manufacturer etc.. Up in new brunswick Canada, a pouch of Amphora is about 35 dollars. Australia and new zealand are much worse. And if US prices go, we don't have the luxury that Canucks do, to buy in the US and bring it back, or aussies ordering from 4noggins etc. It'd be a game changer.

I've been stocking up on inexpensive, meat and potatoes bulk from D&R, Stokkebye and C&D for a few years. wish I had more than 20lbs but it's better than nothing.

[Pugsley]

Yes, it's not just losing some of the newer great blends due to the FDA deeming date. Taxation is my bigger concern, along with my favorite companies potentially closing due to cost of manufacturer etc.. Up in new brunswick Canada, a pouch of Amphora is about 35 dollars. Australia and new zealand are much worse. And if US prices go, we don't have the luxury that Canucks do, to buy in the US and bring it back, or aussies ordering from 4noggins etc. It'd be a game changer.

I've been stocking up on inexpensive, meat and potatoes bulk from D&R, Stokkebye and C&D for a few years. wish I had more than 20lbs but it's better than nothing.


I have hundreds of tins of tobacco, which has always been my preferred method of buying and aging it, but I wonder how long it would last if I could no longer afford to replace it. It seems the smart move is to change my ways and buy in bulk now while I still can.

[Aguineapig]

I have hundreds of tins of tobacco, which has always been my preferred method of buying and aging it, but I wonder how long it would last if I could no longer afford to replace it. It seems the smart move is to change my ways and buy in bulk now while I still can.

I bought some tins at the beginning before realizing how drastic the difference was in terms of cost/oz. I traded most of them away, so I wouldn't fall in love with tin only offerings. Especially if you are vigilant and catch the good deals, it's a huge difference even factoring in jars. I got 5 lbs of lane limited ready rubbed recently for a dollar an ounce with free shipping. I could have bought 8 pease tins, or a few more of something cheaper like orlik, but instead I ended up with 5 times the ounceage. Then came 5lbs of D&R tobaccos for 87 shipped. IT's all about watching for the good deals. McClellands I don't care for, and they were (for a while) almost twice as spendy as C&D, and you ended up getting more water weight with the McC due to more humectant use in their bulks, so it's easy to spend a ton on bulk too, but not as much so. On deck sometime is a 5lb bag of Macbaren Golden extra, just waiting for the coupon codes necessary to get it under 120$. the list goes and on with regards to great economical gems.

I do think baccy ages a little bit nicer in the tins, but not enough to make up for the cost difference give that I am an extreme penny pincher. Unfortunately I did fall for Pease Key largo, so I'll need to grab a few tins of that =D

[droy1958]

I've been buying in pounds thinking I could store them as is...

[Haebar]

I've been buying in pounds thinking I could store them as is...

Well, if it's any consolation, now is a good time to buy canning jars... businesses are trying to unload them to make space for Christmas items. I got a heck of a deal on some Ball Mason quart jars last weekend at Big Lots. The store had canning supplies marked down 20% and they also had one of those store-wide 20% off sales so I got several cases of the quart jars for just $7.00 a piece. A quart jar will hold approximately 8 oz. of tobacco. The more dense the tobacco, the more you can fit in.

[Rocket Scientologist]

Do NOT Store In Plastic
One of the worst crimes a smoker can commit is to store their tobacco in plastic long term.


I don't know if you remember about the 5 lbs. of bulk Dunhill My Mixture that I purchased at the Nashville Pipe Show last year that was unsmokable. It had been stored in the original bag for about 10 years and bit like nobody's business. I ended up giving it to Lostmason who tried various remedies and wasn't able to improve it. Anyway, my theory is that the casings reacted with the plastic bag and created some nasty contaminant that tainted the tobacco.

Um, so I guess the various samples I got from the Noob Sampler Trade which have been in plastic baggies for...oh, a year or more, are bad now? I have noticed everything kinda tasted the same, you think that's the plastic or my inexperience?

[Haebar]

Um, so I guess the various samples I got from the Noob Sampler Trade which have been in plastic baggies for...oh, a year or more, are bad now? I have noticed everything kinda tasted the same, you think that's the plastic or my inexperience?

I wouldn't think they would have gone bad in that short period of time. The tobacco I was talking about had been stored in the same bag for probably 10 years or more. Although tobacco is shipped and sold in plastic bags, they are not intended for long term storage.

[Bruck]

Um, so I guess the various samples I got from the Noob Sampler Trade which have been in plastic baggies for...oh, a year or more, are bad now? I have noticed everything kinda tasted the same, you think that's the plastic or my inexperience?

C) they're probably too dry. Plastic bags don't hold humidity long term. (I assume you had them in bags outside the humidor but I could be wrong, heck .500 is a good day for me:))