My infused experiment...

[MataFina]

Nice, I like how the are pretty much covered. My has about an inch of finely ground beans on the bottom but the sticks are upright. I added a pic of my set up on post #1...

I threw this together this afternoon:







I'll give it a few weeks and report back.

[Browns7213]

Good to know. I enjoy infused sticks in the early morning (my commute is from 5-6)- this might be a nice way to do it. As much as I enjoy some of the lines, they're too expensive for PCs, IMO.

Funny, I was just thinking about how expensive the infused sticks are getting for what they are. Last time I bought a 10-pack of Tabak Especial they were $3.90 a cigar, now I can't seem to find a 5er on the auction sites for less than $5.50 each and the price for Java's is just totally outta hand. Looks like I'm getting into the infused business.

[Tobias Lutz]

I threw this together this afternoon:







I'll give it a few weeks and report back.

UPDATE:

After three weeks time I smoked the smallest vitola and discovered, sadly, that not much "infusion" had taken place. Yes, the wrapper took on a coffee note, but upon lighting, it almost completely dissipated. I highly suspect that a higher rh is required for this kind of flavor transfer to take place. Since extended periods at a high rh would result in mold, I imagine this is why spray topping of the leaf is the way to go. I plan on leaving these in the container until I get around to smoking them all, but I don't expect much. This also makes me wonder about how susceptible your non-infused sticks really are to picking up "infused cooties" from flavored sticks in the same humidor. If these cigars can be buried in beans for 3 weeks, and yield VERY little nuance, I wonder how much a Java, or even an Acid Kuba Kuba, on the bottom of your humidor, at 60rh, can really do to the Opus X on the top shelf. I know, heresy, but I call them as I experience them

[Lynn]

for years cigar guys have told me not to keep flavored cigars in with my regular cigars, because they would affect my other cigars. Ive never found that to be the case in 20ct or a 50ct. I believe this is some old wives tale to sell more humi's, never had a cigar taste like cherry or anything else by keeping them together in cello....but I do listen politely as they tell me the story...to infuse cigars you need a liquid base, I have found myself that air contact just does not do the job...I mostly use the cold smoke method..which is to keep liquid soaked cigars at 120 degrees for a two to three month period in zip lock bags, with the air removed(vacuum packing works well) I use a water bed heater mat around the inside of a picnic cooler. the thermostat controller will maintain the correct heat, and a small drilled hole in the bottom gets the cord in, and a thermometer will tell you if it needs to be adjusted. I use this same system for cooking the wine I make, after that I air dry on oven racks in the gas oven with only the pilot light for heat, till I can feel no moister. then I put them on the racks outside for the air to wick them dry, putting them back into the gas oven at night for two to three days.....just an old low tech. way but it works....heavy brandy or rum works best...if you are interested there is a article called pressure cooking cigars on the net, basically just what Ive been doing for years...use cheap cigars to start and then move to more expensive if you want, I use $1.00 cigars in case something happens and then Im only out $15.00 on a bundle. Maybe this will help...loved watching your experiment....

[Desertlifter]

What Lynn said. I keep my Acid review sticks in the same tupperdore as the rest, albeit in ziplock bags. I don't get any crossover from the infused into my regular sticks, but I do notice that the infused sticks lose a lot of their essence. That makes little sense, but they do.

[Bruck]

FWIW, what Graycliff does to make their Espresso line is rest them in a humidor cabinet for about 6 months along with a few bowls of coffee beans. I don't know if they do anything else to impart the coffee hints.

[MataFina]

Funny to see your update...I logged in to post my own...so today, after almost one month (cigars went in the jar on the 17th of last month) I pulled the first Bahia Blue to try it...the last two Arganese I had there smoked wonderfully.

After cleaning the coffee grounds form the stick, I was disappointed that no coffee smell was detectable, once lit, the feeling was the same....nothing, NADA, sad, sad, sad...I under if the sticks need to have a hint of a coffee note to begin with.
I'm not ready to give up just yet...just need to figure out what made one cigar work and not the other...experimenting is the name of the game.

UPDATE:

After three weeks time I smoked the smallest vitola and discovered, sadly, that not much "infusion" had taken place. Yes, the wrapper took on a coffee note, but upon lighting, it almost completely dissipated. I highly suspect that a higher rh is required for this kind of flavor transfer to take place. Since extended periods at a high rh would result in mold, I imagine this is why spray topping of the leaf is the way to go. I plan on leaving these in the container until I get around to smoking them all, but I don't expect much. This also makes me wonder about how susceptible your non-infused sticks really are to picking up "infused cooties" from flavored sticks in the same humidor. If these cigars can be buried in beans for 3 weeks, and yield VERY little nuance, I wonder how much a Java, or even an Acid Kuba Kuba, on the bottom of your humidor, at 60rh, can really do to the Opus X on the top shelf. I know, heresy, but I call them as I experience them