Quote Originally Posted by Commander Quan View Post
I'm just going to leave this here... http://www.glpease.com/Articles/vacuum.html
Hi Quan,

You need to man up and say I agree or disagree otherwise you're just pooping on my foot and running away .

This article is about a guy who knew exactly what he expected to find, did something (not scientific), in order to prove what he wanted to find. I don’t know what he did because he says nothing about the type of tobacco, moisture or any other details, except packaging, yet he still evaluates a (supposedly) vacuum sealed package where the tobacco has dried inside.....duh. The problem with the Internet is that someone writes garbage, others read it, some believe it and some poop it on other people's feet .

He implies that the 'fully vacuum sealed' package contains a Virginia. Of course Virginia marries (ages) very slowly and they need moisture but our scientist's bag was leaking and drying.

Let's assume that he had the palate and ability to properly relate the changes that he found the question remains, what did he find?

Oxygenation. Or breathing as it’s known in wine. I call it decanting and many manufacturers package their tobacco this way, including Pease. So it was about proving Pease’ packaging superiority?

In Chicago last year a friend graciously opened a tin of 1989 Elephant & Castle, The Stout that was packaged in a round, flat vacuum pressure tin. The tobacco was too old with it’s taste withered away as many have found with old latakia mixtures. At the same show I purchased a tin of 1996 McClelland #14 that was packaged with some air and no pressure as McClelland does. It was excellent but it wouldn’t have been if it was packaged the same way that The Stout was. It wasn't under pressure so it hadn't aged a lot.

Some posts/articles discuss not smoking very old tobacco (mostly pressure / vacuum tins with old VIrginia flake) and letting them sit for several days to several weeks. Oxygenation, breathing, decanting.

Pease, McClelland, C&D, Rattrays and many more pack with their tobacco decanted. I’m sure that they love tobacco in cellars but they make their tobacco (like wineries) to be consumed immediately. It may be a cultural/traditional thing because the pressure/vacuum tins seem to be mainly made outside the States. Decanted packaging is better right out of the tin while the vacuum/pressure will age better (but can age too much). This is a generality but you can be specific by understanding the type of tobacco that you’re storing and the techniques available to you.

Test my ideas with a latakia mixture in a vacuum/pressure tin where the changes will occur more rapidly. Open the tin and smoke a bowl. Loosen (fluff it out) the remainder to the consistency of a McClelland tin tobacco. Put it into a mason jar (no need to seal it with wax or even virgin’s sweat) and leave it for a few weeks. The air in the jar will suck moisture until it achieves stasis. Tumble the tobacco as much as you like. Try the tobacco and there will be a difference.

Claims that bulks and tins are different are probably based on decanting.

Pete