What's the best way to dry a small amount of pipe tobacco to get ready for smoking?  

Do you load up a bowl and let it dry in the pipe, or do you put it out in a container/dish/jar/etc to let it dry before packing the pipe?

Any advice is appreciated.  THANKS!

There are a couple of ways to go about it depending on how much trouble you want to go to.

1) (hardest but best results):  Put some 'baccy in a dish and put it in the oven or toaster oven...175 degrees for about 10 minutes should do it.  This really brings out the flavor and aroma in the tobacco and is worth the effort.

2) Spread the 'baccy out on a sheet of paper and let it sit for a while...how long depends on how moist it is when you start and how dry you want it to be. 

I don't do (1)often becuase I don't have a toaster oven, and it's just so ineffiecient to use the big oven.   Another thing I do after doing either (1) or (2) is load 2 or 3 pipes and let them sit overnight, then I have them already loaded and ready to go the next day.  This is where having a pipe arsenal comes in handy.

Though I have been smoking pipes for several years, I still consider myself a  pipe newbie - I only smoke a pipe when my parents come to visit once a year.  I had no idea that the tobacco should be dried before smoking.

My father purchases various blends, but almost always some kind of black cavendish mix.  He takes pains to ensure that the tobacco stays moist, keeping a fairly high humidity (probably somewhere around 80%, sometimes maybe even higher).  Any time I have smoked with him, we pack our pipes (he has a special technique), we light up, and we enjoy.  Neither of us seem to have much trouble keeping it lit, I rarely notice any excessive heat (the Peterson P-Lip probably helps), and the flavors - to my untutored palate - seem to be robust for most of the blends he brings.

Having said all that, I am very curious now, and will try both your suggested drying techniques to see how it affects the experience.  The timing for this is great, as dad is soon coming to visit for a couple weeks.

The biggest issue I've had with too-moist tobacco is pipe gurgling.  But also, as mentioned above, toasting your tobacco really brings out the flavor (in my opinion).

I haven't been piping much lately...just being lazy I guess...not willing to put in the time it takes to pack a pipe and keep it burning.   However, I've everytime I look at my pipe rack I tell myself I should load one up and smoke it.

QuoteHot Stuff x - 6/13/2010  7:41 PM

The biggest issue I've had with too-moist tobacco is pipe gurgling.  But also, as mentioned above, toasting your tobacco really brings out the flavor (in my opinion).

I haven't been piping much lately...just being lazy I guess...not willing to put in the time it takes to pack a pipe and keep it burning.   However, I've everytime I look at my pipe rack I tell myself I should load one up and smoke it.

Ah! The gurgling pipe! That makes sense, but I had never connected it to the tobacco ... I just thought I had over-active salivary glands or something    I will certainly try drying it out now.  Thanks for the info!

QuoteHot Stuff x - 10/6/2009  3:26 AM

There are a couple of ways to go about it depending on how much trouble you want to go to.

1) (hardest but best results):  Put some 'baccy in a dish and put it in the oven or toaster oven...175 degrees for about 10 minutes should do it.  This really brings out the flavor and aroma in the tobacco and is worth the effort.

2) Spread the 'baccy out on a sheet of paper and let it sit for a while...how long depends on how moist it is when you start and how dry you want it to be. 

I don't do (1)often becuase I don't have a toaster oven, and it's just so ineffiecient to use the big oven.   Another thing I do after doing either (1) or (2) is load 2 or 3 pipes and let them sit overnight, then I have them already loaded and ready to go the next day.  This is where having a pipe arsenal comes in handy.

So I have been experimenting for the past week while on vacation.  It is interesting how much difference little details can make.  I discovered that if you leave the tobacco in the oven too long, even a full bowl will burn in a few short minutes    ... but if you do it right, it makes for an easy smoke that tastes great and lasts long enough.  I also discovered that pre-packing a bowl a day in advance can result in a similarly great smoke, as long as you can put it somewhere out of the traffic so it doesn't get dumped accidentally.  Using drier tobacco definitely helps reduce the gurgling pipe syndrome, and does seem to bring out some of the subtleties in the flavors.  But I still got the gurgles sometimes - could just be the high humidity in these parts, or my overactive salivaries.

I am not sure how to accurately tell the relative humidity of pipe tobacco, but it does make a difference.  Maybe what a guy needs is a hygrometer with a probe on it to better monitor and manage the various 'baccy bags in the kit.

I wonder what Anthony is up to...?

When did things change to where pipe tobacco was supposed to be dry?     My Dad used to be a pipe smoker.  I remember him storing his tobacco in a humidor with a flat bar-style humidifier in the lid.  The humidor was definitely made for pipe tobacco, as it had little racks in the sides that held three or four pipes.  He even had a couple of vial-type humidifiers he'd use in his pouches.  When I flirted with pipes in the 80's, I hated dry tobacco...

I've been smoking a pipe since the 80s.  I keep my pipe tobacco in plastic bags, in a humidor.  I just use distilled water in the hygrometer and it is usually in the mid 70s for humidity.  This is a great humidor to just open up and smell.  If I think about it ahead of time I will bring out a small amount of tobacco an hour or so before I want the pipe.  Then I fill out of the humidor and pack.  Do a second fill and pack.  Then put the dryer tobacco on top and pack.  That has worked for me for years.  If I don't think about it ahead of time I just go for it with the tobacco right out of the humidor with pefectly fine results.  I do have the occasional gurgling pipe.  I have never thought about drying the tobacco beforehand.  I image a rather fast and hot smoke, but you have all got me intrigued so I think I will have to give it a try.

Quotecmmayo - 6/29/2010  5:02 PM

I wonder what Anthony is up to...?

I sent him a PM a while back - he has been really busy with school.

Quotegitfiddl - 6/29/2010 8:00 AM When did things change to where pipe tobacco was supposed to be dry?

You want to keep you tobacco tins sealed an moist for storage, but it helps to dry it a bit prior to smoking.

It's comparable to dry-boxing a cigar before smoking...helps with burn and draw characteristics.

Yeah, I guess I didn't provide a very good context.  The tobacco is still stored with high humidity.  The drying part is in preparation for the smoke itself.

I am trying to figure out a way to tell the humidity of the tobacco after it has been dried.  There seems to be a sweet spot, but I can't say with any certainty what level of humidity it is at.  I found it really difficult to get things right when using the 175 degree oven technique.  Packing the pipe the night before seemed to provide more consistent results, but still didn't always hit it. Maybe with time and practice  

Yeah, the pack and leave overnight method works well...perhaps you could lightly toast the tobacco, pack your bowl then leave overnight?   A hybrid solution...may work well for you.

I'm pretty much brand new to pipe smoking, I picked up a couple corn cob pipes and a few 2oz bags of different blends last week.  Some of them seem like they're certainly too wet to smoke, but I'm having trouble with the less wet tobaccos as well.  I'm going to try drying out a bit and see if I get better results that way.

It may just be regular beginner's issues, but it seems like drying out a bit might be what I need to do because I can torch the bowl, get a big red cherry and tons of smoke, at a point where it is hotter than it probably should be, keep puffing every few seconds, and within a couple of minutes the bowl goes out anyway and I need to relight.

Last year, I got advice from Anthony about tobaccos and tried the pipe thing. We just didn't "click," me and the pipe.

Not the way cigars and I have fallen in love...

Speaking of cigar love...

A girl like that ... I would be happy to show her my perterson

Quotekola - 7/2/2010  11:07 AM

A girl like that ... I would be happy to show her my perterson

Yeah, but what do you do when she says, "That's not a peter, son, that's a Nub!" ?  

QuoteAlphairon - 7/2/2010  8:37 AM

Quotekola - 7/2/2010  11:07 AM

A girl like that ... I would be happy to show her my perterson

Yeah, but what do you do when she says, "That's not a peter, son, that's a Nub!" ?  

 

You've been talking to my wife, haven't you
     

QuoteLGT06 - 6/30/2010 3:42 AM I'm pretty much brand new to pipe smoking, I picked up a couple corn cob pipes and a few 2oz bags of different blends last week. Some of them seem like they're certainly too wet to smoke, but I'm having trouble with the less wet tobaccos as well. I'm going to try drying out a bit and see if I get better results that way. It may just be regular beginner's issues, but it seems like drying out a bit might be what I need to do because I can torch the bowl, get a big red cherry and tons of smoke, at a point where it is hotter than it probably should be, keep puffing every few seconds, and within a couple of minutes the bowl goes out anyway and I need to relight.

Sounds like two issues here...number one is you have to learn how to pack a bowl so it stays lit,  which is probably the biggest challenge for a new piper.   The other is you have to smoke slow to keep it cool (some people say to "sip" the smoke).

Pipe smoking is not for the impatient, which is probably why I don't do it much these days.

The packing technique that works best for me is to drop a bunch of tobacco on the bowl, then slowly work it into the bowl from the edges, then repeat as desired. The tobacco should be fairly firmly packed, but you should still be able to draw without too much resistance.  Les' suggestion of drying the tobacco helps with keeping it lit.  Use a tamper to pack the tobacco as it burns down.  Until you are well practiced, expect to have to relight occasionally.  Even died in the wool pipe smokers will have their pipe go out on them.

There's a good video series on you tube about how to pack using the German method.

Check it out here:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kJP0JaNRw6Q

I've been smoking pipes since I was 18, and I am now 22.  That's only 4 years, and I still definitely consider myself to be something of a pipe newbie.  I learn new techniques all the time, and I doubt I'll ever stop learning when it comes to pipe smoking.  

Just wanted to also state my love for the German method.  In somewhat large-bowled freehand pipes and my large CAO calabash, that pack works wonders.  I always had issues with keeping the pipe lit and getting a consistent a consistent pack until I learned the German method.  Occasionally I'll still use other methods (such as when I'm smoking flake), but generally the German method can't be beat.  It took a little bit of time to learn correctly, but it was all worth it.

I'm glad you revived this thread, Chris.   I just read through it again...lots of good info here.   I need to start smoking my pipes again.  Haven't had a bowl in a long time.