@USHOG gave me a good reminder today about the issues beetles pose with the leaf we get to roll our sticks with. This came right as I was reading a thread about beetles and how to treat cigars to reduce or eliminate the risk of beetles destroying our sticks. What a lucky group we have here as Steve Saka chimed in on temps and times for freezing. I took the opportunity to ask if freezing should be done before or after rolling and figured I would share his reply here:
"You can do either, however leaf damage can be an issue. Best get the leaf around 70% rh, pack in one of those mega large ziplock flat and freeze... I would experiment with just a hand first before going hog wild. Be gentle when pulling it out, support it well as frozen leaf is easier to crack."
Now I just need a bigger freezer... Ha!