Watch Timothy Torres on YouTube. He speaks briefly about this. Apparently it is quite common and may be responsible for some of the more interesting flavors we get in cigars.
Adventures in home rolling
- Thread starter BrewinHooligan
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- Mar 17, 2016
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From what I've read, citric acid at a mixture of 2% when added to tobacco makes the tobacco taste "smoother" and takes away some of the rough tasting edges.
Recipe: 2 grams citric acid to 100ml water.
Spray on tobacco and allow it to absorb
Recipe: 2 grams citric acid to 100ml water.
Spray on tobacco and allow it to absorb
This is the chemist in me talking right now, the citric acid will neutralize any left over ammonia. Thus, smoother, no ammonia tobacco.
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Of what I've read the ammonia is easily removed by heat. Once the ammonia is gone the remaining leaf has a PH that's alkaline. This makes the smoke harsh. The addition of citric acid lowers the PH making the smoke smoother. The best result is applying citric acid during the fermentation process. so it can sink deep into the leaf.
Great article on the addition of citric acid from the Scientific view from the agricultural department...
https://books.google.com/books?id=5XpBAQAAMAAJ&pg=RA1-PA27&lpg=RA1-PA27&dq=citric+acid+tobacco&source=bl&ots=OOXYDuaRFO&sig=iAY5-Kf9DbGYapxhYcBfHZTZjxE&hl=en&sa=X&ei=T0M3VJDNFaeIsQS764C4Bw&ved=0CEwQ6AEwBDgK#v=onepage&q=citric acid tobacco&f=false
https://books.google.com/books?id=5XpBAQAAMAAJ&pg=RA1-PA27&lpg=RA1-PA27&dq=citric+acid+tobacco&source=bl&ots=OOXYDuaRFO&sig=iAY5-Kf9DbGYapxhYcBfHZTZjxE&hl=en&sa=X&ei=T0M3VJDNFaeIsQS764C4Bw&ved=0CEwQ6AEwBDgK#v=onepage&q=citric acid tobacco&f=false
Damn, that's pretty slick!
Bunching some Brazilian Villains tonight.
New cigar press!
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This is what I did yesterday:
Well i like the professional look of yours better. Noticing that my bunches are slightly oval, so i grabbed a keg full of star San, probably about 35-45 pounds. That'll fix em
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Like your hydraulic press.
... but wouldn't a beer keg be better?
I have tried that big C clamp method on a mold; but I found it troublesome to do and awkward once done. Got me four draw latches from McMaster-Carr like so:
Which made it easy like so:
Recommended.
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... but wouldn't a beer keg be better?
I have tried that big C clamp method on a mold; but I found it troublesome to do and awkward once done. Got me four draw latches from McMaster-Carr like so:
Which made it easy like so:
Recommended.
Sent from my qwerty using tapakeggabrew
- Joined
- Mar 27, 2016
- Messages
- 532
Still my favorite concept!!! Can't wait to convert mine! ~xoxLike your hydraulic press.
... but wouldn't a beer keg be better?
I have tried that big C clamp method on a mold; but I found it troublesome to do and awkward once done. Got me four draw latches from McMaster-Carr like so:
Which made it easy like so:
Recommended.
Sent from my qwerty using tapakeggabrew
- Joined
- Mar 15, 2016
- Messages
- 75
Pics of my WLT dominican seco wrapper after 2 weeks in the box.It was a light green color when it went in.It is now a beautiful oily maduro.It will be aired out then put back in the box under lower heat and moisture for about another week to finish. It is still pumping out a lot of ammonia.
Sorry for the double pics.No way to delete.
If you go digging through old books you will find that it wasn't uncommon to spray or coat leaves with a mixture of rum and citrus fruit. It also wasn't uncommon for a stew of boiled stems and leaves to be painted on leaves to bring out a stronger taste and color. Heck, even BH is telling you the Cuban guy he is working with is spraying some mojo sauce.
You're right though, Torres doesn't know everything he thinks he knows. Just listen to him talk about the wrapper. He says the wrapper is just a dress and doesn't really matter. I think 90% of the people on this board disagree.
The reason I pointed out Torres is because what he says backed up the information I gathered through reading. If you want to look through all of my posts in this thread, some of the links should be there still.
How it was historically done prior to curing or fermenting.
http://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc6321/m1/8/
I can't find my links for post curing and fermenting.
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I know of the practice. I give Gdaddy a lot of credit for the research he's done in that area of things. Just saying Torres can obviously roll, but he comes off as a hustler lol.
Edit - I think we've all seen that infamous clip in that RP video where they definitely aren't putting water on the leaves
Edit - I think we've all seen that infamous clip in that RP video where they definitely aren't putting water on the leaves
lol
- Joined
- Mar 15, 2016
- Messages
- 75
This would be done for fermentation not at te rolling stage. It is what gdaddy and I are both doing.
I understand. Unfortunately my wife decided to "organize" the bookmarks on Chrome. I had a couple of interesting links that mentioned rollers using mixtures as a way to cover up improperly cured or fermented tobacco. It was also a way for some to get a signature taste. I wish I could find the links again.
On page 18 of this thread I have a link to a report from RJ Reynolds that lists different things used to flavor tobacco and the effect on taste. You have probably read it. I thought it might be interesting for those experimenting with fermenting.