How dry is too dry?

[musk]

Setups - savoy 100ct humidor, tupperdore, and 40ct desktop humidor

All have heartfelt 65% rh beads in them that I apply 3-5 sprays of distilled water on every 2-3 weeks. Digital hydrometers all read 64-68%. I have noticed that ALL my sticks are rock hard. I mean absolutely 0 give to the touch, furthermore I am getting a sour almost chemical taste to them. I've smoked maybe 7 cigars alternating the box they come from and 6 of them have had this flavor. Sticks range from RP, drew estate, and cao. I live in Miami and the ambient humidity is in the mid 60's this time of year. Tonight I had my first wrapper bust on me 2/3's through a RP hamlet.

I have read that bad taste comes from cigars that are too moist which is definitely not the problem here. I haven't noticed many burn problems except for having to relight after the halfway mark which I'm assuming the heat and outside humidity is starting to effect he cigar after an hour.

I'm at a loss here. Looking for some sage advice.


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[boltman]

When was the last time you calibrated you digital hygrometer?

 

[boltman]

Setups - savoy 100ct humidor, tupperdore, and 40ct desktop humidor

All have heartfelt 65% rh beads in them that I apply 3-5 sprays of distilled water on every 2-3 weeks. Digital hydrometers all read 64-68%. I have noticed that ALL my sticks are rock hard. I mean absolutely 0 give to the touch, furthermore I am getting a sour almost chemical taste to them. I've smoked maybe 7 cigars alternating the box they come from and 6 of them have had this flavor. Sticks range from RP, drew estate, and cao. I live in Miami and the ambient humidity is in the mid 60's this time of year. Tonight I had my first wrapper bust on me 2/3's through a RP hamlet.

I have read that bad taste comes from cigars that are too moist which is definitely not the problem here. I haven't noticed many burn problems except for having to relight after the halfway mark which I'm assuming the heat and outside humidity is starting to effect he cigar after an hour.

I'm at a loss here. Looking for some sage advice.


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@musk welcome to BOTL. Have you hopped over to introductions and formally introduced yourself?

 

[Mossome]

Wow. Could be several different problems. 64-68 seems to be a good range. Having to recharge your beads every couple of weeks seems excessive though. Tells me either your humidors don't have good seals, which most desktops don't, or your hydrometer needs recalibrated. Maybe both. Constant relights after the halfway point says over humidified to me.
Hard cigars doesn't necessarily bother me. A lot of properly hydrated cigars can seem that way. Ligas and and Illusione Rothcildes come to mind.
Wrapper cracking and bursting can come from drastic temperature changes.
Sour, acrid, and metallic flavors usually come from cigars that are too fresh. Ater they are rolled they go through a second fermentation and build up some ammonia that still needs some time resting to dissipate.
I don't know if I've helped you, or confused you even more.

 

[knw247]

what he said. If your sticks are dry the leaf will crack when you light them. I'd check you hydrometers.

 

[musk]

Wow. Could be several different problems. 64-68 seems to be a good range. Having to recharge your beads every couple of weeks seems excessive though. Tells me either your humidors don't have good seals, which most desktops don't, or your hydrometer needs recalibrated. Maybe both. Constant relights after the halfway point says over humidified to me.
Hard cigars doesn't necessarily bother me. A lot of properly hydrated cigars can seem that way. Ligas and and Illusione Rothcildes come to mind.
Wrapper cracking and bursting can come from drastic temperature changes.
Sour, acrid, and metallic flavors usually come from cigars that are too fresh. Ater they are rolled they go through a second fermentation and build up some ammonia that still needs some time resting to dissipate.
I don't know if I've helped you, or confused you even more.

Thanks for this. Desktop has a poor seal so I have to refresh those beads every 2 weeks. Tupperdore and savoy are usually good for a month or more.

Hydrometers are calibrated once every couple of months. Calibrating them tonight again. Last time was early October. This was the first wrapper crack I've ever had. Humidors are 75 degrees and outside temp is mid to high 60's. Had huge relight problems over the summer as ambient humidity was in the upper 70's outside and after an hour of smoking the cigars turned to mush. Yet never had a wrapper crack? Still having relight problems after getting halfway through the stick (45m outside) but Nothing super major.

Didn't realize this about young cigars. Wouldn't have thought this would be a problem with all of these sticks tho. Most have been resting in my humidor for 2+ mo.

Maybe I'm just being too sensitive? Just seems like this is happening with sticks that I've smoked before and had the flavor profile completely change almost overnight.





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[Mossome]

I wouldn't worry to much about one wrapper cracking. The temperature change wasn't drastic. It might just have been slightly damaged while handling it, and then smoking it will cause a small crack to grow. If you start to get more of these, it is probably a humidity issue. One might just be an outlier.
Two months rest is usually enough for most cigars, but I've had Tats and Herrera Estelis that needed 4-6 months before they stopped tasting like metal in my mouth.

 

[navyvet]

depending on the cigar the sick period can last 6-8 months or more, some cigars smoke great fresh some don't

 

[musk]

Will say this - I stuck my nose in my 2 main humidors and there is no longer that delicious and pungent Tabasco or Spanish cedar odor. Again being too sensitive or sign of something more?


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[musk]

Will say this - I stuck my nose in my 2 main humidors and there is no longer that delicious and pungent Tabasco or Spanish cedar odor. Again being too sensitive or sign of something more?


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It almost smells like my cigars taste. Bland and almost chemically.


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[ChuckMejia]

Welcome to BOTL

 

[musk]

Wanted to do a small update. I took the cigars out and put them into a dry tupperdore for a few days. Got the rH down to 60%. They have been sitting there for about 2 weeks. Smoking my first cigar out of there and it seems to be smoking good and the taste is gone. I'm going to leave them at 60% and in that tupperdore.

As for the humidor I rubbed it down with a mix of alcohol and distilled water. Let it air out for a day or two then put a plate of baking soda for 3-5 days in there. Right now I am re-seasoning it with boveda 84% packs and the smell is gone.

So my conclusion is that at some point there was a huge humidity spike. Whether it was moving it between houses (Miami is always humid) or adding too much water to the heartfelt beads at one time. The spike created a sour skunky taste and odor in the humidor. There was no mold nor were the cigars ever "squishy". I'm not convinced the cigars are totally saved but I think the humidor is.


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[VeLoRoK]

I think the heartfelt instructions are a little, well, wrong? I added water, exactly as directed, and my 65% beads gave me 82%. Had to dry my beads for a few days. The 3/4 clear, 1/4 white is way too much moisture for my tupperdor.

 

[musk]

I think the heartfelt instructions are a little, well, wrong? I added water, exactly as directed, and my 65% beads gave me 82%. Had to dry my beads for a few days. The 3/4 clear, 1/4 white is way too much moisture for my tupperdor.

I think the area of confusion comes from "% clear and % white" because I was doing fine when I just adhered to the rule of "3 squirts from the bottle". When I tried to balance those clear and white is when I spiked the rH and all hell broke loose.

I took the beads out of my main humidor and put in a jar of crystals. Keeps the humidity at 65-68. A little high for my liking but going to keep it there for now because it's stable. I have beads in my larger tupperdore that are all white but the rH is perfect. Haven't added water in a month and that was one a couple squirts.


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[VeLoRoK]

I think the area of confusion comes from "% clear and % white" because I was doing fine when I just adhered to the rule of "3 squirts from the bottle". When I tried to balance those clear and white is when I spiked the rH and all hell broke loose.

I took the beads out of my main humidor and put in a jar of crystals. Keeps the humidity at 65-68. A little high for my liking but going to keep it there for now because it's stable. I have beads in my larger tupperdore that are all white but the rH is perfect. Haven't added water in a month and that was one a couple squirts.


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Yeah, after i dried mine out, they are all white and my humidity hasn't dropped below 64% in a few weeks. It's gone up a hair here and there when i put new stuff in, which leads me to believe that the best way to maintain my RH level is to keep buying more cigars

 

[sofc]

Yeah, after i dried mine out, they are all white and my humidity hasn't dropped below 64% in a few weeks. It's gone up a hair here and there when i put new stuff in, which leads me to believe that the best way to maintain my RH level is to keep buying more cigars

Did you count the number of white and clear ones?

 

[hakoomay]

Did you count the number of white and clear ones?

not everyone does what you do Ara..

 

[sofc]

not everyone does what you do Ara..

What?

 

[hakoomay]

Did you count the number of white and clear ones?

@sofc

 

[VeLoRoK]

Did you count the number of white and clear ones?

I counted the clear ones: zero aaaaand done.