Mojo

[Gdaddy]

Here is an old article written about the positive effects of citric acid on cigars.

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

 

[ras_oscar]

er.... instead of messing about with secret mojo blends, has anyone tried just spraying the ligero with citric acid?

 

[ras_oscar]

I've read through this entire thread with some interest. There ae successes and failures, suggestions on things to do and not to do. I'd like to give this a try. So, for the benefit of myself and the community, and to further the discussion, I'd like to summarize what I have heard above and get input towards a final recipe from those that have mojoed successfully. Please understand I have NOT yet used mojo. I am merely summarizing what is discussed above for further clarification and to prepare myself for initial experimentation.

Ingredients:
1 gallon distilled water
1 can crushed pineapple in juice
3 vanilla beans cut and scraped
1 cup rum
1 pinch bread yeast
Combine water, pineapple and yeast in a large bowl. Stir well. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and leave in a warm dark place for (???? days/hours) (until foaming stops). Strain out solids. In a separate container, combine rum and vanilla beans. let sit for 1 week. Strain out solids, combine with pineapple mixture. Store covered until ready to use. Apply in place of distilled water when conditioning leafs to roll. Apply to leaves that are darker/thicker/rougher tasting.

 

[BrewinHooligan]

I've read through this entire thread with some interest. There ae successes and failures, suggestions on things to do and not to do. I'd like to give this a try. So, for the benefit of myself and the community, and to further the discussion, I'd like to summarize what I have heard above and get input towards a final recipe from those that have mojoed successfully. Please understand I have NOT yet used mojo. I am merely summarizing what is discussed above for further clarification and to prepare myself for initial experimentation.

Ingredients:
1 gallon distilled water
1 can crushed pineapple in juice
3 vanilla beans cut and scraped
1 cup rum
1 pinch bread yeast
Combine water, pineapple and yeast in a large bowl. Stir well. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and leave in a warm dark place for (???? days/hours) (until foaming stops). Strain out solids. In a separate container, combine rum and vanilla beans. let sit for 1 week. Strain out solids, combine with pineapple mixture. Store covered until ready to use. Apply in place of distilled water when conditioning leafs to roll. Apply to leaves that are darker/thicker/rougher tasting.

I don't use any yeast, I use whole pineapple that I chunk up that has naturally occurring yeast that will cause fermentation. Bread yeast will not handle the fermentation of the acidic environment caused by the pineapple. If you do want to use yeast to aid the fermentation, you will need a wine/champagne yeast that can be purchased from a homebrewing store or online.

 

[Jim D]

er.... instead of messing about with secret mojo blends, has anyone tried just spraying the ligero with citric acid?

@Hopduro mentioned trying this somewhere along the way...
Calling Hopduro, Calling Hopduro! How'd this turn out when you tried it?

 

[ras_oscar]

I proposed the yeast because I doubt there is natural yeast in canned pineapple and relying on environmental yeast will yield different results depending on the microbiome of each home. I understand your point about high citric acid environment suppressing the action of yeast. Not sure whether adding the canned pineapple to a gallon of DW would make it sufficiently mild to allow the yeast to act. I need to experiment a bit. I have a recipe for fermented lemon juice. The process starts with water and sugar to make alcohol, then lemon is added in stages. Obviously a similar action but a very different intended end product. Are you using whole skin-still-on pineapple? If so, do you leave the skin on or trim it off?

FWIW I assume the purpose of fermentation in mojo is to remove the sugar and leave the citric acid, since some posts on mojo have reported that burning sugar directly makes a cigar taste nasty.

 

[BrewinHooligan]

I proposed the yeast because I doubt there is natural yeast in canned pineapple and relying on environmental yeast will yield different results depending on the microbiome of each home. I understand your point about high citric acid environment suppressing the action of yeast. Not sure whether adding the canned pineapple to a gallon of DW would make it sufficiently mild to allow the yeast to act. I need to experiment a bit. I have a recipe for fermented lemon juice. The process starts with water and sugar to make alcohol, then lemon is added in stages. Obviously a similar action but a very different intended end product. Are you using whole skin-still-on pineapple? If so, do you leave the skin on or trim it off?

FWIW I assume the purpose of fermentation in mojo is to remove the sugar and leave the citric acid, since some posts on mojo have reported that burning sugar directly makes a cigar taste nasty.

I trim the skin off, but there are still natural yeasts that react. There is still some residual sugars but keep in mind you aren't soaking the leaf with mojo, a little bit goes a long way. Instead of using whole vanilla, use some natural vanilla extract. It is easier and much more precise to measure and control.

 

[Hopduro]

@Hopduro mentioned trying this somewhere along the way...
Calling Hopduro, Calling Hopduro! How'd this turn out when you tried it?

Lol no, I'm lazy

 

[Gdaddy]

I've read through this entire thread with some interest. There ae successes and failures, suggestions on things to do and not to do. I'd like to give this a try. So, for the benefit of myself and the community, and to further the discussion, I'd like to summarize what I have heard above and get input towards a final recipe from those that have mojoed successfully. Please understand I have NOT yet used mojo. I am merely summarizing what is discussed above for further clarification and to prepare myself for initial experimentation.

Ingredients:
1 gallon distilled water
1 can crushed pineapple in juice
3 vanilla beans cut and scraped
1 cup rum
1 pinch bread yeast
Combine water, pineapple and yeast in a large bowl. Stir well. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and leave in a warm dark place for (???? days/hours) (until foaming stops). Strain out solids. In a separate container, combine rum and vanilla beans. let sit for 1 week. Strain out solids, combine with pineapple mixture. Store covered until ready to use. Apply in place of distilled water when conditioning leafs to roll. Apply to leaves that are darker/thicker/rougher tasting.

I don't know if you saw this but it is the best 'mojo'

er.... instead of messing about with secret mojo blends, has anyone tried just spraying the ligero with citric acid?

Yes, (2% solution as per the article) but it does NOT reduce the nicotine level or it's strength. It will lower the harshness level to an extent.

 

[Gdaddy]

I've read through this entire thread with some interest. There ae successes and failures, suggestions on things to do and not to do. I'd like to give this a try. So, for the benefit of myself and the community, and to further the discussion, I'd like to summarize what I have heard above and get input towards a final recipe from those that have mojoed successfully. Please understand I have NOT yet used mojo. I am merely summarizing what is discussed above for further clarification and to prepare myself for initial experimentation.

Ingredients:
1 gallon distilled water
1 can crushed pineapple in juice
3 vanilla beans cut and scraped
1 cup rum
1 pinch bread yeast
Combine water, pineapple and yeast in a large bowl. Stir well. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and leave in a warm dark place for (???? days/hours) (until foaming stops). Strain out solids. In a separate container, combine rum and vanilla beans. let sit for 1 week. Strain out solids, combine with pineapple mixture. Store covered until ready to use. Apply in place of distilled water when conditioning leafs to roll. Apply to leaves that are darker/thicker/rougher tasting.

With all due respect, dreaming up solutions and just adding things willy nilly is not a formula for success. When it fails to produce results then it gets presented to the forum that 'mojo' doesn't work and not worth the effort. Done correctly it can yield positive results.

There is a scientific reason why citric acid works. It simply lowers the PH of the tobacco so it's not so alkaline and that is the biggest benefit.

The other stuff is all questionable. Where did bread yeast come from? Vanilla is excellent in pipe tobacco but cigars? The rum is better to drink than smoke. The advantage of pineapple juice is that it is very high in citric acid but the question I have is...what good does fermenting do? Why bother?

Here is the best recipe I've done to date and I do it to all my cigar tobacco. (from a chemist) It must be followed exactly. (the green coffee adds a slight sweetness and lowers the PH) This recipe takes less time to produce than the fermentation mojo.
http://www.botl.org/threads/mojo-recipe-from-1883-flavor-for-havana.93408/

 

[Jim D]

Lol no, I'm lazy

Me too or I would have tried it already also.

 

[blisscigarco]

No one asked and no one should care, but I don't use any mojo at all and my cigars are the best they've ever been. I fucked with it pretty hardcore for a couple years, back when there was virtually no good tobacco available, imho, at the retailers. But now there is mostly great tobacco available at the retailers and I haven't had a harsh smoke in ages. In sum, toss the shitleaf and use the awesomeleaf. Problem solved. I'd guess that if you're getting a harsh, crappy smokes nowadays it's because of all the terrible wrapper that's still available. Bad wrapper = bad cigar. But the filler lately (at least the Caribbean breeds) is all primo.

 

[BrewinHooligan]

No one asked and no one should care, but I don't use any mojo at all and my cigars are the best they've ever been. I fucked with it pretty hardcore for a couple years, back when there was virtually no good tobacco available, imho, at the retailers. But now there is mostly great tobacco available at the retailers and I haven't had a harsh smoke in ages. In sum, toss the shitleaf and use the awesomeleaf. Problem solved. I'd guess that if you're getting a harsh, crappy smokes nowadays it's because of all the terrible wrapper that's still available. Bad wrapper = bad cigar. But the filler lately (at least the Caribbean breeds) is all primo.

I'm not disagreeing, and I don't sauce even all my ligero anymore like I used to, but I do find that on certain leaves a little juice can take it from good to great. I don't believe anything will take and make shit leaf good. This is just one man's experience and your mileage may vary.

 

[Gdaddy]

I'm not disagreeing, and I don't sauce even all my ligero anymore like I used to, but I do find that on certain leaves a little juice can take it from good to great. I don't believe anything will take and make shit leaf good. This is just one man's experience and your mileage may vary.

As the saying goes..."you can't polish a turd". You can make shit leaf less shitty...maybe. Nothing to lose in trying.

 

[Gdaddy]

No one asked and no one should care, but I don't use any mojo at all and my cigars are the best they've ever been. I fucked with it pretty hardcore for a couple years, back when there was virtually no good tobacco available, imho, at the retailers. But now there is mostly great tobacco available at the retailers and I haven't had a harsh smoke in ages. In sum, toss the shitleaf and use the awesomeleaf. Problem solved. I'd guess that if you're getting a harsh, crappy smokes nowadays it's because of all the terrible wrapper that's still available. Bad wrapper = bad cigar. But the filler lately (at least the Caribbean breeds) is all primo.

Your suggestion to roll smaller Rg like a 44 was a major improvement in flavor.

What wrapper have you found to be satisfactory? Just curious... when you tried the Bentley recipe how were you able to grind the green coffee beans into powder?

 

[blisscigarco]

Your suggestion to roll smaller Rg like a 44 was a major improvement in flavor.

What wrapper have you found to be satisfactory? Just curious... when you tried the Bentley recipe how were you able to grind the green coffee beans into powder?

I have a pretty high level coffee bean grinder, as I consume 3 espressos per day... anything below 3 on that thing turns stuff to molecules....
I've been using FXSmith CT Shade for a couple years. I bought like 6 lbs off Webmost a while back, after having bought 2 lbs a couple times.... when this shit runs out I'm gonna try to get Jorge to sell me 1/2 lb each of his CT-Ecuador and CT-CT to see if either are currently working for me....

 

[ras_oscar]

With all due respect, dreaming up solutions and just adding things willy nilly is not a formula for success. When it fails to produce results then it gets presented to the forum that 'mojo' doesn't work and not worth the effort. Done correctly it can yield positive results.

There is a scientific reason why citric acid works. It simply lowers the PH of the tobacco so it's not so alkaline and that is the biggest benefit.

The other stuff is all questionable. Where did bread yeast come from? Vanilla is excellent in pipe tobacco but cigars? The rum is better to drink than smoke. The advantage of pineapple juice is that it is very high in citric acid but the question I have is...what good does fermenting do? Why bother?

Here is the best recipe I've done to date and I do it to all my cigar tobacco. (from a chemist) It must be followed exactly. (the green coffee adds a slight sweetness and lowers the PH) This recipe takes less time to produce than the fermentation mojo.
http://www.botl.org/threads/mojo-recipe-from-1883-flavor-for-havana.93408/

As discussed above, I added bread yeast because I doubt canned pineapple has sufficient yeast, and relying on environmental yeast will yield varying results from home to home depending on the biome.
I believe rum may have been included as a preservative and to ensure sufficiently high alcohol content to inhibit mold growth during storage.
I believe the pineapple is fermented to remove the fruit's natural sugar, because, as discussed above, some members have indicated burning sugar directly tastes nasty. I have never added sugar to anything tobacco, so I cant say whether that is true or not.
I included the vanilla because it was in the recipe in the posts above. I understand that vanilla extract can be obtained easily, In fact, by definition if you are soaking vanilla beans in alcohol you are indeed making vanilla extract.

 

[ras_oscar]

Yes, (2% solution as per the article) but it does NOT reduce the nicotine level or it's strength. It will lower the harshness level to an extent.

Amazon sells food grade, powdered citric acid. 2 pounds for $7.99. If I were adding powder to distilled water, how much would I need to add to make a 2% solution? If 1 gallon of water weighs 8.34 lbs=50.04 oz, would I add 2% of 50.04 or 1.0008 oz of citric acid powder?

 

[Gdaddy]

Amazon sells food grade, powdered citric acid. 2 pounds for $7.99. If I were adding powder to distilled water, how much would I need to add to make a 2% solution? If 1 gallon of water weighs 8.34 lbs=50.04 oz, would I add 2% of 50.04 or 1.0008 oz of citric acid powder?

1 gallon has 16 oz. x 8.34 = 133.44oz .... 2% = 2.66 oz

You could go in the canning department at Walmart and pick up a small jar of citric acid 7.5oz for around $3.00 . That would be more than enough.

 

[Gdaddy]

This recipe is superior imo. It does require a little more effort but it's not very difficult. It's very easy if you buy the coffee already ground. I made the mistake of buying green beans and tried to grind them myself. I didn't have a grinder that could handle the rock hard beans. You can get all the items you need from Amazon delivered to your door.
The green coffee also lowers the PH of the leaf. I found this recipe changed the flavor in a more positive manor. Be aware that the changes are very subtle yet I find the effort to be a rewarding improvement.


No #1 Flavor for Havana...Page 11
https://archive.org/stream/bentleysacmeflav00bent#page/n1/mode/2up