I've never read anywhere how heat actually hurts a cigar. I understand that heat can result in beetle eggs hatching and the terrible problems that follow, but how does elevated temperatures affect the cigar? I freeze all my sticks before they go into my humi so I never worry about beetles. I have a big humi without any cooling and I don't worry about temperature fluctuations. I just make sure my RH stays constant.
Does heat actually hurt your cigars ?
- Thread starter Bruce T.
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I'm no expert, but I can't think of any reason why it would hurt them as ling as your rh is good so the heat doesn't evaporate the oils from them
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Cigars will expand and contract as temperature fluctuates which may lead to cracking. 4 or 5 degree swing may not be a problem. Heat also speeds the the natural process of fermentation. Not sure if that is a good or bad thing but I can see the compounds produced during a faster, warmer fermentation being different (type and quantities in relation to each other) then those produced in more gradual fermentation. Will cigars stored at 74 degrees vs those stored at 64 degrees taste noticeably different in the short term? I don't think so but cigars stored at warmer temperatures "age" faster if nor better.
Interesting information
Thanks for posting that
Didn't know about it speeding up the aging process.
Is it safe to assume that its not uncommon for people to put Cigars they are aging in a higher temperature environment, or is it not really standard practice?
Dont know much about aging as I have never intentionally aged any of my cigars ever, but want to learn the process just in case I decide to do it
Actually have a box of Aristocrats I wouldn't mind aging for 5 years, as I was given a 2016 box around Christmas and they were outstanding. Definitely a cc that improved with age
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Rapid aging produces different types of compounds and quantities in relation to each other then aging at lower temperatures . Everything I have read suggests low 60s to age/rest Cuban cigars. Is it because the lower temp produces a better cigar or because of the bug and cracking issues? May want to post the question to the forum about why Cuban fans rest their cigars.
Not sure if I have ever heard someone talk about "rapid aging" of cigars, as you mentioned the higher temps may drive the oils to the surface of the wrapper where they can be lost.
I know that the temperature of the mash for alcohol is closely watched and some distillers use cooling systems to ferment at lower temperatures to get the flavors they need.
Not sure if I have ever heard someone talk about "rapid aging" of cigars, as you mentioned the higher temps may drive the oils to the surface of the wrapper where they can be lost.
I know that the temperature of the mash for alcohol is closely watched and some distillers use cooling systems to ferment at lower temperatures to get the flavors they need.
I actually did start a thread asking people why they preferred aged cc's over recent production ones a little while back.
Dont recall any mention of the process, just opinions on why aged is preferred.
Will have to search for it and reread it
Most simply replied that they felt aged cc's tasted better and that stronger one mellowed and smoothed out and became milder, which is my experience with the aristocrats I mentioned.
Of all the aged cc's I have had, they are the only ones I would say were actually better with 5 years age vs recent production.
All the others weren't better, just different imho
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Heat alone no, but what it does do is make rh harder to maintain and creates the perfect environment for mold. Cause even with bovada it takes time for it to work so if you have temp swings of 20 degrees the rh will rise with the temp so people usually have or get a Winador to not keep them cool but keep the environment controlled to help sustain a constant rh.
What do you feel is the best rh and temperature for aging cc's?
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Cool, thanks.
I keep everything at 65% already, so that simplifies things.
My temperature is more in the 66 to 68 degree range though and don't have any climate controlled humidors, so not really much I can do to lower my temperature to what you said
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highsierrasmokin'
The battle's fought, the deed is done
I've heard to keep them between 50 - 70 degrees. And to hot is no bueno.
I have the bluetooth Govee hygrometer that was reviewed here and it graphs temperature and rh, so my graph always shows that as temperature goes up, rh goes down, and vice versa, so higher temperature would result in lower rh and would need to be adjusted for to maintain proper rh level
I would think that at higher temperatures and lower rh would cause the oils from the wrapper to possibly evaporate some.
But again, I know little about aging
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Here is an article from Cigar Advisor https://www.famous-smoke.com/cigaradvisor/5-must-know-humidor-tips-for-warmer-weather
( Ignore the warning to not freeze your cigars. Who would be stupid enough to not put them in a ziplock )
It covers the typical problems associated with high temperatures but as with everything I've read, it assumes the RH changes with temperature. This is normal unless you have a closed environment that controls the RH taking temperature into the equation. Boveda does this. It will keep the RH from changing when the temperature increases. It will give off moisture as the temp goes up. The "relative" humidity will stay where you want it.
Now I'm not talking about quick changes. I'm talking about it going to maybe 80 degrees for a few weeks in the summer. That gives the Boveda or whatever system you have to catch up.
I don't think quick aging is a factor as I don't mean long term storage at high temperature. The idea that the oils dry out would be a problem but would this really happen if the RH remains in a good range.
I'm just thinking of all the people who have expensive cooling systems that may not be needed. I'm thinking that a few weeks at 80 -85 deg. may not be bad and that the problems are an old wives tale just like "plume".
Then again, I could be completely wrong
( Ignore the warning to not freeze your cigars. Who would be stupid enough to not put them in a ziplock )
It covers the typical problems associated with high temperatures but as with everything I've read, it assumes the RH changes with temperature. This is normal unless you have a closed environment that controls the RH taking temperature into the equation. Boveda does this. It will keep the RH from changing when the temperature increases. It will give off moisture as the temp goes up. The "relative" humidity will stay where you want it.
Now I'm not talking about quick changes. I'm talking about it going to maybe 80 degrees for a few weeks in the summer. That gives the Boveda or whatever system you have to catch up.
I don't think quick aging is a factor as I don't mean long term storage at high temperature. The idea that the oils dry out would be a problem but would this really happen if the RH remains in a good range.
I'm just thinking of all the people who have expensive cooling systems that may not be needed. I'm thinking that a few weeks at 80 -85 deg. may not be bad and that the problems are an old wives tale just like "plume".
Then again, I could be completely wrong
I would agree that as long as you maintain proper rh, temperature really shouldn't matterHere is an article from Cigar Advisor https://www.famous-smoke.com/cigaradvisor/5-must-know-humidor-tips-for-warmer-weather
( Ignore the warning to not freeze your cigars. Who would be stupid enough to not put them in a ziplock )
It covers the typical problems associated with high temperatures but as with everything I've read, it assumes the RH changes with temperature. This is normal unless you have a closed environment that controls the RH taking temperature into the equation. Boveda does this. It will keep the RH from changing when the temperature increases. It will give off moisture as the temp goes up. The "relative" humidity will stay where you want it.
Now I'm not talking about quick changes. I'm talking about it going to maybe 80 degrees for a few weeks in the summer. That gives the Boveda or whatever system you have to catch up.
I don't think quick aging is a factor as I don't mean long term storage at high temperature. The idea that the oils dry out would be a problem but would this really happen if the RH remains in a good range.
I'm just thinking of all the people who have expensive cooling systems that may not be needed. I'm thinking that a few weeks at 80 -85 deg. may not be bad and that the problems are an old wives tale just like "plume".
Then again, I could be completely wrong
Fortunately, the veteran's home facility is well climate controlled and my room has a separate thermostat for even better climate control, so temp and rh never vary by more than 1deg/1% except for when I open them, but I have more bovedas than required in everything, so it bounces back quickly
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With cigars you need to maintain a specific humidity with a specific temperature. The higher the temp, the lower the humidity. If you go too high of a heat and have high humidity you get mold. To high of a temp and too low of a humidity you get dried out cigars. Same goes for lowering the temp and raising the humidity. Having cigars at a high temp for a short while is not too bad (just like freezing for a short wile) but over the long term will do damage as it will lead to mold or dry sticks. Thats why they always say relative humidity as it is relative to the temp. You can find charts on this such as the one I put on here.
Yup, that's exactly what my graphs of temp vs rh always show.With cigars you need to maintain a specific humidity with a specific temperature. The higher the temp, the lower the humidity. If you go too high of a heat and have high humidity you get mold. To high of a temp and too low of a humidity you get dried out cigars. Same goes for lowering the temp and raising the humidity. Having cigars at a high temp for a short while is not too bad (just like freezing for a short wile) but over the long term will do damage as it will lead to mold or dry sticks. Thats why they always say relative humidity as it is relative to the temp. You can find charts on this such as the one I put on here.
Have noticed that there is a common misconception that the higher the temperature, the higher the rh, when it's actually the opposite.
Really love all the features and accuracy of the Govee bluetooth hygrometer.
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I have never used the Govee hygrometer but I do use their temp probes for smoking meats. It's accuracy is good but it seems to disconnect a lot, do you have that issue?
Only when I go outside and am beyond the range, otherwise it's been good to go
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Excessive heat is bad and does weird things even in a humidor. I know when im at the lake, and its super hot i have to keep my travel humidors outta the sun and down in the cooler basement if I wanna smoke anything out of them. They have plenty of 62% bovedas in them and seal very well. But if they are stored above 80° for a day or so, everything smokes like crap.
People usually keep them at a lower rh than non cc usually in between 63 to 65 is what I have heard most keep them and temp wise is relative to climate thermoelectric units arent too efficient in cooling. But you are looking for as clost to constant you can get so keeping them at 60° is kinda foolish if you ask me. 68° or 65° seems more conducive just a couple degrees cause most houses are climate controlled makes it easier.