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Opus and Cedar Wrapping = Mold?

Starz26

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So I had a 3 pack robusto tin and decided to smoke one the other day.

Upon removing the cedar wrap I noticed 3 white spots that looked like mold. It did not look like bloom at all. After inspecting the cedar wrap I noticed that it had a corresponding spot on the cedar wrap in the same location as on the cigar...

Is it best to open a box of Opus x that you have and remove all the cedar wraps or should I not worry about it?
 
Volusianator

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Funny you post this. I was golfing today and unwrapped an Opus No.4 and as I took the cedar off, I noticed it had quite a bit of mold on it. After all the Opus I've smoked, this is the first one I've ever seen with mold. It was from the first release of 2008.
 
Electric Sheep

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I've only found mold under the cedar on 1 Opus, but I've had it happen many times on other Fuente cigars. <shrug> I don't worry about it, I just wipe off the mold and light up!
 
gibbleguts

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Had an even wierder one happen today. There were lots of sticky spots on the cigar under the cedar. Best answer I can come up with was sap from the cedar. I just smoked and it was fine. Not the best Opus I have ever had but still an opus so it filled the need.
 
Cigary43

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Articles have been written on this issue of mold on Opus cigars that are wrapped in cedar. The advice is to remove the cedar and put the cigar in a sleeve if you want. Cedar soaks up moisture and this is where mold starts. More buzz on this is that you should remove the cedar off of the Anejos and the rest don't worry about it. I take the road of more prudent thought,,,I take the cedar off and use it to light my cigars,,,,ahhh,,,,nice sweet cedar.
 
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cashedash

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Electric Sheep said:
I've only found mold under the cedar on 1 Opus, but I've had it happen many times on other Fuente cigars. <shrug> I don't worry about it, I just wipe off the mold and light up!
Click to expand...
I'm not sure if it was mold but I had a fuente cigar that had some white spots all over it but not very notice able. I just wiped it off and smoked it. Oh yea it was not wrapped with cedar, just a plastic baggie.
 
SkinsFanLarry

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Mold is thick and fuzzy in appearance and appears in random patches. Just like mold on spoiled food, it eventually becomes thicker in areas where it is most-heavily concentrated and where it has been growing for the longest time. If left untreated, the random patches of mold will quickly grow and spread out. Cigar mold can also resemble baking flour or powdered sugar in appearance while bloom/plume will look exactly like a thick build up of dust that appears evenly all over a cigar.

Mold can also appear on cigars that are closest to the humidification device so be sure that your cigars are not too close or touching the humidifier.

If you have a microscope or strong magnifying glass, examine the small white fluff that appears near the tips of the cigars. Mold spores will have a round head and a long stem body; like a mushroom or bean sprout. It sounds like this is mold that is just starting to form. If caught early enough, mold will not leave a stain on your cigars.

In the early stages of mold growth, it can easily be mistaken as plume/bloom so it's important that you examine the substance with a microscope to see its physical characteristics. If it looks like microscopic mushrooms clustered together, it is mold. If it looks like a stringy webbing of dust, it's bloom/plume.
 
SkinsFanLarry

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Volusianator said:
Hmmm, the link takes me right to Andrews page on mold/plume. OK, so go to Vitolas.net and do a search for plume, it'll take you to the same page. Not sure why the link doesn't work for you. sorry.

Try this one LINK
Click to expand...
Thanks Wade, this time it took me right to the post on mold/plume.
 
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