Setbacks in the Cellar

thebadgerpiper

Tonight, while readying my pipes for the evening, I came across a terrible tragedy. Like normal, I grabbed a few of my pipes with some blends in mind, and went into the tobacco cellar (which doubles as a not as important laundry room) to pack my pipes. Well, after packing the first two, I opened my tin of C&D's Black Frigate and made a horrible discovery. Next to the cake of tobacco, among the loose bits, was some fuzzy mold. Not a whole lot, mind you, but any sign of mold for me is enough to say "Stop, do not smoke this blend." Now, I have more Black Frigate, and the tin was half empty, so while it's a bummer, I still have some on hand.

The real tragedy came when I next opened my tin of GLP's Jack Knife Plug. I've only had about two bowls of the plug, so I figured tonight would be a good night to have another bowl. I opened the tin, and to my horror, the entire plug was caked in mold. Not a little fuzzy kind of mold, but the kind where I hat to close it tight before it bit a finger off. I nailed the tin shut, buried it in the backyard, and called my pastor over to sprinkle holy water over the rest of the cellar to rid my sanctuary from any foul spore creatures from infecting the rest of my tobacco.

I've only ever had one mason jar of C&D's Three Friars go bad on me before this. Now, C&D blends do have a reputation of sometimes having bad batches. I've been fortunate so far in this regard, but tonight was a definite setback for my cellar. I'd still order GLP's Jack Knife Plug again, as my supply of Three Friars has been fine since, but I'm definitely wary of future disasters. I don't think it's the cellar, as all my other blends have been fine for years, though I think this weekend I'm going to do a search in my cellar for any other lurking issues.

motie2

@thebadgerpiper

Awesome post, but, at the same time, you certainly have our sympathy.....

motie2

Too much to summarize; also discussing difference between mold and bloom

https://www.google.com/search?q=pipe+tobacco+mold

AnantaAndroscoggin

I wonder if the amount of "breathing" an opened (and thus UNsealed) tin does with temperature fluctuations is enough to manage to suck-in a few mold spores along with the air, should they be present in the area. Dark and dank (moist) environments seem popular with some species of mold.

Londy3

Are you using any kind moisture discs or anything?
Are the jars stored in a dark room or area?

Darmon

I wonder, the laundry room in my house can get more humid than others, maybe just too much moisture in the air in that room?

thebadgerpiper

Thanks for the responses everyone. I'm pretty sure the culprit is the brand itself. C&D makes excellent blends, but they have a notorious reputation for having bad batches here and there. Two years ago, they released a small batch blend, and it had to be recalled due to the severe amount of mold in each tin.

My laundry room is in the basement, so the temperature stays cool year round. It is dark down there, but it does get a bit of light during the day. My system hasn't changed since I started smoking a pipe, so I don't think it's the location, but rather a few bad batches.

Londy3

Well that sucks

RockyMountainBriar

I recently opened a new tin of a C&D blend I had just received, and it had a slight bit of mold in it.  I picked out the offending pieces plus a good deal of the surrounding tobacco as well and transferred it to a mason jar and vacuum sealed it.  It was a month or two ago, I have not checked it since.  I don't even remember what the blend was at the moment.  Maybe I have too many tobaccos?.......nah

motie2

If you look at the Google, C&D has a history of mold problems going back to at least 2016..

They also manufacture an amazing number of blends http://www.cornellanddiehl.com/tobaccos.cfm

Also, what the heck is this????? https://www.downloadmusic-mp3.com/cornell-and-diehl/

thebadgerpiper

Yeah, C&D has it's issues. However, they also make my favorite blends, so I've accepted that it's part of the diehl.

Funnily enough, I was telling my Flash TV podcast co-host about the mold problem. He checked two of his tins of Oak Alley, and unfortunately they had mold, too. It sucks, since he's Canadian, and getting C&D blends is a bit of a hassle with those taxes.

@motie2 Just checked out that link. Interesting. I like that they have a platform to do this kind of stuff. If I ever get a chance to go back to Myrtle Beach, I'm driving to see them and smokingpipes.com.

jfreedy

@thebadgerpiper - the only mold I’ve ever found in a jar was also on a C&D blend, Opening Night. I just picked it out and kept smoking.

Londy3

@thebadgerpiper, if you make that trip, I will meet ya near the coast to burn one with you.

ghostsofpompeii

I also wonder if it has something to do with the laundry room. The constant changes in temperature as the dryer is in operation ... as well as the

humidity associated with the act of washing your clothes. Hot and cold water - depending upon the clothes being washed. I have no basement so unfortunately the way my ranch house was constructed the area for the washer and dryer is in the hallway next to the bathroom and the area of the house where the three bedrooms are located. And the change in both temperature an indoor humidity is noticeable in the hallway when my wife is doing laundry.

Just for safe keeping I'd jar up your tobacco or find a new place to store your tins.

thebadgerpiper

@Londy3 Absolutely, if I'm in the area, I'm definitely letting you know.

@ghostsofpompeii I'm hesitant to agree that it's the laundry room. The laundry room takes up about half my basement and doubles as a workshop, so there's a lot of space to balance any temperature changes. Even with the dryer and washer going on hot, I never feel a temperature change. The humidity could factor, but I'll wait and see. I've had this set up for years with only one issue before this, so I'm willing to give the room the benefit of the doubt. If it does happen again, I'll move my stuff further into the room. I just ordered another tin of Jack Knife Plug, so we'll see how it does. I'm definitely jaring this one, though.

motie2

If your cellaring jars are air-tight and you don't have temperature fluctuations, the laundry room environment should not be a factor......

jfreedy

@thebadgerpiper -- I just contacted Smoking Pipes where I bought my C&D tin, and they gave me store credit for the price of the tin... even after a year from the purchase date.

thebadgerpiper

@jfreedy That's great news. How much of the blend did you smoke before it went bad? I think I should be good, and the tin is still in the garbage, so I can take pictures of it.

motie2

@ghosts@ghostsofpompeii

In case you missed this, elsewhere....

The Science of: Long Term Aromatic Pipe Tobacco Storage

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NrgGsVSJZGc

<<Jay Dighsx weighs in on if you can store aromatic pipe tobacco for an extended period of time.  I give a layman's explanation of how they make aromatics (here in the states) and how time effects those ingredients.  And then I sample some 7 year old aromatic pipe tobacco.>>  

motie2

From the attached .pdf from the FREE PIPE SMOKING LIBRARY

<<Almost all straight-from-the-blender tobaccos with a reasonable amount of natural sugar, both tinned and bulk, will benefit from aging. Some blends, however, will age better than others, with the primary factor being the presence and percentage of Virginias (the most naturally sweet of tobaccos) in the mixture.>>

paulwansing

I only had this happen once and it was a tin of r.o. acadian gold. I was shocked a sealed tin could mold so badly. I only buy c&d in bulk and after reading this plan to keep it that way

kellyg53

During a discussion on another forum (I think) about the C&D mold issues, someone posted a video of an interview with a manager type at C&D which included a tour of the tobacco blending operation.  The blending conditions were surprising.  Tobacco leaf was piled on the floor where stems were being stripped out.  People were walking all around the operation so who knows what contaminants found their way into the tobacco.  I don't know if this is related to the apparent mold issues at C&D and I don't have any idea what processes other blenders use.  But, it was interesting.

jfreedy

@thebadgerpiper - I had smoked about 1/3 of the tin. I didn't notice the mold until about 2-3 weeks ago. To be honest, I grew up in a home where we just cut off the mold on the cheese and kept eating it. So, I just removed the affected part and kept smoking what was left. Hopefully, I won't go blind or anything. Who did you buy yours from?

thebadgerpiper

@jfreedy Looking back at my records, it turns out I bought the tin from Cup o Joes. Not sure if I can get a replacement, as C&D is part of SmokingPipes. My new tin of Jack Knife Plug just arrived, so we'll see how the new one does.

And while I'd consider just cutting off the offending spots, I think this one is a lost cause.

jfreedy

@thebadgerpiper, yours is definitely more advanced than mine. Also, mine was ribbon cut and much easier to isolate the affected area. Not sure I’d risk smoking yours. 

RockyMountainBriar

Eww, that looks like it has a dead rodent in it.  You might be able to skin that and make a stole or muffler for the wife out of that