When I first started pipe smoking there was nothing I loved more than buying tobacco in tins: They stay fresh and at the proper humidity indefinitely while remaining unopened, which is especially ideal for aging. There is also, of course, the excitement of popping the lid on a new tin of tobacco, the various styles of packaging (they look great on a shelf!) and the fact that they are convenient for travel. (As for pouches—nothing but cheap, propylene-glycol ridden trash there, of course.)
One of the great things about being in a pipe club, however, is the chance to learn from others. Doug, the veteran of coterie, would always sing the praises of bulk tobacco to us. To me, bulk tobacco always seemed “cheap”—probably reminding me of the heavily-cased “house” blends at many tobacconists. Also, there was the annoying fact that bulk tobacco as it is usually shipped—in a simple ziplock bag—will quickly dry out if not stored in a humidor of some sort.
On the last point—the issue of bulk tobacco drying out—Doug introduced me to the “secret” of hot-jarring tobacco in canning jars. But first, he pointed out some of the many benefits around the concept of buying in bulk which I have come to enjoy tremendously:
- It’s cheaper. Often, a lot cheaper than buying the equivalent in a tin.
- Many of the highest-quality and intriguing blends only come in bulk—particularly Esoterica, Samuel Gawith and Gawith Hogarth.
- You can sample before you jar! One of the biggest problems with those perfectly-sealed tins of tobacco is how hard it can be to actually force yourself to open one. And once it’s open, what are you going to do with the rest of the contents—especially if you are an infrequent smoker? Well, with buying in bulk and jarring comes the delight of putting some aside to smoke now (or even while you jar if you’re good at multitasking). I love the fact that I can get a pound of a beloved blend, put a small ziplock baggie aside for a few bowls, and put the rest in jars for short-term and even long-term aging.
- Dipping into your stash is easy! If you jar a pound of tobacco, it usually fills up a few jars worth. While some of it if left for long-term aging you still have a few you can pull off the shelf and use up without affecting the rest of your stash. You can even dip into a jar and reseal it without much adverse effect (though it does theoretically interfere with the aging process, at least it doesn’t deteriorate in quality). You can even compare the difference age makes as you go through the jars over time.
- Since the jars are clear, you can keep an eye on some of the physical signs of aging: watching bloom develop; seeing the tobacco darken. You can even keep an eye open for the dreaded mold.
- Tobacco isn’t getting cheaper, and many brands are becoming unavailable. Think of it as preparing for your retirement.
How to Jar
Anyone who has ever made jam or jarred food will probably be familiar—and probably much more competent and knowledgeable—about jarring than myself. Luckily, tobacco isn’t quite as tempermental (or potentially poisonous) as food is. As such, my jarring technique is simple and doesn’t require any special equipment. In fact, apart from occasionally cutting a few corners every now-and-then, it is virtually unchanged from the way Doug demonstrated at a pipe club meeting held at his house one fine weekend. It is worth mentioning that not all people believe hot-jarring (which will usually create a small vacuum inside the jar) is ideal—Greg Pease himself thinks it may even hinder the aging process. However, this is a “hotly contested” debate. I prefer this method as I know my jars are sealed by the vacuum and thus won’t be drying out slowly over time.)
Materials
Here are the things you’ll need when jarring. Probably the only thing you’ll need to go out and buy are the jars themselves! (Which, by the way, are readily available at Canadian Tire.)
- canning jars (Bernardin is a common brand. Pick the size and shape you prefer; some prefer the wide-mouth jars, especially for flakes. Doug buys big jars, while I have thus far stuck with the 250mL size. A pound of tobacco will usually fill up roughly a 1.5–2 litres depending on the cut and how tightly it’s packed. Flakes and cakes usually take up about half the space.)
- big pot (to boil the jars)
- wooden spoon (To get the jars out of the water; of course, proper canning tongs are ideal—but this is the KISS method, after all)
- paper towels (To dry the jars.)
- clean sheets of paper (To jar over and catch any loose tobacco. It also helps keep the tobacco from stray germs lingering on your counter.)
- labels (To identify the content and date of your tobacco.)
- mild dish soap (To clean the jars with beforehand. And your hands.)
Preparation
- Wash your hands.
- Wash the jars and lids in mild, soapy water and rinse them well. You could add a touch of bleach if you want. Personally, I usually skip this part now and assume that the boiling will kill any errant bacteria.
- Bring a big pot of water to a boil. (Leave some room to compensate for the displacement of the jars once added.)
- Add the jars and metal rings into the boiling water for 5-10 minutes. Don’t add the lid with the rubber gasket to the water until the last minute or you will run the risk of melting the gasket. (Doug disparages putting them in at all, but other factions believe it helps soften up the rubber for a better seal.) Always clean and boil a couple more than you think you’ll need just to be safe.
- While the jars boil, place some sheets of clean, dry paper on the counter of your jarring area. This will help keep any dropped tobacco clean as well as allow you to easily pick up the paper and funnel it into the jar.
Jarring
- Using the wooden spoon, lift the jars out of the water onto the counter. Note that they are very hot—some limited touching of the jars is usually not too dangerous depending on your pain threshold, but please do be careful! Put your jars on the papered area.
- Use a few paper towels (preferred over dishcloths, which tend to be huge germ-carriers) to dry out the still-hot jars. A wet or moist jar may make your jarred tobacco more susceptible to mold. In fact, on this point, Doug believes that tobacco is better jarred when it’s on the dry side.
- Start packing the tobacco into the jars, working quickly so that the jars can be closed while still hot. While the amount of tobacco that is packed into the jar is personal, I tend to pack it as tightly as I pack a pipe—so that the jar is full, and the tobacco springy to the touch. Flake tobaccos can be broken in half and stuffed in, or if they are moist and pliable enough, coiled around the inside of the jar. Avoid any obvious air-space at the top.
- Once the bulk of the tobacco is jarred, pour in any remaining tobacco that has fallen onto the paper into a jar.
- Put the tops and metal rings on the jar and tighten snugly. It is very important at this point to be sure that the rim of the jar and the lid gasket is perfectly free of any tobacco particles that may interfere with the seal.
Ta da! You’ve jarred your tobacco. Just repeat all the steps (boiling more jars, etc.) until you’re done. Over time (from a few hours or sometimes over several weeks), if you’ve done it properly you will find that the top has sucked down, indicating a light vacuum inside the jar. In other words: the perfect seal. Meanwhile, there is one last step:
Labeling
It’s important to label the contents of your jars unless you always want to be “surprised” when you open one. There are three things you should ideally put on your label:
The name of the blend and the maker The date you jarred the tobacco The date the tobacco was blended. Many makers (such as GL Pease) will label the date that the tobacco was blended on the bottom of the jar or tin.
What labels you use is up to you: some simply use the little labels that come with the jars; others use masking tape. Being the “organized” type (which the riff-raff sometimes refer to as “anal-retentive”) I prefer to print out my labels on a computer using an MS Word template and return-address mailing labels.
Resealing
Sometimes a jar doesn’t seem to vacuum-seal properly. Other times, I may want to dip into a jar and reseal it for the long-term (instead of finishing it off). In these cases, it is possible to reseal the jar. To do this, I simply put the open, full jar into a deep cereal bowl. I boil some water in a kettle and pour it into the bowl so that the jar is surrounded by water. After a few minutes, I pull out the jar and lid it. The jar will then usually re-vacuum itself. The question you may be asking is whether or not this process is “cooking” the tobacco. Frankly, I doubt it: the tobacco in the jar likely does not see any real temperature increase, and if it does—I doubt the heat has much adverse affect to the blend. But that is my own opinion; I have not researched what others may think of this.
Storing
Store your jars in a cool, dark area. Like wine or any other agricultural product tobacco is susceptible to light and heat. A cupboard, closet, or cabinet is ideal. How you organize them is up to you! It may be worthwhile to inspect the jars every now at the then for seals that have broken (you can smoke those first or reseal) or the growth of mold: mold is a fuzzy, greenish-type growth and is very, very bad. Bloom, on the other hand, is a fine-white powder and will often occur on flake-tobaccos. This is the natural oil coming to the surface and drying and a natural sign of aging.
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