What Is Acclimation

[armenakadino]

I know it sounds like a very noob question and i should know the answer but what is acclimation, and what do you do when you acclimate your tobbacco

[OPR234]

Acclimate: to get accustomed to a new condition or environment.


What this means in terms of your tobacco is getting it acclimated to the humidity conditions in which you'll be smoking it. Humidity actually plays a big role in terms of smoke quality. Heating shisha that is poorly acclimated will cause it to steam too rapidly or not rapidly enough, causing burning or thin smoke. When acclimated properly, it will steam at a proper pace and give you nice, big, tasty clouds of smoke.

[ZenSilk]

You leave it sitting in a wide open container in the environment you are going to smoke it in. I stir my Tangiers around occasionally to mix the juices around that settle to the bottom.

[hookah hippie]

To accumulate all you need to do is stir up the tobacco and leave it open for a few hours.

It gets the tobacco used to the humidity that you will be smoking it in.

Supposedly enhancing the smoke session

[armenakadino]

I know it sounds like a very noob question and i should know the answer but what is acclimation, and what do you do when you acclimate your tobbacco

[armenakadino]

I know it sounds like a very noob question and i should know the answer but what is acclimation, and what do you do when you acclimate your tobbacco

[camelflage]

and search.

[ASUSEAN1]

"Some manufacturers “wash” their tobacco to remove nicotine from it. Tangiers doesn’t “wash” its tobacco. Products that contain nicotine are sensitive to the effects of the humidity in the air. The tobacco will absorb moisture from the air slowly until it becomes “comfortable” (equilibrium is the chemistry word). If the humidity in the air is different than what the tobacco become comfortable with, then the tobacco will try to get comfortable again. If the weather changes or you open a package of tobacco up for the first time, this change may occur. During this period of change, if you try to smoke it during this period, you may find that it:
A) “burns the throat” or makes it feel tickly. This happens when the tobacco is comfortable with drier air than the air is when it is smoked.
Flavor dies out very quickly or seems weak or varies greatly during smoking. This happens when the tobacco is comfortable with more humid air than when it is smoked.
Remember, allow newly opened tobacco 4 hours or so to get comfortable with the surrounding air.
When you isolate your tobacco from the surrounding air, it protects it from strange or foreign odors, but it also prevents the tobacco from getting comfortable with the humidity in the air.
If your tobacco always seems to be off one way or the other, just leave it slightly open. So air can get at it" (TANGIERS WEB SITE)

.. We need to sticky what is acclimation.. or put it in the FAQ.. now theres an idea

[Sonthert]

All good points, additionally, I invented the idea of acclimation because I wanted to explain why tobacco would vary from day to day...more when the weather was changing a lot than when it wasn't changing. The theory is rather complex and not entirely accurate. I noticed this summer that when it was warm (and humid) the characteristics problems of humidity shock were "flipped" upside down. Dry humidity shock made it smoke heavier and damp humidity shock made it smoke thin and harsh. Another observation, but first a little Tangiers babble: I refer to three stages in smoking, The beginning, the "shift" and the trailing. The beginning is obvious. When you first light up the bowl. The shift is when (if?) the flavor changes towards the middle or end of the bowl (Usually the shift occurs between the first 20% and 50% of the smoking). The trailing is when the tobacco smooths out, requires a lot more charcoal and the flavor is weak, but the smoke very thick. Some brands set theirs so that their brand almost immediately shifts and quicks goes into tail-off...somebody's cherry was that way...all glycerine soluble stuff. So, I noticed that when its hotter, the harshness usually hangs around the shift, while when its cooler it usually hangs around the beginning.

So, acclimation can take longer, relative humidity does seem to play a part. If its very damp, its much harder to get your tobacco to dry out (acclimate) and the reverse, too. When its very dry, its hard to get your tobacco to acclimate damp. Sometimes, especially if the weather is continuing to change/get worse, the tobacco will be boggled for three or four days. I recommend 24 hours, 95% of the time, 24 hours is sufficient.

[armenakadino]

So do you acclimate the whole jar of flavor or would you just acclimate what your going to smoke that day

[ZenSilk]

Umm, well, it's easier just to acclimate the whole 250 grams of it. Thats what i prefer. I usually do it for a day or so. I mix it as much as i can, usually every 2-4 hours. I leave it under a spaghetti strainer to nothing gets in it. Since i store it in an air tight container, i don;t think i need to worry about re-acclimating it, and you should make sure to stir up your Tangiers so it is super juicy and gooey.

[armenakadino]

oh ok ya i was wondering if you do it all at once or just once your about to smoke it but i got one more question it does not make the flavor not last as long

[ZenSilk]

Acclimating it helps make the shisha used to the humidity in the air where you live. Therefore, the flavor is much better, and maybe since i acclimated mine for so long the harshness was nonexistent (just a thought). I've heard if you don't acclimate it, it tastes like BBQ sauce.

And i don't know if there is a limited amount of times Tangiers can be acclimated... But i'm pretty sure Eric will pop on early tommorow morning and tell us whats up.

But i think overall it enhances the taste, maybe not enhance.. more like... bring to life.