Refrigerating Tobacco?

[crazieshef]

 I haven't smoked for over a month... I was on a hiatus.. but when I set up my smoke tonight , it was terrible.  Could this due to my tobacco drying up? Should I refrigerate tobacco? Will it keep it fresher? I used to freeze my tobacco when I was an avid cigarette smoker, and I know that it kept my cigarettes fresh... What do you suggest? Thanks for the help. Whats the best way to clean my hookah? Lemon water is my current method.  Gosh I have the worst taste in my mouth right now.

[Smashraj84]

If your tobacco is kept in airtight containers, a month shouldn't do anything to it.  Maybe it went through humidity shock.Lemon juice is my method, but I've heard vinegar works too.

[DownZero]

Perhaps the hookah was just dirty which created the foul flavor? Was the hookah tobacco kept in a container or ziploc bags?

[Sonthert]

As I always say, keep your tobacco in the refrigerator if you intend to smoke it in the refrigerator. Your tobacco should be kept as close to the humidity level as where/when you will be smoking it, refrigerators are too dry compared to the outside air. 

[Sonthert]

It could be humidity shock...leave your tobaco open to the outside air for a day or so...your tobacco may be used to the old air from a month ago which might be significantly different than it is now.

[Sonthert]

It could be humidity shock...leave your tobaco open to the outside air
for a day or so...your tobacco may be used to the old air from a month
ago which might be significantly different than it is now.

[zombiedepot]

From my experience with cigars you want to keep the tobacco humid, but I didn't know it was true with shisha. I store mine in the closet which is usually a few degrees lower than room temperature. Hope that experience didn't put you off from smoking the hookah again.

[Sonthert]

[quote name='zombiedepot']From my experience with cigars you want to keep the tobacco humid, but I didn't know it was true with shisha. I store mine in the closet which is usually a few degrees lower than room temperature. Hope that experience didn't put you off from smoking the hookah again.[/quote]I operated on the same premise for three or four years. Humidity shock occurs when tobacco, that has been kept at a certain temp/humidity is exposed to a radically different temp/humidty. Keeping it intentionally overdamp (In a humidor) will lead to more humidity shock, unless your humidor is big enough to smoke hookah in.

[Smashraj84]

Uh oh, Tang is on his postwhore binge again! 

[Lukasa]

[quote name='Tangiers'][quote name='zombiedepot']From my experience with cigars you want to keep the
tobacco humid, but I didn't know it was true with shisha. I store mine
in the closet which is usually a few degrees lower than room
temperature. Hope that experience didn't put you off from smoking the hookah again.[/quote]I
operated on the same premise for three or four years. Humidity shock
occurs when tobacco, that has been kept at a certain temp/humidity is
exposed to a radically different temp/humidty. Keeping it intentionally
overdamp (In a humidor) will lead to more humidity shock, unless your
humidor is big enough to smoke hookah in.
[/quote]

So wouldn't airing out shisha "humidity shock" it.  there doesnt logically seem to be a way around humidity shock.

[SanguineSolitude]

it would humidity shock it if you smoked it right away. his point is leave it out  for a good 4 hours or so to let it come to the same humidity as the environment. humidity shock isnt permanent. it occurs when the tobacco isnt "used to" the humidity it is smoked in. tangiers could probably offer a more scientific reason. he's good at that sort of thing.

[The Pope]

I find this very interesting. I'd love to hear a more detailed explaination.

[Lugia]

I can try...Tobacco is very susceptible to changes in humidity because of the fact that it's cured at certain specific humidities and stored at other specific humidities depending on what the eventual end-use is for.Cigar leaf, for example, is cured in a very humid method and although cigars are apparently dry, they prefer to be in a 70% humidity environment at 70 degrees. This is the optimal storage temp/humidity for them after being made from that particularly cured leaf. Cigarettes, on the other hand, are made from a drier-cured (and sometimes even fire-cured) leaf, so the end-product there isn't so dependent on humidity and temperature as a critical storage factor. However, smokers will notice that cigs that have been left in a damp environment don't seem to smoke or taste quite as good as ones left in a drier one. Again, this is similar to the issues inherent in cigars; cigarette leaf was cured drier.Now, ma'assel comes from a leaf stock that's actually more akin to the 'bright' leaf used in cigarettes, and initially, it's cured that way. But then the addition of the honey or molasses and flavoring comprises another curing process, and this one is decidedly more damp than the original. So ma'assel needs to be stored...optimally...at room temperature and at a humidity that's closer to the dampness of the 'recured' product. If the room is too dry or too cold (relative humidity lowers in cold environments, such as your fridge, remember), that's when this phenomenon known as 'humidity shock' can occur, causing your ma'assel to smoke badly. It's especially a common problem in summer, when everyone cranks up the A/C and pulls loads of humidity out of the indoor environment.About the best thing you could store ma'assel in would be some sort of humidor, as it strikes me that the 70/70 'rule' for cigars would also be a decent storage criteria for ma'assel if one were really fussy. But thanks to the fact that the 'bright' leaf was used in this, you actually have a bit more leeway than that narrow range. Still, I wouldn't suggest leaving ma'assel open and unprotected; consider something somewhat airtight such as the plastic tubs used by some brands, and make sure to leave it in a fairly constant room temperature. And not the fridge. Nope.

[steve07]

Actually the way tobacco is cured depends on the climate to where the tobacco was grown because alot of the time the leaf after its been harvested get thrown in a barn some were for a little while then when it gets transported to different curing stations its cured it will go from complete wetness to complete dryness depending on the type of tobacco that is being manufacted. It can go through alot of different humidities. Heck tobacco is reslinent and can usaully recover. I order cigars by mail they are usaully dry when I get them and after about a week in my humidor they are fine. Mas'sael is different that alot of moisture is add to it when it is made and but it still needs to be aclimated to the enviorment if it was sealed airtight for a while. It needs to breath.

[sheeshabum]

I've read at least in 2 places that the refrigerator has a bad effect on the sugar content of the mu'assel.

[Sonthert]

Yes, but glycerine and other components in the tobacco are humectants, sucking up humidity...they are in far larger quantitites than any other product, too.