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"Drying" The Tobacco First…(?)


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yo peeps. word to my homies in this online hood (my real estate teacher who's in his 60's informed the real estate finance class that 'hood' means neighbor hood to "those kids" today… :P ) i know it's been a while since i've been here.

anyway, let's get quick to the point, to the point no faking

…i digress.

my cousin prepared a hookah for us a couple of weeks ago and i noticed it having a different texture (i guess that makes sense). when i asked him about it he said that he dries the tobacco before loading it now. I'm fairly confident that i've seen a post like this before a LONG time ago, and i scoffed at those fools (possibly due to my ignorance and possible pompousness and ostentatiousness at the time - yeah, i'll admit it) for doing something as seemingly preposterous as drying the tobacco, but i must recant.

i haven't tried this with other flavors yet besides AF grape and mint (my mix - not the prepackaged/pre-mixed stuff) - and I imagine you can only successfully pull this off with hyper-saturated tobaccos. my cousin insists that it "burns cleaner"...whatever that means. i'm no chemistry major, nor do i pretend to understand even the most basic principles of combustion, but i do know that it does have an effect on the final result of the texture of the smoke and indeed the flavor. it makes both the texture and flavor lighter, and not in a bad way. don't misunderstand or misinterpret me, i'm all about full-bodied flavor, but i personally believe that AF grape, especially, can be somewhat overbearing and drying off the tobacco beforehand mellows everything out, and makes sure that the mint and grape combination is well balanced.

"how do i do this?" some of you may ask. simple. fill the head with tobacco, and then add a little extra. dump it all out into half a sheet of paper towel and then dab thoroughly. then, with your newly slightly less damp tobacco, proceed as usual.

i haven't noticed any decrease or otherwise negative impact on the smoke quality or quantity. in fact, the head seems to start more quickly and maintain the same longevity. I've only tried this in traditional, egyptian and lebanese type heads, and have no clue if it would work differently in a funnel, crown, or any other new gadget that's been developed in my absence but i couldn't imagine the result to be much different.

let me know if you guys have tried this, do this or have any different results or the different effects using different tobaccos. i'd like to know.

take care, kiddos.
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told you so. Especially if you have that bit from the bottom thats practically swimming in molasses (AF molasses always tend to just gather at the bottom, so if you forget to shake it up a little every now and then you get the bottom layer of your baccy drenched), just drain some of that shit out and you got yourself a delicious smoke.
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The closest I've ever gotten to this is old, dried-out Starbuzz... Pineapple, as a matter of fact. I love the flavor. Only one worth getting from Starbuzz, in my opinion. I got a 250g tin from Jay. Smoked it once, then left it in my stash and forgot about it for a few months. Found it and said, "Eh, I'll load it up." I noticed it was a LOT drier than before (because it had been stored simply in the non-airtight tin, nothing else. It smoked better than I had remembered. I also noticed this with the Social Smoke Mobster Jay gave me as well (I stored it the same way, just sitting in the tin).

That said, I currently have an almost full 250g tin of Starbuzz Pineapple sitting in my stash doing the same as the tin I had before. :D
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i've been doing this to my most recent batches of af grape and mint, which are quite fresh. i just mix everything up well and then dry it out. AF is getting so goopy it's pathetic. those bastards, artificially inflating the weight by adding more liquid.

occupy al fakher.
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[quote name='antouwan' timestamp='1323519223' post='532458']
yo peeps. word to my homies in this online hood (my real estate teacher who's in his 60's informed the real estate finance class that 'hood' means neighbor hood to "those kids" today… :P ) i know it's been a while since i've been here.

anyway, let's get quick to the point, to the point no faking

…i digress.

my cousin prepared a hookah for us a couple of weeks ago and i noticed it having a different texture (i guess that makes sense). when i asked him about it he said that he dries the tobacco before loading it now. I'm fairly confident that i've seen a post like this before a LONG time ago, and i scoffed at those fools (possibly due to my ignorance and possible pompousness and ostentatiousness at the time - yeah, i'll admit it) for doing something as seemingly preposterous as drying the tobacco, but i must recant.

i haven't tried this with other flavors yet besides AF grape and mint (my mix - not the prepackaged/pre-mixed stuff) - and I imagine you can only successfully pull this off with hyper-saturated tobaccos. my cousin insists that it "burns cleaner"...whatever that means. i'm no chemistry major, nor do i pretend to understand even the most basic principles of combustion, but [b]i do know that it does have an effect on the final result of the texture of the smoke and indeed the flavor. it makes both the texture and flavor lighter, and [u]not in a bad way.[/u][/b] don't misunderstand or misinterpret me, i'm all about full-bodied flavor, but i personally believe that AF grape, especially, can be somewhat overbearing and [b]drying off the tobacco beforehand mellows everything out, and makes sure that the mint and grape combination is well balanced.[/b]

"how do i do this?" some of you may ask. simple. fill the head with tobacco, and then add a little extra. dump it all out into half a sheet of paper towel and then dab thoroughly. then, with your newly slightly less damp tobacco, proceed as usual.

i haven't noticed any decrease or otherwise negative impact on the smoke quality or quantity. in fact, the head seems to start more quickly and maintain the same longevity. I've only tried this in traditional, egyptian and lebanese type heads, and have no clue if it would work differently in a funnel, crown, or any other new gadget that's been developed in my absence but i couldn't imagine the result to be much different.

let me know if you guys have tried this, do this or have any different results or the different effects using different tobaccos. i'd like to know.

take care, kiddos.
[/quote]
[quote name='vendetta_revived' timestamp='1323523293' post='532467']
I've never done this. Doesn't it post the risk of losing flavour?


[/quote]

:P
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[quote name='mushrat' timestamp='1323522342' post='532465']
if its sopping wet, you can wring it out with your hand or pat it with a paper towel. I've gone that with overly juicy stuff, but not as a regular thing.
[/quote]

i'm definitely going to make this a regular thing. as i've now gone through two more bowls like this, it seems like it makes the heat easier to control, as if it's much more predictable and less susceptible to burning and/or temperature swings or something. i'm going to keep experimenting with this, and i'll be sure to prepare the bowls like this later for the clasico, and see what my friends think about it.

i know lounges/cafés in my area do this - i assume[d] to cut down on the mess, but maybe they're doing it for flavor...(?)
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Dare I say that one time I went 5 hours with SS Mobster (all dried out) using my Tangiers Mini Phunnel, Al Fakher Cocos... That shit was hella resistant to burning and there was STILL flavor left when I was done. Craziest session I've ever had, by far. Even crazier than the 7-hour session I had with Tangiers, because I knew Tangiers could last me that long. :P
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[quote name='Chreees' timestamp='1323524731' post='532473']
Dare I say that one time I went 5 hours with SS Mobster (all dried out) using my Tangiers Mini Phunnel, Al Fakher Cocos... That shit was hella resistant to burning and there was STILL flavor left when I was done. Craziest session I've ever had, by far. Even crazier than the 7-hour session I had with Tangiers, because I knew Tangiers could last me that long. :P
[/quote]

oh sheeeeeeee

i'm not turning back after this
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[quote name='Santino' timestamp='1323537376' post='532480']
This is the rule of thumb on the very rare occasions I'll smoke fantasia. Inf act, it's almost necessary to get a good smoke. I think for my own interests sake I'll try with Tangiers tonight.
[/quote]In my head, I just heard Eric say "WTF?"

Haha.
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[quote name='vendetta_revived' timestamp='1323542338' post='532486']
I want to ask how much juices am I looking to extract out of the tobacco here? Can someone provide pictures of the tobacco before and after the process?
[/quote]

i mean, it isn't a science. i understand your desire for replicable results, but i didn't even know what the hell i was doing. i asked my cousin what he did and he said "I dried it." i asked how and he said just to blot it with a paper towel. i might be able to provide pictures here in a little bit. but just as a heads up, you know how the tobacco that's really wet is super shiny and glossy? well, after you blot it, it should be rather matte in appearance.
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[quote name='antouwan' timestamp='1323547798' post='532500']
[quote name='vendetta_revived' timestamp='1323542338' post='532486']
I want to ask how much juices am I looking to extract out of the tobacco here? Can someone provide pictures of the tobacco before and after the process?
[/quote]

i mean, it isn't a science. i understand your desire for replicable results, but i didn't even know what the hell i was doing. i asked my cousin what he did and he said "I dried it." i asked how and he said just to blot it with a paper towel. i might be able to provide pictures here in a little bit. but just as a heads up, you know how the tobacco that's really wet is super shiny and glossy? well, after you blot it, it should be rather matte in appearance.
[/quote]

Thanks! Pictures will be helpful, but only if the difference between "before" and "after" is discernible in them. I actually just load up a bowl of AF mint and I did blot it with a paper towel before doing so, so lets see how it goes. :) I will be giving my opinion on this method after at least trying 3-4 times with different flavours. *fingers crossed*
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alright, i'm uploading a video now ish, actually. idk when i'll actually post it, because the clasico is about to start in like 7 minutes...so probably after that - so in two hours ish
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I will have to try this with AF, which can be hit or miss for me. I find its either not enough heat to really draw the flavor or just to much and it makes it scratchy.
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