Plume or Mold?

[jazzbass]

I don't know if it made sense or not, it was just something I remember reading in "Cigar Aficionado"..

Here it is...

Take a look at the Cigar Aficionado web site's Glossary for more info.

"Plume, which is also called bloom, is a naturally occurring phenomenon in the cigar aging process. Oils that exude from the tobacco in a finished cigar will appear as a fine white powder and can be brushed off without leaving a mark. Plume is not to be confused with mold, which has color to it and stains the wrapper."

"Mold is a A potentially damaging fungus that forms on a cigar when it is stored at too high a temperature. Mold tends to have color, and when brushed off a cigar it leaves a stain. Cigars with mold on their feet should not be smoked. A fine, white powder that can be brushed off without leaving a mark is known as plume or bloom, and is not harmful for your cigars."

[Smallclub]

I don't know if it made sense or not, it was just something I remember reading in "Cigar Aficionado"..

mold, which has color to it and stains the wrapper."

Mold tends to have color, and when brushed off a cigar it leaves a stain.

This is just not true. Most of the time mold is white and doesn't leave anything when brushed off…

[CanuckSARTech]

Agreed with Smallclub. While that CA explanation was pretty good, it does leave out the white mold. It's pretty common, probably 80-90% of mold issues hypothetically, and like others have said, just brush it off and continue, if it's not massively infested into the foot of the cigar. If it doesn't have colour to the fuzz, you're fairly safe.

Cheers.

[jazzbass]

Thanks for the help. Because this is a problem that could damage the prized, not to mention expensive contents of my humidors, I'm grateful for the feedback.