Another Plume thread....but not that kind

[Isaac]

No argument from me.  All plume is mold per our forum.  Now I know that as long as it has not invaded the foot of the cigar, a simple wipe should be good enough.  This is where my topic comes in.  Recently delving into the pipe world, those guys cant be convinced that plume is not a thing.  My main concern, is if I do ever come across one of my sealed tins having crystals scattered throughout the tobacco, is it an automatic throw away?  Most people that consider pipe tobacco as having plume are referring more to crystals that form on the tobacco, rather than the white powder.  

[SenorPerfecto]

Mold or bacteria.

 

Would you smoke it?

[The Squiggler]

10 hours ago, Isaac said:

No argument from me.  All plume is mold per our forum.  Now I know that as long as it has not invaded the foot of the cigar, a simple wipe should be good enough.  This is where my topic comes in.  Recently delving into the pipe world, those guys cant be convinced that plume is not a thing.  My main concern, is if I do ever come across one of my sealed tins having crystals scattered throughout the tobacco, is it an automatic throw away?  Most people that consider pipe tobacco as having plume are referring more to crystals that form on the tobacco, rather than the white powder. 

I've heard a range of explanations for crystals in sealed cans such as "it's a powder used to keep the blades from getting too sticky during processing" to "it's crystallized sugars and nicotine"... You're right though... pipe smokers are avid plumers (don't seem to believe tobacco can mold at least).  I'd be more willing to believe the former explanation than the latter if I was presented with a source, but still... I bet if you took it to the lab you'd find it was mold.

edit: didn't consider the flavor additives/sweeteners... these might indeed crystallize

[Arctic Dude]

Pipe tobacco is often "cased" or "topped" with ingredients such as licorice, corn syrup, and sugar. As such, any crystal formation could be due to these compounds. At least, that's my hunch!! 

[dominattorney]

1 hour ago, Arctic Dude said:

Pipe tobacco is often "cased" or "topped" with ingredients such as licorice, corn syrup, and sugar. As such, any crystal formation could be due to these compounds. At least, that's my hunch!! 

True, it appears at least to make more sense. Still, no plume found on drew estate acid cigars so I will remain a skeptic until proven wrong. Karl Popper says falsification is the high road to true wisdom. But what does he know? Hes dead. 

[Isaac]

Has anyone ever submitted pipe tobacco to the study to see if perhaps this crystallization might be sugars?

[mwaller]

5 hours ago, Isaac said:

No argument from me.  All plume is mold per our forum.  Now I know that as long as it has not invaded the foot of the cigar, a simple wipe should be good enough.  This is where my topic comes in.  Recently delving into the pipe world, those guys cant be convinced that plume is not a thing.  My main concern, is if I do ever come across one of my sealed tins having crystals scattered throughout the tobacco, is it an automatic throw away?  Most people that consider pipe tobacco as having plume are referring more to crystals that form on the tobacco, rather than the white powder.  

As others have said, all commercial pipe tobacco has some type of additives.  Even if they aren't flavored, most have humectants that keep the tobacco from crumbling when it dries.  During my brief stint as a pipe smoker, I found that most flake tobacco will develop some whitish crusty stuff after a few years of storage.  From the aroma, I really doubt that it is mold.  I think it is residue from the additives.     

[Fugu]

23 hours ago, Isaac said:

My main concern, is if I do ever come across one of my sealed tins having crystals scattered throughout the tobacco, is it an automatic throw away?

Not at all. Keep it, enjoy it! (at least holding for the strongly-pressed tobaccos, such as flake, cut and plug etc). As others already said, pipe tobacco is something completely different to cigar tobacco (cigar- as well as occasional pipe-smoker here).

20 hours ago, Isaac said:

Has anyone ever submitted pipe tobacco to the study to see if perhaps this crystallization might be sugars?

Yes, had been done - just have another look at the study, round two, or follow the thread from here. Regrettably, it hadn't been looked into the chemical nature of the "white substance" in the samples under study.