Expert: James Yee - 3/27/2008

Question
James,

Recently I went in on a purchase of Don Diego and H. Upmann cigars with a friend of mine.  I have a humidor, he does not.  I've been keeping mine in my humidor at about 69%RH 72degF.  To keep his cigars fresh, I suggested he store them in a sealable plastic bag or tupperware with a block of cedar (which came in the box of cigars) saturated in distilled water.  I also suggested using a saturated sponge.  He has tried the cedar block in the plastic bag, but it dries out within 3-4 days. How long does the block take to saturate with distilled water in the first place?  What other suggestions can I give him?  Anything else I might be forgetting to tell him?    

Thanks for the advice!
-Greg

Answer
Hi Greg,

Until your friend gets a humidor, the best option for him to store his cigars is to use a "humi-pouch".  Humi-pouches are Ziploc-style bags with a humidified lining built into the thick plastic.  They're extremely user-friendly and require no maintenance.  They're intended for short-term cigar storage and travel and once the seal on a bag is broken, it can keep his cigars fresh (@ 70%) for 3 months straight.  After 3 months, he would need to replace the bag or relocate his cigars to a more permanent home such as a humidor.  Humi-pouches are available in a variety of sizes and can accommodate everything from a few single cigars to whole boxes.  You can find them at your local cigar store/tobacconist and depending on the size of the bag, they can cost anywhere between $5 - $15 per bag.

Alternatively, your friend can definitely use a tupperware container as a makeshift humidor but instead of saturating the cedar block, what he should do is line the container with cedar (the thin cedar sheets inside cigar boxes are perfect for this) and add either an aquafoam-based humidification device (the same, inexpensive ones used in desktop humidors) or a crystal/gel-based humidification unit and charge it with distilled water.  These humidification devices are all fairly inexpensive and you can find them at your local cigar shop/tobacconist for $5 or less. Also, because tupperware containers (or "tupperdors") are extremely effective at retaining moisture, it's not necessary to saturate the cedar.  However, when keeping cigars in a tupperdor, it's important that your friend periodically vents the container so that the trapped moisture does not cause his cigars to expand or grow mold.  The best method to do this is to just let the lid rest closed but not sealed shut and this will allow air and moisture to automatically vent through the tiny gaps/spaces between the container and the loose lid when needed.

Hope this answers your question. If you have any more questions, please feel free to just ask and I will be happy to help.

Regards,
James