Expert: James Yee - 6/29/2008

Question
Hi James,

It's been almost 4 months since I got your advise on how to manage my ad-hoc tupperdors... So far so good. Took your advise and did not try to fiddle with the nominal 68%-72% RH already maintained in the various containers. Took your advise (sort-of) in rotating the cigars periodically... instead, the boxes are being moved around, some SBN's turned top side down, some SLB's to the side, etc. Your advise in upgrading to a large/cabinet type humidor has been, and continues to be, a "to do" in my list; this is somewhat of a challenge as I presently reside in Shanghai, and although I'm aware a huge number of cigar humidors are being made in China, sourcing one here is not trivial... believe it or not. Anyhow, a few questions:

1. Noticed "some" cigars, just very few--total less than 30 in fact, in "some" of the boxes, in "some" of the tupperdors, developing "some" evidence of mold. (I've simply wipe the cigars and the inside of the box clean with dry paper towel, and put everything back as before... Have yet to see recurrence of mold on these.) Considering the RH maintained is close to ideal, any thoughts as to why I'm seeing this mold thing?

2. With the same randomness as in #1 above, I've noticed some wrapper cracking/splitting, some at the foot, some at the head of the cigars... while cigar swelling not being evident at all. Any thoughts as to why I'm seeing this cracking/splitting?

3. Being quite aware what cigars are, ie: not some lifeless product perfectly made each and every time... Are the above observations in #1 and #2 simple facts of life?... If there's something I could do to improve the storage/aging process of my cigars, your advise would be appreciated... but do shake and slap me around if I'm showing signs of becoming obsessive/compulsive about these cigars...

Regards,
--victor

Answer
Hi Victor,

To answer your questions:

1.  A powder-like substance on your cigars may not necessarily be mold and could be mineral trace and/or bloom(plume) so you will need to examine it closely.  When examining this substance, it's important to remember that mold will appear in random patches and be thick and fuzzy in appearance.  Like mold that you would find on spoiled food, cigar mold can also be white/grey in colour but also have other colours such as green, blue or even orange.  If you observe a mold particle with a microscope, you will see a long tube body with a round mushroom cap-head.  Mold is the result of high humidity (see answer #2) or contamination from our hands.  If left untreated, cigar mold can quickly spread and render your cigars unsmokeable. (Once mold spreads to the open foot of a cigar, it cannot be smoked/saved.)  To remove mold from your cigar and humidor, delicately wipe the mold off your cigars with a damp paper towel, re-wipe the surface with a tiny bit of Isopropyl alcohol before delicately re-wiping again with distilled water.

Mineral trace on the other hand, is a fine, loose, powdery substance and resembles corn starch or baking flour.  Mineral trace occurs when water that is NOT 100% distilled is used inside a humidor.  Water that is not 100% distilled will still contain mineral deposits which in a humidor environment, cannot dissolve and instead, will circulate and accumulate over time.  Mineral trace can also have a chalky appearance and form on cigars, the humidification device and humidor interior itself.  Mineral trace is quite common in humidors that use tap, boiled, filtered and improperly distilled water.  Commercially bottled drinking water will also create mineral trace due to it containing elements such as calcium, fluoride, sodium, magnesium and various sulfites.  Mineral trace is not harmful to your cigars but can create an alkaline taste in your cigars as well as clog your humidification device.  To clean your humidor, simply brush and vacuum it up thoroughly.  The humidification device must be flushed thoroughly with distilled water.  On cigars, it can be wiped up delicately with a damp paper towel.

Finally, bloom/plume is more dust-like in appearance.  It is often mistaken as mold but bloom/plume is in fact benign and a good thing.  Plume is the crystallization of the natural oils found in the cigar's wrapper leaf and is a sign that the cigars are aging quite nicely.  Plume/bloom is not harmful to your cigars and can be brushed off before smoking.

2.  Cracking/swelling at the cigar foot is a common occurrence.  This can be the result of normal handling (wear and tear) of the cigars as well as be influenced by humidity.  On an open-foot cigar, the open foot is always susceptible to swelling and cracking because unlike a closed cigar head, the foot is not reinforced by a cap.  In situations where there is excess humidity, the cigar foot always swells and may crack depending on how tightly-rolled the cigar is.

3.  Because Shanghai is extremely humid, especially in June, it's very possible that the natural environment humidity is affecting your cigars.  With a humid environment, your humidor's internal RH can react by fluctuating during the course of a day (without you noticing) and this is more than enough to cause mold to form or cigars to crack.  Keep your humidor in the coolest room possible and monitor the cigars on a daily basis.  Rotating your cigars can help prevent them from cracking but when rotating them, handle the cigars as delicately as possible.  If you find that the humidor's humidity is rising to dangerous levels, a 50/50 mixture of Propylene Glycol and distilled water will level it out at 70%.  You only need to add this mixture to your humidification device just once and refill with distilled water afterwards when needed.

Also, tupperdors are very effective at sealing moisture in.  In fact, sometimes they're TOO effective so it's important that you vent the container on a daily basis.  The best method to prevent over-humidification with tupperdors is to let the lid rest closed but loose.  This will allow humidity to seep through the gaps of the lid when needed.  Adding a Spanish cedar lining inside the tupperdor will prevent condensation from potentially building up and this can help prevent mold growth.

Hopes this answers your questions. If you have anymore questions, please feel free to just ask and I will be happy to help.

Regards,
James