Expert: M J Robbins - 2/27/2010

Question
I have purchased some leaf. I fermented it for about thirty days @110-118 degrees. I noticed there was alittle white around some of the main rib. I assume that is mold. There is also some little black circles arond the leaves. Will the mold effect the entire leaf and are the circle's some sort of mold.

Answer
The white stuff could be mold, wipe it with Rubbing alcohol and it will kill the mold evaporate and leave no taste or aroma.
Black circles could be mold that developes on the leaf in the field that is common. Many cigars have this type of problem and usually it goes unnoticed by most people.

I would need to see pictures to be 95% sure of any solution.

What are you doing with the tobacco?

Rolling cigars is an art like painting a picture.
I've seen millions of bad pictures rolled by people that do it all day long.
The tobacco has to be kept in proper conditions for months and years. Then rolled by artists - mediocre ones for most cigars and good ones for a few cigars. But all work 8 hour days rolling in ideal conditions. Also there are experts that pic the leaf and tell the roller how to mix the leaf for the perfect even smoke. It usually takes even the best rollers 1,000s or 10s of thousands of cigars to get a size down right.
So - a new line I see on the market might taste good, but it can take 6 months for the rollers to really get the hang of the leaf and the size to nail perfection or even come close.

You read somewhere to keep the tobacco warm but now you have a problem and you should keep it at 70 degrees to protect the leaf.

Mike