Expert: James Yee - 8/17/2010

Question
Hi James,

im sure you have read a million posts with the subject line "mold or plume".   And dont get me wrong, ive read a lot of posts and know that Mold tends to look like little mushrooms upon close observation, tends to be more patchy, and harder to rub off.   Plume on the other hand is more of a coat, and tiny tiny crystals...

all that info seemed great when I had never really had to deal with it, but lately ive seen a white substance on some of my cigars and cant tell which it is.   I opened up my humidor to see that upon close inspection, there is some white stuff on a couple of my montecristo #2's.

Its not enough or maybe its really really small, but I cant determine if they look like they have mushroom heads to determine whether it is mold (dont think they do).   It is not patchy from what I can tell, but definitely not covering the whole cigar.   I might have guessed it was plume, but it doesnt seem to rub off even when I try.

The #2's are the only cigars that seem affected.   But I also did notice before that the #2s seemed to have an oilier wrapper, and correct me if im wrong, but I think plume is where the oil in the wrapper is extracted to the surface?  maybe im way off...

Is there any other way I can determine whether I have plume of mold?   Cause I can not make a visual assessment as of now, perhaps its in the really really early stages.   Should I be worried that I can not rub off the white areas?

Answer
Hi Andy,

The best way to differentiate mold from plume is that plume will appear evenly over a cigar like a very thin coating of dust while mold will appear in thick spots or patches.  In your humidor, the most common place for mold to frequently form is on the top layer of cigars closest to the humidification device.  

If the white substance is bright white and forms in spots, it's most likely mold caused by either bacteria or high humidity.  Does the white substance resemble mold that you would find on spoiled food?  The fact that you mentioned that the white substance doesn't rub off leads me to believe that it is mold.  The good news is that because you caught it early, you can still save your cigars.

Yes, plume is the natural oils in the wrapper leaf extruding and crystallizing over time.  Plume doesn't have to cover the entire cigar but it will usually cover a large area of it; usually the area of the cigar that is exposed and visible the most.

I hope this helps!  As always, if you have any more questions, please feel free to just ask and I will be happy to help.

Regards,
James