Expert: James Yee - 8/12/2010

Question
QUESTION: Dear James;
I read your fascinating exchange with a guy who had found cigars with holes; and your instructions to (deep) freeze the cigars.. Some help please on what I suspect may be the same topic :-(.
I'm (relatively# new to the joy of cuban cigars; I just took delivery of a couple of new boxes and only having a small desktop humidor have to shuffle remaining cigars around to make room.. I separate the space in the box with the card from the boxes the cigars are packed in.
In emptying one area, I found no beetles and no holes, but a fine black dust that I found suspicious. It is not particularly hot in the UK but we have had a very hot spell.. I have already located the humidor in the coolest cupboard of the coolest room in the house, however..
Rolling one of the cigars vertically between thumb and forefinger yielded dust from the end of one of my Hoyos, #luckily not the double coronas!# possibly a second, but no others and there was no dust anywhere else in the box #which I have now cleaned out).
Do I need to freeze all of my cigars, or just the suspect ones?
Will Freezing them damage them or change the flavour?

Many thanks in advance for your help,

Kind regards,

Will.

ANSWER: Hi Will,

A fine dark powder in your humidor is a definite sign that tobacco beetles are present.  Though your cigars do not show any visible signs of holes or beetles, the fine black/dark brown dust indicates that the beetle(s) have hatched inside the cigar(s) and are beginning to chew their way out.  (This fine powder is a combination of tobacco beetle fecal matter and chewed up tobacco.)

Whether or not you should freeze all your cigars or just the suspect ones is entirely up to you.  I would suggest that you freeze all your cigars since you have mentioned that the UK has had a very hot spell recently and there's no way to know exactly which cigars have beetle eggs and which don't.  (It's better to be safe than sorry!) Also, because you're only freezing the cigars for a short time, it won't affect the flavour of the cigars or damage them physically.

It's good that you caught the beetle infestation early.  If your cigars went unchecked a little bit longer, some of your cigars would be ruined. :(

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

Regards,
James

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thanks James,

Really impressed with the speed of your response!

After reading other posts on the web I decided not to take the chance and have put all my cigars, including the new ones - bagged in their boxes - into the deep freeze!. They arrived by post - no knowing how hot they've got (and they're Cuban).
The follow up questions... Some articles state it's important to put them in the fridge for a day first, then put them in the freezer to avoid damage.. then after they've been in the freezer for a few days, return them to the fridge for a day before returning them to the humidor. It's a bit late - but does it matter?!

Last question; Aside from potential damage - my first question - I understand that the real issue with freezing them is removal of moisture (close to the process used to make instant coffee). How critical is it that the bags are absolutely sealed? All I had was freezer bags, which I have taped shut. I had understood that as long as cigars are left to rest in a humidor for several days after getting dry they will be fine - is this true?

Kind regards,

Will

Answer
Hi again Will,

It's not necessary to move the cigars to the fridge before you freeze them but when removing them from the freezer, you can let the cigars sit in your refrigerator for a day before returning them to the humidor.  This will let the cigars gradually return to normal temperature.  This step is only necessary if you live in an extremely hot environment as letting ice cold cigars slowly return to room temperature prevents heavy condensation from building up on the cigars.  (Too much condensation on your cigars can cause moisture saturation which leads to wrapper leaf damage and possibly mold growth.)

If after you've removed the cigars from the freezer and the cigars begin to bead with moisture, delicately wipe them dry with a clean paper towel and then place the cigars in the refrigerator.

After your cigars have been frozen, they will indeed have lost some moisture so it's best to let them sit in your humidor for at least a week or two before you smoke them.  Using freezer/Ziploc bags and even Tupperware containers is perfectly fine. The bags/container should be sealed securely but does not need to be 100% air tight.

Regards,
James