How to Freeze and the Science behind it. Long Post

[Perfecto]

Tim......Thank you so much. This is one article I had not come across yet.
I'll give it a good reading when I get the time a little later.


Puff on.......................Dave

[Coach Deg]

Great info!!! Thank you!!!

[MiamiE]

Is it 100% fact that Habanos SA freezes all stock before shipping to distributors?

Originally Posted by MiamiE

Is it 100% fact that Habanos SA freezes all stock before shipping to distributors?

All?

100% fact

I would venture to say no.

But even if they do the vendors use warehouses and or large humidors that may have beetles in them anyway so the freezing at Habanos SA does not preclude that they will not come in contact with the little vermin prior to getting to your humidor

[MiamiE]

Great. I will start by freezing my current stock!

Awesome discussion. Thanks guys. Information like this is invaluable to a newbie like me.

Originally Posted by MTBAlex

Awesome discussion. Thanks guys. Information like this is invaluable to a newbie like me.

I'm in the same boat..This is prob the most valuable cigar thread I've ever read.

Thanks gentlemen I am glad you got some value out of it. That makes it worth writing up stuff like this if people get some value from it.

[Ferrari5180]

Very informative topic, and I thank you for this. My initial plan when I first got introduced to cigars, was to never freeze my cigars and hope for the best, until one day I opened my humidor and found a little portion of my stash affected. It was that day that I decided that all cigars bought, would go through a 5 day freezing process, and 2 day refrigeration process to ensure those diabolic creatures never show their faces again. Until now, I have had no problems, or change in taste of cigars. I have tried the same one's before freezing and after, and if anything the frozen one's taste better. (It might be Psychological ) Nevertheless, I enjoyed reading this thread, and I hope no one has to go through the troubles of dealing with beetles ever.

[MiamiE]

Shawn do you have any opinion on freezing cigars to kill mold and mold spores?

Originally Posted by MiamiE

Shawn do you have any opinion on freezing cigars to kill mold and mold spores?

Yup

From my research a normal household deep freeze will not go low enough to kill mold spores, it makes them dormant while they are frozen but does not kill.

Mold likes two things, warm and moist. The best way to keep away from mold on your sticks is too watch you temps and RH.

Oxygen-rich environments with humidity over 70% and temperatures above 60 degrees Fahrenheit are ideal for mold growth.

Keeping boxes closed (so no spores get in) and maintaining your RH less than 70% (my preference is 64 to 66% but YMMV) and temps sub 70F is the best way to avoid it.

regular inspection (especially of freshly received over-humidified sticks) can catch mold early and it can simply be wiped off with a soft rag, paper towel or soft bristle brush.

[MiamiE]

That's my problem. Two boxes of tubos way over humified. My humi is 68* and 62% but I want to kind of get these things dried up!

[MiamiE]

They came from the vendor like this.

Well if the mold is off them just let them acclimate slowly, rushing the process can cause uneven humidification in the cigar causing burn issues etc.

Give em a month or two and they should be fine, assuming you took them out of the tubos.

[MiamiE]

I was hoping to be able to keep them in the tubos once I dry them out. Should remove them from the tubos?

[icehog3]

Originally Posted by MiamiE

I was hoping to be able to keep them in the tubos once I dry them out. Should remove them from the tubos?

If there is cedar in your tubos, remove that for sure.

[MiamiE]

Cedar is inside the tubos. I will seperate all tomorrow when I take them out of their frozen sleep.

If you want to keep them in the tubos that is fine.

But I agree with the Hog get rid of the cedar (it is likely full of mold spores) also I would swab out each of the tubos with Isopropyl alcohol and let them air out while the sticks are acclimating to the RH that you want once they get there you can put them back in the tubos if you want

[icehog3]

Originally Posted by SilverFox

If you want to keep them in the tubos that is fine.

But I agree with the Hog get rid of the cedar (it is likely full of mold spores) also I would swab out each of the tubos with Isopropyl alcohol and let them air out while the sticks are acclimating to the RH that you want once they get there you can put them back in the tubos if you want

Good advice indeed.

[T.G]

If they came from the vendor full of mold, you should be taking a photo and emailing them to have them send replacements, not worrying about controlling the mold**. You paid for good product, not a blue cheese infused cigar. It's their job to deliver you a quality product as promised.


**: unless of course they told you to just toss the moldy ones and they sent replacements, then by all means, control away on the moldy cigars rather than toss them. I know I'd at least consider it, depending on how bad the mold is.