There's something about shyness that has never appealed to me. One of the reasons why my Denver, Colorado flagship cigar shop has one of the best smoking rooms in the state is so my customers can challenge me. Challenging each other is why we have a good time, and how we learn new things about Cigars. Cigar smokers in the blog community are no different. Recently, I discovered that I've been buying into a pervasive myth regarding cigar humidors: that a decrease in temperature should be followed by an increase in humidity, and vice versa. This is a common, but totally false belief.
To help set the records straight, we're going to observe a fine treatise on the subject from The Cigar Smoker's FAQ. The section on The Variable Humidity Myth articulates how there are a number of authorities claiming that relative humidity should move in an inverse direction from temperature: i.e. if you're maintaining a 70% RH humidor at 70 degrees, and the temperature falls to 65 degrees, the humidity should be raised to 75% RH to compensate. In fact, the humidity should stay constant regardless of temperature.
This is primarily because the tobacco within a cigar needs just enough moisture to keep it elastic, but not so much as to create expansion. This level is always around 70% independent of temperature. Why? Because we're not talking about how much moisture is physically in the tobacco (to keep the absolute moisture the same if temperature dropped, you would have to raise the humidity). What we are talking about is the sweet spot between tobacco leaves getting too brittle (68% RH or lower) and tobacco leaves beginning to swell (73% or higher). This sweet spot is always around 70% RH.
For those of you excited about Chemistry, take a look at the The Cigar Smoker's FAQ which observes what's really going on with the molecules in varying humidor climates.
Chalk another one up for learning something new in an industry that always has something new to offer!
Article comments
1 - DrPat
I'm in favor of a dryer smoke - because then the cigar reduces to ash that much faster...
(not a fan of second-hand cigar smoke.)
2 - matthew Rosen
It is tough out here in Colorado to keep a cigar properly. It is extremely dry out here, So I usually run my humidors in the store about 75% humidity, which is a little high, but by the time you get home, your cigars are perfect, NOT dry!!
Keep Smoking!
Matthew Rosen
3 - RJ
I went on a cigar kick about 5 years back. I was reading C.A. magazine, and holding forth on the merits of various types of cigars, whether from the DR or from CR.
Anyway, I got over that real quick. Fact is, when I smoke a cigar, I don;t care much about the quality of the leaf, or the tightness of the roll. I usually too drunk to give a flying you-know-what.
So, just gimme a SS, wood tip, and I'll do fine...
100% humidity works for me! But then again, I DO live in Florida... ;-)
4 - Dave Repp
The myth of 70 degrees and 70% humidity is just that.
There is not one hard and fast rule regarding the "best" humidity to keep your cigars at.
Most experienced cigar smokers run much closer to 65% humidity as the flavor profile improves and the draw is better.
Keeping the temperature below 75 is a must. Otherwise you could be having bettle problems.
For more detailed info go to cigarutopia.com.
5 - Galen
Well, I agree that the relative humidity theoretically should not change with temperature in a closed container and also that the ideal RH for long time storage lies around 72%.
But in practice, I always get problems, sometimes even with with mold, during the hot summer months because of the temperature in my apartment rising up to 28 degrees Celsius and the RH in my humidors running away to 78-80% RH! How do you explain this?
I use propylene glycol and water in the usual 50/50 ratio in my humidifiers.
My personal theory is that the propylene glycol/water-system is not linear, when it comes to its property of keeping the RH around 72%, outside ordinary room temperatures! Does anyone have information about this?
6 - JLC
I use the humidity beads these are the best when it comes to humidors they self regulate and are low maintenance. They come in 655 and 70 % and they last indefinetly.