Quote:
Originally Posted by Cigar_Noob
So I told a friend of mine about "purging" and he tried it and said it didn't seem to do anything..that and I saw no flame coming out of the tips like in the pictures...however..maybe that doesn't always happen? whats the proper way of purging?
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Just blow back though the cigar lightly for about 15-25 seconds or so.
The torch flame is optional - it doesn't really make or break the purge, what it really does is give you a visual indicator of when all the crap has burned off. This is both gases and liquid/solids like tar that accumulate just forward of the coal (the burning leaf tips).
Basically, think of a hot stainless steel pan. Now pour oil in it. What happens? The oil skitters away from the actual hot spots and forms a ridge right next to the hot zone. Depending on which way you then move the pan, the oil will skitter either away or toward the heat source. This is what's happening with the tar and crap, between it's own capillary action and you sucking on the cigar, you're pulling this puddle of goop just forward of the coal. Now, it leaves a snail trail and burning this trail tastes like hell. The longer you smoke, the larger the collection of crap, the larger the deposit as it moves. By blowing through the cigar, you're forcing this crap into the coal to be incinerated. As it incinerates itself, it generates gasses that react with the torch flame and cause a glow.
In your friend's case, some cigars just taste like crap and no amount of purging will ever help them, it's possible that he had one of those cigars.