Interaction of temp and rh

[T.G]

Originally Posted by shilala

I'm guessing you stress about keeping the temp so low because you're worried about beetles?
When tobacco is fermented, the internal bale temp reaches over 118 degrees. Proteins denature at 106 degrees. That means beetle eggs should all die in the process.
That's why when we get cc's that never see any air conditioning or cooling whatsoever, seldom if ever do we see any beetles.
It's because their process and product absolutely requires that the tobacco be cured properly and carefully. If not, the ambient temperature in their storage and processing would be overrun with beetles.
The only time a beetle egg gets through is when the bales aren't pulled apart and resorted and restacked inside out often enough or completely enough.
In all the years I've smoked, and all the thousands of cigars that have passed through me, I've seen exactly one beetled cigar, and it came that way.
I keep a cabinet at 75 degrees all summer.
I keep a humidor outside on the back porch all summer.
I keep a humidor in my shed all summer. (It gets brutally hot in there at times.)
Not once have I ever hatched a beetle.
All that was to get to this...
I hate smoking cold cigars. I've watched all this stuff just so I'd be comfortable keeping my cigars at any temperature.
I keep my vino at 70 degrees, because that's as high as I can get it to go.
Still no beetles, and the cigars are so much more inviting.

[sarcasm]
And beetles will NEVER lay eggs on the leaves after they have been fermented. Nope. Not a chance. They could never go near a box of finished tobacco, because they just HATE the taste of it...
[/sarcasm]

[NCRadioMan]

Originally Posted by shilala

That's why when we get cc's that never see any air conditioning or cooling whatsoever, seldom if ever do we see any beetles.

Habanos has been freezing for more than 3 years now, fwiw.

Originally Posted by MajorCaptSilly

There was a lot of debate about this years ago on alt.smokers.cigars newsgroup. The conensus was that temperature has little or no effect on cigars (unless you're freezing or baking them). The correlation between temp and RH is non-existant. If you are at 57 degrees and 57% humidity, your cigars may be a little dry for you. If you're at 57 degrees and 75% humidty, you're going to have wet, plugged cigars and maybe some beetles.

MCS

Agreed except high humidity doesn't cause beetles to hatch, high temps do. However, like Carlos and others that can't control temps, some never or seldom see them and others see them often.

[T.G]

Originally Posted by NCRadioMan

Habanos has been freezing for more than 3 years now, fwiw.

I thought it was more like 5-6 years ago that they started flash freezing all the finished product prior to shipment?

Prior to the freezing, they had been using fumigation for a few decades (or possibly longer).

[NCRadioMan]

Originally Posted by T.G

I thought it was more like 5-6 years ago that they started flash freezing all the finished product prior to shipment?

Prior to the freezing, they had been using fumigation for a few decades (or possibly longer).

Yeah, I think that's right. I did say more than 3 years.

Time fly's.

[T.G]

Originally Posted by NCRadioMan

Yeah, I think that's right. I did say more than 3 years.

Time fly's.

LOL - yeah, it was a poorly phrased response on my part.

[T.G]

Originally Posted by NCRadioMan

Agreed except high humidity doesn't cause beetles to hatch, high temps do. However, like Carlos and others that can't control temps, some never or seldom see them and others see them often.

[shilala]

Originally Posted by T.G

[sarcasm]
And beetles will NEVER lay eggs on the leaves after they have been fermented. Nope. Not a chance. They could never go near a box of finished tobacco, because they just HATE the taste of it...
[/sarcasm]

Good point.
In my way of thinking, quality control ought to have taken care of that by the end of the cigar making.
I had no idea Habanos flash freezes their cigars. I don't believe it for a second, either, but that's just me. The cost effectiveness would be so outrageously prohibitive and that government is gonna hang on to every penny they can get their hands on. I just can't imagine it actually happening.
What I CAN believe is that they would say it happens.
I suppose if you freeze you can take a lot less time working the tobacco properly, but with slave labor, you can restack a lot of leaves for what it'd cost to freeze cigars.
Don't pay me any mind, I'm just thinking out loud, but thanks for making the point. It's what made me think about it in the first place.