Quote Originally Posted by AndyCAYP View Post
From your original statement I read "pressure" and assumed "atmospheric", as in the self-contained and pressurized world inside a sealed tin, but your response indicates a slant towards the pressure at which a kake or flake was pressed, too.

Here's my issue with Latakia: while I agree that it softens and grows with age - anything does, that's why I have various bottles from St. Emilion tucked away in the basement with open dates of 2020 and beyond - to what degree does Lat lose its oomph and to what degree does the VA components sweetenening and becoming more assertive affect a blend and to what degree does an overall continued marrying of flavors homogenize a blend?

Not that I took issue with your post - I was actually hoping you had a case for atmospheric pressure because goofing around with that in regards to aging my own tobacco would be neat - but I want to believe there's more than just a simple "Lats fall off a cliff with age" reasoning behind what we experience with our beloved cellars.
Hi Andy,

Tobacco ageing is a recent phenomenon and the idea that more age is always good is incorrect just as it is with wine. Red wines (for example) all change with age but not all beneficially, same with tobacco. In my experience the ability of a tobacco to continue ageing beneficially is related to the varietal ability to accept flavors. You wouldn't age a Syrah as long as your Bordeaux.

I didn't say that Latakia 'falls off a cliff', just that over time it loses flavor. It can age (beneficially) longer than Burley but not as long as Virginia. Remember that it's an Oriental leaf that's smoke cured so that the flavors aren't intrinsic to the tobacco.

Moisture, heat and pressure affect the ageing rate. Atmospheric pressure, I assume, will be similar in most cases but if one tin was packed with pressure and another not then the former will age more quickly. Flakes are just tobacco under greater pressure.

I've had several experiences of an old tin being opened (mine or friends), to oohs and aahs, but it was aged too long and didn't taste as good as expected. In private others agreed. I'd suggest to anyone cellaring tobacco to have a Best By date, (based on component leaf).

Virginia loses some acidity (like wine) sometimes relatively quickly (starting around a year). With more time the sugars in Virginia can come to the surface. You posted a picture of a flake with a lovely plume the other day. Less acid reduces the sharpness and the surface sugar (plume) seems sweeter but also deeper (but actually not either).

Regards,

Pete