Vacuum Sealing

How well does vacuum sealing in plastic bags work? Does it affect the aging process in a negative or positive way? I have a vacuum sealer and with all these new FDA regs I'm considering buying in large bulk amounts, (which I've never done before), and putting it aside for later use. Do the plastic bags impart a flavor over long term storage? I know I could use canning jars but the bags seem like a better option in terms of storage space. What say you?

That would be a great question for Russ at P&C.

Here's what a blog on tobaccopipes.com says about it:

Cellaring Tobacco: The Dos and Don’ts - TobaccoPipes.com

Do NOT Store In Plastic
One of the worst crimes a smoker can commit is to store their tobacco in plastic long term.

People believe it is OK to store tobacco in plastic, mostly because when they buy tobacco from their local tobacconist, they store the tobacco in a plastic bag. The intent behind that bag is that you take it home and store it in a jar, or that you smoke it relatively quickly. We are never given plastic bags to keep as storage containers.

The chemicals in the tobacco will begin to erode part of the plastic. This is then absorbed into the tobacco (not good). On top of that, the plastic will itself absorb the tobacco. It will begin to ghost (change colors). Just like how you store chili in a tub container, and after a few weeks the container is no longer clear, but brown, your tobacco will do the same.

“Pounds of tobacco are often delivered to shops in plastic”, you may say.

The truth is is these plastic bags have been chemically engineered to store tobacco for up to five years. So they are safe from the effect.


I don't know if you remember about the 5 lbs. of bulk Dunhill My Mixture that I purchased at the Nashville Pipe Show last year that was unsmokable. It had been stored in the original bag for about 10 years and bit like nobody's business. I ended up giving it to @Lostmason who tried various remedies and wasn't able to improve it. Anyway, my theory is that the casings reacted with the plastic bag and created some nasty contaminant that tainted the tobacco.

Well ...... so much for that idea.

Wonder if there is any study on the mylar/metalized plastic food bags? https://www.uline.com/BL_5552/Food-Bags
Esoterica has been using the mylar/metalized plastic bags for some time. Before that, they used plastic. Makes me wonder how good some of this is anymore after reading the report.
Pipestuds Consignment Shop

Mylar

You can cram quite a bit into mason jars. Flakes are also another obvious choice for effeciency sake. I have 20 lbs cellared now, 99% of which is in jars, and it can get kind of expensive to buy jars. if I were to do it over again, I'd just cellar everything in quart jars. Now I only put the stuff prone to age really, really well long term in 8 ounce jars, since I don't need to interrupt aging for more than a few ounces. Everything else is going in quart jars.

Just to chime in my two cents, that tobacco Tab sent, I don't really remember the flavors.
But, I do remember the burning numbness. Tried washing it and letting it dry, no go.
No amount of drying time helped. It was saturated with that chemicle number.
You know with meats you wrap in wax paper then foil, maybe a wax paper pouch with
the tobacco then slide it in a vacuum bag.

If you do vacuum seal, you may want to leave a little air in the bag to allow the tobacco to age. Per this from GLP:

"Vacuum sealing is great for vegetables and coffee, but is pointless for tobacco. Tobacco needs some air to be locked in with it , at least to begin with, in order for it to age. A perfectly vacuum sealed container will likely keep the tobacco "fresh," but it may not really age the way we expect it to. I'm more than a little suspicious about the heavy plastic "bags" used by most of these machines. They hold moisture in just fine, but they really don't prevent gas exchange, and I'm not sure they're truly able to stand the test of time. Tins are best. Jars are a close second. The special high barrier bags we used for a while for our 8oz packaging have several layers, each designed to be impenetrable to a different sort of molecule. I've conducted extended tests with this material, and am satisified that the tobacco will age nearly, if not as well as in the tins, at least for the short term. They are only slightly evacuted to facilitate packing and sealing. For best long-term aging, though, I still recommend tins." - GLP

In addition to the new FDA regs there's another reason to start buying in bulk soon. On the ballot here in California is Proposition 56 which is expected to pass by a wide margin. This is from the official voter's guide:

" A YES vote on this measure means: State excise tax on cigarettes would increase by $2 per pack—from 87 cents to $2.87. State excise tax on other tobacco products would increase by a similar amount. State excise tax also would be applied to electronic cigarettes."

Everything is about to get a lot more expensive.