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Tasteless cigars

tom82tom82 Everyone, Registered Users Posts: 5
I have been having problems with my cigars, they have become flavourless, they taste like cotton wool, or if you were smoking them through water, its like the flavours have been sucked out of them (pun not intended),  it's like you're not really smoking anything. No flavour/ taste, etc. taste like steam or water, just taste blehhh.

I have recently changed over to using Boveda 72% rh humidity packets in the last several months or so, my humidor is a large 300-500 count Havana Footlocker I also have a Ravello humidor with the same problem regarding lack of flavour, using about 5-6 boveda packets in the humidor.
The humidors are about 75-80% full.
Humidity is at 70% mark and temp is around 60f as well, humidity and temp have not been fluctuating up or down.
Ambient humidity (outside the humis is around 50%.
I was previously using the black rectangle humidifiers that came with the humidors and charged them with pg solution and distilled water 50/50. The flavourless has begun around February this year, our summer here was above average with days above 90-93f inside the humidors which as you know is not acceptable, and the humidor placed in the coolest place in which is the wardrobe, no air con here.
I am mu'ding (binning) a large number of sticks
It has been suggested to me to re season the humidor, which is the step I am looking at taking next. Moving the sticks over to temporary accommodation in an esky while re seasoning the humidor which will probably take around a week
I am planning on using the 84% boveda seasoning packets, how many would i require for seasoning this large humi?
I think the sticks were "shocked" by the heat over summer, if this is the case, would it be possible to rehabilitate these affected sticks?
Could it be possible that te boveda packets are drawing out the flavour and replacing it with the water vapour that they emit?
If the humidor was leaking humidity the hygrometer would be fluctuating. I am using Xikar digital hygrometers (calibrated by using the boveda hygrometer packet or done with the salt test).
I have also been dry boxing and having mixed results with this.

Any ideas, comments, suggestions will be much appreciated.

Comments

  • kuzi16kuzi16 Everyone, Registered Users Posts: 14,471
    nothing is wrong with your RH. if it is holding correctly then clearly that isnt the issue.

    boveda doesnt suck out flavor only moisture. the flavor is in the oils. no need to worry about that.

    the heat probably was not the issue either.

    i think you are barking up the wrong tree. you keep looking for things that could have happened to your cigars or your humidor.

    i think its most likely you.

    how do other things taste?

    has food and drink become muted as well?
    can you still smell things the way you used to?
    did you burn out your palate?
  • Bob LukenBob Luken Everyone, Registered Users Posts: 3,664
    I'd like to know what this line means.

    "I am mu'ding (binning) a large number of sticks"

    What exactly does mu'ding or binning mean? Are you storing a large number of sticks, or throwing away a large number of sticks, or smoking a large number of sticks? Don't know if clearing this up with me will help anybody understand this any better but I'd like to know.

    And I think Kuzi's onto something. Your taste buds may be dull. Are you smoking a LOT of cigars since Feb? Did you start any new medications or herbal supplements at that time? It may have nothing to do with the cigars themselves.
  • Ken LightKen Light Everyone, Registered Users Posts: 3,524
    Nah, they're ruined. I have a list of addresses of people that love tasteless cigars you can send them to, if you want it. Just kidding, Kuzi's probably right.
  • Russ55Russ55 Everyone, Registered Users Posts: 2,762
    What kind of cigars are we talking about?
  • RhamlinRhamlin Everyone, Registered Users Posts: 4,530
    kuzi16:
    nothing is wrong with your RH. if it is holding correctly then clearly that isnt the issue.

    boveda doesnt suck out flavor only moisture. the flavor is in the oils. no need to worry about that.

    the heat probably was not the issue either.

    i think you are barking up the wrong tree. you keep looking for things that could have happened to your cigars or your humidor.

    i think its most likely you.

    how do other things taste?

    has food and drink become muted as well?
    can you still smell things the way you used to?
    did you burn out your palate?
    I agree with Kuzi. It could be almost anything. Are you smoking a lot of cigars? May need to take a break. Could be diet, hopefully it's not physical.
  • Lee.mcglynnLee.mcglynn Everyone, Registered Users Posts: 5,228
    Maybe you just like the harsh flavors if sticks rott and now that they have say they don't taste the same?!?!
  • bigharpoonbigharpoon Everyone, Registered Users Posts: 2,909
    What kind of cigars do you like to smoke and how old are they?
  • onestrangeoneonestrangeone Everyone, Registered Users Posts: 1,423
    I know that when I work with certain kinds of wood it can and will throw my taste off for a few days, the Spanish cedar is really bad it takes about a week to work thru and that's if I wear a mask!
  • tom82tom82 Everyone, Registered Users Posts: 5
    Say two to five per week or every few days. Yes food and drink have the flavours I'm used to experiencing from them.
    Have not changed medications
    See http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=MU'd re mu'ding.
    Seriously don't know what binning means? To place (something) in a bin, a bin is a receptacle for storing a specified substance (usually waste).
    What cigars are they, well the collection I have at the moment has an amount of Gurkha cigars (Black Dragon, Special Ops, Vulcan, Ninja), Oliva Serie V, Graycliff, Tarano Noventa, Don Pepin Cuban Classic Black label, Rockey Patel, Diesel, Perdomo, MUWAT, Undercrown, Ramon Bueso, Cain Daytona, Cain maduro, Nub Habano also have some Cubans Montecristo 520 EL and a box of RASS.
    (I'm in Australia)
  • tom82tom82 Everyone, Registered Users Posts: 5
    tom82:
    Say two to five per week or every few days. Yes food and drink have the flavours I'm used to experiencing from them.
    Have not changed medications
    See http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=MU'd re mu'ding.
    Seriously don't know what binning means? To place (something) in a bin, a bin is a receptacle for storing a specified substance (usually waste).
    What cigars are they, well the collection I have at the moment has an amount of Gurkha cigars (Black Dragon, Special Ops, Vulcan, Ninja), Oliva Serie V, Graycliff, Tarano Noventa, Don Pepin Cuban Classic Black label, Rockey Patel, Diesel, Perdomo, MUWAT, Undercrown, Ramon Bueso, Cain Daytona, Cain maduro, Nub Habano also have some Cubans Montecristo 520 EL and a box of RASS.
    (I'm in Australia)


    Have had this stock since last year. I like a range of cigarss from Nicaraguan, DR, Honduran, Brazil, Cuba etc.
  • CAcigarguy007CAcigarguy007 Everyone, Registered Users Posts: 239
    Not trying to get into another flame war over it but if you are using beads (beads= kitty litter) then that might be the problem. I know a lot of guys use them, I did also, until it started to affect the flavor of my cigars by zapping flavor and giving off a "taint" that was off-putting. I won't respond to any of the naysayers out of respect to the forum but I feel that I must say my piece. Cigar beads+ kitty litter (silica) may be good for paintings ect but for a hygroscopic media like cigars, zapping oil is not your friend. Your flavor is going into the beads and we cigars smokers need all the VOC's (volatile organic compounds) we can preserve as they equate to flavor. Just my $0.02 and final word. Get rid of the beads!!!
  • Bob LukenBob Luken Everyone, Registered Users Posts: 3,664
    I guess binning must be a common phrase down under. We may share a common language but not all the terminology matches up exactly. I kinda wondered if it meant you were trashing them. I don't know what to make of your taste buds. I hope it's not anything serious. I mean it's bad enough that you can't taste your cigars but I hope nothing serious is affecting your taste buds.
  • tom82tom82 Everyone, Registered Users Posts: 5
    Binning trashing same thing.
    Simply put, you go through the motions of smoking cigar, but it's like you're not really smoking anything. No flavour/ taste, etc.
    Nope not using beads or kitty litter, using Boveda 72% packs at the moment.
  • kuzi16kuzi16 Everyone, Registered Users Posts: 14,471
    CAcigarguy007:
    Not trying to get into another flame war over it but if you are using beads (beads= kitty litter) then that might be the problem. I know a lot of guys use them, I did also, until it started to affect the flavor of my cigars by zapping flavor and giving off a "taint" that was off-putting. I won't respond to any of the naysayers out of respect to the forum but I feel that I must say my piece. Cigar beads+ kitty litter (silica) may be good for paintings ect but for a hygroscopic media like cigars, zapping oil is not your friend. Your flavor is going into the beads and we cigars smokers need all the VOC's (volatile organic compounds) we can preserve as they equate to flavor. Just my $0.02 and final word. Get rid of the beads!!!
    no flame war needed. just science.
    the flavor is in the oils. the beads dont soak up oils, just moisture that is in the air. oils dont get into the air the way water does.

    even if oils were leaving your cigars through the air they would leave your cigars no matter what device you use.


    that is all.
  • Ken LightKen Light Everyone, Registered Users Posts: 3,524
    CAcigarguy007:
    Not trying to get into another flame war over it but if you are using beads (beads= kitty litter) then that might be the problem. I know a lot of guys use them, I did also, until it started to affect the flavor of my cigars by zapping flavor and giving off a "taint" that was off-putting. I won't respond to any of the naysayers out of respect to the forum but I feel that I must say my piece. Cigar beads+ kitty litter (silica) may be good for paintings ect but for a hygroscopic media like cigars, zapping oil is not your friend. Your flavor is going into the beads and we cigars smokers need all the VOC's (volatile organic compounds) we can preserve as they equate to flavor. Just my $0.02 and final word. Get rid of the beads!!!
    Not to jump on this, Kuzi did a decent job saying what I wanted to, but think about this as well: you said it's good for paintings. Well, they can be used for oil paintings to no ill effect. Cigar flavor is in oil, as is the color of an oil painting. Beads don't cause oil paintings to fade and don't start to be colored. The same principle applies to the flavor-containing oils in your cigars.

    On the other hand, I'd guess that beads could be improperly calibrated or something so that they absorb more moisture than they ought to, drying out your cigars and their oils and killing their flavor.
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