White spots

[James811]

Hi guys ans girls, I had a few cigars delivered yesterday and one of them has a couple of white spots on, I have left this out of my humidor as I fear this may be tobacco beetle, is this correct or am I being paranoid? I have only been smoking a month or 2 so please excuse my low level of knowledge. Can someone please advise me of whether or not I need to do anything with this cigar.

Kind regards, James

[Pleevy]

I am no expert, some experts may request a picture or 2 for a proper appraisal of the situation. I have had a couple of cigars turn up with some light surface mould before, I was advised to wipe off with a dry cloth.

[Styler]

Hi James, Beetles cause little holes not white spots. It's more likely to be mould that has occurred during transit. Do they wipe off?

Pics would help with a diagnosis.

[James811]

Did wipe off a bit, would it be worth my while putting it in a zip lock bag in the humidor to stop wrapper to wrapper contact and smoke it first?

[Styler]

If it's just the one stick and the rest look fine then yes, keep it separate and use this as an excuse to smoke it sooner rather than later.

If you are concered about the rest of the delivery coming into contact with your collection then have a look around the forum for info on freezing cigars on arrival. A lot of people do this to keep tobacco beetles at bay and it may have a positive effect on mould spores as well. I personally don't bother, just make sure your humi isn't too warm or too humid as that can encourage mould.

[James811]

Humidity has been a tad high at about 72 or 73 but since I put the rest of my cigars in (there were only 5 before) it has dropped to 66 or 67 which I feel more comfortable with. I have put it in a bag which will stop contact, that is enough for me!

[Agricola]

Hi guys ans girls, I had a few cigars delivered yesterday and one of them has a couple of white spots on, I have left this out of my humidor as I fear this may be tobacco beetle, is this correct or am I being paranoid? I have only been smoking a month or 2 so please excuse my low level of knowledge. Can someone please advise me of whether or not I need to do anything with this cigar.

Kind regards, James

Cigars with mould on the foot should be ditched without smoking. As for mould in the form of white spots on the wrapper it should be brushed of and can be smoked afterwards.

To address the confusion between bloom and mould: When a cigar has white spots on the wrapper the only way to tell between bloom and mould is to look through a microscope. Bloom is crystaline and mould is not, you cannot tell from looking a picture or even with the eyes since bloom is often discoloured in much the same way mould would be.

Either way wether it is bloom or mould the cigars have been stored incorrectly. The cigar will get bloom because it was allowed to slowly dry out and probably took over the job of humidifier in a humidor. Resulting in chemicals such as ammonia being brought to the surface by the moisture in the cigar as it travels to the wrapper then evaporates. The mould comes about due to high humidity, however unlike many believe high temperature does not increase mould risk. In fact mould will grow more readily and quicker in low temperatures but requires 80% humidity for weeks.

Bloom or mould?

The white spots you get on the wrapper are usualy bloom and it occurs for many reasons but it is a plume of crystilline chemicals from within the cigar, but even if it's mould treat the same and brush it off and give it some time in a stable enviroment before smoking. If it's on the foot of the cigar then it's mould and it should not be smoked but binned and all your cigars should be check just to make sure.

When buying don't buy the cigars wether it is bloom/plume or not since no matter what a cigar with anything on it other than what it had leaving the factory means it's not been stored properly. Would you purchase a brand new car with Rust on the body? Why not though? I mean you can just take it off when you get home and the car will be no worse when driving it, right?

Someone will probably say I'm wrong but that's the method I use when it comes to mould or anything that looks like it.

[Styler]

To address the confusion between bloom and mould...

Was there any?

[Agricola]

Was there any?

I was lazy and copied my reply from another thread

[monkey66]

White spots are sometimes just white spots. Some wrappers have them.

Bloom or plume is like a crystalline dusting, very distinctive and you will know when you see it.

Mould is mould

[Zigatoh]

Mould is mould

That clears that up thank you! Sometimes the simplest answer is the best, tbh I've seen both and it's usually pretty bleeding obvious!

[Nightwingvyse]

It won't be tobacco bugs, they leave holes not spots. As it happens, one of the cigars in the order i received today, a Partagas Serie D No. 2 (i never bulk-buy my cigars, i always get customized samplers), had some white fluff on it. It's only the second time i've found these on my cigars, and the first time i have found it on one i just got. Both times they were in a patch so mold is the first thing that comes to mind, but as it wiped off easily and left no mark whatsoever, i assume it's just plume. The Partagas i found this on only this morning is being kept in the humidor semi-quarantined in its own tube for the next week or so just to make sure.

Plume is typically white and mold is typically the classic mold colour you'll find on anything, but this isn't always the case. From what i've read Mold usually presents itself as if it's part of the actual cigar, whereas the plume seems like something's been sprinkled on it.

[monkey66]

Sorry to be blunt but forget plume/bloom!!! this is just confusing the issue. Plume/bloom is a specific crystalline 'dusting' (for want of a better expression). If you ever see (which is rare on young sticks) it you will know it. Everything else is mould of differing degrees!

We have to stop talking about mould and pulme/bloom in the same discussion. Mould is mould is mould ....that is it.

[TJCoro]

New Rule?

I was lazy and copied my reply from another thread

Muchachos, may I suggest that when you borrow something from another site/forum that you credit the source of the information (author/forum/etc). It's only proper, don't you agree?


BB


Hey BB! Does that include THIS FORUM?


(Hurumph!) ESPECIALLY if it comes from this forum, blu-balls.

[Smallclub]

We have to stop talking about mould and pulme/bloom in the same discussion. Mould is mould is mould ....that is it.

Exactly.
Plus, plume is extremely rare and NEVER occurs on young cigars.
(MRN's theory is that plume appears when aged cigars undergo a thermic shock)