A humidor is an essential tool for any cigar enthusiast. It provides the stable environment your precious cigars need to maintain their quality and flavor. But before you can store your cigars in a new humidor, you need to season it. Seasoning a humidor is a crucial step that ensures a proper humidity balance and prevents your cigars from drying out or becoming too moist.
What is Humidor Seasoning?
Humidor seasoning involves raising the internal humidity of your humidor to ideal levels (generally between 65% and 72% relative humidity). This process hydrates the wood lining, usually Spanish cedar, allowing it to regulate humidity effectively. Without seasoning, the dry wood can absorb moisture from your cigars, ruining them.
How Long Does it Take?
The length of time to season a humidor will vary slightly depending on a few factors:
- The size of your humidor: Larger humidors will naturally take longer to absorb enough moisture and reach the desired humidity level. A small humidor may take as few as 3 days, while a very large humidor could take up to a week.
- Type of humidification system: Boveda packs, which use a chemical solution to maintain a constant humidity level, will generally reach the target humidity faster than traditional methods that rely on distilled water in a sponge or humidor. This is because Boveda packs can add or remove moisture from the air as needed, whereas traditional methods can only add moisture.
- Desired thoroughness: While some may find their humidor ready after a few days, many aficionados recommend a full two weeks of seasoning to ensure the wood is fully saturated and can effectively regulate humidity over time. This is especially important for larger humidors or those who value a consistently perfect environment for their cigars.
The Seasoning Process
Here’s a simple step-by-step process to season your humidor:
- Choose your humidification method: Boveda packs (which provide two-way humidity control) are popular due to ease of use, but distilled water in a container or a dedicated humidifier work too.
- Place humidification inside: Use enough to reach your desired humidity level. Boveda packs will list the size humidor they are intended for.
- Install a reliable hygrometer: This will allow you to monitor the interior humidity.
- Wait: Avoid opening your humidor during the seasoning process, even if your hygrometer reading looks off at first.
- Check After Seasoning: After the 1-2 week period, your hygrometer should have a stable reading in the ideal humidity range.
Tips for Effective Seasoning
- Use distilled water to avoid any mineral buildup in your humidifier or on the wood. Mineral deposits can clog the humidifier and restrict its effectiveness, and can also leave unsightly white stains on the wood. Using distilled water eliminates these problems.
- Consider wiping down the interior of your humidor with a lightly distilled water-dampened cloth before beginning the seasoning process to speed it along slightly. This helps to pre-moisten the wood, reducing the amount of time it takes for the humidor to reach the desired humidity level. However, avoid soaking the wood, and be sure to let the humidor dry completely before placing the humidifier inside.
- If using Boveda packs, dedicated 84% RH seasoning packs are available for quicker results. These packs are designed to raise the humidity level in your humidor more rapidly than standard Boveda packs. Once the humidor is seasoned, switch to regular Boveda packs of the desired RH to maintain proper humidity levels.
- After the initial seasoning, switch to the desired RH Boveda packs or regularly replenish your humidification source. Once your humidor is seasoned, you’ll need to maintain the proper humidity level for long-term storage of your cigars. Boveda packs can last for several months before needing replacement, while traditional humidification methods require more frequent monitoring and refilling.
Patience is Key
While it’s tempting to immediately load up a new humidor with your cigars, a little patience now will reward you with perfectly preserved, flavorful cigars in the long run!
jay
Self proclaimed cigar expert. I've been smoking since 2010. I've practically lived at a cigar lounge from 10am to 10pm and trying every new cigar that came out for years.
