Newbie needing expert advice!

[Snakes]

Apologies in advanced for the long post but if you can manage to make your way through it I would really appreciate the help! I really want to get this right from the start.

Hey all I am a newbie to the Cigar world and have just started investing in the necessary equipment for the journey ahead. This includes an Adorini Chianti Deluxe Medium humidor. It was reading instruction manual for this I came across the existence of cigar beetles (yeah...I know I should have known about this prior). I thought I had done my research on what I need to do to prepare for the cigar world but clearly I didn't do this well enough. Well since this discovery a couple of days ago all I can think about is Cigar Beetles. I currently only have some Davidoff signature 2000 tubos (in a tupperware with 69% boveda) and haven't invested in any more cigars yet as my humidor is still seasoning and I am now super paranoid about Cigar Beetles. I've tried doing online research on this topic but to be honest I've ended up even more confused with more questions than before I started. Reaching out to you folks who will have far more knowledge and experience than I in the hope of getting some definitive clarity.

To give an understanding of my climate....I live in London!


1) Should all cigars be frozen or only those that would be bought back directly without being professionally imported?
I only plan to purchase my Cigars from reputable sellers I don't plan on visiting any countries to bring any back or have somebody else bring any back for me. I have seen some sites say you only need to freeze what is brought over directly as all imports have already been frozen. I have also seen others say that although the cigars do get frozen they then get mixed up with non-frozen cigars during the export and transport process so can be infected again.

2) Should other cigars be frozen to protect against cigar beetles? Or is it only Cuban cigars that need to be frozen?

3) Is a normal home freezer suffice for the freezer treatment to kill any chances of beetles hatching or is a specific deep freeze temperature required instead? What temperature is required?
I've seen a mix of people saying that they just put it in their home freezer but also seen others say it needs to be done in a deep freeze at lower temp.

4) How do you keep your temperatures down in your humidor in the summer?
I don't know the temp inside my humidor as it's seasoning at the moment so not opened it and has no thermometer in it yet. I have put 3 digital thermometers on top of my humidor the lowest of which reads 77f (no heating or anything on, humidor is NOT by window or other heat sources). So as the hotter weather comes in it seems for sure the temp in my humidor will be too hot and in the zone for cigar beetles hatching? I don't particularly want to invest in a a wineador if I can help it, I already have way too many things plugged into sockets in the room including a half size fridge.

5) Are there certain cigars that are more at risk from having cigar beetles hatch and certain cigars that have little/no risk?

6) Has anybody experienced a cigar beetle problem in the UK from cigars purchased via a reputable company? If so how long ago was this?
The place I am buying my cigar equipment from is a very well known company with multiple shops in the UK and Europe and was the first internet Cuban cigar merchant. So a well established company. I have also spoken to them for advice and they informed me as long as I buy my cigars from a reputable company I should not be at risk of cigar beetles and they have never had a customer report cigar beetles from cigars they have purchased from them.

7) I was originally planning to use the recommended 72% Boveda packs in the humidor as recommended for wooden humidors but now planning to use 69% in the hope of dropping the humidity a bit to help prevent cigar beetles hatching. Is this worth doing?
I'd prefer a slightly dryer cigar than a beetle infested one.

8) At what temperature should I start worrying about mould forming on the cigar? Any tips on increasing the temperature in the humidor during colder periods?

9) I've now rented a humidity and temperature controlled client locker from the company I plan to buy my cigars from and I am now thinking of using that to store my cigars during the summer and having cigars sent to me upon request then maybe housing some of the cigars in my humidor at home during the cooler months. If I can't keep my temp down how long can I safely store the cigars in my humidor before risk of them drying out or cigar beetles appearing?

10) Has anybody had any experience of cigar beetles hatching below 70f temp with humidity in the 60s or the humidity above the 70s with the temp below 70s? Trying to understand if both temp and humidity need to exceed 70 for cigar beetles to appear or only one.


Again apologies for the super long post but appreciate you if you managed to make it to the end and appreciate you even more for any answers/clarity you can provide. I was looking really forward to getting into this world and now my OCD and paranoia is running riot since this cigar beetle discovery. A youtube video by the owner of a cigar merchant in the US states "it's not if you get a cigar beetle infestation it's when". This makes it sound like I will inevitably suffer this issue.

[Alexw33]

If you buy your cigars outside Cuba there’s no real need to freeze, feel free too if it will give you peace of mind though after all collecting and smoking cigars is supposed to be enjoyable so try not to stress.

Obviously there’s no guarantees but it’s unlikely to be a serious issue in the UK climate, just be vigilant checking your cigars every now and again (more so in the summer) so that you catch it early if you were to get unlucky.

Just my view after around a decade of keeping cigars and others may weigh in but I’ve not really heard of people having issues on here.

[Alexw33]

Also just to add 72% humidity is too high in my opinion. Aiming for around 65% will lead to less issues both for storage and when smoking.

[ha_banos]

Hey there snakes. I'm also in London so I guess our climates are similar

I've been keeping cigars for around 15 years. No beetles yet!

Freeze any customs. Provenance as you say is everything.

Some guys do freeze everything. Even if it's from official sources. I don't. I only bother to freeze customs etc. Domestic freezer around -18•C would be fine. Wrap em up. Get rid of as much air as possible. Fridge for a day, freeze for 3, fridge for a day, room temp for a day, remove from wrapping, into humidor.

I tend to keep humidity 62-65. You'll relax with time ☺️

Welcome to the Obsession...

B.

[Snakes]

Hey both, thanks so much for the quick and helpful responses. To confirm "customs cigars" is referring to cigars bought through customs by an individual rather than properly imported through the professional channels?

So at the very least freeze all that have come through customs but no harm though not necessary to freeze any purchased through reputable seller.

With regards to the humidity I was under the impression that to use 72% Boveda pack in a wooden humidor as the humidity is likely to settle lower than this due to the loss of humidity through the humidor and 69% in an air tight container. I was thinking of changing to 69% Boveda in the the wooden humidor expecting it to result in about a 65% humidity. I know they say to experience with different % to find what you like, curious though do you use Boveda packs or humidifiers? If Boveda what % do you use?


ha_banos do you use a temp controlled humidor/wineador?

Thanks! I notice from previous threads you go to some of the events at the company I buy from, I hope to get to one of their events in the future so will hopefully meet you at one.

[ha_banos]

No temp control here and I use passive humidity - humidity crystals with a mix of distilled water/propylene glycol and a bunch of boveda packs I had.

And yes, custom cigars are not official exports and have not already been through a freeze is my assumption. There are plenty of retailers that offer customs etc, but I treat them all the same.

Humidity levels you'll find out where they settle in your environment. You can adjust or relax from there. It's a long game!

Plenty of London events for sure, Havana Exchange have a LE Mag 56 / Japanese Whisky tastingevent coming - but its £145 so I'll pass. AJ also holds monthly events. There's JJ events too and CGars St James hold 2 tastings a month IIRC. We are not great at organising our own so these help!

[Drewster]

Hey both, thanks so much for the quick and helpful responses. To confirm "customs cigars" is referring to cigars bought through customs by an individual rather than properly imported through the professional channels?

So at the very least freeze all that have come through customs but no harm though not necessary to freeze any purchased through reputable seller.

With regards to the humidity I was under the impression that to use 72% Boveda pack in a wooden humidor as the humidity is likely to settle lower than this due to the loss of humidity through the humidor and 69% in an air tight container. I was thinking of changing to 69% Boveda in the the wooden humidor expecting it to result in about a 65% humidity. I know they say to experience with different % to find what you like, curious though do you use Boveda packs or humidifiers? If Boveda what % do you use?


ha_banos do you use a temp controlled humidor/wineador?

Thanks! I notice from previous threads you go to some of the events at the company I buy from, I hope to get to one of their events in the future so will hopefully meet you at one.

Hey snakes i think when they are saying customs the mean custom rolled cigars by an individual in Cuba who works at the factories some of them will sell their own rolled cigars and because these wouldnt have gone through with general production they are never frozen before you get them so you would need to freeze these,

Anything coming through customs from another country wouldnt need to be frozen before you store them as they will have already been through that process at the factory hope this helps

Edit: i was too slow Banos already answered lol

[Snakes]

Thanks both for the explanation on customs.

Definitely reassuring to know somebody in the same climate as me has not used temp control and no beetles within 15years

Appreciate the help and guidance!

[ShaazK]

Mate I’m guessing you dislike insects, but I wouldn’t get stressed about this. Over the past i haven’t personally seen beetles or boxes that have been infected. Yes it does happen, but no I don’t think it’s something to be anxious about.

If you’re really worried, do what the guys suggested re the fridge/freezer/fridge and do a quarantine procedure for all new purchases as a regular routine.

The most important part: PLEASE Don’t let anxiety about beetles ruin your enjoyment of a most pleasurable hobby!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Snakes]

Thanks ShaazK yeah for sure was definitely getting anxious. I was seeing videos and articles that were saying "it's not if you get cigar beetles it's when" which made it sound inevitable. Then I was seeing some "big players" in the game reporting cigar beetles in their stock. So it really felt like every cigar was a serious risk if the temperature and humidity could not be kept right. However this now seems that really it's only the custom Cubans that are at risk and generally Cubans imported through official channels and new world cigars aren't really at risk.

Solution to customs is to fridge/freezer/fridge them and they are no longer at risk. Personally though I don't plan to get customs and only plan to buy from respected retailers though it seems some of them sell customs so I guess there's no way to guarantee if it's a custom or if it's imported correctly even from reputable sellers so goes back to perhaps fridge/freezer/fridge all cigars including new world cigars. Once this process is done then the cigars can be kept indefinitely in the humidor without any worries.

Happy to be corrected if I have misunderstood and got this wrong but that's been my take home from the great advice shared here.

[mcdee]

Thanks both for the explanation on customs.

Definitely reassuring to know somebody in the same climate as me has not used temp control and no beetles within 15years

Appreciate the help and guidance!

Your last name isn't Plisken by any chance is it?

[Snakes]

haha no. It came from my younger days when I had pet snakes and just became the default username I used. I was thinking I should probably grow up now (I am 31!) and stop with the nick name, but where's the fun in growing up?

[mcdee]

haha no. It came from my younger days when I had pet snakes and just became the default username I used. I was thinking I should probably grow up now (I am 31!) and stop with the nick name, but where's the fun in growing up?

Touché. My username is also the nick name some of my mates gave me yonks ago.

[Snakes]

Not related to the Golden Arches?

[mcdee]

Not related to the Golden Arches?

In a way yes. Though my name pre-dates them.