Mold or Bloom??? Help!!!

Joined Feb 2006
340 Posts | 0+
smoking with the snake doctor
Last Friday, I purchased six singles ( Arturo Fuente 8-5-8 Flor Fina) from a local shop. They are cedar sleeved and celo wraped. Tonight I planed to smoke one and let the other 5 rest for a few weeks. When I toook the celo and sleeve off I noticed many small white spots where the sleeve was (maybe as many as several hundred pin point sized dots.) I have seen bloom on cigars before (I think) and this did not look like what I think bloom looks like - does that make sense to anyone?) My humi is steady at 68% so if its mold it existed before I got them. How do I know for sure if it is mold or bloom? Any advise?
 
Hi Brenda

If I had a digital Camera I would post a pic or two.
 
If it wipes cleanly off the wrapper you shoudl be fine. There can be a fine line between mold and bloom. If it is blue or does not easily wipe of the wrapper, pitch it asap before it effects the rest of your smokes.

Bloom is typically more crystal than it is white. However, I have some damond crowns that have light white mold on the wrapper. I just wipe it away and light up. No big deal.
 
ive had cigars that had white spots on them, like bleach splattered on cloth or somthing. i dont think its mold, more likely some water or somthing splattered on the cigar. or some one sneezed on it. lol
 
Brenda and Alex thanks for the help and pics, This "STUFF" is on 5 of the 6 I got last week. I looked at it under a magnafying glass and I think its mold. I have removed them from my humi and put them in a separate tupador and will watch them for a few days, Can you say science experament? (Can I spell science experament?) If this is mold is it likely that it will have spread to the rest of my stash? They were in celo. Again, thanks for your help.

Brad
 
Tupador... that is the source of your problem. Tupperware does not breath and can quickly become a breeding ground for mold.
 
My other cicars are in a humidor. I just put the affected ones in the tupador to separate them.
 
Already been covered by Alex but bloom is absolutely much more crystal-like in appearance. Out of cusiousity, did the cello have a yellow tint to it?
 
iminaquagmire said:
Already been covered by Alex but bloom is absolutely much more crystal-like in appearance. Out of cusiousity, did the cello have a yellow tint to it?
What does it mean if it has a yellow tint? I don't have any like that but, just in case. . .
 
Keeping a cigar in cello will slow the aging process. What quag is referring to is a situation by which the oils form the cigar turn the clear cello a shade of yellow.

Interstingly, some people use this as an inicator that a cigar is ready to smoke. I am not of that camp, but some people are.
 
Cellophane will turn yellow from age alone I believe, I'm not sure it is caused from the oils of a cigar. I have found lots of old cellophane that had fallen behind dressers etc...that was yellow...

:wink:
 
interesting?
I've seen plenty of Cellophane that was yellow -
I know that it is from age - does the oils have something to do with it?
Never thought about it?
 
THANK YOU BRENDA :thumbsup:

The pictures are very helpful and confirmed my suspicion of mold on a cigar I bought last October. The cigar shop owner where I bought a "The Griffin's Special XXI Edition" told me it was plume due to aging and recommended it to me. The display case style hummidor had a wet & mold smell when he opened it but it was near the humidifier. So I thought that was the cause of the odor.

This is one of two bad sticks I had bought from this place and will never buy from again. I would like to give everyone the name of the shop to prevent anyone else getting bad sticks but I'm not sure if its ok to post it on the forum. Are we allowed to post the name and location of shops like this?
 
You can post it here or in the bad traders post. Please be fair in your assesment of the business and state exactly what happened. Make sure you tell both the good and the bad of the shop. Did you tell them that you had cigars with mold and ask them for a refund or credit towards other cigars? Did they try to resolve the situation or did you not approach them? If they did you wrong, let us know. If they didn't know what the problem was, well thats another story.
 
Cimmerian, don't thank me thank CastleCrest. He's the one that originally posted it.

I'm sorry to hear about your moldy cigar. :cry: Did you smoke it?
 
Thanks CastleCrest for posting the mold & plume pics and to Brenda for posting them again. Being a cigar rookie, I appreciate all the valuable information in this forum.

I tried smoking the cigar but only about a 1/4 of it. I think not knowing at the time if it was mold or plume gave me such a bad feeling which caused me to stop. After seeing the pictures, I'm glad I stopped and didn't finish it. I also bought a CAO Brazilia at the same time and it left a bad after taste.

I thought about returning but the shop owner's customer service skills lacks a lot to be desired. The same guy owned a pool table & supply place and I've seen how he treats people with a problem. So I didn't bother taking it back. The place is Cigar Time in Cerritos Calif. and I wouldn't recommend this shop to anyone due to this experience. I guess to be fair I should try the place one more time but I'm afraid of being burned twice.
 
Cimmerian, if you're ever in the Torrance area, check out Cigar Emporium (Torrance Blvd and Satori). They've got a decent selection of smokes in a walk-in humidor. The folks are really nice.
 
Cimmerian said:
.

I thought about returning but the shop owner's customer service skills lacks a lot to be desired. The same guy owned a pool table & supply place and I've seen how he treats people with a problem. So I didn't bother taking it back. The place is Cigar Time in Cerritos Calif. and I wouldn't recommend this shop to anyone due to this experience. I guess to be fair I should try the place one more time but I'm afraid of being burned twice.

If you know the guy and he isn't the best when it comes to customer service, that is more than proof enough. I was being on the cautious side for the owners sake, but he sounds like someone you wouldn't want to do business with. Just take it elseware.
Also, sorry to hear about this experince. It kinda sucks for you and I would be pissed if I couldn't smoke my CAO brazilias. I love that line.