malba2366 Posted July 16, 2014 Posted July 16, 2014 Do you guys recommend freezing boxes of cuban cigars ordered from here prior to placing in humidor...I am worried that the conditions during the shipping process may provide conditions for beetles to hatch.
mikek Posted July 16, 2014 Posted July 16, 2014 I live in Vegas and I've never had them(knock on wood)!?
Skyfall Posted July 16, 2014 Posted July 16, 2014 HSA already freezes them before they even leave the island, been doing it for a while now.
mikek Posted July 16, 2014 Posted July 16, 2014 HSA already freezes them before they even leave the island, been doing it for a while now. I did'nt want to say for shure but I also heard that several years back! I'm glad you said that!!
RijkdeGooier Posted July 16, 2014 Posted July 16, 2014 It depends on where you get them from. If you have suspicions then this is the procedure: 1. Wrap them in a zip-lock bag after unwrapping 2. Close the zip-lock bag 3. Place zip-lock bag inside refrigerator for 2 days 4. Move from fridge to freezer for 2 days 5. Move from freezer to fridge for 2 days 6. Keep them on room temp for 1 day 7. Put them in humi for 1 week 8. Remove zip-lock bag and check for beetles, when none are found you can put them back and leave the zip-lock bag off. 1
PapaDisco Posted July 16, 2014 Posted July 16, 2014 In my last 40-50 boxes I've had a grand total of 1 beetle and 1 larvae both in a single cigar of a 3 pack tubo of Partagas Series D #4, and a single beetle hole (no beetle found) in an ERDM hermosa from a sample order. I ziplock boxes individually anyway for storage. When I found the beetle in the PSD4 I started freezing boxes but gave up as it's a bit of a pain. I think if I was putting down lots of boxes for very long periods, then I'd freeze everything, every time. As it is with my modest collection, I'd notice a beetle well before any catastrophic level of damage, whereas that would be tougher if you were putting a box away for 10 years and not looking at it but once a year or so. I've noticed zero affect on cigar taste and smoke-ability from freezing. Oh, you'll also want to make sure your freezer is cold enough. I think it has to get to 20F, otherwise the little buggers can still survive. There's a table on the forum here that shows you how long you have to go in the freezer depending on the temp.
malba2366 Posted July 16, 2014 Author Posted July 16, 2014 I will be buying all my habanos from the proprietors of this site..so no concerns about the source. I will be using a temp controlled winador @ 65F/65% RH, and most of my cigars will be kept in their original boxes. Based on the advice here I think Ill skip freezing. Thanks for the tips!
wookiemofo Posted July 17, 2014 Posted July 17, 2014 I've never got them either... and I've never froze. Also haven't ordered a lot of CCs, but a decent amount of NCs. I can say though that the pics you see of eaten up cigars with holes all over... those are pics of nightmares right there!
potpest Posted July 17, 2014 Posted July 17, 2014 I found a hole in a Hoyo DC a couple of months ago; freezed that box and checked everything in that humi was ok. Didn't have the time, patience or freezer space to do everything so ziplocked each box separately in storage and have checked them regularly. Everything is fine so far.
CigarEnthusiast Posted July 22, 2014 Posted July 22, 2014 I did'nt want to say for shure but I also heard that several years back! I'm glad you said that!! That's good to know. I'm just curious if you have any source to back this up? I want to make a coolidor, but I'm worried about the temperature causing mold or beetles, but I'm super RH conscious, so I think I should be fine.
Skyfall Posted July 22, 2014 Posted July 22, 2014 That's good to know. I'm just curious if you have any source to back this up? I want to make a coolidor, but I'm worried about the temperature causing mold or beetles, but I'm super RH conscious, so I think I should be fine. It's been discussed here on the forum many times, with several sources listed, just run a search, there should be a thread from Rob around too regarding the subject.
CigarEnthusiast Posted July 22, 2014 Posted July 22, 2014 It's been discussed here on the forum many times, with several sources listed, just run a search, there should be a thread from Rob around too regarding the subject. Is this the thread you were referring to? http://www.friendsofhabanos.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=759
Skyfall Posted July 22, 2014 Posted July 22, 2014 Is this the thread you were referring to? http://www.friendsofhabanos.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=759 No , there have been several threads over the years referring to HSA starting the process of large quantity freezing before shipping. I want to say the process started sometime during the 2010-2012 years, but 2006 also rings a bell.
CigarEnthusiast Posted July 22, 2014 Posted July 22, 2014 No , there have been several threads over the years referring to HSA starting the process of large quantity freezing before shipping. I want to say the process started sometime during the 2010-2012 years, but 2006 also rings a bell. I thought you were referring to Rob. I found one here. http://www.cigaraficionado.com/webfeatures/show/id/2390
Skyfall Posted July 22, 2014 Posted July 22, 2014 I thought you were referring to Rob. I found one here. http://www.cigaraficionado.com/webfeatures/show/id/2390 I was, Rob posted an article about it several years ago.
Caboz28 Posted August 11, 2014 Posted August 11, 2014 For over 10 years I never did it, then I got beetles once about 3 years ago. Now everything goes through the freezer before getting into my humidor. To be fair though, I'm pretty sure my little "friends" came from a box of NC's I had been gifted.
Guyman1966 Posted August 21, 2014 Posted August 21, 2014 I do the 2 days fringe, 2 days freeze, 2 days fridge... but based on what I've learned here... its probably over kill. I do it anyway because I'm nutz. 1
Mckucci Posted September 18, 2014 Posted September 18, 2014 I always do, new boxes go in the freezer for 1-2 days. I've heard people put them in the fridge, then the freezer, then the fridge etc. I've never done this, and never had any issues.... I put them directly in the freezer for 1-2 days, then take them out and put them on my counter for 2 hours, then into the humidor... No broken / split wrappers...
meatball41 Posted October 7, 2014 Posted October 7, 2014 I freeze 3-4 days, then a day in fridge, then the humi
subiemech Posted October 8, 2014 Posted October 8, 2014 I stopped freezing a while ago. I do keep new boxes separate for about two months just to be safe
CUBANO Posted October 10, 2014 Posted October 10, 2014 To be safe I would freeze for about 5 days. 2-3 days is not long enough. I just had a cigar I bought in Cabo San Lucas in Sept. 2013 that I froze for 3 days and the beetles hatched last week. In 2012 bought a few cigars at the LCDH in Cozumel and had a beetle hatch on a RA Superiores a couple days later. I don't believe that Cuba freezes every box. Was lucky that both cigars where inside plastic bags.
herc1119 Posted December 31, 2014 Posted December 31, 2014 So looking for presence of beetles means you look for the holes right?
CanuckSARTech Posted January 2, 2015 Posted January 2, 2015 So looking for presence of beetles means you look for the holes right? ...Or fine dust, or larvae or beetles themselves, etc.
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