Remember to freeze!

[djrey]

Just got this gorgeous box of HU2’s in from our host. Spent some time roaming the country in some hot conditions. I always inspect every cigar upon arrival. Think I may have found my first beetle hole. Notice the dust in the background. Not a big deal, only a little hole but an eye opener to the fact that you just never know. Better safe than sorry. Freeze your stock!

[fitzy]

You do know they are frozen before export and that beetle hole would have more than likely happened prior to leaving Cuba right?

[djrey]

4 minutes ago, fitzy said:

You do know they are frozen before export and that beetle hole would have more than likely happened prior to leaving Cuba right?

We believe they are frozen in Cuba. Yes I’m aware. Do I have faith that Cuba freezes every box that is exported? Nope. Yes this certainly could have happened prior. Freezing a new box takes me 5 minutes of prep. 

[T.52]

To me freezing cigars to prevent beetles is like prepping for a global pandemic.  That will never happen so why bother.  Oh...wait...

[paindoc70]

? It happened to me!  Bolivar Royal Coronas from European LCDH store 8 years ago.  Desktop humidor got a little too warm and little too humid.  Suddenly the "plume" I was examining moved.  Little white dots moving all around.  Hatching beetles.  Fridge for 24 hrs, froze to 0 degrees F for 3 days then fridge for 24 hrs then room temp.  Wiped down humidor with alcohol and dried.  Never had another problem and those sticks smoked great for years.  I now freeze all my stock before introduction into the general population and store in a coolidor at 65 degrees and 65 %RH.  All good now.  Its worth the small effort for your peace of mind IMO.  The box tells no tales of its various insults suffered in transit. 

[El Presidente]

Unless you found a live beetle, 99.9% of the time, the following occurs. 

One beatle hole will occur between the time the cigar is rolled and the HSA freezing facility. The factories are crawling with beetles as you can imagine. 

Once the box is frozen, the beetle/beetles are nuked. However any damage (a hole in this instance) remains. 

In the bad old days, that box after 4 months with beetle activity would look like a kids ant farm. 

I come across one beetle hole in a bundle or box fairly regularly. 1 in 250 boxes would be a guess. 

For this box, tap the cigar and see if the dead beetle pops out. if it is alive, try to lasoo it and post some photos on the forum . Touch base with Di for a replacement HU2.

 

 

 

 

[Bri Fi]

@paindoc70 are you sure those were beetles and not wood mites? I thought beetles were black or brown. I’ve had the little white dots and freaked out. After learning they eat the glue on the cigar bands I just squish them whenever I see them but don’t do anything with my cigars 

[Eric05]

No thats a beetle hole. Not a wood mite. Most likely dead. Like Prez said if it were to be alive. Then you would have more problems then that one hole.

[djrey]

2 hours ago, El Presidente said:

Unless you found a live beetle, 99.9% of the time, the following occurs. 

One beatle hole will occur between the time the cigar is rolled and the HSA freezing facility. The factories are crawling with beetles as you can imagine. 

Once the box is frozen, the beetle/beetles are nuked. However any damage (a hole in this instance) remains. 

In the bad old days, that box after 4 months with beetle activity would look like a kids ant farm. 

I come across one beetle hole in a bundle or box fairly regularly. 1 in 250 boxes would be a guess. 

For this box, tap the cigar and see if the dead beetle pops out. if it is alive, try to lasoo it and post some photos on the forum . Touch base with Di for a replacement HU2.

Thanks for the info Pres! I don’t see a need for a replacement unless you think it could be the source of a leak during smoking. Any experience with that?

2 hours ago, Bri Fi said:

@paindoc70 are you sure those were beetles and not wood mites? I thought beetles were black or brown. I’ve had the little white dots and freaked out. After learning they eat the glue on the cigar bands I just squish them whenever I see them but don’t do anything with my cigars 

I’ve had wood mites before. Kinda white/clear little critters that crawled around. Never did a thing about them and never have had an issue. ?

[NSXCIGAR]

6 hours ago, djrey said:

We believe they are frozen in Cuba. Yes I’m aware. Do I have faith that Cuba freezes every box that is exported? Nope. Yes this certainly could have happened prior. Freezing a new box takes me 5 minutes of prep. 

Freezing facilities have been confirmed. Freezing 99% of stock but not 100% makes no sense. The first stop out of the factory is the freezing facilities. I understand Cuba's reputation but in this case they do what they claim. Unfortunately, there can be a delay in getting to the facilities resulting in some hatching.

I would say Rob's assessment is almost certainly correct in this case. The hole was there before you even received the cigars and probably before they left the island. All freezing export production upon receipt does is require 2 months of reacclimatizaion. Promotion of freezing export cigars upon receipt is pointless and unnecessary and causes people to become paranoid.

[ElPuro]

1 hour ago, NSXCIGAR said:

Freezing facilities have been confirmed. Freezing 99% of stock but not 100% makes no sense. The first stop out of the factory is the freezing facilities. I understand Cuba's reputation but in this case they do what they claim. Unfortunately, there can be a delay in getting to the facilities resulting in some hatching.

I would say Rob's assessment is almost certainly correct in this case. The hole was there before you even received the cigars and probably before they left the island. All freezing export production upon receipt does is require 2 months of reacclimatizaion. Promotion of freezing export cigars upon receipt is pointless and unnecessary and causes people to become 

I think it's cheap (free) insurance to freeze. Cigars can get "infected" after leaving the island, and I've not noticed any loss of flavor,  etc. by doing so. I don't feel paranoid at all, just only see upside in doing so especially as new stock may not get smoked for a long time.

[djrey]

3 minutes ago, ElPuro said:

I think it's cheap (free) insurance to freeze. Cigars can get "infected" after leaving the island, and I've not noticed any loss of flavor,  etc. by doing so. I don't feel paranoid at all, just only see upside in doing so especially as new stock may not get smoked for a long time.

I double bag mine and put them in my chest freezer then two days later throw them in my humi. I agree, it’s takes a few minutes to do. But hell, to each their own, doesn’t matter to me! ?

[El Presidente]

Freeze away 

Each and every one of us is different. I have mates who haven't topped up their humidifier in a decade. I have others who get humidity readings sent 3 times a day to their smartphones.  Then there are the moldaphobes who check their cigars daily for spotting .....and the plumarians who take photo's of their rastafarian CORO to post on insta. 

I love them all 

[TheGipper]

19 minutes ago, El Presidente said:

The there are the moldaphobes who check their cigars daily for spotting .....and the plumarians who take photo's of their rastafarian CORO to post on insta.

Ah yes, the Moldaphobes and the Plumarians.  What a great concert that was.

 

[La_Tigre]

2 hours ago, djrey said:

Thanks for the info Pres! I don’t see a need for a replacement unless you think it could be the source of a leak during smoking. Any experience with that?

I just slide the band over the hole while it’s burning. No muss no fuss.