Find out how to choose the perfect humidor to preserve your cigars over time. Keeping your cigars in optimal conditions is essential to preserving their aroma, integrity and overall quality. If stored incorrectly, your cigars can dry out or, on the contrary, suffer from excess humidity, altering your tasting experience. Whether you're an occasional smoker, a novice enthusiast or a connoisseur, it's essential to equip yourself with a quality humidor to enjoy your passion to the full. In this article, we'll help you to understand the differences between the different types of humidors, and identify the features you need to find the perfect humidor for your needs.
Qu'is it'a humidor ?
A humidor is a cellar à cigars designed for maintain a stable environment in order to keep cigars in optimum condition. While a too-dry environment dries out tobacco leaves, making them brittle and altering flavors, excessive humidity can cause mold and combustion problems.
The humidor acts as the guardian of your vitolas, by ensuring a relative humidity of 70 to 75 % and a temperature between 20 and 22 °C. These ideal conditions preserve their aromas and integrity over time.
The differentdifferent types of'humidor
©Davidoff
The boxîte à cigars traditional: accessibility and versatility
Visit cigar box is the most common choice amateurs, but also the most accessible. Generally made from Spanish cedar, it is available in a wide range of sizes, designs and prices, and can contain between 20 and 150 cigars. This type of humidor is perfect for beginners and hobbyists with medium-sized collections.
Cigar cabinets: for large collections
Visit cigar cabinets offer a large capacity and will suit enthusiasts with a collection of between 200 à 500 cigars. They feature compartments to organize your vitolas according to strength, size or terroir, and can even accommodate traditional cigar boxes. This type of humidor is ideally suited to domestic use, while offering a high level of comfort. bel decorative element.
The walk-in humidor: an enthusiast's dream
A genuine room dedicated to cigar storageThis type of humidor is designed for collectors, specialist stores and smokehouses. It enables store large quantities cigars in ideal conditions, while offering a wide range of made-to-measure spaceperfectly suited to your collection. This humidor, however, is reserved for cigar enthusiasts who have ample space to store their cigars, as well as the in-depth knowledge needed to guarantee their upkeep. It is also the the most luxurious humidor on the market.
Features to consider when choosing your humidor
©Elie Bleu
The choice of mats materials
When choosing your humidor, it's important to pay close attention to the materials it's made of. While most humidors are made of woodothers offer glass or plexiglass walls.
The reference material for manufacture of high-end humidors is the Spanish cedar. Recognized for its ability to maintain a stable humidity levelThis type of wood has a scent that allows you toenrich the aromatic profile of cigarswithout altering their original flavors, and keep out insects that could harm your modules.
Other woods such asmahogany or the cèCanadian red dre are also used, but offer slightly lower performance. The humidors with glass walls are an elegant alternative to wooden humidors, but must be combined with a high-performance humidifier to prevent humidity loss. To limit the risk of the greenhouse effect, choose cigar humidors in which the glass surface is smaller than that of wood.
The importance oftancheity
A quality humidoré must be hermetically sealed to maintain stable humidity. Look for models with perfectly fitting gaskets, and test their tightness by making sure your humidor makes an air-compression noise when closed.
Size and capacity
Visit size and capacity of your humidor are among the most important criteria to consider. They will determine your actual storage capacities and must take into account your needs and consumption patterns.
If you are a amateur beginnera capacityé by 20 à 50 cigars is sufficient. For daily smokersmodel, prefer a 75 à 150 cigars for greater flexibility. Last but not least true enthusiasts and collectors can turn to cigar cabinets or walk-in humidors to enjoy a customized storage space.
Keep in mind that capacitys advertised by manufacturers are generally based on small formats.like Corona. If you prefer larger cigars, such as Toro or Gordo, the actual capacity will necessarily be reduced. You can also opt for a humidor legèmuch larger than your current needs (+ 10% to 20%) to anticipate the growth of your collection. Finally, don't forget that l'humidifier, the'hygromèand separators take up space and may reduce the capacity of your humidor.
Integrated accessories
A quality humidor is often equipped with a digital or analog hygrometera humidifier and compartments or trays which allow cigars to be separated by module or terroir, while guaranteeing even circulation of humidity.
Before buying a humidor, make sure it incorporates these features to avoid additional costs. Also beware of modèthe bottom of the rangeoften equipped with unreliable instruments.
Design and aesthetics
In addition to its performance, a humidor is often a objectcorative. Choose a model whose design blends harmoniously with your interior, whether it's a classic box, a glass humidor or a genuine collector's item, such as the Elie Bleu humidors.
Conclusion
Choosing a humidor is an essential step for any cigar enthusiast. By taking into account your needs, the size of your collection and essential features such as material, sealing and accessory quality, you'll be able to preserve your cigars in perfect conditions. So take the time to define your needs according to your consumption and invest in a quality model that will guarantee optimum preservation of your precious cigars.
FAQ
Cigar size has a direct influence on the actual capacity of your humidor. If you choose a humidor that's too small, you run the risk of damaging your cigars by compressing them. Always opt for a humidor slightly larger than your current needs, to anticipate the growth of your collection and include cigars of various sizes.
To check the reliability of a hygrometer, perform a salt calibration test.. Place the hygrometer in an airtight bag with a small container of wet (but undissolved) salt. After 24 hours, the hygrometer should indicate a relative humidity of 75 %.
Humidors with glass walls can perform as well as those made of solid wood, provided the design is of high quality. The main disadvantage of glass is that it is less insulating than wood, which can lead to moisture loss or a greenhouse effect if the humidor is exposed to direct light. However, these problems can be offset by an efficient humidifier and strategic positioning of the humidor in a cool, dark place.
Yes, but the process is delicate. Place the cigars in a humidor set to a relative humidity of 65 % and gradually increase to 70-72 %. This process should be carried out over several weeks to avoid too rapid humidification, which could crack the leaves. Note that if cigars have been too dry for a long time, their original flavors may not be fully restored.
A humidor should be replaced when the interior wood is cracked or dry, or when its joints show signs of wear. Regular maintenance and proper use will prolong the life of your humidor.
Yes, but it is recommended to use a travel humidorspecially designed to protect cigars from variations in pressure, temperature and humidity. Compact and robust, this type of humidor is ideal for travelling, while guaranteeing optimum preservation.
