Rehydrate Dry Pipe Tobacco

How to rehydrate tobacco that is too dry

Some time ago I wrote on how to dry tobacco that is too moist. However, the majority of tobacco pipe smokers have the opposite problem.
Every pipe smoker has encountered difficulties with a tobacco that gets dried out. Tobacco without enough moisture tends to burn too easily, resulting in an excessively hot smoke. This diminishes flavor and causes other unpleasant side effects, including the possibility of pipe burnout.

There are perhaps countless ways that smokers have devised to rehydrate their tobacco. Below I present two very simple methods recommended by various experts for giving your tobacco a "moisture adjustment."

Method 1
(This method is advocated by Greg L. Pease, Master Tobacco Blender; it's also my own favorite method)

1. Put the dry tobacco in a bowl.
2. Wet a towel until it is saturated but not dripping wet. (Preferably use distilled water in order to avoid contamination from bacteria or other substances.)
3. Place the towel over top of the bowl, but don't allow it to touch the tobacco.
4. Check the tobacco every several hours.

            Image source: christianpipesmokers.net

Method 2
(This method is advocated by Per Georg Jensen of Mac Baren Tobacco)

1. Open the tin or pouch and place it in a plastic bag.
2. Bring a kettle of water to the boil.
3. When steam starts to form, hold the opening of the plastic bag over the steam. Make sure that the steam goes inside the bag. 5 seconds of steam into the pouch will be enough.
4. Knot the bag closed and allow to stand for about one hour.
5. The tobacco in the bag will absorb the moisture.
6. After about one hour the tobacco will have regained its original moisture level.

            Image source: www.puff.com