You have probably heard the term “humidor” before but never quite understood what these boxes really do for a collection of expensive cigars. There are things in our lives that we want to take great care of. We wash and wax our cars, we dry clean our nicer clothing, and we get our oil changed in our automobile to protect its engine.
These are just a few of the tasks that we know we have to complete to protect those things that are either expensive to replace or mean something special to us. The same can be said when we are looking at humidors for sale. The purpose of a humidor is to control the amount of humidity which has access to cigars and other tobacco related products and accessories.
Not Just A Cigar Box
One may assume that a cigar humidor appears to be just an ordinary box. Although it is made from wood, the inside is typically carved out of gorgeous Spanish cedar. A humidor is definitely not your run of the mill box. Even though it is used primarily for storing cigars, it may also be used to age them. It can also be passed down from generation to generation as a wonderful family heirloom.
Humidor Humidity
The best humidity range for storing cigars is about 68% to 72%. This happens to be room temperature, which is typically around 68-77 degrees Fahrenheit. A humidor usually comes with a hygrometer to measure how much humidity is in the interior of the box. It is then able to maintain an optimal range of humidity by removing or inserting moisture into the box.
Seasoning Your Humidor
After you purchase a humidor, are you able to immediately toss your cigars in there? The answer is no. When a humidor is brand new or has not been used for a long time, it has to be seasoned before you can use it. A humidor increases humidity in the cigars’ area. If you do not perform this step, cigars would lose all of their moisture and dry out because the wood will absorb the moisture.
Seasoning your humidor is a simple as placing a small amount of distilled water in a container and let it sit for 12 hours. Check to see if the water has evaporated. If it has, reload! Put in fresh amount of water and repeat for 24 hours. The wood will absorb the water; retaining the moisture and keeping your cigars fresh.
There are several different types of humidors that you can purchase. These include:
- A table or ‘personal’ humidor is usually used in one specific place. It can normally hold around 300 to several thousand cigars at one time. They are available in many sizes and styles including ones made of marble, wood, and leather.
- Room humidors are mostly seen in cigar stores and cigar bars. Depending on the original taste of the cigars, the room is altered to fit the needs of humidity for those cigars as they are stored there.
- A travel humidor is a portable humidor that one can use to take cigars to events and parties. The humidor can typically carry 10 to 40 cigars at once.
When looking for humidors for sale, the prices will range significantly. A lower end cigar humidor will cost around $20. From there, it goes up and depends on the quality of wood, craftsmanship and any electronic humidity monitoring equipment that’s included.