What is low grade tobacco?

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

For many, such concepts as low-grade or high-grade tobacco are very important. And some people don’t care about this question at all, since they don’t even know which end to bring a tobacco product to their mouth, and call its main component “poisonous potion.”

So what are the evaluation criteria for the qualitative characteristics of smoking tobacco? Of course, in the matter of determining its main advantages, physical and chemical properties are fundamental, which depend on a number of factors:

• properties of the green mass of tobacco (leaves), namely its chemical composition and, of course, physical;
• method of converting feedstock into a state of crumbs;
• how tightly packed are the ingredients of the product that is directly burned;
• moisture content;
• length of the part intended for smoking;
• speed and duration of puff when smoking.

Chemical composition of tobacco leaves

The chemical composition of the green mass of smoking tobacco is determined by:

• nicotine;
• resin;
• ash;
• nitrogen;
• proteins;
• bases (free);
• carbs;
• ammonia;
• acids (organic);
• oils (essential);
• phenols.

Knowing the amount of chemical components and their ratio in the green mass of tobacco, you can get a complete picture of the qualitative characteristics of tobacco smoke, as well as the merits of the feedstock itself, that is, to draw conclusions: tobacco is low grade or high and, therefore, the quality smoking articles made from it.

Tobacco properties

What is included in the concept of the properties of tobacco? This is the following:

• how does it taste;
• what is the degree of sharpness: irritation of the oral mucosa indicates its presence (nitrogenous compounds cause similar sensations);
• how strong (physiologically and taste);
• whether the fragrance is pleasant or not.

Taste characteristics of tobacco

The concept of taste includes:

• appearance;
• chemical composition;
• technological process for manufacturing the final product.

In the course of rigorous research, it has been proven that the dignity of the main substance that is part of smoking products depends on two components:

Presence of carbohydrates. The greater their number (it can reach up to 25-27%), the higher the quality characteristics of tobacco. A high quality "poison potion" contains about 10-14% or more soluble carbohydrates; and low-grade tobacco - within 4-5%

Note! Green mass of tobacco,containing a large amount of carbohydrates, it is distinguished by: a relatively light color, a very low amount of nicotine and relatively good physical characteristics of the leaf tissue. It is also worth noting that the products formed during the combustion of carbohydrates do not affect either the aroma or the taste of tobacco. Smoke has an acidic reaction: this factor is a plus in assessing the quality of the product.

Presence of proteins. If, when smoking, you feel a rather unpleasant smell of wool (or burnt leaves) and bitterness, then know that a similar effect is caused by the presence of these nitrogenous substances, which may contain about 8-21% in the product

Important! With a high protein content, the smoke is alkaline (not good).

And now the main conclusion from the above: the universally recognized criterion for evaluating the qualitative characteristics of tobacco is the CBS (carbohydrate-protein ratio) or the Schmuck number. Yes, this indicator is, to some extent, conditional, and it may not always reflect the true picture if raw materials produced under different growing conditions are compared. But for raw materials harvested in one locality, the SVR value is an excellent indicator of the quality of the tobacco, which can be completely trusted.

What is low grade tobacco? Based on the above, the answer to this question is quite simple. If the SVR ranges from 0.01 to 1.0, then you have a tobacco of not very high quality.

Note! High-quality tobacco has a Schmuck number above 3.0, while medium-quality tobacco has aranging from 1.0 to 3.0.

Tobacco strength in terms of physiology

The main component of the strength (physiological) of tobacco, of course, is such an alkaloid as nicotine. It directly affects the nervous system (its excitability) of a person who does not let go of a cigarette. The amount of nicotine in the leaves varies up to 6%, and in some tobacco products it is even higher. Moreover, the amount of the main component of physiological strength depends on which part of the plant the leaves were collected from: from the top (more alkaloid) or from the bottom (less alkaloid).

By the amount of nicotine, tobacco is divided:

• Low nicotine. The amount of alkaloid is not more than 1%.
• With an average nicotine content - up to 2%.
• High nicotine content - over 2%.

Tobacco product strength (flavor)

What components determine the strength (taste) of tobacco? First of all, these are ammonia and acids, which have a certain effect (weak, medium or strong) on the respiratory organs and oral cavity of a smoker.

Note! High strength (gustatory) often causes strong contractions of the muscles of the larynx (cough) of a spasmodic nature. Pay attention to this.

Aromatic properties

Of course, the aroma is fully influenced by both resins (directly affect the aroma of tobacco smoke) and essential oils (felt in the leaves), the content of which can be up to 1.5%. Specialists tend to rate fragrance based on the following factors:

• Intensities: weak, medium and strong.
• Quality (according to the degree of "nasty").

What is low-grade tobacco called?

Some people, without any reason, believe that shag is a low-grade tobacco. Wrong: after all, even in color and taste it is completely different. The mistake lies in the fact that shag is a completely independent plant (of the nightshade family), although it is a fairly close relative of the familiar tobacco to all of us. At the same time, it has nothing to do with low-grade tobacco.

In the 16th century, this plant, the leaves and stems of which were used to produce snuff and smoking tobacco, was discovered by European sailors in South America and brought to Russia. And 100 years later, this find was widely used in Central and Eastern Europe. And since then, until the middle of the 20th century, shag has always competed with tobacco. Moreover, not only the poor classes smoked and sniffed it, but also representatives of the upper strata of society. They did not consider it shameful to fill their pipes with it during a pleasant conversation. We believe that this information will be useful to anyone who believes that low-grade tobacco is shag.

In closing

Summarizing everything that has been said, we conclude: when tasting tobacco, you need to pay attention to taste, aroma, strength and combustibility (normal or abnormal). The aroma of tobacco can be expressed in the following words: pleasant, unpleasant,weak or not so much. Taste: stings, irritates or coats.

Now you know how the lower grade smoking tobacco differs from the higher grade. And only you can decide which tobacco products to use. Or can he do without them at all?