Definative Mold vs. Plume Test

[RenegadeCJ7]

Hi all! Well, I just wanted to add my 2 cents to the Mold vs. Plume debate. I've been reading a lot of posts as well as hearing the discussions in lounges and it seems I heard it all...I've worked with mold and have smoked cigars for nearly 15 years...Here is a simple, definative test. If it is green or black it IS MOLD, so pitch it! If it is white, it could be mold or plume. Now there is no single exact way that it either will look all the time...so forget comparing pictures...and forget about crystals versus fuzz..whatever, etc...
Plume forms (in simplistic terms) from the inside of the leaf to the outside.
Mold from the outside to the inside.
So, HERE IS THE TEST:
wipe a bit off. If the leaf looks great underneath, is it most likely Plume.
Since mold is essentially attacking the leaf, it will leave a mark or stain on the leaf. So if you wipe and the leaf beneath is marked, it is mold.
Hope this helps those in question!
I look foward to meeting many of you soon...

[michael88n]

That makes sense. Though I haven't had either mold or plume yet. I don't have a gi-nor-mous collection and the ones I do have don't last that long in my 'dor.

Cheers,
Michael

[SmoknTaz]

Thanks for the 411

[Cypress]

All my cigars that have plume on them are in crystalline form and are uniform throughout the cigar. Mold on the other hand I believe forms in splotches.

[chippewastud79]

I can appreciate what you are trying to say, but your logic of being able to tell what it is by wiping it off is simply incorrect. Mold can be wiped off without effect, not neccessarily leaving a stain or spot on the wrapper underneath, often times it appears white but is blotchy and fuzzy. Just because it wipes off does not make it plume. Also, if you go to a B+M and there is white fuzzies on the cigars, 999,999 times out of 1,000,000 it is mold.

[Architeuthis]

The only PLUME I've ever seem consists of small shiny black crystals. I really don't think plume can be anything else.

[karmaz00]

some good info here guys thanks

[Gumby]

I've been to two shops this week where I found cigars that were in sub-par condition. The first shop I noticed some bluish/greenish tinted stuff on the Ahston VSG () in 3 different boxes and sizes. Needless to say I didn't purchase any, but every time I'm in there I look at them and a feeling of sadness overcomes me. This is the only occurrence of it I've been able to find in their humidor.

The second shop I noticed what looks sort of like heavy dust on a few ( < 10) of the boxes of cigars. I was put on edge by it and didn't purchase any cigars that looked like that.

Does this spread quickly from cigar to cigar? Would you purchase a cigar from a box that you saw a potentially moldy cigar in?

[mash]

I beg to disagree. Mold can be wiped off without any apparent change to the underlying wrapper. One big tip is that mold tends to follow any irregularities on the wrapper. i.e. it is more prominent along vein lines, or along the line where the cap meets the remainder of the wrapper.

[catfish]

This is one observation that I've noticed (It's most likely worth what you've paid for it). Most of the time that I have seen plume it has been on the sides or the head (on the face of the tobacco leaf). 90% of the time that I have seen mold it was on the foot (where the edge of the tobacco or the cuts are). This isn't a definitive statement, it's just something to factor in when deciding what your looking at.

[the nub]

Originally Posted by mash

I beg to disagree. Mold can be wiped off without any apparent change to the underlying wrapper. One big tip is that mold tends to follow any irregularities on the wrapper. i.e. it is more prominent along vein lines, or along the line where the cap meets the remainder of the wrapper.

That's exactly right, Kevin. There was an article written a few years ago documenting the formation of mold on cigars. The root cause was traced back to the glue used in affixing the wrapper. Not surprisingly, mold forms predominantly near areas where the glue is applied, namely the cap and the head.

[e-man]

Originally Posted by the nub

Not surprisingly, mold forms predominantly near areas where the glue is applied, namely the cap and the head.

Especially when the roller licked his fingers.