I’ve noticed a powdery substance on several of my cigars. What is this, and need I be concerned?

I’ve noticed a powdery substance on several of my cigars. What is this, and need I be concerned?

A. If the substance has a whitish color and can be easily dusted off the cigars without leaving residue, fear not. What you have in this case is “plume” (also called bloom), a natural occurrence caused by the cigars’ sweating off some of the oils that are inherent to tobacco. Just dust off the cigars prior to smoking them.

If, however, the residue is more of a bluish color and leaves a stain on the wrapper when you dust it off, the cigars are the victims of mold. Mold is frequently caused by high temperature and humidity levels, so keeping your humidor near the optimal 70 degree/70 percent humidity mark will help avoid this problem. Also, mold can be caused by not using distilled water in your humidification device, so know what sort of water you are using.

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