Can You Detect a 3% RH Difference Blind?
Cigar smokers can become remarkably precise about humidity.
“I prefer 65%.”
“No, 68% burns better.”
“I can immediately tell when a cigar has been stored too wet.”
But remove the hygrometer reading and the cigar band.
Could an experienced smoker actually identify a difference of only three percentage points?
There is only one good way to find out.
What You'll Learn
- Why RH and cigar moisture are related but not identical.
- How to condition identical cigars for a controlled comparison.
- Why the experiment must be blind.
- What should be measured beyond flavor.
- How to tell genuine detection from lucky guessing.
First, RH Is Not the Moisture Content of the Cigar
This distinction is essential.
Your hygrometer measures relative humidity in the surrounding air.
It does not directly tell you how much water is inside the wrapper, binder and filler.
Tobacco is hygroscopic. Given sufficient time under controlled conditions, it exchanges moisture with the surrounding environment and moves toward equilibrium.
That means this experiment cannot simply place three cigars into different humidors overnight.
The cigars need sufficient conditioning time before the comparison means anything.
Build the 3% Experiment
Take identical cigars from the same box or production lot.
The current El Septimo cigar collection includes repeated formats suitable for controlled comparisons. The El Septimo Coco, for example, is currently listed as a 5¼ x 52 Robusto.
Then create three controlled conditioning groups.
For example:
| Group | Condition | Identity |
|---|---|---|
| A | Baseline RH | Hidden |
| B | Baseline +3 percentage points | Hidden |
| C | Optional third condition | Hidden |
Do not decide beforehand which condition should taste “best.”
The experiment is about detectability first, preference second.
Temperature Must Stay the Same
If one chamber is warmer than another, you are no longer testing humidity alone.
Keep temperature as consistent as practical across all conditioning environments.
Also calibrate or verify the hygrometers before beginning.
A supposed 3% experiment is meaningless if the sensors themselves disagree by several percentage points.
Weigh the Cigars Before Smoking
This is where the experiment becomes much stronger.
Use a precision scale and record the mass of each cigar after conditioning.
| Code | Conditioned Mass | Actual RH |
|---|---|---|
| A | [g] | HIDDEN |
| B | [g] | HIDDEN |
| C | [g] | HIDDEN |
If the conditioning environments are producing different tobacco moisture states, mass may provide an additional objective clue.
Remove the Bands
Now blind the experiment.
Label each cigar only:
A | B | C
The smoker should not know which RH condition produced which cigar.
Better still, the person serving the cigar should not know either. Have a third person create the randomization code and reveal it only after all scores are recorded.
This reduces expectation bias.
Measure More Than Flavor
A humidity difference may appear mechanically before it appears sensorially.
Record:
- Cold-draw resistance
- Cigar mass
- Burn rate
- Total smoking time
- Relights
- Burn corrections
- Ash behavior
- Smoke volume
- Smoke texture
- Perceived temperature
- Aroma clarity
- Bitterness
- Overall preference
Now ask the crucial question:
Which cigar was stored at the higher RH?
Guessing Correctly Once Proves Almost Nothing
This is the biggest trap.
If a smoker receives two cigars and correctly identifies the higher-RH cigar once, that could simply be chance.
Repeat the comparison across multiple sessions and multiple experienced smokers.
Then measure the percentage of correct identifications.
| Taster | Trials | Correct RH Identifications | Preference |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | [RESULT] | [RESULT] | [RESULT] |
| 2 | [RESULT] | [RESULT] | [RESULT] |
| 3 | [RESULT] | [RESULT] | [RESULT] |
The question is not whether somebody gets it right.
It is whether smokers identify the condition reliably above what random guessing would produce.
Detection and Preference Are Different Questions
Imagine smokers successfully distinguish the two conditions.
That still does not tell us which one is better.
A smoker might identify the higher-RH cigar because it feels softer or burns more slowly, then actually prefer the lower-RH cigar.
Or the opposite.
So record two separate answers:
1. Which condition do you think this is?
2. Which cigar do you prefer?
Never combine those questions.
What Might a 3% Difference Change?
Do not assume the answer before collecting data.
Potential differences worth investigating include:
- Draw resistance
- Combustion speed
- Frequency of relights
- Smoke density
- Wrapper feel
- Perceived smoke temperature
- Aroma clarity
But the result may also be:
Experienced smokers cannot reliably tell the difference.
That would be just as interesting.
Then Test 6%
If 3 percentage points cannot be detected reliably, widen the gap.
Repeat the experiment with a larger separation.
Now you can begin building a sensory threshold:
At what RH difference do smokers begin reliably detecting a change?
That is a much more interesting question than arguing over one supposedly perfect hygrometer number.
Why This Matters in Dubai
Dubai cigar storage involves another variable: aggressive indoor air conditioning.
A cigar removed from a controlled cigar humidor enters a different room environment, and exposure time before smoking should therefore be standardized.
If Cigar A sits in the lounge for two minutes while Cigar B sits outside its humidor for 40 minutes, the test is no longer controlled.
Cut both cigars identically with the same cigar cutter and use the same lighting method.
What the Experiment Cannot Prove
Even a successful test would not establish one universal RH for every cigar.
Different vitolas, tobacco blends, wrapper structures and smokers may respond differently.
It would answer something narrower and more credible:
Under these controlled conditions, could these smokers reliably distinguish these identical cigars after conditioning at RH levels separated by three percentage points?
That is a result worth publishing.
Explore Cigar Storage in Dubai
Step 1: Explore cigar humidors from El Septimo Dubai for controlled cigar storage.
Step 2: Browse the El Septimo cigar collection and compare identical formats under properly controlled conditions.
Final Thoughts
Cigar enthusiasts spend enormous amounts of time discussing 65%, 68%, 69% and 70% RH.
But the hygrometer knows the number.
The smoker should not.
Remove the labels, control the temperature, condition the cigars properly and record the results before revealing anything.
Then ask the question that actually matters:
Could you taste the 3% difference, or did you only know it because the hygrometer told you?
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you taste a 3% RH difference in a cigar?
Possibly, but it should not be assumed. A blinded repeated experiment is needed to determine whether smokers can distinguish a small RH difference reliably rather than by chance.
Does 3% RH mean the cigar contains 3% more water?
No. Relative humidity describes the surrounding air. Tobacco moisture content is a separate property influenced by equilibrium, temperature and the tobacco itself.
How long should cigars be conditioned before an RH test?
There is no universal time that guarantees complete equilibration for every cigar. Size, packaging, starting moisture and storage conditions matter, so the study should use a sufficiently long and identical conditioning protocol and verify stability rather than assume it.
Does higher RH always make a cigar smoke worse?
No. The experiment should measure burn, draw and sensory preference rather than assuming the higher or lower condition will win.
Why blind the cigar humidity test?
Knowing the RH can create expectations about draw, burn and flavor. Blinding helps separate actual sensory detection from expectation bias.
For adults 21+. Please enjoy responsibly.
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