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The Complete Handbook of Humidors
A practical reference for professionals, businesses, and serious enthusiasts: selection, setup, maintenance, and the commercial side of cigar storage
by Alumigogo Books
Chapter 1: Understanding Humidors
A humidor is not a box. It is a climate-control device whose working medium is a slab of unfinished wood. Its entire reason for existing is to hold a set of environmental parameters steady enough that the contents - rolled, fermented, and aged tobacco leaves - neither dry out nor become a breeding ground for mold. Every design decision, from the species of wood to the geometry of the gasket, serves that single physical function.
The operating principle is straightforward: cigars contain moisture, and that moisture is in constant negotiation with the air around them. A cigar stored in dry air loses water to the atmosphere. A cigar stored in air that is too humid absorbs water from it. The cigar is not passive in this exchange. It behaves as a hygroscopic buffer, releasing or absorbing moisture to slowly bring itself into equilibrium with the surrounding environment. What the humidor does, at its core, is slow that exchange to a crawl and then hold the air at a target relative humidity (RH) through a controlled source of water vapor.
The target number in cigar storage is commonly cited as 68-72 percent relative humidity at roughly 70 degrees Fahrenheit (21 degrees Celsius). This is a compromise, not a law. The range exists because the cigar is a layered product: the wrapper leaf, the binder, and the filler blend are each affected differently by moisture. At the low end, around 65 percent, the cigar burns hotter, faster, and