How to Make a DIY Cigar Humidor
If you are a cigar aficionado, you need a place to store your cigars to keep them fresh and ready to smoke. But a good humidor can cost around $ 100. Here’s how you can build it yourself, for a fraction of the cost.
I decided to bring cigars from Cuba. They were super fresh – they looked like they had just been rolled fresh on the farm. But they only allow you to buy in bulk there, so I needed a way to store them all since I don’t smoke that often. I knew a humidor was the best choice – with proper care, they can store cigars for years, but I quickly discovered that they can be quite expensive. After doing a little googling and Youtubing,I came across “tupperdor”. This is a DIY humidor that works great and can be made very cheaply (especially if you already have plastic food storage containers).
What do you need
Building a Tupperdor is easy. Here’s what you need:
- Transparent plastic sealed container. I use this one from AFK Sistema ($ 10). It has a beautiful retractable cigar tray and is wide enough to fit most cigars. But you can really use whatever you have.
- A bit of Spanish cedar. It smells good and is used in the most beautiful humidors. Cedarwood absorbs and prevents excessive moisture build-up, so cigars stay fresh and flavorful. I use boards, but you can also use chips, skewers, or leftover inserts from old cigar boxes.
- Digital moisture monitor. You can find them cheaply at your local hardware store or online for $ 10 or less.
- Humidity controller. Most cigar aficionados recommend Boveda packaging (69% or 72%). They are specially designed to stabilize tobacco storage conditions and maintain humidity within 1% of a given humidity level. You can order a 10-pack for $ 13 online . This will be enough for you for a long time. You can also use these absorbent silicone balls with distilled water.
- Cigars! Get good stuff. You deserve it.
All in all, you can build your own humidor for less than $ 30 (not including cigars). I forgot to order my humidity controller when I first put my tupperdor together, so I can’t see it in the photos. Don’t make the same mistake!
How to put together
When you have everything you need, it’s time to put together the tupperdor:
- Wash the plastic container to get rid of the bad plastic smell. If you don’t, your cigars will smell and taste like plastic.
- Cut the cedar board to the correct size and place it on the bottom of the container. If you are using a different shape of cedar, add it first anyway.
- If your container has a pallet, insert it.
- Place the digital humidity sensor in the tupperdor with the digital display facing upward, or towards any part of the container that you can see through.
- Add cigars.
- Adjust humidity as needed and add a humidity controller. Since I forgot my humidity regulator, I had to improvise. I was able to increase the moisture inside with a damp paper towel and then took it out when it reached 69%. Unfortunately this is not ideal and I will have to keep an eye on my cigars until my Boveda packages arrive.
- Close the tupperdor and hide it in a cool, dark place.
When you’re ready to light one of your cigars, simply open it, remove one, and close the lid again. That’s all! Enjoy.