How to Store Cigars: Humidors, Pouches and Humidity 101

You can spend €40 on a cigar and have it taste like €4 if you store it badly for a fortnight. Humidity, temperature and a bit of patience are the three things that matter. Here is the working knowledge.

The numbers

• Relative humidity: 65–72%. The classic target is 70%. Slightly drier (65–67%) gives a brisker, more focused smoke; slightly damper (70–72%) gives a softer, slower one.
• Temperature: 16–21°C (60–70°F). Cooler is safer than warmer — warm humidors can attract tobacco beetle.
• Stability: matters more than the absolute number. A humidor swinging between 60% and 75% is worse than one held steady at 67%.

Three storage options

1. Desktop humidor — for collections of 25–100 cigars

The classic Spanish cedar-lined box. Cedar regulates humidity and adds a subtle aromatic ageing to the cigars. Plan on around €100+ for a humidor worth owning — anything substantially cheaper will warp or fail to seal.

Browse our Humidors collection. Davidoff makes some of the best in the industry — see the Davidoff Air de Famille as a benchmark.

2. Travel humidor or humidified pouch — for 1–10 cigars on the move

For trips, restaurants or simply moving a few cigars from your main humidor to your office, a humidified pouch is the practical solution. Our Humidified Pouches collection covers most use cases.

3. Tupperdor — the budget starter

A large airtight plastic container plus a Boveda humidity pack. Not glamorous, but completely effective for a starter collection of 20–30 cigars. The Boveda Starter Kit covers the humidification side.

How Boveda packs work

Boveda is the modern answer to the old foam-and-water humidifier. The packs are pre-saturated salt-water solutions in a permeable sleeve; they release moisture when the humidor is dry and absorb it when it's damp, maintaining a precise target humidity (69%, 72%, etc.). One pack per 25 cigars is the working rule.

For most users, Boveda is now the recommended approach over traditional bead or sponge humidifiers — less maintenance, more consistent results. See our full Boveda range.

Common mistakes

• Distilled water only. Tap water carries minerals and chlorine that taint cigars.
• Don't pack cigars too tightly. They need airflow.
• Don't open the humidor constantly. Every opening is a humidity reset; once a day is plenty for an active humidor.
• Don't trust an analogue hygrometer. They drift. Calibrate it every six months, or use a digital one.

On ageing

Most premium cigars benefit from at least three to six months of rest after purchase, particularly Cubans. They are shipped young, and a settled humidor smooths out their flavour. If you have the patience, an extra year of careful storage on a Cohiba or a Davidoff Aniversario is rarely wasted.