Part 2 of the humidity bead journey

I received my second batch of beads yesterday and immediately took to task getting some inside of a humidor. These beads are noticeably different than the first set I received. These are actually small spheres, which is what I was looking for to begin with. I have a thought that what I was sent first are actually gel crystals. If this turns out to be the case, I am not going to be a happy camper. There is a lesson to learn here though, always check the name of the vendor that will be shipping your items on amazon. Or even better, order cigar related items from a reputable site or purchase from your local shop. My local shop doesn't carry beads so I went out on a limb, plus I had some amazon points to spend. If I have done my research right, the crystal gel should be a two-way capable humidity control item as all. These appear to be "water crystals" that you would use for plants. It is very similar in almost every way to the spherical bead but far messier and more gelatinous. My first shipment was sent by a vendor with lawn care in their name, thus my suspicions of them being water crystals. The second order was shipped by a power tool company. There was a thank you card inside the second package though. It was from cvtobacco.com and made note of it being a family operated business. I believe the amazon name was Cv power tools so it is probably just their amazon merchant name. I followed the link to their site and have found a new cigar line that I hope to review in the future. They are called battlegeound cigars and some of them are blended by Manuel Quesada. I have never heard of, nor seen these before so I am intrigued. Ok, back to the beads. The first batch has brought my humidors back to a solid 70% RH after just a couple of days. Like the instructions say, you can't have too many beads inside the humidor. If you add more than needed for the amount of internal space, it will just help speed recovery after opening the lid and letting the moist air out and dryer air in. I have added the spheres to two humidors and will be posting results when I check them in a few days. Hopefully everything will be stabilized and I can report back then. Until then, keep 'em toasty!

This was the first shipment. Notice the size of the "beads" which more closely resemble sea salt

This is the second pound of beads I ordered. Notice that they are actually bead or pearl shaped. They do change color when spritzed with distilled water. They become a bit hazed and are softer to the touch, but not near as jelly-like as the first batch.