I'm not a cigar smoker; I never could stand the smell of 'em. I *do*, however, enjoy having a pipe once a week or so (who doesn't like the smell of pipe tobacco?!) and places one can buy decent pipe tobacco are getting pretty scarce in SF. So when I found myself in the FiDi after a board meeting (in a suit), I noticed The Humidor and thought I'd try my luck.
Sure enough, just inside the open door and to the right, there were shelves with old square glass jars of different blends, and a nice old balance scale for weighing it out. One thing that there wasn't, was customer service. There was a lanky Asian guy with long hair in his 20s behind the counter, seemingly oblivious to me despite the sounds of me lifting jars and smelling the contents. I'm not expecting a retail therapist, just a greeting to let me know that they've noticed that I've entered their realm and -- crazy as it may sound -- if I should need help, they might actually be able to render it. But nope; nothing.
I searched through the 25 or so jars to try to find a blend or two that I'd like to buy. Strangely, most of the jars were less than 50% full and probably ten of them were nearly empty. I chose two different blends from jars that were about half-full and, noticing a sign that said "please ask for help", I approached the "help" and said "I'd like some pipe tobacco, but the sign says to ask for help." "Oh? You want to get some of that tobacco?" was his response. "Uh . . . yes." He went over and proceeded to measure out and fill up the bags with the blends I specified. While he was doing so, I noticed that my hands were filthy with black dust. I then noticed that all of the jars were coated with this dust -- no doubt from the traffic that runs incessantly down Sansome.
When I got home, I opened the bags to sample them and discovered that the tobacco was dry; too dry to smoke. It seems that it had probably been in the jars for months (if not years), untouched by customers. So there you have it: indifferent/oblivious clerk, dirty jars, stale product. At $9 for 2 ounces, The Humidor ought to either keep their tobacco fresh or not carry it in bulk. I give them one star for existing and for having some nice old fixtures in their store; otherwise, it was a totally disappointing experience. read more