Pilon Temperature Monitoring

The practice of tracking the internal heat of a fermenting stack with long-stemmed thermometers pushed into the core. Delicate wrapper and thin leaf are generally held at the low end, roughly the mid 90s to around 110F (35 to 43C), while heavy filler and ligero are allowed to run considerably hotter, commonly into the 120s and 130s and sometimes approaching 140F (about 50 to 60C).

Letting a pile overrun its target scorches leaf and destroys aroma, so this reading, taken daily, is the single most consequential measurement in a tobacco warehouse.