A high humidity drying apparatus for cut tobacco is shown. The apparatus has a furnace which heats circulated air within the apparatus. The air is forced through a first arcuate elbow which has a tobacco air inlet located thereon for inserting the cut tobacco into the airstream. The tobacco is then redirected into a vertically extending drying chamber. The air entrained tobacco is then forced through a second arcuate elbow which places the tobacco into a tangential separator for removing the tobacco from the heated air. The separator has dual air exhausts, each leading to a high efficiency cyclone for further removal of the tobacco dust form the circulated air. All of the air is then passed back to the furnace for heating and then recirculated through the drying apparatus.