Do Cuban cigars need an introduction? Of course not. The “Havana’s” are world renowned and have set the bar for quality for competitive tobacco producing countries for over 130 years.
Cuban cigars: top class!
The Cuban cigars still retain exceptional top quality thanks to a unique combination of manual labor, artisanal know-how, specific soil conditions and composition and climate. Continuous selection of the best seed further ensures that the top quality of the tobacco is retained. Let’s see how we get from a tobacco seed to a sought-after pleasure product.
Composition of a cigar
A Havana cigar is composed of 5 different types of tobacco leaves. The inside of a cigar consists of a mixture of three types of leaves: volado, seco and ligero. More or less of one or the other determines how the cigar will taste. The composition of this inner bundle therefore differs from brand to brand and is one of the kitchen secrets of every cigar house. A ‘capote’ is placed around this inner bundle of tobacco leaves, which keeps everything together. These 4 types of leaves all come from the so-called “criolloTobacco plant, the most common in Cuba. Finally, the whole is encompassed by the “capa”. The capa determines the appearance, color and feel of the cigar and is therefore treated with extra care. Capa leaves are also from another tobacco variety, namely the “corojoThis plant only supplies leaves for the outer covering of the cigars (= capa). Special care is therefore taken to prevent spots or spots on these leaves. During the growth period, for example, plantations of corojo- plants are covered with cotton cloths to protect the plants from too bright sunlight.
From seed to tobacco hut
The tobacco cycle ends six to seven months a year Cuba, from September-October to February-March. The rest of the year (April-August) the soil can rest and recover, ready for another cycle. During this period, the tobacco farmer will plow his fields several times to obtain the airy soil possible. That is why people will still almost exclusively use draft animals instead of tractors.
Experimental stations distribute tobacco seed among the farmers who start sowing in September. After about 45 days, the plants reach a height of 15 to 20 cm and are ready to be planted. Again, the tobacco plants will take 45 to 50 days to reach maturity. During this period, each plant is checked several times by the farmer: it is checked whether there are no diseases on the plant but – extremely important – it is also ensured that the top of the plant as well as side shoots are removed in time, so that the leaves can increase in size. During that growth period, the corojo plants will be screened with cotton cloths from excessively bright sun to ensure that the leaves retain the uniform appearance and soft texture needed for the capa, the outer wrapper of a cigar. The criollo plant, on the other hand, is exposed to the bright sun, as this benefits the taste and intensity of the tobacco.
After 50 days the harvest period begins, a painstaking work. The leaves are picked manually 1 by 1 and this level per level. Each plant has 8 or 9 heights where 2 leaves are planted each time. Each of these pairs is picked individually. After all, the position of the tray determines the taste. The higher the leaf on the plant, the longer it was exposed to the sun and therefore the stronger and more intense the taste. The lower leaves are older, have lost some strength and are therefore softer in taste. There is usually 6 days between picking the leaves from 1 level and the next level. + – 40 days have passed when a full plant has been harvested. All the harvested leaves then end up in the tobacco huts that still adorn the tobacco-producing regions of Cuba.
From tobacco hut to cigar box
The first phase in processing the tobacco leaves is drying. To this end, the leaves are hung two by two over sticks and placed on a wooden stand in the tobacco huts. After another 50 days, the leaves have turned their reddish golden brown color and are ready for an initial fermentation process. The leaves are stacked in specially designated storage places in piles of half a meter high. The moisture that is still present in the leaves causes spontaneous fermentation or oxidation. This can take up to 30 days. This process reduces the resinous substances in the tobacco and gives the leaves a more uniform color. The internal temperature in each “pillon” or pile of tobacco leaves is constantly monitored with special thermometers. When the temperature rises above 35 ° C, the stack is broken apart, the leaves shaken and re-stacked.
After this initial fermentation process, the leaves are moistened again to make them supple again, so that the main veins can be easily removed. The two half leaves obtained are now sorted according to color, texture and shape and stacked again, this time in piles more than 1 meter high, the so-called “burros”. A second fermentation may begin, caused by the excess water after wetting and the increased weight of the stack. This phase can last up to 60 days and again it is checked regularly that the temperature does not exceed 42 ° C. The chemical process that is carried out this time deepens and refines the taste of the tobacco.
After this phase, the leaves are again briefly opened and then wrapped in leaves of the royal palm. These bundles end up in storage houses where the tobacco can ripen for months or sometimes years, until they are taken to the cigar factories in Havana, ready to be processed into cigars. This moment is crucial. Each tobacco house (brand) owns a number of “masters” who will now make their choice from the tobacco stacks on offer. All their knowledge and expertise is used to create a balanced mix between volado, seco and ligero leaves, the flavors of the cigar. The leaves chosen by him go in small piles (enough to make 50 cigars) to the cigar rollers, which can use them. The latter are extremely skilled at their work and can sometimes roll up to nearly 200 cigars a day (an average of 120 cigars a day). To do this, they sit at long tables and use a sharp rounded knife, a “chaveta”, a mold, a guillotine knife, a press and some vegetable glue. With handy fingers they take the leaves for the “tripa” together, the seasonings, roll the “capote” sheet around it and put the whole in a mold and under the press for about half an hour. When the well-pressed cigars come out, the cigar roller wraps the “capa” around them – the high-quality special corojo wrapper – and glues one end with some vegetable glue. The other side is placed under the guillotine and neatly cut. One cigar is ready.
Quality control
But not just any cigar is okay. Before the gem leaves the factory, it undergoes rigorous quality control. Weight, length and diameter are neatly measured; any deviation will be rejected and will not be sold. The remaining cigars are now taken to cedar wood stacking racks where they rest for at least a few weeks up to sometimes a few months, losing the excess moisture. They are stored in ideal conditions, being at a humidity of 65 to 70% and a temperature between 16 and 18 ° C.
A perfect presentation
But the cigar is not yet with the consumer. After the specified rest period, the cigars go to the tables of the “escogedores”, the sorters, where the final stage in production starts. A phase aimed at the most perfect presentation of a box Havana cigars to become. At a long, wide table, the “escogedor” will arrange the cigars according to color and nuances. The man not only notices the difference between light and dark cigars, but also distinguishes 65 different shades. A second sorter will arrange each separate stack into boxes, again from dark to light (even if they were already on 1 stack on the sorting table, thus belonging to 1 specific shade). At the same time, this person will also determine which will be the front of the cigar when it ends up in the box. During further processing (for example applying the cigar bands, all measured at the same height) the cigar may no longer be placed in the box in any other way. The cedar boxes are now further covered and finished with the various quality labels that indicate the undisputed quality of the Havana cigars.