An education in fine cigars before you go on holiday to Cuba
gr...@internet.charitydays.co.uk
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The basic steps of the cigar making process have not
changed much since the early 1800s because the
delicacy of the tobacco plant does not allow for much
adaptability.
The 80 to 90 day growing season begins in October or
November when the tiny tobacco seeds are sown in seed
beds.
After a few weeks, the seedlings are transferred to
the fields and planted by hand "as if they were a
delicate maiden" beginning the loving daily care which
will bring the plant to its perfect state for harvest.
Like wine grapes, tobacco is exceedingly sensitive to
the climate.
The perfect weather is warm days and cool nights with
absolutely no rain.
1992 was a great year.
1993 was poor.
The farmers spend all day and many nights in the fields,
clearing away weeds and removing by hand the many pests
that feed on tobacco plants.
Fields of tobacco destined to become cigar wrapper are
covered with cheesecloth netting, called tapado,
to protect them from too much sunlight.
When the plant nears maturity, buds begin to appear.
These buds must be plucked off by hand so that the plant
will spend all its energy producing perfect leaves.
In February and March, the lower leaves begin to turn a
light green.
This is a signal that the harvest should begin.
The farmers begin at the bottom of the plant and gradually
work their way up in six stages as the upper leaves become
ripe.
The higher the leaves, the stronger the flavor.
The leaves are then sorted as to color and degree of
perfection and taken to the barn, called the casa de
tabaco.
There their stems are threaded together, and they are
hung upside down for a drying process lasting 40 to 45
days.
After this stage, the tobacco leaves the farm for good.
They are taken to grading shops to be sorted once again
according to up to 50 gradations of texture and color.
Then they are packed for fermentation and storage.
The fermentation process is crucial to the quality of the
final cigar.
The bundled leaves are placed in piles.
These piles are essentially compost heaps where the leaves
sit and gently rot for 35 to 40 days.
The fermentation mellows the flavor of the leaf and
reduces the amount of tar and nicotine.
Cuba is already low tar and nicotine, due to a quirk of
soil and climate.
Most good cigar tobaccos are doubly fermented.
The flagship "Cohiba" brand is fermented three times.
This lends a uniquely mild yet rich flavor to the cigars.
After fermentation, the leaves are warehoused.
The leaves may wait up to two years in the warehouse
before being sent to the cigar factory.
Cigar factories dot Cuba from Pinar del Rio City in the
west, to Baracoa in the east.
For export, all the best leaf goes to five factories in
Havana :
[1] Romeo y Julieta
[2] La Corona
[3] H. Upmann
[4] Partagas
[5] El Laguito
Five kinds of leaves go into a good cigar.
Four leaves are for the filter and one leaf is for the
wrapper.
The wrapper not only holds the cigar together but gives
flavor and even burn.
In the first step of the process, the dry leaves are
separated and sprayed with a fine mist of water to
add moisture and soften them.
Next the vein running down the wrapper leaf is stripped
with a jerk.
The wrapper and filler leaves are once again sorted.
The fillers are mixed according to the recipe of the cigar
type and they are all sent into the rolling gallery.
The rolling gallery is a long hall with rows of tables and
dozens of cigar rollers bent over their work.
The cigar rollers are both men and women.
Entertainment is provided by a reader, called the lector,
who reads the daily paper in the morning and in the
afternoon turns to literature.
On average, a roller makes about 90 cigars a day,
depending on adeptness and the shape of the cigar.
There are over 60 shapes of cigar.
Some shapes are more difficult than others.
First the filler is rolled and placed in a press so it
keeps its form.
Then the wrapper is trimmed.
One side of the wrapper is trimmed straight and the other
side trimmed curved.
Then the wrapper is rolled around the filler.
Only natural vegetable glue and water are used to hold it
in place.
After trimming the loose pieces of leaf, the cigar is
ready to smoke.
Rollers can smoke as many as they want on the job.
But the process does not end here.
The cigars go to quality control, where a percentage are
measured for size and opened to check the blend.
Next they are sorted by color and packed in a scale with
the darkest on the left and the lightest on the right.
In order to insure that the aesthetic experience of
opening a box is perfect, the cigars are rotated so
their best faces are uppermost.
Labels are then wrapped around the cigars.
The boxes are then sealed with all the necessary symbols.
This is to indicate that they are indeed real Havana
cigars.
"The Cohiba" is the top brand of cigar.
The other main export labels [in alphabetical order] are :
[1] Bolivar
[2] Hoyo de Monterrey
[3] H. Upmann
[4] Montecristo
[5] Partagas
[6] Punch
[7] Ramon Allones
[8] Romeo y Julieta
Not every cigar of a brand tastes the same because the
recipes for each shape are different.
Experiment and find your favorite.
Cigar fanciers generally prefer the fuller flavored large
sizes.
Examples of these are the corona or the short but stout
robusto.
Currently in vogue are the piramide and its smaller cousin
the torpedo.
The piramide tapers to a point.
The hotter burning small cigarspanetelas and the like,
are usually damned with faint praise such as "perfect
for a morning smoke".
Cigars are sold everywhere in Cuba, from the fanciest
tourist hotels to the back alleys of Old Havana.
Unfortunately, the quality is not consistent everywhere.
The stock of some hotels and tourist shops is antiquated
or poorly stored.
Most hotels have a cigar roller demonstrating his trade in
the lobby.
Some of their products are cigars the size of a small
baseball bat.
These are not serious cigars and have more novelty value
than quality.
Nearly every tourist will encounter touts trying to sell
black market "Cohibas" and other brands at drastic
discounts.
For example, $25 to $35 a box.
These are almost always phonies.
Some of the black market cigars are made from fourth rate
tobacco tasting like barnyard sweepings.
You can usually tell that the cigars are bad, because they
are sloppily rolled and irregularly sized, and the box
lacks the official marks on the bottom.
These include official stamps such as :
[1] "Cubatabaco"
[2] "Hecho en Cuba"
[3] "Totalmente a Mano"
Also on the bottom of the box should be the code
indicating the factory of manufacture.
For example :
"EL" means El Laguito.
Black market cigars may have been stolen from factories
but more likely were rolled at home or in small workshops.
Your best bet is to buy at a cigar specialty shop.
There is a cigar specialty shop in the Partagas factory
near the Capitolio or the Casa del Tabaco at Calle 16 and
Quinta Avenida in Miramar.
You can tour this factory and watch the cigars being made.
If you are bringing a quantity of good cigars back to a
cold and dry climate, you should protect your investment
by buying a humidor to keep them moist.
In Cuba you do not need one, because the tropical island
is one giant humidor.
Good humidors should be lined with cedar and keep the
cigars at a constant humidity of about 71 per cent.
You can tell if a cigar is properly moist if the end you
light has a bit of give when you squeeze it.
Once you own a real Havana cigar, how do you smoke it ?
A fine cigar should be enjoyed at repose, classically
accompanied by strong, sweet Cuban coffee or a glass of
good rum.
Using a sharp knife or a cigar cutter, snip off enough of
the rounded end of the cigar to give a good draw.
You can remove the label or leave it on if you want to
impress your friends.
Light the cigar with a wooden match or gas lighter
ensuring that the end is evenly burning.
Do not use wax matches or fluid lighters because these
impart an unpleasant taste.
Savor.
A cigar should be enjoyed not just for taste but for
smell, touch and the sight of white clouds curling
slowly heavenward.
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Ted Hart
a**es kicked out of Washington, I personally will celebrate with a nice
cigar in anticipation of better times ahead.
I see that there are many places on the net that sell Cuban cigars.
Tell me, can you purchase from these sites and have shipped to the US?
Ted
fair_and_balanced_hyco-limbaugh_fart_detector
its illegal, but they'll probably send them to you
I'll be going to Havana in late November on one of the last legal
trips there, since AWOL Bush feels its necessary to squander homeland
security money on hassling tourists.
Ted Hart
Thx, that is what I thought about the cigar sites.
One other question. Can someone fill me in on Bush's policy (or new
policy) towards Cuba. And his reasons for this policy. I remember
hearing something but I do not know the details.
Ted
fair_and_balanced_hyco-limbaugh_fart_detector
First AWOL Bush eliminated OFAC licenses for travel that fostered
person-to-person contact.
Lately he says he will scrutinize the remaining categories of
applicants. For example, I suppose religious groups will have to
promise not to have any "fun."
He also wants to use federal resources to hassle Americans who travel
to Cuba without "permission."
Notice that it is possible to still bring dangerous items onto
aircraft, but AWOL Bush wants to use scarce resources to hassle
tourists who defy the National Nanny and travel to Cuba without
"permission."
The Castro regime has been a disaster for Cuba; however, the poorest
of the poor probably benefitted. He rules as a tyrant and the
economy is a planned economy, with all the attendant inefficiencies.
The embargo is the cause of at least some of Cuba's economic problem,
but not all or even most. This mix is hard to figure, depending on
one's viewpoint. The Bush types claim that free trade will only
benefit Castro, ignoring the "trickle down" theory they espouse at
home.
The Cuban people are generally very warm and hospitable, and like
Americans. The music there and level of musicianship is astounding.
I made some good friends there the last time I went. I will see them
again this time. I don't know when I'll get to go back, thanks to
AWOL Bush.